ProTeach consists of three separate, unrelated entries.
Entry 1 -
Entry 1 is about you. You begin by completing a "needs assessment." This form helps you identify where you need to grow the most. There are 12 different entries on the needs assessment form, one for each of the 12 ProTeach standards. Entry 1 is going to ask you to go in depth on three of the 12, so it's not necessary to fill out all of them. Pick the three that you need to most help with.
Once you've identified your needs, you can begin Entry 1. The first three text boxes (1.1.1, 1.2.1, and 1.2.2) can be done at this point. The remaining six text boxes have to be done later. Here's why:
Entry 1 is a "before and after" entry. That is, you identify your needs. You cite evidence from your own teaching and from student work that demonstrates your need to grow. You make a plan for how you're going to improve in these three areas, and then you do it. This might take months. You plan might involve taking an extra class, going to a conference, reading a certain book, shadowing a master teacher, etc. After you've completed all your planned improvement activities, you'll start reflecting on how well they worked. You'll give evidence from your own teaching and from student work that indicates how much you've grown as a result of your activities.
So the first three text boxes are the "before." The remaining six are the "after." YOU CAN'T DO IT ALL AT ONCE. ENTRY 1 HAS TO BE SPLIT UP OVER TIME.
Entry 2 -
Entry 2 is descriptive. It asks you to document the diversity in your classroom. How do you use your awareness of your students' diversity (and this can be ethnic, linguistic, cultural, academic, etc) to meet their learning needs? How do you partner with the school community to meet students' needs? What role does technology play? The cool thing about Entry 2 is that it doesn't require "before" and "after." You're not demonstrating change: you're just documenting what you already do. So, you could conceivably do Entry 2 this weekend. We should talk about it first, but you get the idea. It's the easiest of all the entries.
Entry 3 -
Entry 3 is the most complicated of them all. Here's how it works:
You'll pick three students from one class (one class period, if you're secondary). You'll use existing data (either from your class or from standardized tests) to identify their academic weaknesses (and I'm including PE, music, and art under the term "academic). Based on those weaknesses, you'll use standards (such as Common Core, GLEs, or district/building specific standards) to set learning targets for each of the students.
Step 1: Use data to identify their needs
Step 2: Set standards-based learning targets
Then, you need to make sure that they're aware of the targets. You'll gather student work that indicates that they understand where they need to go.
Step 3: Show that they understand their targets
After that, you'll start teaching. What are you going to do to help them reach the goals you've set for them? How will you know if they've reached them? How will they know? How will you use formative and summative assessment to track their progress? How will they use data to track their own progress? What will you do if they're off track? What will they do? Basically, this part takes time, because you have to gather data, adjust, assess, adjust again, assess, and all the while the students have to be part of the conversation. The state is just as concerned that students are developing the meta-cognitive skills to succeed as they are that you're improving your teaching.
Step 4: Assess, adjust, reflect, adjust, assess again, etc. This is for both students and teacher.
We'll talk about all of these in depth, but this short overview should give you a basic understanding of what's going on in each entry.
