NovaTech Instructor Principles

Policy Position:
NovaTech Solutions seeks to identify and only employ Instructors who effectively enhance student learning and demonstrate the high level of knowledge, skills, dispositions and commitments reflected in the following five core Principles.

1. Instructors Are Committed to Students and Their Learning

NovaTech Solutions Education Consultants are dedicated to making knowledge accessible to all students. They act on the belief that all students can learn. They treat students equitably, recognizing the individual differences that distinguish their students one from the other and taking account of these differences in their practice. They adjust their practice as appropriate, based on observation and knowledge of their students' interests, abilities, skills, knowledge, work environment and coworker relationships. Accomplished Instructors understand how students develop and learn. They incorporate the prevailing theories of cognition and intelligence in their practice. They are aware of the influence of context and culture on behavior. They develop students' cognitive capacity and their respect for learning. Equally important, they foster students' self-esteem, motivation, character, civic responsibility and their respect for individual, cultural, religious and racial differences.

2. Instructors Know the Subjects They Teach and How to Teach Those Subjects to Students

NovaTech Solutions Education Consultants have a rich understanding of the subject(s) they teach and appreciate how knowledge in their subject is created, organized, linked to other disciplines and applied to real-world settings. While faithfully representing the collective wisdom of our culture and upholding the value of disciplinary knowledge, they also develop the critical and analytical capacities of their students. Our accomplished Instructors command specialized knowledge of how to convey and reveal subject matter to students. They are aware of the preconceptions and background knowledge that students typically bring to each subject and of strategies and instructional materials that can be of assistance. They understand where difficulties are likely to arise and modify their practice accordingly. Their instructional repertoire allows them to create multiple paths to the subjects they teach, and they are adept at teaching students how to pose and solve their own problems.

3. Instructors Are Responsible for Managing and Monitoring Student Learning

NovaTech Solutions Education Consultants create, enrich, maintain, and alter instructional settings to capture and sustain the interest of their students and to make the most effective use of time. They are also adept at engaging students and adults to assist their teaching and at enlisting their colleagues' knowledge and expertise to complement their own. Accomplished Instructors command a range of generic instructional techniques, know when each is appropriate, and can implement them as needed. They are as aware of ineffectual or damaging practice as they are devoted to elegant practice. They know how to engage groups of students to ensure a disciplined learning environment, and how to organize instruction to allow the companies' goals for students to be met. They are adept at setting norms for social interaction among students and between students and Instructors. They understand how to motivate students to learn and how to maintain their interest even in the face of temporary failure. NovaTech Solutions Education Consultants can assess the progress of individual students as well as that of the class as a whole. They employ multiple methods for measuring student growth.

4. Instructors Think Systematically About Their Practice and Learn From Experience

NovaTech Solutions Education Consultants are models of educated persons, exemplifying the virtues they seek to inspire in students-curiosity, tolerance, honesty, fairness, respect for diversity and appreciation of cultural differences-and the capacities that are prerequisites for intellectual growth: the ability to reason and take multiple perspectives, to be creative and take risks, and to adopt an experimental and problem-solving orientation. Our accomplished Instructors draw on their knowledge of human development, subject matter and instruction, and their understanding of their students to make principled judgments about sound practice. Their decisions are not only grounded in the literature, but also in their experience. They engage in lifelong learning which they seek to encourage in their students. Striving to strengthen their teaching, NovaTech Solutions Education Consultants critically examine their practice, seek to expand their repertoire, deepen their knowledge, sharpen their judgment and adapt their teaching to new findings, ideas and theories.

5. Instructors Are Members of Learning Communities

NovaTech Solutions Education Consultants contribute to the effectiveness of the company by working collaboratively with other professionals on instructional policy, curriculum development and staff development. They can evaluate class progress and the allocation of class resources in light of their understanding of state and local educational objectives. They are knowledgeable about specialized classes and community resources that can be engaged for their students' benefit, and are skilled at employing such resources as needed.

The NovaTech Solutions Instructor Principles are based on selected propositions by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.