1. Consistent Learning Opportunities One of my main concerns regarding teaching is that there has been a great increase of information in the area of neurocognition, but that information is not always getting into the hands of the teachers and being utilized in the classroom. Every state-employed teacher should spend a portion of their summer break in school learning of new techniques, strategies, and ways to differentiate the Common Core Standards so that every student can obtain a rich learning experience.

2. Consistent Practices and Standards I do believe that there are certain practices that all teachers should use: Differentiated teaching Implementing Bloom's Taxonomy in the lesson plan Applying knowledge of child and adolescent development Considering the child's whole experience when assessing performance and understanding. While the theory of multiple intelligences has been criticized, I think it would be extremely beneficial for the students if teachers assessed the learning profiles of their students and create lesson plans that encompass as many of the intelligences as possible so that the students can receive rich instruction. Practices in lesson plan construction should also be universally used. If all teachers must implement the Backward Design Approach, then they can “think about the essential and most salient processes, elements, and ideas to choose for student understanding” (Newman, 2013). Yes, there should be a consistent standard for all teachers. In Texas, all teachers must have a certain amount of professional development hours. In addition to that, I believe that teachers should be required to learn current information in their prospective field as well as learn about the psycho-social techniques that would help reach their students. A yearly test that would encompass all of those things would be appropriate. According to the NCATE, “research indicates that teacher preparation/knowledge of teaching and learning, subject matter knowledge, experience, and the combined set of qualifications measured by teacher licensure are all leading factors in teacher effectiveness” (2013).

3. Teacher Preparedness for NETS-T Mastery I believe that the younger teachers are being prepared to master the NETS-T, but the more seasoned teachers are still struggling with entering a digital society. I think great effort must be placed in universally teaching educators about all things digital and do it in such a way that even those teachers who may be intimidated by it will be able to grasp the material.

4. Reference National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education. (2013). What makes a teacher effective? Retrieved from http://www.ncate.org/public/researchreports/teacherpreparatio nresearch/whatmakesateachereffective/tabid/361/default.aspxWhat makes a teacher effective? http://www.ncate.org/public/researchreports/teacherpreparatio nresearch/whatmakesateachereffective/tabid/361/default.aspx Newman, R. (2013). Teaching and learning in the 21st century: Connecting the dots. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.Teaching and learning in the 21st century: Connecting the dots