Learning to be a teacher - the journey from school to classroom » Thinking about Teaching

Educational Videos – Great New Site, Explore.org

admin — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 08:21:53 +0000

Sam and Zach just pointed me in the direction of a great website that has a ton of Educational Videos on it. The site is called explore.org and is worthwhile checking out. They have a ton of videos, including a section dedicated to Africa Videos, Costa Rica Videos and more!

Check it out. Here is a video about Gorillas from the explore.org site:

Book Recommendation for First Year Teachers

Beth — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 21:13:04 +0000

My First Year as a Teacher by Pearl Rock Kane (Editor)

My First Year as a Teacher is a great compilation of twenty-five teacher’s stories about different things that happened during their first-year of teaching. These stories reveal all the wonderful and difficult things that happen to teachers when dealing with a variety of different types of students.

As a new teacher I found this book to be an invaluable one to read before I begin my first teaching job. It reminded and reassured me that I am not alone as I embark on this new experience. Many have come before me and many will come after, but it’s hearing other amazing teachers stories that invigorates us to be the best teachers we can be for our students.

What is the CBEST?

Beth — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 19:07:02 +0000

The CBEST stand for the California Basic Educational Skills Test and is one of the tests you need to take to become a teacher in the state of California.

The CBEST consists of three sections: reading, mathematics, and writing.

The Reading Section contains 50 multiple choice questions and is assessing your ability to understand information that is presented to you in written passages, tables, and graphs. There is no outside knowledge required for this portion of the test, all of the questions are based of the passages and can be answered with the information read.

The Mathematics Section contains 50 multiple choice questions as well. Most questions are presented as word problems and they come from three major skill areas: estimation, measurement, and statistical principals.

The Writing Section contains two essay topics and assesses your ability to write effectively. You are expected to answer both questions.

Here is the link the CBEST website for more specific questions.

http://www.cbest.nesinc.com/index.asp

In my personal opinion this test is fairly simple. I did get a study guide and found it helpful in order to effectively review the material that would appear on the test. Below are two study guides that I think are the best to help prepare for the CBEST. Hope this helps!

Great Books for New Teachers!

Beth — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 00:09:05 +0000

As I find books that I think will be interesting or useful for new or veteran teachers I will share them here. I am always on the look out for good books that will help me along the way as I become a new teacher so if anyone else has any great books please share with us!

First Book Recommendation…

Inside Mrs. B.’s Classroom : Courage, Hope, and Learning on Chicago’s South Side by Leslie Baldacci.

This true story follows the tales of Mrs. B as she makes a huge career change and leaves her job at the Chicago Sun-Times to join a “Teach for America” like program in urban Chicago. Mrs. Baldacci is given a teaching position at a challenging public school and is given little to no training before entering the classroom.

The book documents her first two years of teaching and the trials, tribulations, and triumphs she experiences in the classroom. As a new teacher who will soon be working at a low-income urban school that probably faces some of the same challenges as the school described in the book I was inspired by her tales and her courageous outlook on teaching. I highly recommend this book to a new teacher, a veteran teacher or anyone interested in the teaching profession!

APLE- Assumption Program of Loans for Education (What is APLE?)

Beth — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 04:16:46 +0000

APLE is a teacher incentive program created to encourage people to become teachers in California (yes, unfortunately this program is only for people who want to teach in California). This program specifically helps teachers who work in subject areas where there is a critical teacher shortage or a school that meets certain criteria establish by the Superintendent of Public Instruction.

If you want to be eligible to receive money from APLE you must agree to teach in one of the following teacher shortage areas for FOUR years:

Mathematics (Grades 7-12)

Science (Life/Physical) (Grade 7-12)

Foreign Language

Education Specialist Instruction

Business (Grades 7-12)

Agriculture (Grade 7-12)

Reading

Low Income Area Schools

Schools Serving Rural Area

State Special School

School with a High Percentage of Emergency Permit Teachers

Low Performing School

Music

There are of course other requirements and logistical information in order to be accepted into the APLE program and receive loan reimbursements. It is a great program and I do know people who are currently in the program and receiving money towards their student loans.

Here is the link to their website where you can find out more information on specifics. If you are currently in a credentialing program you should also talk with your school advisor who can help you figure out the steps you need to take to apply to the program.

http://www.csac.ca.gov/doc.asp?id=111

Thinking about becoming a teacher?

Beth — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 22:25:06 +0000

A good place to start is to check out your own states website on how to become a certified/credentialed/license (different states use different terminology) teacher. Since I live in California and have my California Multiple Subjects Teacher Credential much of the information I will talk about will be geared towards that but all states will have similar requirements that a candidate must meet in order to become a teacher. I put together this list of links to all 50 states websites on their own requirements for becoming a teacher.

These sites are a good place to begin your own adventure to becoming a teacher.

Alabama- Teacher Education and Certification Website

http://www.alsde.edu/html/sections/section_detail.asp?section=66&footer=sections

Alaska- Teacher Certification Website

http://www.eed.state.ak.us/TEACHERCERTIFICATION/

Arizona- Teacher Certification Website

http://www.azed.gov/Certification/

Arkansas- Teacher Licensing Website

http://arkansased.org/

California – Teacher Credentialing Website

http://www.ctc.ca.gov/

Colorado- Educators Licensing Website

http://www.cde.state.co.us/index_license.htm

Connecticut- Teacher Certification Website

http://www.sde.ct.gov/sde/site/default.asp

Delaware- Teacher Credentialing Website

https://deeds.doe.k12.de.us/default.aspx

Florida- Educator Certification Website

http://www.fldoe.org/edcert/

Georgia- Educator Certification Website

http://www.gapsc.com/

Hawaii- Educators Licensing Website

http://www.htsb.org/

Idaho- Teacher Certification Website

http://www.sde.idaho.gov/site/teacher_certification/

Illinois- Educator Certification Website

http://www.isbe.state.il.us/certification/Default.htm

Indiana- Educators Licensing Website

http://www.doe.in.gov/dps/

Iowa- Educators Licensing Website

http://www.iowa.gov/boee/

Kansas- Educators Licensing Website

http://www.ksde.org/Default.aspx?tabid=111

Kentucky- Teacher Certification Website

http://www.kyepsb.net/certification/

Louisiana- Teacher Certification Website

http://www.doe.state.la.us/Lde/tsac/home.html

Maine- Teacher Certification Website

http://www.maine.gov/education/cert/

Maryland- Teacher Certification Website

http://www.marylandpublicschools.org/msde/divisions/certification/certification_branch/

Massachusetts- Educators Licensing Website

http://www.doe.mass.edu/educators/e_license.html

Michigan- Teacher Certification Website

http://www.michigan.gov/mde/0,1607,7-140-6530_5683_14795—,00.html

Minnesota- Educators Licensing Website

http://education.state.mn.us/MDE/Teacher_Support/Educator_Licensing/index.html

Mississippi- Educators Licensing Website

http://www.mde.k12.ms.us/ed_licensure/

Missouri- Teacher Certification Website

http://dese.mo.gov/divteachqual/teachcert/

Montana- Educators Licensing Website

http://www.opi.state.mt.us/cert/

Nebraska- Teacher Certification Website

http://www.nde.state.ne.us/tcert/

Nevada- Educators Licensing Website

http://nvteachers.doe.nv.gov/

New Hampshire- Teacher Credentialing Website

http://www.ed.state.nh.us/education/beED.htm

New Jersey- Educators Licensing and Credentialing Website

http://www.state.nj.us/education/educators/license/

New Mexico- Educators Licensing Website

http://www.ped.state.nm.us/licensure/

New York- Teachers Certification Website

http://www.highered.nysed.gov/tcert/certificate/

North Carolina- Educators Licensing Website

http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/licensure/

North Dakota- Educators Licensing Website

http://www.nd.gov/espb/

Ohio- Educators Licensing Website

http://www.ode.state.oh.us/GD/Templates/Pages/ODE/ODEPrimary.aspx?page=2&TopicRelationID=513

Oklahoma- Teacher Certification Website

http://sde.state.ok.us/teacher/ProfStand/default.html

Oregon- Educators Licensing Website

http://www.tspc.state.or.us/

Pennsylvania- Teacher Certification Website

http://www.teaching.state.pa.us/teaching/site/default.asp

Rhode Island- Teacher Certification Website

http://www.ride.ri.gov/educatorquality/certification/

South Carolina- Teacher Certification Website

http://www.scteachers.org/

South Dakota- Teacher Certification Website

http://doe.sd.gov/oatq/

Tennessee- Educators Licensing Website

http://www.tennessee.gov/education/lic/

Texas- Teacher Certification Website

http://www.sbec.state.tx.us/SBECOnline/default.asp

Utah- Educators Licensing Website

http://www.schools.utah.gov/cert/

Vermont- Educators Licensing Website

http://www.education.vermont.gov/new/html/maincert.html

Virginia- Educators Licensing Website

http://www.doe.virginia.gov/VDOE/newvdoe/teached.html

Washington- Teacher Certification Website

http://www.k12.wa.us/certification/

West Virginia- Teacher Certification Website

http://wvde.state.wv.us/certification/

Wisconsin- Educators Licensing Website

http://dpi.wi.gov/tepdl/licguide.html

Wyoming- Educators Licensing Website

http://ptsb.state.wy.us/

What tests do you need to pass in order to become an elementary teacher in California?

Beth — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 05:45:11 +0000

To become a Multiple Subjects Teacher (a teacher who can teach in a self-contained classroom as a classroom in most elementary schools- usually K-5) in California there are three different tests that one is required to take and pass. I will go into deeper explanation of each test in individual posts but the three tests are the CBEST, the CSET, and the RICA.

What is a Charter School?

Beth — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 05:29:36 +0000

Before I began this whole process I didn’t know much about Charter schools so I figured others might not know either and would interested in learning more about them.

Charter schools are similar to public elementary or secondary schools in the United States but they do have some differences. Charter schools do receive public money but are often freed from some of the public schools rules, regulations, and statutes. In exchange for this freedom Charter schools are often held more accountable for producing certain results.

Charter schools do not charge tuition but do require parents to apply in order to have their children accepted and attend these schools. Often space can be limited at Charter schools and these schools will usually use a lottery based system for admissions.

There are Charter schools that provide a curriculum that focuses on a specific field such as arts or mathematics while others attempt to offer a better and more efficient general education then the public schools in that area.