Thinking about Portfolios
I'm currently taking my Special Education Specialist course online, and the assignment I am working through right now has to do with portfolios. The module is focused on mentorship and leadership in Special Education, which is applicable to me as a relatively new teacher. Having just gone through the mentorship process, I feel like I have a lot to contribute in this area.
Anyhow, back to portfolios… the assignment is to design a one-page handout giving the key parts of a professional portfolio, and then develop a plan to share with staff and use as a mentoring tool. I really felt like a bit of brainstorming needed to happen first, and so here I am.
I think that a professional portfolio is a bit like a super-charged resume. It is a snapshot of who you are as a teacher, and serves as talking points for an interview. The interview could be a job interview, or a performance appraisal interview, or something more informal, but the portfolio is evidence.
When I interviewed to be an occasional teacher, I spent a bunch of time the week before my interview creating my portfolio. While at Queen's we were encouraged to have some sort of portfolio in our exit-interviews, but the job posting specified several specific things that should be included, and I wanted to be sure that I had all of the things on their list included.
I dug my portfolio out of a Rubbermaid to look at what I thought was important when I was interviewing for a school board for the first time.
Contents of my first portfolio
- philosophy of education (building a learning community, supporting student learning, professional practice, and professional development)
- professional learning plan
- professional learning summary of my B.Ed year
- math lesson plan with example of student work
- math journal (which I added later after teaching summer school)
- a page on differentiation and assessment as, of and for learning
- two examples of POE's which I had used with students
- a slowmation project that students did for me in a SPH 3U class
- two PEEL procedures which I had used and really liked
- a page of conferences and talks I had gone to related to special education
- references, resume, practicum assessments, transcripts
My portfolio is housed in a scrapbook. This way I can interchange pages as I grow as a teacher. The inside cover pages are thank you notes from students from practicum placements.
This was kind of like looking at an old photo album, which is pretty cool. I also feel like while my core values haven't changed as a teacher, there are a lot of things in the scrapbook which I would change. However, I would just be updating the portfolio with current evidence, not changing it's tone.
I have a distinct memory from the day of my interview, of sitting in the pre-interview room, arriving slightly late because I was lost, and being given the set of interview questions. Everyone else in the room had giant binders which they were flagging furiously with sticky notes in order to give evidence for certain questions on the list. I felt a bit inadequate with my 15 page scrapbook, and although I brainstormed a few answers for the questions, I didn't really have as much to do as they all did while sitting in that room. But, when I got into the interview room, and started answering questions, I was glad I only had my 15 pages, because I knew exactly what I wanted to highlight from each of them. At the end of the interview, when they asked if I had any questions (one of the harder interview questions, I think), I asked if they wanted to see some parts of my portfolio I hadn't showed them yet.
What else would I include now?
- reports from my NTIP year, and now my ALP
- results from my participation in my school's monthly PLC's
- evidence of effective classroom routines: group work on whiteboards, quiz journals, use of ConcepTests
- evidence of leadership (Math Curriculum Leader's Forum, Math Subject Council)
- a snapshot of my time working in a Section 23 school -- what skills do I now have which can help students succeed?
I am sure that I will have interviews in the coming years -- although nothing is currently on the horizon. Although my portfolio is seriously outdated right now, there is no real point in pasting a bunch of new things into the scrapbook at this very minute. Portfolios are really an extension of your resume. They are tangible pieces of evidence that can be used to illustrate what kind of teacher someone is. Like a resume, they need to be tailored to the job that you are applying for, or the appraisal that you are experiencing. The Annual Learning Plans that are completed each year can serve as a blueprint for some aspects of a portfolio of an experienced teacher, and current classroom practices can always be updated in a portfolio when an a teacher knows they will be applying for a new position, or is up for a performance appraisal.
Portfolio Advice for New Teachers
- Keep the portfolio short and sweet -- don't include things you are not willing to talk about
- Choose evidence which highlights your strengths as a teacher
- Include lesson plans or activities, but only a few (choose ones which are different from one another, and illustrate good practices in the classroom: eg. differentiation, use of assessment for learning, hands on learning, inquiry)
- Look at the specific job posting you are interviewing for. They may have specific traits/evidence they want to see
- Get someone to look over your portfolio before your interview. This could be a teacher-mentor or friend. There should be no typos, and other people may remind you of things you have done that you should include!
- Organize your portfolio in a way so you can easily find all of your evidence - be creative, but professional
- Include evidence which sets you apart from other teachers (eg. special training, alternative practicum, previous teaching related experience)
Well there we go… it looks like my handout is off to a decent start!
Anyhow, back to portfolios… the assignment is to design a one-page handout giving the key parts of a professional portfolio, and then develop a plan to share with staff and use as a mentoring tool. I really felt like a bit of brainstorming needed to happen first, and so here I am.
I think that a professional portfolio is a bit like a super-charged resume. It is a snapshot of who you are as a teacher, and serves as talking points for an interview. The interview could be a job interview, or a performance appraisal interview, or something more informal, but the portfolio is evidence.
When I interviewed to be an occasional teacher, I spent a bunch of time the week before my interview creating my portfolio. While at Queen's we were encouraged to have some sort of portfolio in our exit-interviews, but the job posting specified several specific things that should be included, and I wanted to be sure that I had all of the things on their list included.
I dug my portfolio out of a Rubbermaid to look at what I thought was important when I was interviewing for a school board for the first time.
Contents of my first portfolio
- philosophy of education (building a learning community, supporting student learning, professional practice, and professional development)
- professional learning plan
- professional learning summary of my B.Ed year
- math lesson plan with example of student work
- math journal (which I added later after teaching summer school)
- a page on differentiation and assessment as, of and for learning
- two examples of POE's which I had used with students
- a slowmation project that students did for me in a SPH 3U class
- two PEEL procedures which I had used and really liked
- a page of conferences and talks I had gone to related to special education
- references, resume, practicum assessments, transcripts
My portfolio is housed in a scrapbook. This way I can interchange pages as I grow as a teacher. The inside cover pages are thank you notes from students from practicum placements.
This was kind of like looking at an old photo album, which is pretty cool. I also feel like while my core values haven't changed as a teacher, there are a lot of things in the scrapbook which I would change. However, I would just be updating the portfolio with current evidence, not changing it's tone.
I have a distinct memory from the day of my interview, of sitting in the pre-interview room, arriving slightly late because I was lost, and being given the set of interview questions. Everyone else in the room had giant binders which they were flagging furiously with sticky notes in order to give evidence for certain questions on the list. I felt a bit inadequate with my 15 page scrapbook, and although I brainstormed a few answers for the questions, I didn't really have as much to do as they all did while sitting in that room. But, when I got into the interview room, and started answering questions, I was glad I only had my 15 pages, because I knew exactly what I wanted to highlight from each of them. At the end of the interview, when they asked if I had any questions (one of the harder interview questions, I think), I asked if they wanted to see some parts of my portfolio I hadn't showed them yet.
What else would I include now?
- reports from my NTIP year, and now my ALP
- results from my participation in my school's monthly PLC's
- evidence of effective classroom routines: group work on whiteboards, quiz journals, use of ConcepTests
- evidence of leadership (Math Curriculum Leader's Forum, Math Subject Council)
- a snapshot of my time working in a Section 23 school -- what skills do I now have which can help students succeed?
I am sure that I will have interviews in the coming years -- although nothing is currently on the horizon. Although my portfolio is seriously outdated right now, there is no real point in pasting a bunch of new things into the scrapbook at this very minute. Portfolios are really an extension of your resume. They are tangible pieces of evidence that can be used to illustrate what kind of teacher someone is. Like a resume, they need to be tailored to the job that you are applying for, or the appraisal that you are experiencing. The Annual Learning Plans that are completed each year can serve as a blueprint for some aspects of a portfolio of an experienced teacher, and current classroom practices can always be updated in a portfolio when an a teacher knows they will be applying for a new position, or is up for a performance appraisal.
Portfolio Advice for New Teachers
- Keep the portfolio short and sweet -- don't include things you are not willing to talk about
- Choose evidence which highlights your strengths as a teacher
- Include lesson plans or activities, but only a few (choose ones which are different from one another, and illustrate good practices in the classroom: eg. differentiation, use of assessment for learning, hands on learning, inquiry)
- Look at the specific job posting you are interviewing for. They may have specific traits/evidence they want to see
- Get someone to look over your portfolio before your interview. This could be a teacher-mentor or friend. There should be no typos, and other people may remind you of things you have done that you should include!
- Organize your portfolio in a way so you can easily find all of your evidence - be creative, but professional
- Include evidence which sets you apart from other teachers (eg. special training, alternative practicum, previous teaching related experience)
Well there we go… it looks like my handout is off to a decent start!
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