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Home : 2004 : November : 28

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By Susan

Hmm... this is kind of hard to answer. National Board covers so many areas. Unfortunately, one area it does NOT cover is having someone just pop in and watch you teach without warning. The things you have to turn in (in
the portfolio part), for a middle childhood certification, include:
1. Samples of student writing - showing how you take them through the writing process.
2. Video of a social studies lesson with the students in small groups
3. Video of a science lesson with the students in small groups
4. Your accomplishments as a teacher (workshops you've attended, coordinating with co-workers,

parent/teacher communication, etc...)

All of that takes many months to put together because you have to have all the documentation, but you also have to write about all of it.

The other part of the certification includes a computerized test that covers 6 subject areas. It's a timed test that covers health, the arts, social studies, reading, science, and math. Basically you're given a scenerio and tell what the problem is and how you'd handle it as a teacher.

All that said, she may be good at writing out how she SHOULD handle something, but doesn't necessarily put it into practice. I learned so much about myself and how I can be a better teacher, by going through the whole process. I cringe to think someone would teach poorly after being board certified. It was a definite learning experience for me.