2. Please fully outline your theoretical approach to counseling at this stage in your career.

3. Please discuss any research interests you might have at this point, for future study and for possible dissertation inquiry

1. How has your Master's in Counseling degree influenced your current position as a counseling professional or intern?

2. What population(s) do you plan to work with in your professional discipline, and what special knowledge will this certificate afford you?

3. If this certificate will enable you to change your professional direction in terms of setting/population, please explain why you desire this change? (For example, if you have a Master's in School Counseling and would like to gain an LPC).

1. What are your goals for graduate study and your future career?

2. In what ways do your academic background and your professional experiences provide evidence of your potential for success in the program you selected and in your eventual career? Please give specific examples of relevant coursework and/or experience.

3. Is there any further information we should consider in assessing your candidacy?

Please review the “Portrait of a Teacher” on the next page and note that several of the standards in the Portrait focus on this important goal. In a cohesive essay of three to four double-spaced, typed pages, please write about item numbers 5 or 6 from the “Portrait of a Teacher” addressing the following questions:

In your life as a citizen, student, and future teacher of this society, what experiences are reflective of this standard? Additionally, what experiences in your life have conflicted with this standard?

Envision yourself as a teacher. How would you foster a classroom climate that would promote this standard in your discipline? You might begin by reflecting on some of your own classroom experiences as a student. Which things would you do differently and which would you emulate in creating such as classroom climate?

Montclair State University
PORTRAIT OF A TEACHER
The Montclair State University community is committed to the continuing development of teachers who exemplify the dispositions, knowledge, and skills reflected in this portrait. They:

1. Have expert knowledge of the disciplines they will teach and can use various strategies, including media and technology, for creating learning experiences that make the subject matter accessible and meaningful to all students.
2. Understand how children and adolescents learn and develop in a variety of school, family and community contexts, and can provide learning opportunities that support their students’ intellectual, social, and personal development.
3. Understand the practice of culturally responsive teaching. They understand that children bring varied talents, strengths, and perspectives to learning; have skills for learning about the diverse students they teach; and use knowledge of students and their lives to design and carry out instruction that builds on students’ individual and cultural strengths.
4. Plan instruction based upon knowledge of subject matter, students, families, communities, and curriculum goals and standards; and taking into account issues of class, gender, race, ethnicity, language, sexual orientation, age, and special needs in designing instruction.
5. Understand critical thinking and problem solving, and create learning experiences that promote the development of students’ critical thinking and problem solving skills and dispositions.
6. Understand principles of democracy and plan and carry out instruction that promotes democratic values and communication in the classroom.
7. Understand and use multiple forms of assessment to promote the intellectual, social, and physical development of learners and to inform instruction.
8. Create a community in the classroom that is nurturing, caring, safe, and conducive to learning.
9. Are reflective practitioners who continually inquire into the nature of teaching and learning, reflect on their own learning and professional practice, evaluate the effects of their choices and actions on others, and seek out opportunities to grow professionally.
10. Build relationships with school colleagues, families, and agencies in the community to support students’ learning and well-being, and work to foster an appreciation of diversity among students and colleagues.
11. Possess the literacy skills associated with an educated person; can speak and write English fluently and communicate clearly.