Pathway to National

Board Certificatio

n

Charlotte Mecklenburg

Schools 2014-2015

What Do I Need to Know toAchieve National Board

Certification?• National Board operates on

Guiding Principles of Teaching.

• Those principles are found in the 5 Core Propositions and the Teaching Standards.

5 Core Propositions

• Proposition 1: Teachers are committed to students and their learning.

• Proposition 2: Teachers know the subjects they teach and how to teach those subjects.

• Proposition 3: Teachers are responsible for managing and monitoring student learning.

• Proposition 4: Teachers think systematically about their practice and learn from experience.

• Proposition 5: Teachers are members of learning communities.

First step in the Pathway

Internalize the 5 Core Propositions and how those ideals manifest themselves in your teaching practice.

Time to Get Started!!• Become familiar with the NB

website.• Decide what certificate area

is the best match for your teaching career.

• Be sure to look at Component 1 before selecting your certification area.

Next step:•Go to

www.boardcertifiedteachers.org and pay the $75.00 Processing Fee. NBPTS will then put you on

their email list and you will receive all updates from NB as soon as

they become available.

Do not go any further until you have read and

studied the Standards that are

listed for the Component 2 in

your area of certification.

Overview• Read over your portfolio

directions entirely.• Focus on “What I Need to Do?”• Think about the type of lesson

that would be the “best fit” for this Component.

• Think about what students you want to include.

National Board Helix

When you are considering how to proceed, National Board has

a representation of it’s philosophy in the form of a helix. Go to the helix and

discuss as a small group how your entries will incorporate the ideals represented in the helix in planning and writing your

portfolio.

Some absolutes to keep in mind on this

pathway:

• Look carefully at the format specifications. You MUST follow them.

• Focus on the stated purpose of the Component explicitly.

Continuing on the Pathway…..

• First you must make the critical decisions about the lesson/unit to highlight and students to include, keeping in mind the helix model.

• Next, you must decide how to proceed with the Written Commentary to best display the requirements of the Component.

Helpful Hints for Writing

• Remember NB is looking for clear, concise and convincing evidence. Organize your commentary with optimum clarity in mind.

• Decide on the best writing style that clearly explains your lesson/unit.

• Pay close attention to the page limits.

Guiding QuestionsYou are given guiding questions to ensure that all of the rubric items are included in your Written Commentary. You may choose to answer questions consecutively or explain your lesson in narrative form. Do not lose sight of CLEAR, CONCISE, and CONVINCING. Choose the style that allows you to meet these criteria.

More Helpful Hints• Carefully re-read the

Instructional Documents portion of your directions. Ensure that the documents you chose to include meet the criteria.

• Though spelling/grammar are not directly assessed, NEVER complete a Component without having it proofread/reviewed.

Helpful Hints (cont.)Review your written

commentary carefully to ensure that statements that

are political, religious, or state opinions or beliefs that

could take away from the focus of your commentary

are removed from the writing.

Reflection• Important piece of your

commentary.• Don’t be afraid to discuss

things you would like to improve about your lesson.

• Remember, if you stated goals, this is a good time to discuss whether they were met or not and why.

Before you reach the end of this pathway…..

• Remember, CMS offers you support as you proceed. Use the facilitated groups, expert staff and reviewers.

• Celebrate your progress as you go through this process!

• JUMP IN!!!