1. The resources for this candidate support has been created and provided by CERRA utilizing materials from the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards. No materials or resources may be used for profit by an individual or an organization. Additionally, all facilitators should adhere to the ethical guidelines for supporting candidates found at 1

2. National Board Cohort
Meeting Three

3. Please sit in certificate similar groups.
Housekeeping
Make sure you signed in.
Please sit in certificate similar groups.
Burning questions from the homework?
5 minutes: Allow for participants to ask any questions that are on their minds regarding their homework. If possible, encourage answers to emerge from their colleagues in the room rather than from you. 3

4. How will I know what to write?
Essential Questions
How will I know what to write?
What types of writing are used in the National Board process?
How can I think more strategically about my work and my students’ work so that I can write more effectively?
How can I better understand what is being asked of me?
2 minutes. Briefly go over the essential questions that will guide the session.

5. Planning for Component Four5

6. Let’s Review the Component 4 Instructions
Overview
Portfolio Instructions
Scoring Rubric
10 minutes: Ask the participants to locate their certificate-specific instructions for Component 4 and to follow along as you describe each section.
The overview provides a summary of the work that will completed and the standards that will be assessed by this component. Candidates should be sure to review the standards and base their work on these explanations and descriptions of accomplished practice. For example, candidates should review any standards related to assessment before selecting the assessments to include in Component 4.
The portfolio instruction section provides candidates with the specific information they will need in order to complete the required work. This section includes suggestions for planning their portfolio entry and selecting appropriate evidence of their teaching practice; explanations about how to format, assemble, and submit their entry; and the questions that must be answered in the written commentary. Walk the candidates through each section and ask them to point out important information. Be sure to talk about the “What to Include in Your Written Commentary” section and ensure that candidates understand that the italicized questions are what they must answer in their written commentary. Point out the “Electronic Submission at a Glance” and explain that we will be using this document to prepare their entry for submission. Finally, explain that National Board includes a copy of the forms that must be submitted (forms are separate from the commentary) within the instructions and also as stand-alone documents in the Component 4 file on the National Board website. We will talk about the forms in more detail later.
Explain that National Board provides component specific rubrics and that these resources are also included in the component instructions. We will focus on the rubrics in another meeting. 6

7. Planning for Component Four
Gather information from a VARIETY of sources about a group of students
Use assessments to effectively plan for AND positively impact student learning
Provide evidence of your collaboration with families and caregivers, the community, and colleagues AND of your contributions to learning communities to advance students’ learning and growth
5 minutes: Go over the key points of component four.
In this component, you should do more than show knowledge of students. You should HOW YOU BUILD knowledge of students. 7

8. Some Parts of Component 4 Must Go Together
ALL FROM THIS SCHOOL YEAR
Contextual Information-school info this year Group Info and Profile- data, observational data, at least two sources from families, colleagues, and others who have worked with students. Instructional Context- Unit description taught to group in profile, from which assessments were taken. Formative assessments-three student self-reflections, linking Group Profile, Instr. Context Summative Assessment- effectively measure student learning, aligns with all above
5 minutes: Go over the parts of this component that must go together. Be sure to stress that the information for these aspects of the component must come from this school year. 8

9. Some Parts of Component 4 Can Go Together or Can Be Separate
Professional Learning Need Based on a student need from this year or up to two years before. Your learning must have been this year or last year. Demonstrate the impact on student learning. Provide evidence of how you met this need.
Student Need
Students from this year or last year. You provided advocacy, collaboration, and or leadership AND it impacted student learning. Doesn’t have to be the student need described in Professional Learning Need.
5 minutes: Go over the parts of this component that can either go together or be separate. 9

10. A Word of Caution
Be sure you look at page 4 in the “General Portfolio Instructions” to understand what can be the same and what must be different between C2, C3, and C4.
Same unit, different lessons: C2, one video from C3, C4
You cannot use the same student work samples even if from a different year or a different student.
3 minutes: Review the information on the slide.
The information below was taken from the “General Portfolio Instructions”.
“Variety of evidence. The evidence submitted for Component 2 and Component 4
and one of the two video recordings submitted for Component 3 may be from the
same unit of instruction, but must be from different lessons that have unique lesson
goals and objectives—even if all evidence is drawn from a single instructional setting.
Likewise, any assessments and/or examples of student work submitted for
Component 2 must be different from those submitted for Component 4. “ 10

11. What are your thoughts about Component 4?
15 minutes: Remind the participants that they were asked to read the Component 4 instructions and to begin outlining their ideas for this component. Give the participants a chance to share their ideas with their certificate-specific group. Remember, candidates must select their own work; facilitators cannot make this decision for them. 11

12. Three Types of Writing for National Board
Description
Analytical
Reflective
What happened?
Who?
What?
How, why, in what way?
So what?
How would you handle this situation in the future? Now what?
Describe: Verb;
To explain
Analyze: Verb;
To break down
Reflect: Verb;
To demonstrate
Describe on forms
Analyze and reflect in commentaries
Synonyms: convey, make clear, illustrate
Synonyms: determine, dissect, evaluate
Synonyms: reason, contemplate, speculate
8 minutes: Review the three types of writing that National Board recognizes. Remind them that these are all verbs, and that National Board wants to know what the teacher does and what the students do. Explain that they will most often use descriptive writing on forms such as the instructional context sheet but will need to include analysis and reflection in their written commentaries. While the synonyms are not the focus, it may be helpful for them to see other words so that they don’t focus on just the name of the type of writing but rather on what is expected. You may find the information below from “Writing About Teaching” helpful in guiding your explanation.
From “Writing About Teaching”
The certificate-specific “Portfolio Instructions” and “Scoring Rubric” for each component requires you to describe, analyze, and reflect on your teaching practice. This process involves these practices:
 describing what happened in an instructional situation  analyzing the “how,” “why,” or “in what way” a particular lesson was or was not successful in teaching students  reflecting on how you would handle this same situation in the future
These skills inform your evaluation of your own work—an evaluation that provides insight for National Board assessors into not only what is happening in your instructional setting, but the rationale for those events and processes. You make these evaluations in analyses that you submit with each component.
Thinking analytically about teaching is a complex process that benefits from both practice and teaching experience. Since writing about one’s own work is not a daily part of teaching, some teachers may have little experience with description, analysis, or reflection. Systematic and probing questions about “why” and “how” are key when analyzing and beginning to reflect on your practice.
National Board provides examples of each type of writing in the “General Portfolio Instructions.” 11

13. Descriptive Writing
tells what happened in your classroom; portrays a sequence or procedure or process
sets the scene of the work
is logically ordered and detailed
is used when the prompts use verbs such as “state,” “list,” “describe,” or start with “what” or “who”
5 minutes: Go over the four characteristics of descriptive writing. Remind the participants that their writing is the only way the assessors can “see” their classroom and their students. They will not fill in missing blanks. It is important for the candidates to paint the picture without any missing details.
Resource for candidates: “Writing About Teaching”
which is found in the “General Portfolio Guidelines” (p.16) 13

14. Descriptive Writing
Your response should
contain accurate and precise enumeration and/or explanation of critical features.
provide clear and logical ordering of the elements or features of the event, person, concept, or strategy described.
include all features or elements that an outsider (assessor) would need to be able to see as you see.
5 minutes: Go over the characteristics of descriptive writing responses. This information comes from “Writing About Teaching.” You may want to remind them that this is a valuable resource for them to help them adhere to the expectations. 14

15. Descriptive Writing
Describing Instructional Context
Describing the Planning for Instruction
Describe what you knew BEFORE you planned and taught this lesson or unit
Your students: who; how old; prerequisite skills; choices including materials and methods that were made based on students and personality of class
Your goal is to convince the assessor that you know the following: Your students, the content, and all variables that may affect student achievement.
Instructional context: time of day, available resources, length of class, class size and configuration
Make sure your choices are logical and academically grounded.
Key words:. “For these students” “at this time”
8 minutes: Facilitators should cover each of the key points presented in the slide. Stress to participants that they cannot have the same instructional context for each of the entries because they will be describing what they did to plan for THIS instruction. Have the participants point out connections to the 5 Core Propositions and the AAT.
Key words: What influenced your (planning, choices, etc.) for THIS instruction
Caution: You will not have the same instructional context for each entry.
Source: Dr. Clara Carroll
Harding University, 2009 15

16. Analytical Writing provides reasons, motives, and interpretation
is grounded in evidence (materials that you submit)
portrays insight when you are asked to identify a particularly successful moment in a sample of teaching and to tell why you regard it as successful
shows your thought process
answers “how,” “why,” or “in what way(s)”
includes a rationale, logic, examination of the parts that create the whole
5 minutes: Facilitators should discuss each of the characteristics of analytical writing. Be sure to make the connection that their writing must be grounded in the documentation they are submitting (student work, for example). Be sure to focus on the differences between describing what happened in a lesson to analyzing what happened using the key points from the slide. 16

17. Analytical Writing
how your activities furthered student learning (or not)
how you probed students to think
how you addressed misunderstandings
why you did what you did and how well the students understood the lesson
Do you have a logical flow within and between ALL parts of your practice?
Will your assessor feel that your choices are logical and academically well grounded?
5 minutes: Review these key points about analytical writing. 17
Source: Dr. Clara Carroll
Harding University, 2009

18. Reflective Writing Demonstrates how you make decisions
shows how you use what you have learned to inform and improve future practice
Demonstrates how you make decisions
Portrays your self-analysis and retrospective consideration
Includes your thought process after teaching (meditation and contemplation)
5 minutes: Review the characteristics of reflective writing. 18

19. Reflective Writing
Must be logically drawn from what you have presented
what you learned about the students
what you learned about the curriculum
what you learned about yourself
what you plan to do with this new insight
what evidence do you have to support your conclusions
how will you do some parts differently
what results will you expect with intended changes
5 minutes: Review the characteristics of reflective writing. 19

20. Analytical and Reflective Writing
You must provide the following:
your interpretations of what happened during the lesson and its results
your conclusions about what should come next
specific evidence and/or examples that support your analysis and conclusions, making your points clearly to the assessors
These writings overlap but are not identical.
Meet these criteria:
The subject of the analysis is available to the reader (e.g., student work samples).
The focus of the writing is not on what (which is descriptive) but rather on why (which is both analytical and reflective).
5 minutes: Review the information on the slide. 20

21. Overall Recommendations About Writing for National Board
Connect your classroom practices to student achievement.
The assessor should NOT be surprised by decisions, recommendations, and conclusions you make about students, curriculum, and yourself.
Be clear!
Be consistent!
Be convincing!
5 minutes: Review the information on the slide.
And be logical! 21

22. Writing for Component Four
Connect information.
DESCRIBE on forms.
ANALYZE/REFLECT on Written Commentary
KNOWLEDGE OF STUDENTS
DESCRIBE: Group Information and Profile Form
ANALYZE/REFLECT: Commentary
Be sure you follow the instructions regarding what to include in the written commentary. Commentary section 1: Knowledge of Students, p. 11
4 minutes: For each of these slides, the white font is what they need to look at in the component instructions to better understand what they need to include. The blue text is the type of writing they will engage in and where it will be recorded. During the meeting, go over the information on the slides and encourage them to explore the component instructions on their own. They should already be familiar with them. 22

23. Writing for Component Four
Connect information.
DESCRIBE on forms.
ANALYZE/REFLECT on Written Commentary
GENERATION AND USE OF ASSESSMENT DATA
DESCRIBE: Instructional Context Form DESCRIBE: Formative & Summative
Generation and Use of Assessment Data Assessment Form
ANALYZE/REFLECT: Commentary Generation and Use of Assessment Data
Commentary section 2: Generation and ANALYZE/REFLECT: Commentary
Use of Assessment Data Commentary section 2: Generation and
Use of Assessment Data
4 minutes: For each of these slides, the white font is what they need to look at in the component instructions to better understand what they need to include. The blue text is the type of writing they will engage in and where it will be recorded. During the meeting, go over the information on the slides and encourage them to explore the component instructions on their own. They should already be familiar with them. 23

24. Writing for Component Four
Connect information.
DESCRIBE on forms.
ANALYZE/REFLECT on Written Commentary
Participation in Learning Communities
DESCRIBE: Description of Professional DESCRIBE: Description of Student Need Form
Match instructions on pp. 9-10; Part. in Participation in Learning Communities
Learning Communities ANALYZE/REFLECT: Commentary
ANALYZE/REFLECT: Commentary Commentary section 3: Participation in
Match Instructions p. 12 Commentary Learning Communities
Section 3: Part. In Learning Communities
4 minutes: For each of these slides, the white font is what they need to look at in the component instructions to better understand what they need to include. The blue text is the type of writing they will engage in and where it will be recorded. During the meeting, go over the information on the slides and encourage them to explore the component instructions on their own. They should already be familiar with them. 24

25. Unpacking the Prompts
Look at the prompts below, which were taken from the Early Childhood Generalist Component 4 Portfolio Instructions. Which types of writing are required? What would you need to include?
What and who were the sources for the information that you gathered? What guided you in selecting those particular sources of information? Why were those sources appropriate for the information you were collecting and the selected group of children? How did you determine the relative importance of the different kinds of information you gathered?
7 minutes: Unpack the prompt and answer the questions in blue as a whole group. 25

26. Forms, Forms, and More Forms!
15 minutes: Recognize the fact that Component 4 requires candidates to submit numerous forms. National Board, in the “General Portfolio Instructions” states “Remember that the only information available to National Board assessors is what you provide in these portfolio components—your video recordings, student work samples, instructional materials, completed forms, and Written Commentaries. Regardless of the strength of the evidence you present in the portfolio components, your analysis of your featured teaching is a crucial element conveyed by your Written Commentaries and completed forms. You must demonstrate to assessors that you have appropriately described, analyzed, and reflected on your teaching practice and have used this analysis appropriately to guide your teaching.”
Explain that we will spend some time reviewing the “Contextual Information Sheet,” “Group Information and Profile Form,” and the “Instructional Context Form.” Ask the participants to locate the “Contextual Information Sheet” and to review the prompts. Explain that prompt #1 is asking about the school as a whole while prompt #2 is focused on you as a teacher. Work with the candidates to brainstorm information that may be important to include in the response to prompt #3. For example, candidates will want to describe any district or state mandates related to pacing or the required use of specific texts.
Ask the participants to locate the “Group Information and Profile Form.” Review the instructions and ask the participants to identify the type(s) of writing that will be used to respond to the prompts. Engage the candidates in a discussion about how the “Knowledge of Student” standard should inform their collection of data.
Ask the participants to locate the “Instructional Context Form” and to review the prompts. Instruct the participants to talk with their table group about how the National Board Standards should inform their responses.
Candidates will be making an initial attempt at these forms as a part of their homework.
The information below was taken directly from the “General Portfolio Instructions.”
“Forms. All forms required for submitting materials are available as word-processing files that you can download from or as scannable pages in the certificate-specific Portfolio Instructions and Scoring Rubric for each component. Follow these guidelines when using the forms for submission:  Do not delete or alter any original text (including the header, footer, title, directions, and prompts) to gain more space to write your responses. Both the original text and your responses are included in the total page count allowed. Pages exceeding the maximum will not be scored.  Submit your forms as Microsoft Word, Open Office, or PDF files.  If you scan completed forms as graphic files, insert them into word-processing files for submission.
Using Forms to Organize and Describe Your Evidence All forms required for submitting materials are designed to help you ensure consistent organization of your portfolio and gather important information. You may complete these forms in two ways depending on the content of the form:  For forms that require descriptions or explanations of evidence, you must download the word-processing files available at fill them out electronically, and then upload the electronic file or scanned image with the associated evidence to the electronic portfolio management system. OR  For forms that do not require descriptions or explanations of evidence and that are used solely to identify submitted evidence, you may print out the forms from the Portfolio Instructions and Scoring Rubric, fill them out by hand, scan the completed forms with the associated evidence, and then upload the electronic file to the electronic portfolio management system. Important: When using a form to submit evidence, do not delete or alter any original text on the form (including the header, footer, title, directions, and prompts) to gain more space to write your responses. Both the original text and your responses are included in the total page count indicated on the form. Pages exceeding the maximum will not be scored.” 26

27. Homework, Preparation, and Advice
Homework and Preparation: Before the next meeting, you need to complete the following: Component 4 Contextual Information Sheet Group Information and Profile Form Instructional Context Form Review the Component 4 Scoring Guide Advice: You are starting the writing process. It is important that you find a way of organizing your electronic files just as you do your printed files. Keep every draft of your work as you will make many revisions throughout the process and may want to come back to an earlier draft. If you have not set standing days/times during the week to work on National Board, make sure you add these appointments to your calendar and to routine. 27