From China to Jordan: The Journey of Two National Board Certified Teachers

From China to Jordan: The Journey of Two National Board Certified Teachers

Robin L. RiderEast Carolina University

Greenville, [email protected]

Deborah J. CorderLincoln Elementary SchoolCoshocton, [email protected]

National Board Certification

Completing the NBC process is, in itself, a powerful professional development experience that requires examining pedagogical content knowledge and reflecting on the effect of teaching methodologies on student learning and achievement.

In the United States, many experts believe that a teacher’s achievement of National Board Certification (NBC) is one of the most difficult yet highly valued accomplishments a professional teacher can attain.

National Board Certified Teachers

Teachers report that they are inundated with one-day, agenda-based workshops throughout the year, at a level in which they are subject to participation but have no real input regarding their own ideas and expertise.

In a recent study of NBC teachers, the most commonly cited professional need was professional development opportunities (O’Conner, 2003).

After attaining NBC status, there is a lack of available professional development activities that will foster the NBC teacher’s growth.

Debbie Corder, NBC Early Childhood 1998, Networking with Chinese counterpart

Robin Rider, NBC AYA Mathematics1998, assisting a teacher in the Jordan Project

Professional Development in China

China 1999The first journey of Corder and Rider involved an expedition to the People’s Republic of China in 1999. 

Eight teachers (including the authors) from around the United States were selected to study the Chinese educational system during a three-week period. 

The delegation of teachers spent eight to ten hours daily in meetings, school visits and cultural exchanges with Chinese counterparts. 

China 1999Four NBC teachers (Corder, Rider and 2 others) recognized professional excellence in each other through physical endurance and intellectual meetings. In their tenacity and willingness to climb the more difficult part of the Great Wall, they realized they were “different” from the rest of the group of teachers. This, combined with their attention to detail and professionalism during work sessions and meetings, and their willingness to complete the task at hand separated them from the rest.

The NBC teachers recognized in the professional discussions and meetings with the Chinese counterparts, that there was great value in “creating and sustaining a group in which their professional identity and interests are valued” (Lieberman & Grolnick, 1999, p 297).

Corder, Rider and two other NBC’s who traveled together to China

Debbie Corder on the Great Wall

Major Factors in the Success of the China Trip in Establishing a Network

of Teachers•Not agenda driven

•Overarching task for both the American and Chinese teachers was to learn about education in each country

•Not ordinary•NBC teachers have demonstrated that they go above and beyond the ordinary, thus their professional development needs to reach beyond the ordinary

•Ideas were valued•Each teacher brought a specialty (Elementary Ed, Secondary Math, etc.) and all ideas and expertise was valued. Teachers were treated like professionals

The Journey ContinuesOver the next six years (1999-2005), Rider and Corder continued their professional networking with each other and with other NBC teachers in domestic PD activities. From studying history in Shenandoah National Park and Harpers Ferry Virginia, lighthouses and the Wright Brothers on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, the culture of the Amish in eastern Ohio, to industry such as commercial fishing and growing cotton in the southeastern US, Rider and Corder have continued to engage in non-traditional PD which allowed them to foster their informal network and grow professionally.

Jordan 2005During a recent collaboration, the authors had the opportunity to expand their network of connections into the international education arena for a second time.  Corder and Rider, along with several other NBC teachers from the United States, worked closely together and partnered with teachers from Jordan to refine a mathematics curriculum for third world nations.

NBC Teachers Charity Cayton, Charlene McRae, and Debbie Corder working on the Jordan Curriculum Project

Distance networking was via videoconferencing

Jordan 2005From Arabic…

…to English

SME (Subject Matter Experts) edited content and flow of the lessons which were written by Jordanian teachers

Required networking with persons in business, higher education, K-12 education as well as citizens from the US and Jordan

SME’s who were NBC’s produced quality lesson editing, created stronger networking ties, and grew personally and professionally as a result of the professional development and networking

Major Factors in the Success of the Jordan Project in Establishing a

Network of Teachers•Contribution worthwhile

•Teachers (Subject Matter Experts-SME’s) felt that their contributions were meaningful

•Challenging•Working on the curriculum was challenging, both in content and pedagogy•Challenge fostered discussion and collaboration between SME’s

•Professionalism and Value•Teachers (SME’s) were treated as professionals by project staff and their opinions were valued

Key Factors for Networking PD Activities

China

Jordan

•Although the described projects were all different and have different emphases, there was ample time for teacher collaboration and discussion

•Teachers ideas were valued

•Stimulated cultural awareness both domestically and internationally

•Teachers learned ideas beyond just their subject area specialties, allowing them to grow both personally and professionally

Networking and Collaboration

One critical aspect of networking and teacher leadership is the idea of collaboration. Teachers must take risks and move from isolated classroom environments to the scrutiny of their peers. The purposeful design of professional development activities where teachers believe they are part of a collaborative group with all risk factors equal fosters the security for teachers to take this step.

Teachers Collaborating in the Jordan Project

Teachers Networking in China

Developing an Informal Collaborative Network

NBC teachers “have a sense of being part of a special group or movement” (Parker (as cited in Lieberman & Grolnick), 1977, p. 7) which is a critical component of forming a network that is organized outside of the typical school setting.

Networking as Professional Development

The formation of networks and participation in network-based activities encourages NBC teachers to collaborate with other professionals within and beyond their own school setting (Lieberman & Grolnick, 1999).

Networking, both formal and informal, has become increasingly important in helping educators have control over and self-direct their own learning.

Teachers Networking Through Professional Development Experiences

Networking With Telecommunications via the Access Grid

Suggestions for Future Research

Professional development activities of NBC teachers – Activities teachers emphasize in re-

certification portfolios• quality and types of professional development

in PPG (Plan of Professional Growth)

– Effectiveness of informal, professional networks of educators as a professional development activity

– Impact of cultural awareness activities

References• Coyle, M. (1997). Teacher leadership vs. school management:

Flatten the hierarchies. The Clearing House, 70 (5), 236–239.• Lieberman, A. & Grolnick, M. (1999). Networks and reform in

American education. In L. Darling-Hammond & G. Sykes (Eds.), Teaching as the learning profession: Handbook of policy and practice (pp 292-312). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

• National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (2001). “I am a better teacher”: What candidates say about the National

Board assessment process. Retrieved August 1, 2005, from http://www.nbpts.org/pdf/better_teacher.pdf

• National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (2005). Five core propositions. Retrieved August 1, 2005, from

http://www.nbpts.org/about/coreprops.cfm• O’Conner, K. (2003). Identifying the wants and needs of North

Carolina elementary school (grades 3 - 5) teachers for job success and satisfaction (Doctoral Dissertation, University of North Carolina, 2003).