2. Mapping the territory: Advanced Standards for Teaching Lawrence Ingvarson Research Director: Teaching and Learning Program

3. The meaning of “standard” Two facets: 1.Standards as emblems or rallying points 2.Standards as exemplars or measures

4. The meaning of teaching standards Two facets: What we value in teaching What teachers should know and be able to do to promote quality learning opportunities

5. What should teachers get better at? Teaching standards embody the professional values that teachers develop over time Experience Professional learning

6. What should teachers get better at? Deeper understanding of content from the learner’s point of view Deeper knowledge, awareness of students as individuals Capacity to provide useful feedback Learning how to let your authority “go” and promote independent thinking and learning Ability to make assessment a vehicle for student learning Effective professional learning = Long-term, personal quest

7. ASTA Standard 6. Highly accomplished teachers of science engage students in scientific inquiry Highly accomplished teachers of science actively involve students in a wide range of scientific investigations.... They both teach and model practices that allow their students to approach knowledge and experiences critically, recognise problems, ask questions and pose solutions. Their teaching reflects both the excitement and challenge of scientific endeavour and its distinctive rigour....

8. Standards as measures: Three essential components 1. What is to be measured (what is accomplished teaching)? 2. How will it be measured (what evidence is valid/relevant?) 3. What counts as meeting the standard?

9. Components of a set of standards What to measure How to measure How to score What teachers should know and be able to do Tasks or exercises that provide evidence of a teachers’ practice and thinking Evaluation criteria to identify accomplished/ non-accomplished teachers

10. What to measure Subject- matter knowledge Fundamental ideas in science Epistemology of science Knowledge of topics/ concepts/ skills in the area (e.g., physics, biology) Pedagogical content knowledge Recognition of aspects of the content that will be likely to pose the greatest difficulties for students Anticipation of persistent preconceptions, misconceptions, or difficulties that are likely to inhibit learning Master of different techniques that are adapted to students’ background and abilities Knowledge of students Knowing who their students are - prior beliefs, needs, attitudes, second language, etc. Continue to expand the understanding of their students throughout the year Understand the students’ differences in social and cultural backgrounds Knowledge of classroom teaching and management Creating routines for recurring classroom activities Use of tools of explanations (e.g., examples, analogies) Keep the class going - pacing - time (e.g., avoiding classroom inertia) Affective Conception of general aims of education and their ground Conception of their role in the teaching- learning process Views about individual differences and styles of learning

11. National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) Mission : To establish high and rigorous standards for what accomplished teachers should know and be able to do, to develop and operate a national voluntary system to assess and certify teachers who meet these standards

12. Principles underpinning the NBPTS standards : Teachers are committed to their 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 active members of learning communities

13. NBPTS: Questions for Standards Committees 1. What makes your teaching field unique from other fields? 2. What are major issues of your field – past, present and future? 3. Describe features of accomplished teaching in your field? 4. Describe the different contexts in which teachers in your field work. How do these contexts affect their approach? 5. How do accomplished teachers in your field address issues of - diversity? ESL? Technology?

14. An example of NBPTS standards structure: High School Science Domain 4: Supporting teaching and learning Assessment Family and community outreach Contributing to the profession Reflective practice Domain 3: Advancing student learning Science inquiry Expanding fundamental understandings Contexts of science Domain 1: Preparing the way for productive student learning Understanding students Knowledge of science Instructional Resources Domain 2: Establishing a favorable context for learning Engagement Learning environment Equitable participation

16. Characteristics of “well written” standards Neither too general nor overly prescriptive Rest on sound research and wisdom of practice Tied to a clear/comprehensive vision of the goals of education for students Focus on critical and observable aspects of accomplished practice

17. ASTA National Science Standards Guidelines for Consultation Feedback 1.Coherence 2.Validity 3.Difficulty 4.Language/Clarity 5.Assessability 6.Professional development 7.Non-Prescriptive 8.Context Independent

18. National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Assessment Structure: Portfolio (four tasks) Assessment Centre (six tasks)

19. Middle Childhood/Generalist (Age Range: Students 7-12) Exercise 1: Supporting Reading Skills Teachers will demonstrate their ability to analyse and interpret student errors and patterns of errors in reading. Teachers will be asked to analyse and interpret a transcript of a given student's oral reading of a given passage. Teachers will also be asked to identify and justify appropriate strategies to address the identified student's needs.

20. National Board for Professional Teaching Standards Portfolio : 4 Entries 3 Classroom Exercises 1 based on samples of student work 2 based on videotapes of classroom practices 1 based on documented accomplishments outside the classroom Contributions to profession and school community

21. Criteria for valid assessment of accomplished practice Assessment tasks must : allow for the variety of forms sound practice takes, sample the range of ways teachers know their content, and provide appropriate contexts for assessments of teaching knowledge and skill. The most valid teacher assessment processes engage candidates in the activities of teaching - activities that require the display and use of teaching knowledge and skill and that allow teachers the opportunity to explain and justify their actions.

22. Examples of portfolio entries for primary teachers 1. Provide evidence of a unit of work, with student writing samples, in which you have developed student’s writing ability over time 2. Provide evidence, through a videotape, written commentary, and student work samples, of how you have help build students’ mathematical understanding

23. ASTA entry: Teaching a major idea in science over time Knowledge of students Knowledge of science Ability to plan for effective learning Ability to engage students in a sequence of learning activities Ability to assess student progress and provide helpful feedback Ability to reflect insightfully on effectiveness of their teaching

24. The Idea of a Standards-Guided Professional Learning System Main components: Profession-defined standards that describe effective teaching and provide goals for professional development over the long term An infrastructure for professional learning that enables teachers to gain the knowledge and skill embodied in the standards A voluntary system of professional certification based on valid evidence that the standards have been attained Career paths that provide incentives and recognition for teachers who gain certification

25. A Standards Guided Professional Learning System

27. Salary Evidence of Professional Development Registration Accomplished Highly Accomplished Emerging Career Structure Knowledge and skill-based salary Professional certification

28. Professional Certification - an endorsement a professional body gives to a member who has attained a specified set of performance standards It is: available to all members of the profession based on assessment of performance; it is not an academic qualification Portable and belongs to the person (not a job or position or classification specific to a school or employer)

29. Ministerial/Managerial accountability/leadership Professional accountability/leadership Quality assurance in teaching and school leadership

30. Ministerial/Managerial responsibility Professional responsibility Teacher educationInduction QualificationRegistration Quality assurance in teaching Performance Management Selection Professional certification Continuing professional development

31. Teachers’ views of the NBPTS certification process (Sample: 10,000 teachers 2001) the certification process had made them better teachers (92%),  was an effective professional development experience (96%),  equipped them to create better curricula (89%),  improved their ability to evaluate student learning (89%),  enhanced their interaction with students (82%), parents (82%) and colleagues (80%).

32. “The National Board Certification process was by far the best professional development I have been involved in. I did not realise how much I still needed to learn about impacting student learning. I learned so much through hours of analysing and reflecting.” “I gained valuable insight of myself as a teacher. The process helped me to assess my teaching abilities as no administrator could have. Most importantly, my students benefit from my self-improvement.” “Working with other teachers in my school who were also working on certification was rewarding” “It was the hardest thing I have ever done and it is something I am so glad that I tried. I am immensely proud of the work I turned in – even if I did not make the needed grade. It has made me a better teacher and colleague.”

33. Why should teachers get involved in developing their own standards-guided professional learning system? To demonstrate professional credentials To gain more control over PD system To engage most teacher in effective PD To place more value on good teaching To provide credible recognition to teachers who attain high standards of practice To provide quality assurance functions that employers and schools can not provide

34. Trends in the development of teaching standards 1. They are developed by teachers themselves 2. They aim to capture substantive knowledge about teaching and learning – what teachers really need to know and be able to do to promote learning of important subject matter. 3. They are performance-based. They describe what teachers should know and be able to do rather than listing courses that teachers should take 4. They conceive of teachers’ work as the application of expertise and values to non-routine tasks. Assessment strategies need to be capable of capturing teachers’ reasoned judgements and what they actually do in authentic teaching situations. 5. Assessment of performance in the light of teaching standards is becoming a primary tool for on-going professional learning

35. Teachers and the NBPTS Teachers form the majority of the Board of Directors Teachers form the majority of NBPTS standards committees. Teachers work on the NBPTS staff. Teachers have staff positions with NBPTS contractors. Teachers score assessment exercises and set performance standards

36. Good teaching does not come through imposed requirements but through the individual teachers’ commitment to high professional standards. The important changes needed in teaching are those that teachers must make for themselves. They are not changes that governments can mandate or unions can achieve through their industrial activities. (The way) to revitalize teaching is to make it possible for teachers to draw on the deep well of their own professionalism. (Ramsey, 2000, p 7)

37. It’s your profession