Communities of Practice and Discourse Communities: Negotiating Boundaries in NBPTS Certification

Certification from the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) offers experienced teachers opportunities through a written portfolio to “match” their practice to the Board's standards. In creating standards and requiring teachers to argue in writing that they have realized the standards in their teaching, the NBPTS may offer a national discourse about teaching, and as such may form a “discourse community.” However, since...