Adopt a Reflective Practice through National Board Certification
By Robyn Howton
At year 14 of my teaching career, I moved from teaching at a rural, Midwest school to an urban East Coast school. I had earned my Master’s Degree in Curriculum and Instruction plus gone back to earn a second one in Educational Leadership when I became a certified administrator. My plan was to teach a couple of years then pursue an administrative position after making the move from Missouri to Delaware. Instead, I became a National Board Certified Teacher (NBCT) and decided to lead from the classroom. The certification process provided me with the tools I needed to be a reflective educator always seeking ways to better meet my students’ needs and to confidently engage in district, state, and national education initiatives and policy development to create a stronger education system for all students.
The process of certifying with the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards can take multiple years and involves deep reflection on evidence and videos of the entire teaching process from planning to delivering the lesson to a class. Additionally, a standardized test is given to assess the candidate’s overall content knowledge. Earning a National Board Certification was the most meaningful professional development of my career. It made me a better teacher because it taught me to never stop reflecting and making changes to how and what I teach based on those reflections.
After teaching a lesson, I have always made notes about what to do differently the next time I taught that lesson. The National Board Certification process taught me to look not only at my lesson and materials and make notes for the next year but to consider how I could make the next set of lessons better for the group of students in my class this year based on what I learned.
During my certification process, I was provided a mentor NBCT within my district to be my sounding board and give me advice. The collaboration with peers also included being a part of a state-wide cohort that met several times over the course of my certification process. I became a better teacher as I worked with my mentor and the group because I was able to learn from effective teachers who took different approaches and used different strategies with students. Each time we met, my expertise grew because of the shared wealth of knowledge.
Receiving my National Board Certification was rigorous and at times pushed me out of my comfort zone. The Five Core Propositions helped me clarify the qualities and knowledge I was striving to develop in my early career through undergraduate and graduate coursework. The process of reflection required to write the entries for the certification portfolio showed me where I was successful in implementing the best practices I knew effective teachers used as well as where I needed to make improvements.
When I opened the email in November of 2007 and saw the famous fireworks indicating I was a newly minted National Board Certified Teacher, I felt a leap of joy that I shared with my class. I thought it was the “end” of the process, but soon discovered it was only the beginning. I had changed as a teacher. I continued to be reflective and think about not only my individual lessons but my other roles within my school community with the analytical process I used to create my certification portfolio entries. I sought out opportunities to collaborate and serve on curriculum development committees and work groups at the building and state level. I was more confident in my knowledge, my practice, and my ability to contribute to education outside of my classroom.
In the 10 years of my original certification, I decided to stay in the classroom instead of going into administration. I worked to take on teacher-leader roles that would provide me the opportunity for contributing to the success of education at all levels. I got involved by serving state level work-groups on curriculum development and educational policy. I applied to fellowships with various educational groups at both the state and national level (including Hope Street Group) to provide classroom teacher voice in education reform discussions.
In 2016 I was once again pushed to take a critical look at my pedagogy and practice when I completed the re-certification process. This revealed that I had truly internalized the reflective practices I first developed during my initial certification process, and my confidence in my expertise as a NBCT had led me to a variety of leadership roles.
Improving educational outcomes for students is most directly impacted by the quality of the teachers in our classrooms. If we want to have a more effective educational system that provides all students with an opportunity achieve their academic potential, we must provide teachers with the opportunity to learn from the latest research and collaborate with their colleagues on best practices. We should look to classroom teachers to be the experts as we seek to reform our current educational system. Teachers who have achieved National Board Certification are ready to provide leadership from their classrooms at the local, state, and national level. Congratulations to all of the newest members of #TeamNBCT!
Robyn Howton, National Board Certified Teacher, is the English Department Chair and AVID Coordinator at Mount Pleasant High School in the Brandywine School District in Wilmington, Delaware. Having served as a 2015–2017 Hope Street Group National Teacher Fellow, conducting research and leading local action projects related to teacher preparation, she now represents her NTF cohort and her state on the Teacher Advisory Council. Follow Robyn on Twitter via @RobynHowton.
