Welcome to Pre-Candidacy 2-Session #1

It was a pleasure spending the day together with all of you on Saturday. I hope you enjoyed it, too. We learned much so far about the National Board Process. Also, the most important thing we learned was the fact that everything we do in the classroom translates into a level of impact to our students. That we make choices which take into consideration who our students are. That because we know about our students, we choose to do certain things in our classrooms, and those things we do, those decisions we make, impact our students in a multitude of ways.

For the blog this week feel free to comment on any one of these topics:

Our statement...Because I know ... I do ... which impacts.... is a key sound bite for us as we move forward. How do you see this unfold in your classroom?

What does "equity" mean? Where were you able to find this concept in your standards?

What role does Core Proposition 1 or 2 play in your classroom?

As you comment, feel free to write to one another, as well as answering the statements above. Let's see if we can get a conversation going. Thanks in advance for your participation.

Session 5-Core Proposition 3

Teachers are responsible for managing and monitoring student learning. Boy, we do that every moment of every day, don't we? As educators we are constantly working towards the concept of engaging, and managing, really the art of teaching. Along with Core Proposition 2, with our subject knowledge what evidence do you see in your classroom that you are effectively implementing your Architecture of Accomplished Teaching?

Have you checked out the Seinfeld Class YouTube video? What evidence can you see in his practice that he is "attempting" to be effective?

Session 4-Core Porposition 2 and "The Rope"

During this session we spent much time discussing the Core Proposition 2 which states that Teachers know the subjects they teach, and how to teach those subjects. That how to teach piece is critical when thinking about the process we go through every day as educators of planning our instruction, implementing, and then reflecting on the teaching we've done.

What are your aha's as you move on over the week about the Architecture of Accomplished Teaching and your Knowledge of Students? What does the "rope" mean to you?

Session 3-Writing for National Board Certification

Well our third session was all about writing and National Board. Looking at the entry and analyzing the questions we need to think through is critical as we gain an understanding of the process. If you are considering National Board Certification then chances are that you are already a Master Teacher. You are comfortable with your practice and your decision-making process. You are good at managing students and lessons and all of your resources. One of the keys to achieving National Board Certification is the ability to write a written commentary that supports your insructional decisions, knowledge of students, and your evidence of knowledge of the National Board Professional Teaching Standards; and to effectively convey this knoweldge.

What are your thoughts as you consider the types of writing and evidence in your practice in regards to the standards? Did you have a chance to take another entry and really look at it? What you are looking for is the types of questions it is asking; are they descriptive, analytical, or reflective in nature? How does that understanding help you craft your answer?

What are your thoughts as we move to a more indepth discussion of the process of writing and the standards?

Session 2-Knowledge of Students

Core proposition 1-Teachers are committed to students and learning is the most important proposition which describes accomplished teaching when it comes to knowing your students. Because of what you know, you make the choices you make that will impact your students' learning and well being. So much comes into play in our classrooms each day, each learning segment, that involves knowing each individual student and how they learn, who they are as individuals, and most importantly how they respond to your learning environment. What you do totally impacts the learning response in that student.

Consider what you do this week in response to your knowledge of your students' needs and let us know how you made an impact. Remember the sentence stem: Because I know this_________about my students, I do this ____________, which impacts (their learning)(their well being)(their_______)in this way_______________________.

As you analyze your practice, you will see you do a hundred of these a day---maybe more. It is the teacher who makes the difference in the classroom each and every day. You are amazing!

Session 1-Pre-Candidacy in Cave Creek

Hello to all of you. At long last here is the Blog. After investigating several scenarios, this is the one we will begin with.

I enjoyed our first session so much, talking about my favorite subject: How teachers impact students and their learning. I am hoping that this week you have had just a little bit of time to reflect on the 5 Core Propositions, and how they are imbedded in what you do EVERY day for students and colleagues.

Have you had any insights this week as you looked for evidence? As we discussed, the Propositions are the real content of National Board. They encompass all of the standards and all of the things we do as teachers. As we investigate the process together, they will be the glue that holds all of our learning together.

So for the blog this week, just share any insights you had this first week as we had our overview.

I look forward to Session 2.

Nancy