Professional Development Through National Board Certification
Jessica Turner Shearer, Nationally Board Certified Music Educator, EAYA
As we carve our professional path within the field of music education, many opportunities seem standard - an initial degree, a masters degree, for some a sixth year certificate or PhD. There is another option now available to music educators who are looking for something outside of the traditional academic classroom. The National Board Certification Program began in 1994, but it wasn’t until 2002 that National Board Certification became available to music educators. Currently, there are over 91,000 NBCTs nation-wide, with one hundred and thirty-sixNBCTs in the State of Connecticut. Music educators, however, are underrepresented in this group of accomplished educators. Music educators can choose one of two certificates: Early and Middle Childhood/Music or Early Adolescence through Young Adulthood Music. In both certificate areas candidates are asked to indicate a performance perspective: band, orchestra, or vocal. The certificate does not replace state teacher certification, but supplements it. It is valid for ten years and can be renewed.
National Board Certification is based on five core propositions. (See box.) These five core propositions are the basis for evaluating teacher performance on the different components of the National Board Certification Process. National Board Certification is based upon a series of performance-based assessments that involve students’ work, videotapes of classroom teaching, and analysis of one’s teaching. Also included in the evaluation process is documentation of work outside of the classroom with colleagues, parents, in thecommunity and in the profession. This makes up the four portfolio based assessments of the National Board Certification process. In addition, there is a written assessment comprised of six thirty minute prompts to evaluate teachers’ knowledge of subject matter given at an approved test center. These assessment center prompts address diagnostic skills, historical repertoire, applied theory, instructional strategies, world music and curricular application. There are eight standards that each applicant is measured against. They include: knowledge ofstudents, knowledge of and skills in music, planning and implementing assessment, facilitating music learning, learning environments, valuing diversity, collaboration, and reflection, professional growth, and professional contributions.(From the NBPTS website:
What does it take to achieve National Board Certification? Candidates must have a baccalaureate degree from an accredited institution, completed three years of successful teaching, and hold a valid state teaching license. Next,there is a $2,500 application fee. Contact the Connecticut State Department of Education to inquire about available financial assistance. In addition, many school districts across the state offer financial incentives to teachers who pursue National Board Certification. Special loans are also available for NEA and AFT members and the National Board also offers a scholarship program for teachers. For more information, visit the National Board website.
The next element to consider is time. The process can take anywhere between 200-400 hours of time over the course of one to three years. Support is available to teachers who wish to pursue National Board Certification through an organization known as the Connecticut Initiative which matches candidates with mentors who have already achieved NBC in their subject area in Connecticut.
Why take on this challenge? The easy answer is to direct you to the list of school districts in Connecticut that offer financial incentive. More importantly, however, is that the process of National Board Certification will be one of the most rewarding professional development endeavors that you undertake. Under “No Child Left Behind,” National Board Certified teachers are considered to be “highly qualified.” Three semesters of graduate credit are available to teachers who complete the process and an additional three semesters of graduate credit is available to those who achieve certification. In Connecticut, you can receive CEU credit as well. The most significant answer to the question of “why” is that the process of pursuing National Board Certification is a rewarding and worthwhile pursuit that leads to improved teaching and students learning in the music classroom.
From my own personal experience, the process of National Board Certification challenges you to evaluate your effectiveness as a teacher. You will be asked to go beyond the concert performance in evaluating your success as an educator and look at the learning process itself. The portfolio assessments asked me to demonstrate many things in a short video clips.
The first entry on Planning involved outlining a unit from beginning to end within the performance classroom. The second entry, Delivering Instruction asked for a sequential, well paced lesson demonstrating a variety of skills from classroom management, to demonstrating knowledge of my students, to planning, pacing, and an understanding of musical skill development. The third entry, Demonstrating and Developing Musicianship, required me to video a lesson that clearly showed me using my musicianship as an instructional tool. All of these are things thatmusic educators do every day. The process of demonstrating these things in a fifteen minute video tape really challenges you to make the most of every minute we spend in the classroom. The final portfolio, Documented Accomplishments: Contributions to Student Learning, asked me to look at my sense of professionalism, how I interact with colleagues, parents, students, and the community, and what it is that I do to challenge myself and improve as an educator year after year. In each of these portfolio assessments, I was asked to address each of the standards and to evaluate and reflect upon the lessons taught. The challenge was not in coming up with a perfect response, but in looking critically at what I was doing in the classroom and finding ways to improve.
In each of these portfolios, it is only natural to pull the best lessons you have in your repertoire; those really teachable pieces of literature. In doing so, and through the analysis and reflection portion of my written commentary on these lessons, I was forced to consider the results of what would happen if I taught all my lessons with the same careful consideration and planning that I did for these video taped segments. Somewhere in the process of this year-long application, I began to incorporate more and more of those ‘best practices’ we read in journals into my daily lessons and make time for those great ideas we always say there is not time for. In the end, I brought much more to my students.
The completion of the portfolio assessments asked me to synthesize concepts and strategies from both my undergraduate and graduate experiences and use them in real-life teaching situations. In the process of reflecting on my teaching, I became a better teacher. The tasks presented through National Board Certification demand that you as a teacher consider the entire process of teaching music to students, not just the outcome. Most importantly for me, it was a professional development opportunity that required me to assess and develop both my musical skills and by teaching skills.
If you are interested in learning more about National Board Certification, please visit the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards website at < This site can give you information including portfolio prompts, application information, and information on deadlines.
Jessica Turner Shearer received National Board Certification in the fall of 2003 in Early Adolescence/Young Adult Music with a focus in band. She holds both a Bachelors and Masters degree in music education from CaseWestern ReserveUniversity in Cleveland, Ohio. Ms. Shearer currently teaches instrumental music, music technology, and guitar at Joseph A. Foran High School in Milford, CT.