Ms. Powell's Management Ideas For Teachers

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It's official--I'm a National Board Certified teacher! Only those who have attempted the process themselves can understand how much pride (and relief) accompany that declaration. I certified in the 2005-2006 school year on my first go around, and it was by far the most challenging accomplishment of my career. I am honored to share my experiences and hopefully help out those of you who are undergoing the NBCT process.

Before I share anything else, let me make three things very, very clear:

1)     I am NOT an affiliate of the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards. I don�t attempt to represent their views and they don�t endorse anything on my site. I speak only as a private individual on a personal website.

2)     I can NOT divulge anything more specific than what you see here. Please do not email me asking to see portfolio entries or questioning what was on the assessment center exercises. Candidates have to sign confidentiality statements and can have their certification revoked if they violate that agreement.

3) There is NO 'magic formula' for certifying, and I don't mean to imply in any way that my methods were the 'right' or the only successful ones. Teaching is as much an art as it is a science, and NBPTS honors that. What I want to share are resources and tips for organizing your own ideas--not tell you how to teach or how to present your teaching in order to become a NBCT.

Okay, now that that�s said, let�s get on to some things that I�ve learned through the process that may be of use to those who are considering candidacy.

What is National Board Certification?

Please visit the NBPTS website, (www.nbpts.org) which will explain everything you want to know. For me to go into detail here would be redundant, because there's such a wealth of information on their site.

Why would I want to become Nationally Certified?

The biggest benefit is the improvement you see in your teaching practice. I have learned so much through this process because I�ve had to analyze what is effective and what isn�t in my teaching practice. My students are now excited about science because of the way I learned to teach it through my research for NBPTS. And I know almost all the grade level expectations for every subject area in grades PreK-3 because of the intense amount of studying I did for the assessment center. Another benefit to the NB process is that NBCT�s can teach in any state. But of course, money is the biggest incentive for most teachers, if they're really honest (and I am!).   Most states/districts provide financial incentives--you can find out what's offered in your area by visiting your state department of education's website or the NBPTS site. Click here to read about how NBPTS describes the benefits of becoming certified.

What do you have to do to become certified?

Lots of people--especially those not in the field of education--ask this question all the time, not realizing that it's like saying, "So what exactly do teachers do all long?". Ummm...how much time do you have for me to explain? I'll give a broad oversimplification: 4 portfolio entries and a computerized (written-answer) test. Two of the portfolio entries involve videotaping and reflecting on lessons, 1 requires you to collect and analyze student work, and 1 documents evidence of your professional growth, collaboration, and outreach to families and the community. The test has 6 parts. It�s timed, 30 minutes for each part. You take it at an assessment center on the computer, typing in your responses. Here's NBPTS' answer to this question, in short form and with more detailed info. And yes, there are fees involved (see if state/local incentives are available). The process IS as time-consuming as you've heard- - probably spent about 1,000 hours in total.

The 5 most valuable resources I had For NB

1. I joined a Yahoo mailring through Teachers.Net called EC-Gen. It�s just like TheCornerstoneForTeachers yGroup, only this one is for teachers going through the NB process for the Early Childhood Generalist certification. Anytime I had a question, I would post it there and NBCT�s would respond within hours, if not sooner. They also have live chats on Saturdays. They were so helpful and it was nice to read questions from other candidates so I didn�t feel so alone. When you go to the site, click on the EC-Gen mailring and make sure the other boxes are unchecked, unless you want to also subscribe to them. You'll get an email explaining what to do next. The five minutes you spend on signing up will save you HOURS later on as you compile resources! (You can also visit the EC-Gen message boards at Teachers.Net- they are less active and don't archive old posts, but the boards are still a good tool to have).

2.   I downloaded all the files from the EC-Gen ring. (See directions for #1 above to access the ring). There are TONS of files--archived chats and posts, explanations of concepts, study tips, and much more. It was THE most valuable source of info I had because it was coming straight from people who had gone through the process and knew what was expected.

3.   I had mentors and a support group in my school district. We met every week for 2 hours. They read over my entries, watched my videos, and helped me study for the AC. Their help was invaluable, especially since they knew my teaching context and we were able to talk in natural conversation (as opposed to over the internet). Now, I am NOT a study group type of person--I never joined anything like that for either my bachelors or my masters degree! But I quickly realized I was in over my head with the NB process and I needed help. It�s not like college when you have a professor and classes to attend--without a group, it�s just you trying to make sense of it all on your own. You HAVE to find support, locally if possible. The NBPTS site has a directory of NBCT's so you can find someone near you.

4.   I asked as many people as possible to read my portfolio entries. In fact, I had 7 readers, and each one would make different suggestions and catch things the other ones hadn�t. I�m sure my portfolio work was a million times better after having so many people give me a fresh perspective on it. I revised each entry dozens of times, but the writing got progressively better, and it was worth it.

5. I assessed for NBPTS prior to undertaking the certification process myself. Most people don't realize that teachers are the ones who grade, or assess, all of the portfolios and assessment center exercises. during the months of June and July each year. There are requirements about your teaching experience and degrees, but you do NOT have to be NB certified in order to assess.   I was able to assess the summer before I started the process myself. That meant I was trained to look at my own work like an assessor: I knew exactly what the assessors would be looking for. Plus, the pay is good, and assessing is a great summer job. It's hard work and very intense, but I HIGHLY recommend doing it, especially if you're about to go through the certification process. (Of course, you can't assess during the year that you were/are a candidate so that there's no chance of you scoring your own work). Visit the NBPTS assessor page for details.

Ideas for Time Management

-START EARLY! The deadlines creep up on you fast. NB provides a time management planner in the portfolio directions with suggestions on what to do when, but I didn't use it because my brain just didn't work like that---I needed my own system. I started gathering ideas and resources for my portfolio in the fall, but didn't begin videotaping until January. My entire life from January-March revolved around NB. I would go to work and teach an NB lesson, videotape it, then come home and watch/analyze the tape and write about it for hours. I moved my favorite chair from the living room to the bedroom and curled up there with my laptop for hours every night and alllll weekend long. This wasn't as bad as it sounds, because I was single and didn't have family responsibilities, and there was an end in sight--everything was due March 15th, so I could count down the days until I had my life back!

-Videotape early. If I were to do it again, I would have started taping my entries as soon as I felt like my classroom routines and procedures were in place (Sept/Oct), because taping was the most time-consuming and stressful part. November and December can be difficult times to tape if your kids are a little crazy from the holidays and vacations, and if you put it off until January, you'll be cutting it really close. There are many candidates who end up submitting a tape they are less than thrilled with simply because they run out of time to re-do it.

-Consider your standardized testing schedule when designing your lessons. If you are expected to use mostly test-prep materials for the entire month of February, that's going to affect your ability to implement NB-quality lessons. Also, if testing is a stressful time for you, then you'll want to have most of your NB stuff completed before then.

-Start working with mentors as soon as possible! Most everyone waits until Jan/Feb to start taping and then they submit piles of entries to their mentors in March. I began with my mentors in December and was the only candidate they saw for several weeks. I had their undivided attention during the entire two hour weekly sessions and received quality feedback and input that I would never have received in March when they were frazzled from having so many demands on them.

-Consider beginning entry 4 first, because it requires you to gather so many recommendations and forms and documentation. I actually began compiling resources and writing the entry over the summer before school started so I only had 3 entries to focus on during the school year. Some candidates put the least amount of effort into entry 4 because it's worth less points than the other three, but you can't afford to slack off on any part of the NB process.

-If you are doing EC-Gen, I also recommend saving student work for entry 1 right from the beginning of the school year. Pick 3 or 4 kids (not just 2, in case one of them moves away or turns out not to be the right child for you to write about) and save tons of writing samples. That wil give you more options later on when you're ready to write your analysis.

-Take a break between the portfolio and assessment center. After my portfolio was due in March, I relaxed for about 6 weeks and then started studying for the AC. Some people take the AC earlier, but the deadline is typically at the end of June. Why not focus on the portfolio first, breathe a little, and then study for the AC? Plus, I knew a lot more about NB standards and expectations after going through the portfolio process and that helped me tremendously on the test.

Tips for organizing the (massive amounts of) paper you will consume

I easily used 4 reams of paper on my portfolio and 2 reams for the AC: that's 3,000 sheets, and I am extremely conservative with paper. I bought an accordian folder which was the best $8 I ever spent.  You can download the section labels I designed here. I kept everything in the folder so I could easily find it and carry it back and forth from home to school and to my mentors. Some people have a binder for each entry, but because I worked on multiple entries at a time, the binder system didn't work for me--I was constantly hauling around these huge binders or leaving the wrong one at home. Other people use one big binder for the whole portfolio, but I didn't like that either, because punching holes was too much work. I did keep a binder with all of the portfolio directions in it, just for my reference at home, and then kept the specific directions I needed for each entry in the accordian folder. You'll have to experiment and see what works for you--but you WILL need a system for managing all that paper.

On a related note, you will also need a system for organizing everything on your hard drive. On my desktop, I had an NB folder with separate folders inside for each entry, the AC, and general tips and resources. In the folders for each entry, I saved different versions of what I had written, tips from the EC-Gen ring, and the PDF version of the directions for the entry (very important for when I didn't have the printed copy handy and couldn't/ didn't want to access the internet--getting the directions that way is slower). I emailed myself updated portfolio entries at least once a week in case my computer crashed--that happens to more candidates than you can imagine, many of whom do not back up their work! You can save to a zip drive as well, but to me, email is a great back up because you can access your documents at any time from any computer in the world. Whatever you decide to do... make sure you have a system for backing up your work!!!

Organizer for EC-Gen entry 1 that I designed- click on the photo to download a blank copy. This organizer is to help you compare two students and ensure you are including everything neccesary for the entry; it also helps you make sure the children are sufficiently different from one another since you will most likely not choose two students with similar needs/backgrounds.

Tips for writing NB style

Writing for your portfolio is, in my experience, completely unlike any other writing assignment you will ever have. Transitional phrases, introductory sentences, and tidy conclusions are all out the window. The idea is to cram as much evidence as possible into your writing at the expense of flow. I wrote these NBPTS Writing Tips to help candidates understand how to save space, make every word count, and focus their writing on citing evidence.

Tips for video-based entries

I created several note-taking and scoring guides to help me analyze what I saw on my videotapes. You can download blank copies by clicking below.

Entry 2 note-taking guide (to help choose the most effective 15 minute segment).

Click the photo to enlarge or click here for a blank copy.

There is a seperate guide for entry 3: version one and version two

(choose depending on how much space you want for writing in).

Entry 2 video rubric scoring guide (to analyze your chosen 15 minute segment using the same criteria assessors will). Click the photo above. I also created one for entry 3.

Tips for Entry 4: Documented Accomplishments

Here's how I organized all of my papers for e4. I kept them in the green folder on the right, which was inside of my accordian folder. I also created an entry 4 summary sheet to ensure I had met all the criteria and was within the allotted number of pages.

I assessed entry 4 for NBPTS one summer and I know the expectations well. I wrote these "Entry 4 Tips" to help candidates understand how to stay focused on student impact and make their evidence clear, consistent, and convincing (sick of that phrase yet?).

Studying for the AC

If you're still working on your portfolio, feel free to skip this section and come back to it in the spring! You'll have plenty of time to prepare after you submit your portfolio if you schedule the AC for late May or June. The only thing you need to do NOW to prepare for the AC is PRACTICE TYPING. If you're slow on the keyboard, you won't be able to include as much info in your responses. It's that simple. I'm a very fast typer, and therefore, I was able to squeeze in much more detail than someone who was slower at typing. Remember, you will be assessed on content only: don't go back and fix misspellings and other typos unless you've had time to write out everything you want to say.

The infamous 4-inch AC binder with contents I attempted to memorize in their entirety.

I organized it into 8 sections: General Tips, ACIA Heart, and the 5 exercises.

I began studying intensely about a month before the test. I printed out every file from the EC-Gen ring explained above and put it in a four inch binder, sectioned off by exercise number, plus a section for general tips and information. A lot of people read over the curriculum guides for other grade levels and textbooks on education (there are recommended resources on the NB site and the EC-Gen ring), but I didn't spend much time on this. I read and re-read and highlighted and typed summaries and took notes and mentally quizzed myself and responded to sample prompts for hours. Every weekend in April, May, and June, I would drag that gigantic binder down to the riverside at my condo and lay there under the palm trees studying. There was something about being outside that helped me feel like I still had a life and wasn't stuck indoors studying! Plus, I got a really fabulous tan that year! My coworkers used to tease me on Mondays: "Wow, you're even darker than you were on Friday--you MUST be ready for that test, now!".

When I finally took the AC, I felt that I had studied the right things...with the exception of one exercise, which totally blew me away. (It happened to be my weakest area, with which I had the least teaching experience or expertise. Ironically, I scored really well on it and didn't do as well on some responses that I thought were much stronger). Overall I think my studying method was effective and I definitely recommend the resources I used from EC-Gen.

I printed pretty much every file off the Yahoo mailring through Teachers.Net called EC-Gen. When I studied, I focused on one exercise at a time, highlighting important info and stopping to summarize every few pages. Later I would go back and re-read only what I had highlighted and my summary notes.

There is an acronym called ACIA HEART that helps you remember the standards when composing your AC responses (see the EC-Gen mailring). I designed this form to help me organize ideas for ACIA HEART strategies. You can download a blank form by clicking on the photo. It may not make much sense to you, but basically I just wrote or typed in generic things that I knew I wanted to include no matter what my prompt (authentic assessment activities, strategies for parental involvement, etc.).

When I was done studying for the AC and ready to memorize the info I wanted to use during the exercises, I created and filled in these forms. You can download blank copies by clicking on the photo. I have included this picture for you to get an idea of what I did, but I purposely left it fuzzy because I want you to use the information that YOU learned and want to utilize on the AC. Plus, writing/ typing everything out yourself is part of what makes it stick.

I then used the same form and typed in the info I wanted to remember to use on the AC. Typing it not only made it easier for me to read and study, but the actual act of typing also helped me process and memorize. These are the pages that I actually did memorize pretty much word-for-word: my own teaching strategies and ideas that I didn't want to draw a blank on at the AC. I carried these sheets with me everywhere the week before the test and crammed every chance I got! It worked--when I got home from the AC, I checked off everything that I remembered to include, and I remembered the vast majority of it. Checking everything off was also useful when I got back my scores--I could recall what I had put in and left out at the AC because 6 months later I wouldn't have remembered otherwise.

Is it just me or is this process REALLY overwhelming?

It's definitely not just you. There were days when I felt on top of the world, like my entries were going to score a 4.25, and other days when I was like, I am a total idiot for ever thinking that I could possibly become a NBCT. The highs and lows can definitely make you feel like you are going crazy. I haven't heard of ANYONE who went through this process and didn't feel overwhelmed at times. If you ever feel like you are alone in this, go to your mentoring group (in person or an online group) and just vent. There were so many posts on the EC-Gen ring from people (including me) complaining, When will this be OVER? If I see the word 'evidence' one more time, I'm going to scream! Can we just hurry up and get our scores?! Don't be afraid to speak up--other candidates will be relieved to know they are not alone, and those who completed the process can be available as proof that it IS possible to make it through the waiting game!

Why are the portfolio instructions so cryptic?

This is another area in which people begin to question their sanity--are the directions really that complicated or are you just missing something? The instructions ARE vague in many areas, in large part because NB wants you to interpret them broadly. The prompts are purposely open-ended so that you can interpret them in ways that meet your teaching style and your students' learning styles. When I assessed for NB, I saw many, many different candidates earn 3's and 4's and NONE of the entries were anything alike. Every teacher is unique, from writing style to teaching context, and NB tries hard to honor that. However, there are some ambiguities that are really frustrating and people ask the same questions over and over every year (Does 'learning sequence' mean just the lesson or the whole unit? How many kids constitute a 'small group'?). NB has done a pretty good job answering these types of questions on their FAQs page. You can always email them for clarification--they get back to you within just a few days. And of course, that's what you have online and in-person mentors for. The important thing to remember is...it's NOT just you, the instructions are definitely hard to understand in places, and even after you re-read them several times, you may still be scratching your head trying to figure out exactly what 'they ' want! That's perfectly normal.

Final Thoughts

Remember, I CANNOT divulge specifics on many aspects of the NB process because of confidentiality agreements. If you have any questions about the National Board process, please visit THEIR website, which has official and updated information about almost anything you need to know. The Help and FAQs page is newly updated and more user-friendly.

More Resources

EC-Gen entry 3 (science and math) tends to be the hardest for most teachers because we haven't been properly trained in how to use inquiry science and/or don't have the opportunity to implement it regularly in our classrooms. This free PDF publication from NWREL was extremely helpful for me: it's quite lengthy (42 pages) but worth printing, highlighting, and reflecting on (click the picture below). The National Science Foundation has put together a 117 page guide to inquiry science which you can also download for free here.

Entry 4, Documented Accomplishments, is the one entry that all NB candidates must complete regardless of certification area, and it's also one of the most widely misunderstood. This guide is enormously helpful--I wish there were one for the other entries, too! (Click the photo below).

Vanessa Levin, who runs a great early childhood site called 'Mrs. Levin's PreK Pages', completed the NBPTS process during the 2006-2007 school year and did assessing for NB during the summer of 2006. She is continually adding to her page about NB as she learns. Enjoy!

Here's another great site from Rose Marlow with mail rings for various certification areas and links to standards for various subject areas in multiple states (especially helpful when studying for the AC, but also a great starting point for planning portfolio entries).

Mrs. Renz has an awesome page with resources for Inquiry Science, which you MUST know how to implement for the EC-Gen portfolio entry 3.

Ann Bacon, a teacher in my own school district, has compiled a tremendous amount of resources--very informative.

Here are some popular resources- I haven't read them but I wanted to give you an idea of what's available to help you. If you decide to purchase them, please consider doing so through my site by clicking on one of the book photos to access Amazon.com (this is explained in more detail on the home page). A portion of the proceeds will benefit this site at no cost to you. :-)

(New for 2006)