The daily grind of eight school hours inevitably leads to the establishment of routine. Students quickly become accustomed to their stagnant surroundings, so when video cameras started popping up in classrooms recently, they attracted a lot of attention.
The cameras are being used by teachers to film themselves during class as part of a one- to three-year process that 15 teachers in the district are going through called National Board Certification. The video is but one component of the route to certification, which also consists of a written portfolio that includes analysis and reflection, examination and submission of student work, and documented accomplishments that prove professional growth.
Completion of the certification process results in only having to be recertified every 10 years, as opposed to the usual 5 years, and a nationally-certified teacher is certified to teach in every state. The district also offers monetary aid, which includes helping pay for the fees incurred while going through the process, as well as an annual stipend for any teacher who completes it. The district also awards a plaque to any teacher who becomes nationally certified.
Associate Superintendant Dr. Al Fleming explained the District Administration’s role in the introduction of the new program.
“We encourage professional development such as working on a master’s degree, doctorate, extra course work, professional travel or educational projects among several other options approved by the district. There is financial incentive to do so since a teacher’s salary is based on their education as well as their experience,” he said.
The administration has been promoting the Certification process because of its newness as well as its challenging nature to all teachers. Fleming also mentioned the value of the reflection portion of the program in aiding a teacher’s growth, which in turn benefits both the students and the district by making the faculty better teachers.
English teacher Brian Twadell was National Board Certified in 2006 in English Language Arts for the Adolescent/Young Adult age group and now leads (with English Department Supervisor Paul Reiff, who is also certified) the teacher cohort of those currently being certified. The cohort system is advantageous to those going through the process because of the mutual support teachers can give each other.
Twadell described the certification requirements as “the most rigorous process [he's] gone through, even more so than grad school” and recalled his personal portfolio being more than 200 typed pages. He is excited about having 15 teachers participating instead of the 4 or 5 he and Reiff were initially expecting. Twadell has experience with one-on-one mentoring but said this is his first time leading an entire group.
The District had been negotiating with teachers in recent years concerning the organization of a cohort. Social Studies teacher Dennis Duffy participated in the negotiations and is also currently working on becoming certified. He described the process as “a snapshot of where [he is] as a teacher” and said, “I’m really getting a lot out of the reflection part of the process, but it’s tough because it’s really hard to be brutally honest with yourself.”
Duffy estimated he is about 30% done overall, and although his videotaping is generally finished, he still has 50-60 pages of analysis to write. He recommended the process as a “means by which a teacher can assess their own ability to teach by an independent, outside organization.”
Science teacher Matt Leone shared many of the opinions of Duffy.
“I think it would be a good idea for a teacher to videotape themselves from time to time just to be able to see themselves teach,” he said.
Leone was also pleased with his students’ cooperation, but noticed that they also tended to get “a little bit camera shy.”
Sophomore Graham Crawford is a student in one of the classes Leone filmed and recalls that “the class didn’t seem to act any differently and neither did Mr. Leone. It was just like any other day in class.”
Twadell plans to continue to lead teachers through the certification process in coming years in hopes of significantly increasing the number of National Board Certified teachers in the district.
Photo courtesy of Brian Twadell