School Counselors who work on NBPTS Component 4 (C-4) are stretched to show their ability to use data to guide their instruction, data to monitor their school counseling program, and data within PLC leadership/collaboration.
Yup….it’s about gathering and use of data to show the effectiveness of your school counseling decisions and reflecting on your work…where are you now, where do you need to be in light of the ECYA-SC standards, and how are you going to get there.
Here are 6 tips to guide your C-4 work.
1. HOW TO USE THE FORMS:
- Use the 7 forms to describe your NB process.
- Use your responses to the corresponding prompts to embellish the information.
In other words, use descriptive writing when answering questions on the form (telling “what”). You can use bullets to make your evidence clear.
Use analysis and reflective writing in the prompt responses (telling “how” and “why”).
All in all, National Board is giving you more room to tell your story of how you are meeting C-4 requirments and C-4 standards.
2. USING THE IDEA OF “GROUP”: Focus on the group of students, not the individuals. Your unit of instruction (more than 1 lesson makes up a unit) is created for a group of students (any size is OK) who have a common need.
- What data will you use to identify the common need?
- What data will you use to identify the group of students who have that common need?
- How will you analyze and show group assessment results which you use to monitor the student learning in light of the common need?
3. USING ASSESSMENT TOOLS: C-4 gives you the opportunity to show your knowledge of formative assessment, summative assessment and student self assessment.
- You must do this: show your use of recursive formative assessment throughout your unit, submit a sample of one formative assessment activity, and examples of group data results, and how those results impact your work.
- You must do this: show your use of summative assessment, submit a sample of your summative assessment, example of group summative assessment results, and how those results impact your work.
- You must do this: show your use of student self assessment, submit samples of your student self assessment, from three students, and show how these students use their self assessment results to guide their movement toward reaching your unit/lesson goals.
4. PERSONAL PROFESSIONAL GROWTH – C-4 gives you the opportunity to showcase your professional growth in light of an identified need. This need can be broader than the need identified for you unit of instruction.
- Use data to identify a need which can be school wide, district wide or larger.
- What do you need to learn to effectively address the need?
- What is the result of meeting your learning need? How does this connect with student learning?
5. WORKING WITH A PLC: Who do you collaborate with to use your professional learning to create together an action plan to effectively address the need?
- How do you enact the action plan?
- How do you use data to monitor the action plan and student learning?
6. ENGAGEMENT IN REFLECTION: This is a key C-4 element (it’s part of the C-4 name).
- How can you show that you are an on-going learner?
- How can you effectively show that you are aware of your strengths, of your weak areas, and your personal action plan in light of your C-4 topics.
Resource:
The Use of Data in School Counseling, Trish Hatch.
I hope this information is helpful to you. You can contact me through Washington State University (WSU-Go Cougs!) NBPTS school counselor support website.
More later,
Jane