Module 1 - The GACE in Teacher Leadership

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Module 1 Checklist and Assignment 1:

The GACE in Teacher Leadership

Being a leader of other teachers requires a unique set of skills, and those skills must be performed to a certain level of expertise for the leadership to be effective. You can expect a degree in Teacher Leadership to provide you with that set of skills.

 

The State of Georgia has a set of Seven Standards of Teacher Leadership. In order to be certified in Teacher Leadership, you are required to provide evidence to VSU and to the Georgia Professional Standards Commission (GaPSC) that you meet those standards. That evidence will be provided by completing your coursework and by using what you have learned to complete six significant and specific tasks. These tasks will be started during your program of study. Work on many tasks will very likely extend beyond the end of your coursework.

 

Six tasks make up the Georgia Assessment for Certification of Educators (GACE) in Teacher Leadership, which is the first performance-based GACE in Georgia. The State of Georgia uses the Educational Testing Service (ETS) as the submission and scoring service for the GACE in Teacher Leadership.

 

To further clarify the difference between the GACE in Teacher Leadership and any other GACE you may have taken, this GACE is NOT a written test you will take on a certain date. It is six tasks/projects you will complete over time, write responses to specific prompts about each task, and then after you register, you make your submission by pasting or word processing those responses into text boxes on the test site. You also must attach specified artifacts for each task. After you complete the assignment for this activity, you will have a strong sense of how the process will work.

 

Though you will learn all the skills needed during your coursework to perform the GACE tasks, ETS and the GaPSC do not allow faculty from your program provider (VSU) to provide a score on your six GACE Tasks, to suggest whether your submissions will receive a certain score, or to provide grades on the tasks you prepare, but we will help you get started with appropriate projects in the Teacher Leadership series of courses which will be invaluable in completing the six GACE Tasks.

 

At the end of your program, you will register for the GACE in Teacher Leadership. You have one year from your program completion date to earn a passing score of 42 points on the test. There are currently two submission windows each year; the first window usually begins during winter, with a final submission date in spring. The second window begins in late summer, and the final submission date is in late fall. During your assignment for this activity, you will look more closely at testing windows and scoring guidelines.

 

You are not ready to register now, but you should be keenly aware of the requirements for providing this evidence of your teacher leadership skills and how your coursework contributes to your knowledge.

 

Bottom Line: There are many helpful items on the GACE Teacher Leadership Website, and this Assignment introduces you to some of them.

 

Getting Started on Assignment 1

Open a copy of the Assignment Title Page Template, make appropriate changes to the title page and be sure to change the header on page 2. Then begin Assignment 1 on page 2.

 

Copy pages 3 - 4 of this document into your Assignment Template (i.e. onto page 2 and following of your Assignment Title Page Template). Then respond to all items.

 

 

 

 

Assignment 1: The GACE Tasks and Navigating the Teacher Leadership Website

This assignment will familiarize you with the GACE Teacher Leadership website. The resources there are critical for informing and guiding your work on the six Tasks and for understanding the work of a Teacher Leader. Using that information is also required in completing most of your coursework. The best part is that all of this information facilitates your development as a Teacher Leader.

 

Use this page (page 3) and following as your template for entering answers and submitting as your assignment. Type directly into the Response. Then Save your document and submit it for the assignment. Note that there is not a page limit for this assignment, but you should be concise. Follow these steps and respond to the 10 required items:

 

Getting to the Website

1. Access the Georgia Assessments for the Certification of Educators (GACE) website at the following link: https://gace.ets.org/teacher_leadership/about/

Click on the Scores link on the left side of the Website. You will see that the GACE Teacher Leadership Assessment Tasks are each broken down into three steps. Describe below how the GACE is scored.

Response 1:

 

 

2. What qualifies as a passing score?

Response 2:

 

 

Return to the GACE Teacher Leadership Webpage

3. Click on the Resources link on the left side of the Website. Scroll down and open the Glossary for the GACE Teacher Leadership assessment. These are all terms you will encounter when completing Tasks associated with the GACE. Read through all of the terms and definitions and briefly describe below the meaning of Adult Learning Strategies.

Response 3:

 

 

4. Open the link to the Graphic Representation of the Six Tasks on the Resources page. Describe the common elements in the relationship among Candidates, Colleagues, and the performances requested in each Task.

Response 4:

 

 

5. Near the bottom of the Resources page you will find informational webinars, slides, and Deep Dives into the Tasks. Open the GACE Teacher Leadership Assessment Webinar “Deep Dive into Task 1 (PDF).” Read through the entire document. In your opinion, what do you feel are the main points of emphasis that all Teacher Leaders should keep in mind as they prepare for and complete the six Tasks?

Response 5:

 

 

6. From the GACE Teacher Leadership Webpage, open the tab labeled Preparing for the Assessment. Click on Collecting Artifacts from the open menu. Each Task will require you to submit one or more artifacts to support your writing and demonstrate your skills. Read and summarize the bulleted informational items under Helpful Tips.

Response 6:

 

 

7. From the GACE Teacher Leadership Webpage, open the tab labeled Frequently Asked Questions. This is an important reference as these are actual questions asked by Teacher Leaders of ETS as they were going through the certification process before you. I am sure you will have (or do have) similar questions about the GACE assessment as they did. So, scan through these questions/answers and identify four of them that “fill in some blanks” that you have about the process. Briefly describe the question you had and how the response provided helped clarified (if it did) your concern.

Response 7:

 

 

Response 8:

 

 

Response 9:

 

 

Response 10:

 

 

 

 

Save your document as Assignment 1 Y Name. For example, if your name is Juanita Holmes, you will Save your document as Assignment 1 J Holmes.

 

Be sure you have completed all responses for the document.

 

Submit in Assignments section titled Assignment 1 GACE Teacher Leadership.