Now, you have a quick-reference list for how the Standards connect to all four components. The last thing you need is a perspective for how heavily each of these items are weighted. At the top of each overview, add these percentages (accurate as of the 2020-2021 certification cycle; can be found in the "Scoring Guide" under "A Note about Scores and Weights"):

• C1: 40% (20% selected Response, 20% Constructed Response at 6.67% each)
• C2: 15%
• C3: 30%
• C4: 15%

These percentages will not only be helpful in strategizing about which components to take/retake (I'm not planning on writing about this), but also keeping things in perspective when you're in the thick of things. From what you just annotated in your Standards Table of Contents and percentages, you should see that:

• C1 typically measures the fewest standards, but is worth the most. This is your basic content and pedagogy knowledge, so the way I conceptualize this is you need to know your subject matter and trade before we get any deeper into the nuances of what you personally do.
• C3 has the most standards and is the second-heaviest. C3 complements C1 by providing proof that you can put your content and pedagogy knowledge into practice.
• C2 and C4 are the smallest weighted and are more specific - for World Languages, C4 happens to be the only Component that measures the standard of "Professionalism". So, while these components can get tricky with specifics (especially C4), keep in mind that that's what they're measuring - nuanced specifics in the grander context of your C1 and C3 knowledge and practice

Remember, you killed a small forest and printed single-sided for a reason! Make sure you write down anything from this blog, other resources, and your own thoughts as you go!

Are you ready or your first "Deep Dive"? Keep in mind that these dives are NOT intended to help you understand the entire component at once - you will come back multiple times to read and re-read. However, this activity will help you start to organize what specifically is expected of you so you can begin to develop your C2, C3, and C4 portfolio pieces.  I also recommend that you do this activity with ONE component at a time and take time to really sit with what you learn and process it. Write down ideas and questions, ideally on the blank page opposite the information you're referring to (if you printed everything one-sided).

This is one of the single best activities I learned during my certification process, courtesy of the Jump Start training WEA provided before the school year was underway.
​
What you'll need: For one component, make pull out the following pages so you can look at them simultaneously (you'll put them back when you're done):

• Component Overview
• Submission at a Glance
• Composing Written Commentary
• Level 4 Scoring Rubric

On the Overview, find the subheading that has the title of the Component (e.g. "Component 2: Differentiation in Instruction". There should be a one-paragraph summary of the component. Read this and highlight/annotate anything that jumps out to you.

Now, find your Submission at a Glance. This table is a quick summary that you'll come back to over and over again. Each Component has multiple items to submit, and each serves a specific purpose:

• Contextual Information Sheet - there is a specific form provided which you will use to give the reader a quick summary of your context and make sure they have any information they need to know to "see" your school and/or class on a superficial level. This is a purely descriptive item component to make sure the reader is caught up to speed with when and where this submission takes place.
• Written Commentary - This is the heart and soul of your submission. Remember, the readers don't care so much about what you do as they do why you did it and your thought processes before, during, and after to deliver accomplished teaching (time to revisit the Architecture!). 
• Other items - Virtually everything else is a supplemental item that provides evidence and, in some cases, clarification for what you are talking about in your Written commentary. Think of this like your "works cited" and appendices on a research paper - they're not really what the reader is after, but they're necessary to provide support to your paper and are useful if the reader wants to know more. Likewise, everything should be referred to in your Written Commentary, but the commentary should be able to stand on its own without the supplemental materials. In other words, look at this with the mindset of "how do they expect to know I did what I said I did?"

Hopefully you now have an idea of the intent of this component AND the process by which the readers will be scoring you. Let's talk about what they're actually scoring now.

Get out your Composing Written Commentary instructions. Lay it side-by-side with your Level 4 Rubric. Label each rubric item alphabetically so you can quickly identify which item you're talking about.  Mark key words so you can quickly descipher the "essence" of each rubric item.

Then, begin reading the questions in the written commentary. Which rubric item(s) match with that question? Label the Written Commentary question with the corresponding letters for the rubric items. Try to be as discriminatory as possible when making these connections so you can speak specifically to what the readers are trying to find out from your written commentary. Repeat this process with all of the Written Commentary questions until you have at least one rubric item connected to each question.

Once you've completed this process, it's time to make sure you've hit EVERY rubric item. Go back to the beginning of your written commentary. Review your labels next to each question and, whenever a particular rubric item is connected, make a tally next to that item on the rubric. Again, repeat for the entire written commentary.

What you should have now is a fairly thorough understanding of what the readers expect from you as an accomplished teacher. However, you may end up with a few rubric items that only got mentioned once or not at all. For each of these, carefully read through the written commentary again to identify a question or two which addresses that rubric item and add the appropriate annotations and tallies..

This process seems straightforward, and it is, but you're bound to have a full brain once you're done. Make sure to utilize the blank space on the opposite page, margins, and anything else to write down your thoughts, ideas, and questions. Don't sell yourself short on this last part - you need to sit with this information and think for a while. Hopefully, you're starting to form ideas of what you might do for this component, the concerns or confusions you may have, and be able to identify your individual next steps to showcase your skills in this area. I would love to hear your impressions and thoughts after you've done this for a component!

Woohoo! We're almost done with Part 1 of this NBCT Series of posts: Getting Familiar with the NBCT process. You have a general idea of what each component entails, a rough timeline for how to complete the components, and all of the information provided by the NBCT website. But... What exactly make someone an accomplished teacher?

Fear not! Your new handy-dandy binder(s) contains all of the questions... Sort of.

What I finally came to realize through this process is that while a traditional evaluation and certification process requires specific tasks to be met, those items are intended to ensure that you're qualified to teach and identify specific areas for improvement. That is not the goal of NBCT, however. Rather, NBCT encourages and reaffirms your accomplished professionalism.

Have you ever paused to think about what defines a "professional"? Is it the fact that they're paid for what they do, such as the difference between being a professional vs. amateur photographer? Is it their behavior, such as in the case of professional vs. un-professional attire and language? Personally, I feel the idea of a true "professional" aspires to more than that.

In my mind, a professional is a person who is not only highly skilled in the concrete  requirements outlined in their job requirements, but also has a feel for subtle, nuanced, and usually complex needs and takes necessary and effective steps to address them.

THIS is what NBCT is looking for. And the context is provided by the Architecture of Accomplished Teaching.

I recommend putting this somewhere - ideally multiple somewhere - that you'll see it often. Stick it wherever you tend to plan, think about, and reflect on your teaching. Because I'm a glutton for punishment, I set it as my computer background on both my home and work computers.

Next, get in the habit of using the following sentence frames (or something similar) to talk about your teaching - you'll be laying the groundwork for your written commentary in Components 2-4 and perhaps even your essay questions in Component 1:

• 1st - Your students: Because I (insert data-gathering activity), I know that (some relevant information about your student/students).
• 2nd - Setting appropriate goals: Because I know (insert information about student/students), I know they need to (insert appropriate goal for these students, at this time, in this setting)
• 3rd - Implement instruction: So, I (insert instructional steps taken based on 1 and 2).
• 4th - Evaluate learning: I measured the effectiveness of my instruction by (insert appropriate strategy) and observed (describe what the data said; you'll analyze inthe next question. It's important to differentiate between describing and analyzing in the Written Commentary).
• 5th - Analyze your teaching: This tells me that (What conclusions did you draw based on the data?)
• 6th - Setting appropriate goals: Go back to step 2 and repeat!

Here is your complete paragraph: Because I _______, I know that ______. Because I know _____, I know they need to ______. So, I _______. I measured the effectiveness of my instruction by _______ and observed _______. This tells met that ______. Because I know _____ I know they need to _______.

What does writing like this do? It exposes your thinking! And that's what NBCT is all about - you are a professional and there is so much going on below the surface. They want to see the rest of the iceberg!

To dive in deeper, here is a great resource about the Architecture from NBCT.

While the Architecture is consistent throughout all teaching, the Standards bring it home to your specific subject. Hopefully, what you read in your own standards isn't all that unfamiliar, though it might be expressed in a new light. Always remember, though, that they are founded upon the Architecture, so read the standards with it in mind.

To get the most out of reading your standards, I recommend having at least two highlighters available. Choose a lighter one (yellow, orange, pink) to highlight big ideas. The second highlighter, though, is the one you're really going to mileage out of: use it to highlight specific words or phrases that you can use in your own written commentary. You'll want to find these words quickly to help you express how you have met these standards in a clear, concise, and convincing (see your "4" Scoring rubrics!) way. They're handing you the language, so use it! You may even wish to take this one step further and create your own glossary/menu with these terms for to keep handy while you're writing, whether it's using the reflection paragraph above or when you're working on your actual written commentary.

So, now you know what NBCT entails AND what they expect of you. Now comes the real fun: Developing your components and creating your portfolio entries. We'll start with some "Kiddie Pool" activities specific to each component and then talk about strategies for doing "Deep Dives" to really fine-tune your work and submissions. For now, though, I'm going to eat lunch and ride a pony! Why is that relevant?

Because the #1 rule of NBCT is SELF-CARE. And trust me, from this point on, you're going to need it.

Let's talk about how to process all the information given to you to help you become an NBCT. Here's the secret:

YOU DON'T.

It's simply too much. On top of everything you're already doing for to be an amazing teacher worthy of NBCT certification, this is just too much to wrap your head around. Plus, it's intentionally vague at almost every turn (except formatting!). However, that's ok. You just have to approach this with reasonable and practical expectations for yourself, which I categorize as "Kiddie Pools" and "Deep Dives" - in either case, remember, DON'T DROWN IN PANIC!!

You're going to read each part of your components countless times. Expect it. Come to this activity with a specific intention. Most of the time, it'll be a kiddie pool - you're getting a general idea, looking for some insight you might not have had before, and seeking guidance on how to continuously correct course. These activities include:

• Tabulating your binder so you know what's in it and how to find it when you need it
• Browsing the common patterns and themes throughout NBCT
• Drawing superficial connections between the Standards and individual components (they're given to you) and marking your notebook accordingly to cross-reference these
• Coming back to this system you've built when you have a specific question so you are only​ processing that question and not getting lost in everything else

You'll only do one or two "Deep Dives" in to the Standards and each Component, and that will take place AFTER you've done the first three Kiddie Pool activities listed above. This is where you're getting down to the nitty-gritty of what exactly they are expecting of NBCT candidates to successfully certify. You will only take small, specific chunks at a strategic times (if you're referencing my 4 in 1 timeline, these are the times where I say "drill down") with the goal of identifying fine details and coming up with your specific game plan for completing that component. DO NOT try to do this all at once - you will be reading, processing, and reflecting on your practice simultaneously while parsing the text for specific information that will, inevitably, but unsatisfying vague. That's a lot of work.

Now that you have a reasonable idea of how to use and digest the information NBCT gives you, you're ready to BUILD YOUR BINDER(s)! I recommnd getting a LARGE (3" at the very least) binder to put everything in, especially as it's helpful at times to be able to quickly reference and cross-reference different components and resources. Alternatively, you could put each Component in its own 1" binder and then have a fifth binder for your General Portfolio Guidelines and your specific Standards.

Printing instructions - I HIGHLY recommend that you print these either at work (check with your district to see if they give an NBCT printing allowance as they sometimes use a separate code) or bite the bullet and print it at a print shop. If you print at home like I did, be prepared to go through 2 ink cartridges, at least: 

• First, go to Candidate Resources
• DOUBLE CHECK THAT YOU ARE PRINTING THE CURRENT YEAR'S MATERIALS!! sometimes these will be brand new; other times they may be a few years old. Read closely for any updates or tips on this. I printed the wrong year on my General Portfolio instructions and, although the information was largely the same, I couldn't ever find the pages that other people were referring to because they were different!
• Save and Read (print if you'd like) everything under "Guides & FAQ's"
• Then, Scroll down to the bottom and select your discipline. print the following resources ONE-SIDED (no color needed) and arrange them in the following order:

1. Applicable Standards document
2. Component 1
3. Component 2 (Zip file): Instructions and Scoring Rubric (PDF) (DON'T Print the Word forms as you'll only use those when you're ready to fill them out; there are already copies in the instructions)
4. Component 3 (Zip file): Instructions and Scoring Rubric (PDF) (DON'T Print the Word forms as you'll only use those when you're ready to fill them out; there are already copies in the instructions)
5. Component 4 (Zip file): Instructions and Scoring Rubric (PDF) (DON'T Print the Word forms as you'll only use those when you're ready to fill them out; there are already copies in the instructions)
6. General Portfolio Instructions (scroll back up to the "Instructions" heading)
7. Optional: Release forms for quick copying

Now, add your tabs to each section:
Standards: Add a tab at the beginning of each standard so you can flip to it quickly
Components: Each component has the same structure. Add tabs to locate what you're looking for quickly:

• Overview
• Instructions
• Written Commentary (in the Instructions section)
• Submission At A Glance
• Forms
• Rubric

General Portfolio Instructions: Most of this information is repeated in the specific instructions for each component, but are helpful to have around. However,there are a few sections you'll want to pay close attention to, so add a tab for each of these:

• Architecture of Accomplished Teaching - These are the underlying principles and processes NBCT is looking for
• Learning Portfolio-Related Terms - a glossary of commonly-used NBCT terms.
• Writing about Teaching - NBCT is looking for a particular type of writing in the commentary, so mark this to dive into deeper later.

Once you've printed and tabbed these sections, you're ready to begin diving even deeper into this process. I will be writing more specific posts for how to cross-reference your materials as well as the deeper dives to explore what NBCT is looking for. Happy printing and tabbing!

So now you have a rough idea of what National Boards entails. But where should you get started? There are a few options, and the most sane one would be to attempt two per year. But, I'm not sane and I don't keep sane company, evidently, so we went for/are going for all four in one year. This post is specifically dedicated to that timeline - Remember, this isn't necessarily THE way to do this, but it's the way that I would do it if I had to do it over again. The only mandatory first step is: Find someone who knows you and knows this process so they can help you figure out YOUR specific needs! If you don't have someone like that, reach out on any of the NBCT Facebook pages (there are general ones and discipline-specific ones) and build that relationship with an NBCT teacher, fellow candidate, or ideally both.

Well, it's midnight and I'm starving because I didn't eat dinner and I've been sitting in front of the computer for hours now. Why do I torture myself like this?

Because a good friend of mine let me know she was jumping into the NBCT waters and looking to get certified over the next year!

So, I listened to her thoughts and questions, got excited about them, and sat down to write a "short" email... I ended up copying and pasting the result from my "sent" mail to this blog to share with all of you.

As my friend is certifying in Library Media, the particular details are specific to this certification area based on a quick read of her component descriptions. Please, PLEASE, start off by visiting the Candidate Resources Page and download the standards and component instructions for your specific certification area. Double- and triple-checking the information there is mandatory, even if you're also a Library Specialist, but especially if you're not. There is a lot of overlap (after all, good teaching is good teaching), but particularly for components 2 and 3 there are details specific to each subject area (from my own cohort experience, elementary generalists and counselors have a particular doozy of requirements).

Don't worry about the forms just yet. You’ll come back to those when you're ready to begin writing about each component. Whether you're casually curious in what getting NBCT certified entails or are already committed, the goal of this first post is to give you a snapshot the whole process.
 
NOTE: I completed all four components and certified in the same year and my friend wants to give that a shot, so this is written with that timeline in mind. Be warned, though, I'm also in regular therapy now and addicted to Monster Energy Drinks. You have plenty of time to complete your certification - it's not worth killing yourself over.... This is a marathon, not a race. Do what I say, not what I do, because I'm not a marathon runner - I sprint... between bases... one at a time... after I bunt.. and then I chill in the outfield hoping nothing else comes my way (true story - my favorite softball position was as a pinch runner and I was glad  that our whole team was bad because I didn't have any pressure to be good).

Getting started: Read each of the standards. Choose ONE SPECIAL COLOR for highlighting key words that you want to use when writing your commentary in order to clearly link what you’re doing to the standards. Annotate however else you please, but you won’t regret marking the key words. You’ll come back to this for EVERY component. The more you can plug in these words to describe what you’re doing, the better off you’ll be.
 
Release forms: GET THESE ASAP FROM EVERYONE IN EVERY CLASS – that way you know who you can and can’t include, especially for your videos. I ended having to scrap a video because I got release forms after I recorded it and I couldn’t get one from 2 students. It SUCKED. I also ended up switching students for component 2 to two I didn’t even expect, but then the Written commentary simply wrote itself for those students. I’m really glad I already had their forms on hand so I didn’t have to try to get them later. The release forms in various languages are here: https://www.nbpts.org/national-board-certification/candidate-center/first-time-and-returning-candidate-resources/
 
Key items in each component (in my preferred reading order – you will read most items many times over throughout this process):

• Overview – read the short paragraph that begins with “This portfolio entry”. Don’t read further yet, though – you’ll get caught up in the details and miss the forest for the trees.
• What do I need to do? – read the paragraphs here, but DON’T read the “What do I need to submit” part yet. Too many details in one go.
• Electronic Submission at a glance – Create a bulleted/grouped checklist for each of the items under “What to submit” to wrap your head around what it is you need to create. You’ll see a pattern emerge between all the portfolio entries including: 1) Introduction to entry, 2) Instructional context sheet, 3) Something specific to that component, and 4) Written commentary. **Highlight the “additional information” section, ESPECIALLY where you need to use specific fonts/sizes, margins, releases required, and single or double spacing
• Scoring Rubric – For now, just read the Level 4 performance rubric and mark key words that jump out to you (like when you read the standards)
• Written Commentary Questions – these are in italics in each section and should give you a good idea of what to begin thinking about for each component. NOTE: For C3, you’ll also want to read the italicized questions on the instructional planning and materials form/description)

 
Component Summaries (What to worry about from February 28 during the previous year through May 1st/Submission of your current year):
 
Component 1: (40%) Don’t worry about it until after you submit the rest of the stuff. Doing the rest of the stuff will also help you prep for the details in this one. Just put it out of your mind for now, though you should absolutely do it during your first year of working on NBCT.
 
Component 2: Differentiation (15%)

• BIG QUESTION UP FRONT (journal about this): How do you already differentiate? How do you know what to do, and how do you know it worked? What do you need to improve on? Work on these for now, and mark your calendar for September/early October for when you’ll come back to this component and actually start working on it.
• When to do it: Be thinking about differentiation and different ways you do this, and then begin collecting evidence sometime in October. That way you can have a do-over if needed and write the component over Winter Break, giving you more time to focus on Components 3 and 4.
• Students: 2 students (there’s something about working with a group of students? You’ll have to read closer) with different learning needs
• Timeframe: 1 unit; 3 weeks – 3 months long
• Commentary (10 pages): What is each child’s unique needs, and how did you differentiate instruction for each of these child’s needs? Be specific!  There are things like whole-class differentiation (i.e. provide choices) as well as specific students (Because I did ….., I know Student/Group A needs… So I designed activity A to address these needs by…; Because I observed…., I know student B needs …. So I designed activity B to address these needs by…)
  • Instructional context – 1 page, 6 questions
  • Planning for instruction – 2 pages, 5 questions
  • Analysis of instruction and student work – 5 pages, 5 questions
  • Reflection – 2 pages, 4 questions
• Documentation (3 pages + form): 1 example of differentiation material
• Evidence of Learning (4 pages + forms): 4 work samples (2 “before”, 2 “after”) from each student/group of students which demonstrate effectiveness of differentiated instruction (generally something that shows what they knew at the beginning of the unit compared with what they knew at the end)

 
Component 3: (30%) Teaching Practice and Learning Environment (the videos; this is what’s MOST like a typical evaluation - they want to see how you teach)

• BIG QUESTION UP FRONT (journal about this): What variety of strategies show your best teaching? What routines and procedures do you need in order to cut down on transition and instruction-giving time in the future? What areas do you need to work on to make sure you’re consistently delivering a quality experience for all students? How do you know? How do you make decisions before, during, and after lessons?
• When to do it: Get in the habit of recording all of your classes so you can get the technology down and get the students used to the camera. Place the video camera in a location where you can see the students’ faces and it will show your face at least once every 10ish minutes (practice circulating the room! This improves your teaching and ensures you can get your face on the video). Move the camera as you teach if you need to. You don’t even need to be recording every day – just make it a habit and let the kids think you just record your class every day so that you can become a better teacher. It’s true 😉 Around December/January (hopefully you’ve finished Component 2), plan on doing some initial writing and expect to need a better recording as you gain a better understanding of what you need to show. If you’re lucky, you’ll happen to catch an excellent clip that you can write about. Otherwise, you’ll gain a clearer idea from recording/reflecting on your own teaching during the first few months that you can set up some more sure-fire ways to catch what you want to. If you’re an excellent early-bird planner, you can start recording your classes as early as the spring prior to the year you do your NBCT (after February 28 the prior year), but this can be tricky if you’re doing it before you really understand the component AND how to play the “national board” writing and evidence game. Remember, you’ll still need releases and evidence from all of this. Personally, I think it’s easier just to record during the year I’m already neck deep (underwater) in the NBCT process.
• Students: Classroom setting for 2 different instructional units; it’s wise to choose different groups of students as well. START RECORDING ASAP – you can write your commentary later. I ended up having to scrap my original videos  I can help you with tech and how to regularly record and store your videos if you want.
• Video tips (two videos with NO edits/cuts 10-15 minutes in length): Try to capture a flavor of each of your best teaching strategies. You can get a solid SIX items if you structure it this way: Catch the tail end (formative assessment) of one activity, an entire second activity, and the beginning of a 3rd activity. To do this, you’ll need to have solid routines and procedures to minimize transition times. Also, think carefully about how much verbal instruction you give to the class – they don’t want to see YOU, they want to see the kids having “a-ha” moments that you can write about in your commentary as “because I observed student C (in the red shirt) explain “[student quote]”to their partner, I know they learned... and my next steps is/was to ….” Remember, they’re NOT watching the video to analyze it – the video is just proof that what you wrote in your written commentary actually happened. They play it back on 1.5 speed with the sound off.
• Commentary (4 pages for each video, 7 questions each): Elaborate on your thought processes before, during, and after instruction. BE CAREFUL not to waste space repeating the information from the instructional planning forms and materials. These pieces should complement, not overlap, one another.
• Instructional Planning Forms and Materials ( 6 pages per video: 1 form + 2 written pages, 6 questions + 3 pages of materials) : This one is more detailed than the others – for each video, you get a form, 2 pages to describe the lesson you planned, 3 pages for instructional materials you used

 
Component 4: (15%) Effective and reflective practitioner

• Note: This one is a beast because it’s very disjointed. It’s best to think about it as separate items that can be but don’t have to be related; I think going for something related has a huge benefit because it’s fewer separate things to think about AND you can structure your entries to support one another, thus capitalizing on limited space.
• The major items
  • Knowledge of students – How you gathered information about one complete group of students you work with (can be a whole class or can be a specific group that you work with separately, including after-school groups) from 2 or more appropriate sources.
  • Generation and Use of Assessment data – from the same class/group, show you use appropriate summative and formative assessments to inform instruction and contribute to students’ learning
  • Participation in learning communities – Identify a student need and a professional need and then participate in professional learning, advocacy, or collaboration that addresses that need and impacts students (make sure you have a way to measure this impact!)
• BIG QUESTION UP FRONT (journal about this): What are the current needs in your setting? How do you know? Have you, your school, or your district identified any areas for improvement? What can you do to address this in your particular role? What can you do to grow professionally in this area? Who could you collaborate with to better serve students in this area? How would you know whether or not your actions were effective? What is the smallest meaningful measure of growth to demonstrate effectiveness? - This last one is important. You could plan a comprehensive, year-long curriculum and realize at the end of it you have no idea where you began and ended or that you missed something critical and it was all for nothing, at least as far as your portfolio submission goes. However, you could choose just one objective or unit to demonstrate growth and use pre- and post-data, surveys, feedback from stakeholders.... Anything that is a valid form of measurement and indicates that you are on your way to addressing the need. Here's a tip, though: Don't leave your data up to interpretation. Yes, of course you'll have to interpret your data, but your data should be clear, concise, and consistent in supporting your conclusions. Qualitative is great. My PHD dissertation and upcoming journal publication were 100% qualitative. So was my C4, but I didn't get the score I expected despite putting the most time and effort into this component, and my feedback indicated that my evidence was lacking. If you don't have evidence, your interpretations and claims mean nothing. Thus, my advice is that, when in doubt, it's a really, really good idea to include at least one crystal clear quantitative measure.
• When to do it: All evidence of impacts must come from the current year. However, evidence of student needs and/or professional needs can come from previous years – up to 24 months before the registration deadline (February 28). So, if you’re submitting in 2021, you could use data/information from February 28, 2019 and later to document the need as well as any actions you have taken to grow, advocate, or collaborate since then. Keep in mind, though, the results have to be from the current year. Thus, it’s helpful to identify the need before the school year even starts and then plan your collaborative activities, PLCs, and CEUs around that need during your submission year. Have a plan in mind for how you will document your participation in these activities and its effect on students. Do you need to plan for a standardized assessment? Get permission to pilot a course or curriculum? Control groups? Surveys? Putting together a presentation for staff, district, or other professional development activity? How will working with other professionals have an impact on students, and how can you document that impact? All of these questions will determine your timeline, but since there are so many cogs in this machine (and you don’t know what your end result will be), I recommend coming up with your game plan BEFORE the year starts, monitoring and adjusting throughout the year, and collecting your final evidence of impact (at least for the work done up to that point) by sometime in February/March. Then, you’ll write up your Component 4 during Spring Break/early April. That gives you plenty of time to have people read all of your components (especially if you finished them by the above timeline), read others’ components, get and give feedback, put any final touches on yours, and upload them prior to May 1 (don’t wait until the last minute!).
• Students: 1) For the knowledge of students and assessment data, you’ll select ONE complete class or group of students. Because you won’t be submitting individual student work and all data will be blind or aggregate, you don’t have to worry about getting every single student’s permission, but you should if you can. You will need permission forms for the students whose specific work you include (3 different students). 2) For the student and professional need, this can be for a specific group of students, whole class, whole department, whole school, or whole district need.
• Knowledge of Students (4 pages): Group information and profile form (2 pages simply explaining what the evaluators are looking at) and evidence of gathering information from at least 2 sources (this shows the data you gathered from at least 2 sources)
• Generation and Use of Assessment Data - Instructional Context Form (1) AND:
  • Formative assessment materials (9 pages): Formative assessment form (2) + Formative assessment (2) + Formative Assessment data (2) + Examples of 3 students’ use of self assessment (3)
  • Summative assessment materials (5 pages): Summative assessment form (1) + summative assessment (2) + Data/Results for the group/class (2)
• Participation in Learning Communities:
  • Professional learning need (3 pages): Professional learning need form (1) + evidence of meeting professional learning need AND impact of actions on student learning (2)
  • Student learning need (3 pages): Student need form (1) + evidence of student need AND evidence of collaboration AND evidence of collaboration on those the plan was intended to benefit
• Written commentary (12 pages)
  • Knowledge of Students – 2 pages, 4 questions
  • Generation and use of assessment data – 5 pages, 7 questions
  • Participation in learning communities – 2 pages, 2 questions
  • Reflection – 3 pages, 4 questions

 
OK, that’s it for your “intro to your national boards” lesson 😉 Let me know in the comments or via email (jbaros@globalinguae.com) if you have any questions or thoughts. I'd love to hear from you! Until next time!

PS - stay home, stay healthy, and let the creative juices flow