The National Board Certification Workbook, Second Edition: How to Develop Your Portfolio and Prepare for the Assessment Exams

By Adrienne Mack-Kirschner

The first edition of The National Board Certification Workbook offered you top-notch preparation for the National Board certification process. Now the second edition, with 40% new material, goes even further, taking you through every step of the process, and giving you the guidance you need to achieve certification.

Adrienne Mack-Kirschner's work as a National Board support provider makes her the ideal person to advise certification candidates, and her workbook is the next-best thing to attending her workshops. In addition to the comprehensive forms, checklists, and step-by-step portfolio instructions from the first edition, she's now expanded the workbook to include more guidelines for documenting your instruction with video as well as many useful suggestions on understanding the assessment exams and succeeding on them.

Beginning with Personal Inventory Sheets keyed to the Core Propositions, right through scoring your own work, Mack-Kirschner offers numerous helpful tools, including: best-practices charts guides to videotaping your teaching and analyzing the footage graphic organizers for thinking through your practice data-collection techniques for correlation with student achievement plentiful opportunities for self-reflection and assessment updated information about the new portfolio requirements strategic advice about taking the NB assessment examinations.

The National Board has raised the standards for the profession and brought a new level of distinction to its certified teachers because it requires "clear, consistent, and convincing evidence" of meeting its demanding standards. How do you measure up? Where do you need to stretch and grow? Use The National Board Certification Workbook, Second Edition, in conjunction with The Teacher's Guide to National Board Certification and find out how to examine your teaching practices and present the evidence of your classroom excellence in a way that helps your professionalism shine brightly.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 032500787X
• ISBN13: 9780325007878
• Release Date: February 2005
• Publisher: Heinemann Educational Books
• Length: 120 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 7.9" x 11.0"
• Grade Range: Kindergarten to Grade 12

Customer Reviews

"Along with the 'apple book', the two best guides on a short list for NBPTS candidates"

Until the release of "So, You Want to Become a National Board Certified Teacher: Workbook & Evidence Manual" (the 'apple book' as it has come to be known), this was about the only serious workbook NBPTS candidates had. Now, there are two. Both offer writing samples and helpful advice. But if you need a lot of hand-holding, this book--though more expensive--has the edge. If you want more hands-on worktables and outlines, the Parks book might get the nod. It also includes a nice guide to accomplished teaching which neatly meshes with what the NBPTS expects of teachers. This book has more researched-based pedagogy. The Parks book is more lean, practical, and checklisted. Both books will be found helpful to the struggling candidate. So, You Want to Become a National Board Certified Teacher: Workbook & Evidence Manual: A Candidate's Guide to Successfully Passing the NBPTS Certification Process

National Boards

Upon completing Pre-Candidacy classes for National Boards, I realized that I needed more precise information. This book was very helpful in pointing me in the right direction for my certification.

Excellent--just be sure the information is as current as two others..."

Very helpful, but I'm not too sure how up to date the information is. Although this book has some excellent sample activities, a much more succinct (and less expensive) work is "So, You Want to Become a National Board Certified Teacher?" (2006 edition). Candidates might want to also sneak a peek at "Mentoring the NBPTS Candidate". While intended for mentors, NBPTS candidates may find some very helpful information in those pages also.

Great resource!

If you are working toward National Boards you have to have this book! I wish I would have had it when I began. The author gives sample answers to prompts and allows you to see at least what kind of information you need to be including. When I started my entries I had no idea of how to start because they give you no specific directions. This book does! It is a must have!!

National Boards

Very helpful book! I was not sure how helpful this would really be, but I was impressed. Had some sample writing that was useful. I am just sorry I didn't get this until I was almost done with the process! Wish I'd gotten it at the beginning- it would have been much more helpful.