National Board Certification...Whew!



For those of you that follow this blog, you may have noticed a long break in my blog entries. This is because I have decided to take on the challenge this school year to pursue my National Board Certification. I had been told that this process would be a lot of hard work and encourage me to reflect on my teaching.
It most certainly has been a lot of hard work. For those of you unfamiliar with the process, it consists of four pieces of writing, two videos and an assessment. The entries are due in mid-May so now that it is almost April, the pressure is on to get everything done on time. I feel like I had a good start and began work right away. I enjoy writing and for the most part am not struggling too badly with that. Although despite getting a good head start, there seems like there is still so much to do. My biggest concern with the writing is that I’ve worked so hard and want to pass so badly that I’m obsessing about what “they” want me to say. The part that has been most difficult for me so far has been the videotaping. It has been surprisingly difficult to take a 15 minute snapshot of my classroom that is evidence of all of the things that I do with students every day. In addition, technical troubles seem to be following Murphy’s Law and anything that can go wrong - has.
The National Board process is certainly a reflective process. I have always thought that I did reflect quite a bit on my teaching. I observe the results of my lesson plans and tweak them where needed. I try to extend lessons toward higher level learning opportunities wherever I can. I diversify lessons when needed. This process includes all those things but also has me justify why I do these things and I have to prove it with evidence.  Wow, what a process. When I come out on the other side of all this will I have become a better teacher? I think, perhaps. I will definitely know how to explain what I do, how I do it and why I do it.

Are you currently working on achieving your National Board Certification? Are you getting the support you need through this process? Are you feeling overwhelmed? Are you already a NBCT? Do you have any advice? Please comment.

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