Chef Dave
05-03-2008, 01:28 PM
I am going through a program called "Transition to Teaching" and will be teaching on a Provisional Teaching License. Is anyone familiar with this program or possibly similar program in your state? I would appreciate any information, advice. My background is B.B.A., Retail Management, Finance/Banking. I was really excited to find this forum and think I will be able to learn alot!
I read your introduction in another thread and thought I would start a new topic rather than sidetracking the other one.
I'm a high school culinary arts instructor in Arizona. I was recruited from a restaurant in Pennsylvania last year. I have provisional teaching certificate which I earned based upon having a great deal of industry experience.
I have several pieces of advice.
1) Begin acquainting yourself with your state standards. You should be able to download the standards by visiting your state's department of education website. The standards will identify everything that you're responsible for teaching.
2) In Arizona, CTE (career and technical education) teachers are required by state law to maintain competency checklists. Every objective we teach must be checked off as students demonstrate completion. Completion may be documented via teacher observation, project activity, test or quiz, student presentation etc.
3) At my school, all instructors are required to give pretests and post tests each semester. The pretest and post tests are identical. Pretests are graded but not recorded. Post tests are graded and recorded. My school uses statistical information from pretests and post tests as a measurement of student academic growth and learning. If your school requires the use of pretests and post tests, check your predecessor's file cabinet to see if these tests already exist. There's no point in reinventing the wheel unless you wind up in a situation like mine. Unable to locate my predecessor's tests, I had to create my own.
4) You will need to learn techniques for classroom management. As a component of classroom management, familiarize yourself with district and school policy regarding student behavior and consequences for violating the rules. You can't enforce the rules if you don't know what they are. Your response must also be consistent within the limits of district policy i.e. beating students is frowned upon ...
All classroom teachers must have control of their respective classes. How will you deal with off task behavior? How will you deal with students who don't complete their assignments?
I would recommend a policy of being firm, fair, and consistent. Treat all students the same way. Avoid the novice teacher mistake of issuing warning after warning without any follow up consequence.
5) The school will probably give you a calendar of school events. Keep this calendar in a safe place and refer to it from week to week as you write your weekly lesson plans. If you don't consult this schedule, you may find your lesson plans in conflict with early dismissals, school holidays, school assemblies etc.
6) Be aware of your requirements for certificate renewal or the application for standard certification. When I got my provisional certificate, I knew I had two years to complete certification requirements that include a workshop on English immersion, a class on the Arizona state constitution, and a state test on knowledge of secondary instruction.
The problem I had was that I didn't realize that some of these requirements were staggered. I only had one year to complete the immersion workshop. Nobody told me this, so I was quite surprised when the district resource officer told me that my contract for next year would be voided if I didn't complete this workshop by this July.
I am now scrambling to complete an on-line workshop so that I can apply for my two year certificate extension. The good news is that I had a talk with the district superintendent. She wants me back next year and will be writing a "letter of intent" to hold my job open while I wait for my certificate to be extended (following completion of the English immersion workshop.)
Welcome to CTE!
I hope you will find the experience as fulfilling and enjoyable as I have.
I read your introduction in another thread and thought I would start a new topic rather than sidetracking the other one.
I'm a high school culinary arts instructor in Arizona. I was recruited from a restaurant in Pennsylvania last year. I have provisional teaching certificate which I earned based upon having a great deal of industry experience.
I have several pieces of advice.
1) Begin acquainting yourself with your state standards. You should be able to download the standards by visiting your state's department of education website. The standards will identify everything that you're responsible for teaching.
2) In Arizona, CTE (career and technical education) teachers are required by state law to maintain competency checklists. Every objective we teach must be checked off as students demonstrate completion. Completion may be documented via teacher observation, project activity, test or quiz, student presentation etc.
3) At my school, all instructors are required to give pretests and post tests each semester. The pretest and post tests are identical. Pretests are graded but not recorded. Post tests are graded and recorded. My school uses statistical information from pretests and post tests as a measurement of student academic growth and learning. If your school requires the use of pretests and post tests, check your predecessor's file cabinet to see if these tests already exist. There's no point in reinventing the wheel unless you wind up in a situation like mine. Unable to locate my predecessor's tests, I had to create my own.
4) You will need to learn techniques for classroom management. As a component of classroom management, familiarize yourself with district and school policy regarding student behavior and consequences for violating the rules. You can't enforce the rules if you don't know what they are. Your response must also be consistent within the limits of district policy i.e. beating students is frowned upon ...
All classroom teachers must have control of their respective classes. How will you deal with off task behavior? How will you deal with students who don't complete their assignments?
I would recommend a policy of being firm, fair, and consistent. Treat all students the same way. Avoid the novice teacher mistake of issuing warning after warning without any follow up consequence.
5) The school will probably give you a calendar of school events. Keep this calendar in a safe place and refer to it from week to week as you write your weekly lesson plans. If you don't consult this schedule, you may find your lesson plans in conflict with early dismissals, school holidays, school assemblies etc.
6) Be aware of your requirements for certificate renewal or the application for standard certification. When I got my provisional certificate, I knew I had two years to complete certification requirements that include a workshop on English immersion, a class on the Arizona state constitution, and a state test on knowledge of secondary instruction.
The problem I had was that I didn't realize that some of these requirements were staggered. I only had one year to complete the immersion workshop. Nobody told me this, so I was quite surprised when the district resource officer told me that my contract for next year would be voided if I didn't complete this workshop by this July.
I am now scrambling to complete an on-line workshop so that I can apply for my two year certificate extension. The good news is that I had a talk with the district superintendent. She wants me back next year and will be writing a "letter of intent" to hold my job open while I wait for my certificate to be extended (following completion of the English immersion workshop.)
Welcome to CTE!
I hope you will find the experience as fulfilling and enjoyable as I have.