National Board Certification

1. National Board Certification “National Board Certification is the most prestigious credential a teacher can earn. Like board-certified doctors and accountants, teachers who achieve National Board Certification have met rigorous standards through intensive study, expert evaluation, self-assessment and peer review.” - NBPTS President and CEO Joseph A. Aguerrebere 

2. National Board Certification Candace Black, NBCT 1st Annual Conference on Foreign Language Teaching Binghamton University September 28, 2013

3. Mission of the National Board The mission of the National Board is to advance student learning and achievement by establishing the definitive standards and systems for certifying accomplished educators, providing programs and advocating policies that support excellence in teaching and leading and engaging National Board Certified Teachers and leaders in that process.

4. Facts & figures • Teachers in the US: 7,200,000 • NBCTs in the US: 102,247 Which states do you think have the most NBCTs?

5. Facts & Figures

6. Facts & figures There is a column here for the 1,466 NBCTs in New York State, but it’s just too small to see!

7. Facts & Figures

8. What are the different programs available for teachers? • Take One! • National Board Certification* • Renewal of certification

9. Take One! • Allows teachers to “sample” National Board Certification and begin the path towards National Board Candidacy • Fee is $395 • Teachers complete a video portfolio entry featuring a classroom of pre-K-12 students • Can use your score one the Take One! Portfolio towards National Board Certification • Fees paid toward Take One! are credited towards National Board Certification fees

10. National Board Certification • a voluntary assessment program designed to recognize and reward great teachers that typically takes one to three years to complete • a portfolio that includes student work samples, assignments, videotapes and a thorough analysis of their classroom teaching

11. Who is eligible to apply? • To apply, you must: • Hold a bachelor’s degree • Have completed three full years of teaching in French or Spanish (although 5-7 is recommended) • Possess a valid state teaching license, or, if teaching where a license is not required, have taught in schools recognized and approved to operate by the state

12. Which certificate to pursue? The Early Adolescence through Young Adulthood/World Languages certificate* is appropriate for teachers who teach Spanish or French to students ages 11–18+ and whose functional ability in the language they teach is at an advanced level. *There was previously a certification for WLOE – Early and Middle Childhood. This is no longer a certificate for which you can apply.

13. What are the benefits? • Base salary increases for 10 years – for example: NYS public schools generally add $2,000 a year to the base salary for 10 years ($20,000) – check with your individual school district (it will be part of the union contract). • Improves professional practice through reflection • Makes you more marketable as a teacher

14. How much does it cost? • Application fee - $65 – (some unions will front this money for you) • Assessment fee - $2,500 • Other programs: • Take One! = $395 • Recertification = $1,250

15. Funding is available! • Al Shanker grant and candidate fee subsidy program for NYS teachers • November 30th = deadline to apply for grant • Covers $2,000 of the total fee • Requirements for grant: • Full-time, tenured teacher in a NYS public school holding a valid teaching certificate • Commitment to complete the entire NB application • Commitment to continue teaching in a NYS public school for at least one full school year following completion of the grant period • Additional scholarships available – see www.nbpts.org (Source: www.highered.nysed.gov/tcert/resteachers/albertshanker.htm)

16. What are the important deadlines?

17. What are the important deadlines? • September • Submit initial application & fee. You can also submit the $500 deposit (due anytime before December 31st). • You will receive “the BOX” of application materials – verify all materials. • Notify your building principal, assistant superintendent and superintendent. • Get eligibility forms signed.

18. What are the important deadlines? • October • Send home permission forms to parents of all students. • Start collecting student work from a variety of students in different classes. • Outline the order in which you will complete the entries & give yourself deadlines – decide on testing dates & schedule. • Begin practice video-taping your classes (experiment).

19. What are the important deadlines? • November • Apply for Al Shanker Grant to cover application fee • Continue working on your application according to your schedule • January • Submit balance of full fee due by the 31st. • Make an appointment from now until June 15th for the assessment. • April – June – take your assessment exercises (deadline = June 15th). • May - submit your portfolio entries by the 31st. • December 31st - results are available (electronically) from the National Board.

20. Release time • You are eligible for up to 3 days of paid release time to complete your national board application. • This can be used to complete and upload the portfolio, to study or to take the assessments.

21. Materials needed • CD from NBPTS on how to complete the portfolio • A binder with divisions for National Board documentation • 4 folders (Actual or computer folders - one for each portfolio entry)

22. For the portfolio, will you be able to: • demonstrate that your teaching practice meets the standards; • have access to a class of at least 6 students, in which 51% of the students are ages 11–18+; • submit student work samples and video recordings in a single target language; • show how you design instruction and assessment; • demonstrate your ability to build communicative and cultural competence through activities and instruction in a language-learning and culture-learning environment;

23. For the portfolio, will you be able to: • demonstrate your ability to use your knowledge of students' prior language experiences and learning styles to select instructional goals, adapt or create materials, and apply methodologies appropriate for your students; • show how you enable students to fulfill real-world tasks that are developmentally and culturally appropriate through the use of authentic materials and everyday objects; • present evidence of how you impact student learning through your work with students' families and community and through your development as a learner and as a leader/collaborator.

24. For the assessment center, will you be able to demonstrate content knowledge in: • oral proficiency • interpreting aural texts • interpreting written texts • written communication • knowledge of language acquisition • knowledge of how language works

25. The 5 Core Propositions • Teachers are committed to students and their learning. • Teachers know the subjects they teach and how to teach those subjects to students. • Teachers are responsible for managing and monitoring student learning. • Teachers think systematically about their practice and learn from experience. • Teachers are members of learning communities.

26. The 14 Standards • Knowledge of Students • Fairness • Knowledge of Language • Knowledge of Culture • Knowledge of Language Acquisition • Multiple Paths to Learning • Articulation of Curriculum and Instruction • Learning Environment • Instructional Resources • Assessment • Reflection as Professional Growth • Schools, Families, and Communities • Professional Community • Advocacy for Education in World Languages Other than English

27. The Portfolio Entries • Entry 1: Designing Instruction Over Time • Entry 2: Building Communicative and Cultural Competence • Entry 3: Engaging All Learners • Entry 4: Documented Accomplishments: Contributions to Student Learning

28. Entry 1: Designing Instruction Over Time • You will demonstrate your ability to plan, implement, and assess instruction. • You will select two students and assess their progress in the target language. You will submit responses from the two selected students to two assessments. • You will also submit a Written Commentary which analyzes and reflects upon the instructional sequence.

29. Entry 2: Building Communicative & Cultural Competence* • You will demonstrate how you build communicative and cultural competence for your students through an environment of language and culture-learning. • You will also demonstrate how you enable students to fulfill developmentally and culturally appropriate real-world tasks. • You will submit a 15-minute video recording depicting you and your students during the period of instruction. • You will also submit a Written Commentary in which you describe, analyze, and reflect upon the goals and strategies for the selected period of instruction. *Entry 2 is the entry you will do if you choose the Take One! Option.

30. Entry 3: Engaging All Learners • You will demonstrate how you use varied instructional strategies and materials to engage all students in using the target language. • You will submit a 15-minute video recording that depicts students engaged in using the target language in meaningful, interactive, and culturally appropriate tasks. • You will also submit a Written Commentary which describes, analyzes, and reflects upon the goals for the featured lesson.

31. Entry 4: Documented Accomplishments • You will illustrate your partnerships with students' families and community, and your development as a learner and collaborator with other professionals by submitting descriptions and documentation of your activities and accomplishments in those areas. • Your description must make the connection between each accomplishment and its impact on student learning.

32. Submitting the portfolio • Beginning in 2013, all candidates will need to use the Pearson ePortfolio system to upload their submissions for scoring. • The submission window is April 1st – May 31st.

33. Assessment Exercises • The assessment are composed of six exercises that examine content knowledge specified in the NBPTS standards. • Candidates are given up to 30 minutes to respond to each exercise. • There is one oral proficiency exercise and five written exercises.

34. Exercise 1: Oral Proficiency • You demonstrate the ability to speak the language with sufficient accuracy to participate effectively in most formal and informal conversations on practical, social, professional, and abstract topics. • Given 12 distinct scenarios, you respond to one aural prompt for each. The scenarios are presented in English, both aurally and in writing. • Prompts & candidate responses, both of which are in the target language, are delivered and recorded electronically at the assessment centers.

35. Exercise 2: Interpreting Aural Texts Given two aural texts in the target language, you will respond in English to four comprehension questions and one inference question pertaining to each text.

36. Exercise 3: Interpreting Written Texts • Given an excerpt from literature in the target language, you will respond in English to six questions about the text(describe the setting, characters, relationships between characters, and actions and behaviors of the characters). • You will also draw a reasonable inference from the text and support your inference with evidence from the text.

37. Exercise 4: Written Communication Given a writing prompt in the target language, you will write a draft essay in the target language in which you will demonstrate the ability to express an opinion on a professional or social topic.

38. Exercise 5: Knowledge of Language Acquisition Given 3 terms from the professional literature on language acquisition, instructional techniques, and methods and approaches, you will explain each of the 3 terms and give examples connected to the explanation from your target language and instructional level.

39. Exercise 6: Knowledge of How Language Works Given 20 errors embedded in excerpts from a variety of texts in the target language, you will correct each error and explain why it is an error. • French: Nous aimerionsquevousfinissezles devoirs avant la fin du cours. • Spanish: Nosgustaríaqueustedesterminanla tarea antes del fin de la clase.

40. Scoring • Portfolio entries 1-3 = 48% (16% each) • Portfolio entry 4 (documented accomplishments) = 12% • 6 Assessment center exercises = 40% (6.67% each) • You need a total weighted scale score of 275 or greater to be awarded National Board Certification.

41. Scoring • NBPTS automatically banksany successful portfolio entry and/or assessment exercise scores for candidates who do not earn the minimum 275 points.  • Candidates are allowed to retakeany combination of portfolio entries and/or assessment center exercises on which they did not meet the individual entry/exercise performance standard. • Retake candidates have two additional years to resubmit entries. There is a fee for each assessment that is retaken.

42. Resources • Candace_black@eastiron.monroe.edu • www.nbpts.org / 1-800-22-TEACH • Albert shanker website: www.highered.nysed.gov/tcert/resteachers/albertshanker.htm • Message boards: www.yahoogroups.com (search for NBPTS WLOE)