The Foundations of Reading Exam: Everything You Need to Know
The Pearson NES Foundations of Reading exam is currently used in determining eligibility for teaching reading in the following states: Arkansas, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, and Wisconsin. Whether you’re preparing to take this exam in the near or distant future, this blog post will aim to provide you with all the information you need to know. Who needs to take this exam?…
What You Need to Know about Current Teacher Salaries
While a teacher shortage is “old news,” and teacher salaries are slowly increasing every year, one thing is looking up for some potential educators, depending on where you plan to teach. Although the pandemic has created an economic decline, most public education teachers are getting paid more. According to the NEA (National Education Association), the average teacher salary in the United States for the past 2020-2021…
Developing Phonemic Awareness – Rhyming
Children enter the early childhood classroom from various backgrounds, from those who were read to starting from the womb and others having little to no exposure to the written word. Fostering an environment that helps youngsters develop these skills no matter their experience is beneficial for all. Rhyming involves the repetition of ending word sounds. Hearing, identifying, and creating rhymes allows students to understand how words…
Reading Comprehension and Evaluation – Objective vs Biased Writing
All teacher candidates wonder how to score their best on certification exams, whether they are taking the MTEL, FTCE, Praxis, or another state test. Each certification exam includes a reading comprehension section. Even the best readers often shudder when approaching this subject matter. What if your interpretation is different than what the text means? Can you even prepare for the reading comprehension portion of the exam?…
Sample MTEL65 Middle School Math Open Response
MA DESE is updating many MTEL exams over the coming year. As of the end of May, the MTEL 47 Middle School Math exam will be replaced by the MTEL 65 Middle School Math exam. This is a welcome change for many as many of the more difficult concepts, including calculus and discrete math, were removed for this new exam. There will still be two open…
Professional Development for Teachers – COVID Edition
Not only has the pandemic affected instructors, students, and families around the world profoundly and unexpectedly over these last 12 months, it has created a multitude of other educational concerns. From computer access and proficiency to lack of socialization to innovations in teaching safely in-person, online, and in a hybrid setting, many issues must necessarily be addressed sooner rather than later. One problem directly involving teachers…