InSTEP Teachers on the Road to National Board Certification
CET Thu Oct 21 2004

Several teachers have begun work toward National Board for Professional Teaching Standards certification through their participation in the InSTEP™ program housed at the NASA-sponsored Classroom of the Future.

InSTEP, created and operated through a grant from the U.S. Department of Education, is a professional development program aimed at science, technology, engineering, and math teachers. Beginning its fourth year, the program has reached more than 8,000 West Virginia teachers since 2001. Participants in the program are invited to achieve national board certification as part of their work in InSTEP, which stands for Integrating Strategies and Technology in Education Practice.

Five graduates of the InSTEP program already have achieved national board certification, and another four are awaiting notification in December. Three InSTEP participants have just begun the certification process.

Founded 16 years ago, the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards is an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan, and nongovernmental organization dedicated to advancing the quality of teaching and learning. Certification is achieved through a rigorous, performance-based assessment that takes between one and three years to complete and measures what accomplished teachers should know and be able to do.

November 10, 2004