sample essay questions for teacher certification

About Your Study Plan

This Study Plan comprises the full spectrum of materials and resources available to a candidate. We encourage you to use the recommended resources to target preparation to your needs and goals.

There will be hyperlinks throughout this document. Please make sure that you visit the relevant pages to access all of the resources.

Your commitment to great teaching begins here. Your efforts will not only help you pass the test, but will also prepare you to become a successful teacher.

How to study:

The American Board is committed to making sure you are the best possible teacher. We will provide you with study tips to get ready for the exam and both the content and resources to review this material. It is your job to commit to preparing and stay dedicated while studying.

Think of the Snapshot below as an overview for what you need to know. For more detail in each topic, review the exam standards ( http://www.American Board.org/drupal/teach/teaching-standards ) . The American Board exams are based on this blueprint, so consider this a syllabus for what you want to study.

About This Exam

The American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence believes that highly skilled teachers should possess a comprehensive body of knowledge that is research-based and promotes student achievement. The Professional Teaching Knowledge exam is designed to assess a new teacher’s knowledge of teaching-related criteria. Such knowledge is typically obtained in undergraduate preparation in areas such as human development, classroom management, instructional design and delivery techniques, assessment, and other professional preparation. This exam also contains a writing component that will evaluate a candidate’s ability to write to audiences they will most likely address as a teacher: parents, colleagues, and/or school administrators.

The American Board’s Standards Stepwise Method

The right way to get started: using the Standards as your syllabus The Standards are your study lifeline; you can find them on your Account page under Courses > Review PTK Course. Throughout the course of your study, you will learn all of them. How to begin? Here is the American Board’s Standards Stepwise method:

• Approach in bite-sized chunks: don’t be overwhelmed or paralyzed by how many standards there are, simply pick a topic of a domain and get started.
• Define the terms: take the first three items in the topic and make sure you know all the terms. Look up any you are do not recognize. After all, you cannot answer a question definitively if you don’t even know the terms.
• Use the appropriate recommended resources to probe deeper if you need better understanding. Use the Standards to target the sections you need to read.
• Check for understanding and reflect: think about how you would use this in a classroom or how you would teach the subject. Use your quizzes to check for understanding and move on.
• Wash, rinse, and repeat: once you finish a chunk of three, go back and attack the next three.

Have a Plan

It is important to have a plan of attack to study. Block out set times to study and if you slip and miss a session, restart your plan instead of letting yourself get paralyzed and procrastinate.

PTK Study Areas Broken Down:

• Instructional Delivery
• Communicating effectively
• Presents clear and focused instruction
• Effective questioning techniques
• Makes efficient use of learning time
• Applications
• Research Strategies

REQUIRED RESOURCE

Review the specific PTK standard Standards

• Find the Prepare to Teach Workshop on your Account Page under “Courses” and then PTK “Review Course”
• The Characteristics of Successful Teachers
• Characteristics 1 – 8
• Characteristics 9 – 16
• VIDEO CASE STUDIES: Characteristics of Successful Teachers (13:57)
• Pedagogy and Instructional Design
• How Students Learn
• Whole Group Strategies Part 1
• Whole Group Strategies Part 2
• Small Group Strategies and Individual Instruction
• Lesson Closure
• VIDEO CASE STUDIES: Pedagogy and Instructional Design (14:58)

RECOMMENDED RESOURCES

• Web Resources
• Noteworthy Perspectives: Keeping the Focus on Learning: http://www.abcte.org/drupal/files/NW_Focus.pdf
• Teaching: http://www.ibe.unesco.org/publications/EducationalPracticesSeriesPdf/prac01e.pdf
• Glossary of Education Terms: https://edsource.org/ publications/education- glossary
• Effective teaching methods: Research based practice: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0131714961/ref%3Dnosim/americanboard-20/
• The First Days of School: How to be an Effective Teacher: http://www.amazon.com/First-Days-School-Effective-Teacher/dp/0962936065/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1227566033&sr=1-1

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Classroom Management & Organization

• Establishing efficient classroom routines
• Setting clear standards for conduct
• Providing student feedback & reinforcement
• Setting expectations for student learning
• Parental involvement

REQUIRED AMERICAN BOARD RESOURCE Review the specific PTK standard http://www.abcte.org/drupal/teach/teaching-standards

• Classroom Management
• Techniques for Addressing Student Discipline Problems Part I
• Techniques for Addressing Student Discipline Part II
• VIDEO CASE STUDIES: Classroom Management (13:50)
• Nurturing Parental and Community Support
• Effective Communication with Parents
• Opening and Maintaining Lines of Communication
• Building Support in the Community
• VIDEO CASE STUDIES: Avoiding Parent Conference Pitfalls (12:27)

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE Web Resources

• Classroom Management: http://www.teachervision.fen.com/classroom-management/resource/5776.html?detoured=1 Books
• Classroom Management for Elementary Teachers: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0205455336/ref=nosim/americanboard-20
• Classroom Management for Middle and High School Teachers:
• The First Days of School:
• Rookie Teaching for Dummies:

Classroom Assessment

• Monitoring student progress
• Understanding test concepts
• Assessing high-needs students

REQUIRED RESOURCE Review the specific PTK standard http://www.abcte.org/drupal/teach/teaching-standards

• Intro to Assessment Part 1
• What is Assessment?
• The Purpose of Assessment
• Summative Assessment
• Formative Assessment
• Ipsative Assessment
• Diagnostic Assessment Intro to Assessment Part 2
• Performance Assessment
• Criterion-Referenced Assessment
• Norm-Referenced Assessment
• Reliability
• Bias Modes of Classroom Assessment
• Traditional Assessments
• Non-traditional Assessments
• Informal Assessments
• 10 Things to Remember About Assessment

RECOMMENDED RESOURCE

• Classroom Assessment: Minute by Minute, Day by Day: http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/nov05/vol63/num03/Classroom-Assessment@-Minute-by-Minute,-Day-by-Day.aspx
• School Data Tutorials: http://www.schooldatatutorials.org/
• Benchmarking and Alignment of Standards and Testing: http://www.achieve.org/files/TR566.pdf
• Assessment Terminology: A Glossary of Useful Terms: http://www.k12.hi.us/~atr/evaluation/glossary.htm Books
• Classroom Assessment: Concepts and Applications: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0072322721/ref=nosim/americanboard-20
• Assessment: In special and inclusive education: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0618273999/ref%3Dnosim/americanboard-20/
• Rookie Teaching for Dummies: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0764524798/ref=nosim/americanboard-20

Instructional Design

• Writing measurable objectives
• Guiding curricular planning
• Organizing content, concepts, and models
• Developing illustrative examples
• Building on students’ prior knowledge

REQUIRED RESOURCE Review the specific PTK standard http://www.American Board.org/drupal/teach/teaching-standards

• Organizing for Instruction
• Understanding the Curriculum
• VIDEO CASE STUDIES: Organizing for Instruction (10:18) Pedagogy and Instructional Design
• Designing Instructional Strategies: The prevention of academic learning problems: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0675210046/ref%3Dnosim/americanboard-20

Your Essay – Start with About your Writing Component:

http://www.abcte.org/drupal/teach/exam-preparation/writing-component

The PTK writing component will consist of a prompt which in turn consists of several tasks. It is critical that you address every task to get a passing grade (4 or higher out of 6) on the writing component.

IMPORTANT: Most people believe they can write and often underestimate the writing component of the exam, especially when it is in a letter form. As a result, they often neglect spending the time learning, and then practicing what kind of writing is being asked of them.

IMPORTANT: Scoring is holistic and based on a rubric. Examine the rubric and note what elements are required for a score of 6, and understand the difference between a score of 3 and a score of 4, as that is the pass/fail mark.

IMPORTANT: Excellent writers can have the problem of trying to be too creative in their writing and may miss required tasks in the prompt. Stick to a clean intro, body paragraphs, and conclusion as taught in the 5 paragraph form. Use the sample essays to see how they are constructed. Sample essays can be found in the PTK rubric. You can find the rubric and other resources here: Writing Component Resources

Resources: Writing Webinar: http://www.abcte.org/drupal/webinars/writing-component/player.html

Additional Writing Prompts: http://www.abcte.org/drupal/node/15012

American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence

877-669-2228

1123 Zonolite Road, Suite 29, Atlanta, GA 30306

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