Entry 3 focuses on Maximizing Academic Learning.  For this entry, school counseling candidates are required to provide academic counseling to an individual student.  A maximum of 12 written pages, one video recording, and an academic intervention plan must be submitted with this entry.

Eight of the standards must be represented in Entry 3.  I explained how to incorporate the standards into your writing in my post Planning for Entry 1.  Doing this is important so be sure to refer back to that post if you still are not clear about how to do it.

I’ve heard many candidates consider this entry to be the toughest one to pass.  Don’t look at this way.  Approach this entry just as you have the others.  Make sure to provide sufficient evidence for your assessors.

Choosing a Student for Academic Counseling

There are no age requirements for the student you wish to choose for this entry.  I chose a 5th grade student for my entry.  I felt as though this was a good age to receive academic counseling since our 5th graders are preparing to transition to middle school.  Since I worked with a 5th grade teacher for my career lesson,  I collaborated with her in order to find a student in her class to provide individual counseling.  We discussed several students in her class.  It was important to find a student who would not only benefit from academic advisement, but who would also be receptive to it and do his or her part to make improvements.

It is a good idea to use specific data to support your selection.  You can include this data in your initial description of the student.  Data may include report cards, assessment data, past test scores, or any other documentation the teacher has about the student.  The teacher will be able to tell you exactly where the student needs assistance and what goals he or she would like the student to reach.

You can also conduct your own surveys once a specific goal is chosen.  These results can also be used during the session.  I met with my student prior to our planning session to complete a couple of surveys in order to get an idea of how he learned best and how he approached test taking.  Use the information you’ve gathered from the student’s teacher to guide you in any pre-assessing you choose to conduct.

Video Recording

Your video is limited to a maximum of 15 minutes.  You will need to make sure to address each of the required areas in this short period of time.  As I’ve said in a previous post, take a moment first to look at the questions in section 2 (Video Recording Analysis).  Here, you will learn exactly what the assessor will be looking for during the video segment.  You’ll need to show various examples of your work including how you engaged the student in meaningful discussion in regard to his or her need for academic advisement, how you encouraged active participation from the student, and counseling skills and techniques used just to name a few.

When thinking about your counseling techniques, remember what the assessor will see while watching the video.  Think about your seating placement.  How does it look if you and the student are across from each other at a table?  If sitting at a table, you’ll want to utilize a corner so you are close enough to work together yet still able to maintain your own space.  Think about your non-verbal counseling skills here as well.  Be sure to convey a warm, respectful, and genuine tone.

This is a good time to begin refreshing your memory about counseling theory.  You will need to explain your knowledge of human growth and development and academic theories of motivation and skill development.  Additionally, you will need to refer to the theoretical background for the counseling skills and techniques you implement throughout the session.  Remember also- the assessment piece of the NBPTS process includes your knowledge of theory.  It doesn’t hurt to begin reviewing the major theorists now.

You can read Pointers for Videos if you need to know more about what is expected in your video recording.

Academic Intervention Plan

The intervention plan should be created collaboratively with your student.  Make sure this is exhibited in your video segment.  The assessor should hear both your and the student’s input for the creation of the plan.  As with any plan, you’ll want to include a goal and the steps you will put in place in order to reach the goal.  Be sure to set high yet attainable goals for your student.

Stick around!  You can follow Savvy School Counselor with free email updates.  As always, I’d love to hear from you.  There are always so many things I could say in these NBPTS posts.  However,  the posts would go on and on and on…  If you have specific questions, please email me through my contact page.  If I find a recurring theme in my emails, I will try to address it in another post.

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School counselors must deliver a classroom lesson about career development for the second entry for NBPTS.  This entry requires a video segment that is not to exceed 15 minutes.  You can read Pointers for Videos if you need to know more about what is expected.

Nine of the standards must be represented in Entry 2.  I explained how to incorporate the standards into your writing in my post Planning for Entry 1.  Doing this is important so be sure to refer back to that post if you still are not clear about how to do it.

Entry 2 requirements include a maximum of twelve pages of written commentary, the video recording I mentioned earlier, and a maximum of seven instructional materials related to the lesson.  Find a classroom teacher who is willing to allow you to use his or her class for the purposes of this entry.  Send the required student release forms home with students in advance.  You will want to know who does and does not have permission to be featured in your video recording.  Once you know this, you can create a seating arrangement that allows students without video permission to sit in an area behind the camera and still participate in the lesson.  These students can still answer questions and be heard during your recording.

As you begin to think about the lesson you will present to your students, be sure to include the following points as stated by NBPTS:

•  show your ability to explain and illustrate an important career development topic;
• actively involve and engage the students;
• focus on concepts and problems that are challenging and appropriate for the class;
• engage students in critical thinking and problem solving; and
• show your ability to use appropriate technology to enhance student learning of the career development topic.

My advice is to be creative.  Look for several career lesson ideas and activities and use them to create a lesson that addresses each of these areas.  Just finding a career lesson from a book on your shelf isn’t enough.  Think about what you are being asked to demonstrate and create a plan to do just that. To create my lesson, I read through each of the questions for the written commentary and listed parts of questions I would have to answer.  Examples include:

• Student competencies you plan to address
• Traditional and nontraditional careers
• Community involvement
• Video:  Determine students’ comprehension of the concepts associated with the understanding of the career development topic.
• Video:  How will you provide constructive feedback?  (You will need to include your response(s) to students’ questions.)
• Video:  How will you demonstrate fairness, equity, and access for all students during your lesson?
• Video:  How will you use technology?
• Video:  Show two different student interactions during the lesson where they are engaged in active problem solving or critical thinking.

In 2008, I used Paws in Jobland to incorporate technology into my lesson.  At the time, our classrooms did not have smart boards or iPads like we do today.  So, I used an aver key and connected my laptop to the television in order to share that portion of the lesson with the entire class.  Your entry isn’t all about the technology, you just need to show evidence of how you included it during your lesson.  Don’t overwhelm yourself with this piece of the entry.  Just be sure to show some form of it during your video recording.

Also, be sure to think about the career theorist(s) your lesson is based on and be ready to explain how the theory(ies) guided your lesson.

The instructional materials you are required to submit must relate to your video recording.  The materials are not limited to worksheets.  They can include screen shots from websites you used or Power Point presentations.  Your candidate ID number must be present on each page, and pages should be sequentially numbered.  Make sure your content is on one side of each page.  If you use both sides, it is considered to be two pages.  If you use student work samples, make sure names are not included.

Stick around!  You can follow Savvy School Counselor with free email updates.  As always, I’d love to hear from you.  Let me know if you have any further questions about Entry 2.

Follow @svyschcounselor