riley - Carol..where are you in NB process
riley - I teach TMD students in NC
Jo - Are you both new candidates?
riley - Yes I am a new candidate
Jo - What are you working on now? Have any burning questions?
Carol - All of this is new to me, but I have been working on entry 4 and I am also trying to formulate entries 2 and 3. I began videotaping in my classroom yesterday. That is a lot more difficult than I had thought. I'm glad that I'm at least getting the camera rolling so we can all get used to it. Where are you in the process? This is my first year and I am a new candidate. I'm a resource teacher at the elementary level. I teach SLD students.
Jo - I am an NC
Jo - I am an NBCT in exceptional needs is what I meant to type!
Jo - Videotaping is hard. I just set up the camera and let it run for about a month!
Jo - My kids paid no attention to it when I taped the lessons I finally used.
riley - I am taking a prep class-so I am still trying to figure out what to do. I am studying standards trying to read portfolio directions. Port. due Mar.15th
Jo - The changes in due dates adds to the crunch. It took me so long to figure out where to start everything. Remember we have all been where you are now.
Jo - Start saving student work. You never know what you may decide to use.
Carol - Jo, I am so glad that you are here tonight, as I'm sure you can offer a lot of good advice. I do have a question. How do I ensure fairness, equity, and access for my targeted student and others in the class? What exactly do they mean by access?
Jo - My best advice is to find one other candidate who can bounce ideas with you and keep you moving forward.
wizzlewolf - Hi all!
Jo - The fairness, etc refers to how you level the playing field..... teaching to strengths, maybe making modifications for testing, classroom accommodations of some type . Access refers (as I interpret it) as access to the general curriculum.
riley - I have been saving everything...We had a scout cookout the other day...I took pictures...there were lots of kid ECP students from other schools We had alot of parents there...do I need releases for adults and students?
Carol - Wizzlewolf, where are you in the process? Paula, I'm glad you're back. You had logged in earlier.
Jo - Anything you use, you need a form/release on file
wizzlewolf - Riley, YES. You need a release for EVERYBODY in any of your videos/pics.
wizzlewolf - Carol, I am already a NBCT.
Jo - I had people walk in the background of my videotaping to go to a special next door and got releases.
wizzlewolf - Jo, that is what you need to do
riley - wizzlewolf and jo...where can I find samples of written commentaries/ENS
Jo - I don't think you will find examples.
wizzlewolf - Do you mean examples of entries?
Jo - The only sample entries I ever saw were OLD and not Exceptional Needs. I am not sure samples would be helpful. You just need to dive into the questions once you decide what aspect of your teaching and which student to use for an entry.
riley - yes! NBCT teachers bring copies to our class but they aren't ENS teachers
Jo - Their portfolios won't help but WILL lead you astray.
Jo - The only common entry is 4
Jo - What are you wondering about, riley?
wizzlewolf - There are no examples anywhere that I know of. NB doesn't like the idea of candidates seeing "examples".
riley - I just wanted an idea.. I keep hearing about verbage and buzz words
Jo - Don't worry about that. Write what you do and answer the questions fully and you will have covered what you need to.
wizzlewolf - Are you a member of the EX. Needs Listserv? They have talked about buzz words many times in the past.
Jo - I wrote all my entries and then searched for buzz words and inserted a few. Guess what?? It does not matter when you are scored. The accessors are trained to look for the evidence in your entry.
riley - I would also like to get an idea about what other TMD teachers are using for entry4
Jo - The Yahoo group is GREAT support if you are not a member....... join.
Carol - I am in a mentoring group with two ENS, NBCTs. I had asked to look at their entries, but they don't want to sway my thinking in any particular way. My take on this is that I make my own interpretations and go from there. Some of the questions to address in the entries seem so broad, that it's difficult to know how to begin.
wizzlewolf - Riley, are you on the EX. NEEDS listserv? You would be able to hook up with other TMD teachers there.
Jo - entry 4 is scored differently and not totally specific to your population so any other Ex Needs person is someone you could brainstorm with.
riley - I am not but please tell me how to get there
Jo - Carol, you just start and then ask someone to read it and see if they think you addressed the question. Once you do it yourself, you will be so much more confident about what you are doing. Reading someone else's entry would seem to make sense but it really does not help.
wizzlewolf - OK, just a minute, I will get the address to join.
Jo - What states are you in riley and Carol?
wizzlewolf - http://groups.yahoo.com/group/exceptional-needs/
wizzlewolf - Riley, go to that webpage and click "JOIN THIS GROUP" in the upper right corner of the page.
Jo - Caution that if you select the e-mail messages you will get a TON. I read the stuff on the webpage instead.
riley - Thank you very much for the address and the warning
wizzlewolf - Some people like getting all the emails. The digest will give you all the emails of one day in one email to you. It is your choice.
wizzlewolf - The problem with reading from the webpage is it is not immediate. The mail helps you to keep going.
Carol - Jo, I am in Mississippi. I have joined the exceptional needs yahoo group and prefer the digest with the e-mails all in one message.
Jo - Carol, I know a couple of NBCT's in Mississippi....... where in the state are you located?
riley - I teach TMD at a high school in NC
Jo - riley, you should have a lot of support available I would think. There are a lot of NBCT's in NC
Jo - There are many candidate on the yahoo group from NC also.
riley - that is good news
wizzlewolf - Carol and Riley, there are quite a few good links about NB at my website. You are welcome to use them.
wizzlewolf - http://www.wizzlewolf.com/nbc.html
Jo - Wizzlewolf's site is fantastic!
wizzlewolf - Ahh, Jo, thank you, but I need to get it updated. All the links are good, but I want to add more!
riley - you are famous! My teacher said something about wizzlewolf ..is that you?
Jo - You certainly have more links than any other site I have found...... don't be too modest!
wizzlewolf - I had to "house clean" the site last month and took out the deadwood.
wizzlewolf - Of course, I am wizzlewolf! There is no other!
Carol - I'm in Meridian, MS. I am very fortunate to work directly with 2 NBCT's in the exceptional needs area. They have been very helpful. They are really encouraging me to get busy with my writing. I've begun my documentation for entry 4, but writing for my entries 2 and 3 is going much slower. I haven't finalized which students I plan to highlight, so it's difficult to write when I'm not sure which students I will select. Did you and Wizzlewolf have this problem, as well? Wizzlewolf, I knew that I'd heard about your website! I attended the World Class Teaching Program and your website was given to us. I plan to visit regularly. I have already selected info and printed it out for reference. It's a great website.
riley - I am impressed and will share this w/ my class on Tues.
wizzlewolf - Remember that teachers in other subject areas can be of great help too. They may not be able to help with specific entries, but they can help with ideas and are great entry readers.
Jo - Carol, getting started is the hardest thing to do. I decided on a student and a subject and then started videotaping which led me to those two entries. Kind of the back door of decision making!
Jo - If you give someone outside your field the questions and your entry they can immediately tell you if you addressed the question. That is true..... using NBCT's not in Ex Needs for help works well in that way. It is the looking at portfolios that won't help. I remember as a candidate wanting desperately to see someone's work...... never did and now I know it wouldn't have helped with my topic and my student.
wizzlewolf - Jo is right. Looking at other portfolios can be more of a hinderance than a help.
Jo - What did help me most as a candidate was other candidates. Brainstorming responses to questions helped give me ideas of what to use, especially for entry 4.
Jo - I would think;;;;;; I do that! Never thought of using it!
riley - well...there is a tropical storm passing through NC and I have had a few beers..good luck Carol... Wizzlewolf and Jo...thank-you so much...Hope we can talk again..I respect what you have accomplished. Good night...
Jo - Good luck to you! I have got to go.
wizzlewolf - I have to go too. Bye all and GREAT GOOD LUCK!
Carol - Thanks for your input, everyone!
