FEBRUARY / MARCH CONVERSATIONS

At the February meeting we began preparing you to make a video. We encourage you to film early and often - just for the practice. You might consider setting the camera up and keeping it up for a period of time. Pretty soon it becomes "invisible" to the class -they'll barely notice it. If you don't want the students to know if the camera is running or not, you might be able to put a piece of masking tape over the "ON" light to hide it from view.

Filming often (and viewing the results) serves two purposes: 1) It gives you a chance to "get over yourself". You'll eventually accept how you look, how you sound, and all the other little details that we criticize about ourselves; and 2) You really do learn a lot about your teaching. You'll get a sense of what it's like to be a student in your class; you'll begin to recognize what demonstrating the standards looks like in your teaching practice.

There is a good chance that, even though filming can be frustrating,
you'll see some improvement in the lessons once you are more comfortable with the filming process. The kids won't be the only ones to forget the camera is running. You will too and then the footage will seem more natural.

So, the homework for April 3 is as follows:

1) Within the video footage you take, find a 5 minute segment to share.

2) Fill out the "Finding Evidence of Rubric Concepts in a Video" form. You can use more than the 5 minute limit for this - use the entire lesson.

3) Read Proposition 5 that is found on page 5 of the "What Teachers Should Know and Be Able to Do (Resource H). This is a shortened version of the full Proposition 5 explanation found in your portfolio. It can be accessed by going to www.nbpts.org. Go to "For Candidates", find your certificate, download it and in the index you'll see the propositions listed.

4) Answer one of both of the following guiding questions:

• What experience, if any, have you had with analyzing your practice or the practice of others in this type of format (a video)?

• What benefits do you see for teaching (your practice) and learning (impact on students) through videotaping your practice?

REMINDER: The next meeting is April 3, 2008 and we will extend the meeting from 3:00 - 6:00PM. See you then!

January Thoughts - Analyzing Student Work

After analyzing student work at the Saturday class, we hope you are beginning to see the depth of analysis that National Board asks for in an entry - and how to write to the prompts. This month, please answer ONE of the following guiding questions:

1) What part does student work play in the planning and design of lessons in your classroom practice?

2) Based on the NBPTS Standards for your certificate area, what new things will you consider when analyzing student work?

Remember, responding to the blog, printing it out, and putting it in your binder are part of the homework requirements each month. You can go back to any month and respond if needed.