TeachersWithoutBorders

Certificate of Mastery of Teaching Courses from Teachers Without Borders
CTM Overview: [|here]. Teachers Without Borders web sites [|here] and [|here].
 * Summary**: The Certificate of Teaching Mastery (CTM) is a FREE teacher professional development program, sponsored by well-wishers, retired teachers, and grants, designed for and by K-12 educators. The material was gathered by teachers in dozens of countries and approved by several universities and agencies such as The World Bank. The CTM is particularly adaptable to local contexts and addresses a pressing need for competent, culturally-attuned, contemporary, concise, practical, and accelerated teacher training, leading to student achievement.

I**n this course, you'll be introduced to educational theories and approaches to learning and how to apply them to your classroom; aspects of effective teaching; and contemporary issues in education. The material reflects a pattern of inclusive, discovery-oriented, culturally-attuned, and globally-aware teaching.
 * [|Course 1:] Education for the New Millennium - Bringing New Thinking in Education into Classroom Practice

In this course, you'll be introduced to thematic learning and cooperative learning and you'll have a chance to develop lesson plans with these ideas in mind. You are given practical tools for classroom management and ways in which you can guide students to think about their own process of learning.
 * [|Course 2:] Teaching Methods - Looking at Theory, Planning, and Management**

You'll discover a new way of designing curriculum so that you get the results you want. This course includes an introduction to student portfolios, problem-based learning, and rubrics that assess different aspects of student work such as mastery of the material, or the ability to apply what one has learned to real-life experiences.
 * [|Course 3:] Assessment Practices - Improving Student Performance**

In this course, you'll explore your own cultural competence in the classroom; apply multiculturalism to problem-solving; receive training on service learning; and discuss how to create and sustain connections with classrooms around the world.
 * [|Course 4:] Culture for Understanding - Understanding Our Students**

This course is a culminating experience with two outcomes: 1) The creation of an electronic Teaching Portfolio (E-Portfolio) that showcases your work from Courses 1 - 4 of the Certificate of Teaching Mastery; and 2) A Service Project - a professional gift to your community that applies what you have learned in the previous four courses to address a local, national, or global need in one area.
 * [|COURSE 5:] EDUCATION FOR CIVIL SOCIETIES: Teaching as Research and Action**

E-Portfolio - From Teachers Without Borders Certificate of Mastery of Teaching
Taken from [|here].

As you know, a portfolio is a powerful assessment tool, and includes evidence from your work on major topics - successes, challenges, and questions. The key word is evidence that can show - far more than tests - what you know and what you need to do in order to improve. Portfolios are a professional way of demonstrating your competence and showing employers your achievements.

Traditional portfolios in the form of folders, boxes, or 3-ring binders hold papers, pictures, cassette tapes, and more. With an electronic Teaching Portfolio, known as an "E-Portfolio," information can be stored digitally, taking up little physical space, and is easily accessed from anywhere in the world.

Teachers Without Borders is pioneering E-Portfolios for teachers, and we have provided a way for you to design one. Your electronic Teaching Portfolio will contain the following elements:
 * Professional Statement - My view and approach to teaching
 * Questions - My thinking about theory and practice
 * The Imagined Classroom - School in 2010 through the eyes of the learner
 * Bringing New Thinking into Classroom Practice - Evidence of how what's new becomes the standard
 * Highlights from Certificate of Teaching Mastery - My best, most challenging, and growth-oriented work
 * My Students' Work - Samples of how planning turns into outcomes
 * What Students Say - About their work and the process of learning
 * My Service Project - Learning that serves my community
 * Expertise I Wish to Share - What I can offer other teachers
 * What I Need - Skills and resources I seek from others
 * Reflections - My life as a learner, teacher, and world citizen
 * Picture of My Classroom - A photo that tells a story
 * Resume / References / Letters of Recommendation - Support for my future in teaching

You will be able to complete all of the E-Portfolio elements by completing your assignments within each course as you go along.