Professional Certification: Certification Examinations: ideas for helping teachers prepare.(Music Teachers National Association)

Many teachers have the desire and the background to become certified, but may need a word of encouragement or a nudge in the right direction in order to take that all-important first step toward completing the examinations. Friendly e-mails or phone calls can be pivotal in helping someone have the confidence and make the time to become certified. State and local Certification chairs, as well as certified teachers who are willing to serve as mentors, may find some of the following ideas useful for assisting other teachers.

Communication

Be visible and be available to teachers in your state or local area. Have an easy way for teachers to contact you. Many state and local chairs have links directly to their personal email from their state and local websites, for example, certification@yourorganization.org.

Hold a Certification Information session at every state conference, in addition to administering the examinations. These meetings can include information about the necessary background for becoming certified, filling out the forms, answering questions about necessary performance repertoire, when and where examinations are given, how to find a local mentor--the list of possible topics is endless. Consider having a teacher who has taken some, or all, of the Certification Proficiency Exams present on some occasions to describe the process he or she followed and to help others realize that a college degree is not always necessary to gain an education. Collect e-mail addresses of teachers who attend the meetings so you can follow up and offer help. Offer the extra testing opportunity each state is allowed each year. It is often practical to schedule it about six months from your state conference.

Be available for private meetings with teachers who may be shy about discussing their personal backgrounds in a group but who have questions about how to proceed. Teachers with degrees from foreign institutions may need guidance to obtain their transcripts and may sometimes believe it is simply more efficient to take the Proficiency Exams. Some teachers have difficulty expressing their thoughts clearly within the time limit of the essay-style Final Exam. Make up sample questions to help them practice the process of writing the answers and give them feedback on the organization of content. This can be done very efficiently by e-mail. Teachers can also be encouraged to substitute the Certification Portfolio for the written exam, which alleviates the problem of writing within the time limit of a few hours.

Write an article for each issue of your state or local newsletter or magazine. In it, you can recognize those who attain National Certification, encourage teachers to become certified by pointing out the importance and value of Certification, share the latest developments or changes ...