Professional Online Community: NCTE – National Center of Teaching English

http://www.ncte.org/ http://ncteblog.blogspot.com/

I joined this organization last July when I started my first summer session in the MAT Secondary Education program. Since I was going to be teaching English, I figured it would be beneficial to myself to have access to the latest and greatest methods of teaching English. I registered in NCTE’s online forum and participated in forum topic areas where I either had questions to ask or experience to offer up to fellow English teachers. One discussion I was involved in was one where we were discussing different ways of testing/assessing vocabulary knowledge without making students write out definitions or use the words in sentences (this being the standard method). I was surprised (and excited) that no one had mention the method that I had been using in my classes (a method my mentor teacher loved and began using herself) and so I posted a response to this teacher’s question (she was a tenth grade English teacher in Nebraska). My response was: “I have the students provide an antonym and synonym for each of their vocabulary words. This not only lets me know if the students know the general definition of the vocabulary word being tested, but it also encourages students to expand their vocabularies by learning different words that mean the same thing. It enhances their writing and expands their vocabulary.”

Online professional communities are valuable tools for teachers because it offers teachers an accessible and safe arena to ask questions, get new ideas, bounce ideas off fellow colleagues, share experiences (both the positive and negative ones), and offer advice. This community is designated for English teachers, so teachers in this discipline can ask specific questions and get detailed answers to their questions – simply put, the information is relevant and useful. Furthermore, it is a national community, which means teachers can talk to their colleagues across the country, gaining new and different perspectives (as education, city to city, and state to state can differ greatly). I have enjoyed being part of this online professional community and will continue to participate in the online forums.