Portfolio 101 A Professional Teaching Portfolio Robin Rush

Portfolio 101: A Professional Teaching Portfolio Robin Rush Boggs, M. Ed.

What is a professional teaching portfolio? Like other professionals, instructors need evidence of their growth and achievement over time. The professional portfolio is a mechanism that allows for them to collect and present that evidence. In reality, a professional portfolio is just the collection of what instructors already do.

Characteristics of an Effective Portfolio Structured Representative A structured portfolio should be organized, complete, and creative in its presentation. Questions to ask: A portfolio should also be comprehensive. The documentation should represent the scope of your work. It should be representative across courses and time. Questions to ask: Is my portfolio neat? Are the contents displayed in an organized fashion? Are the contents representative for the purpose that it is intended? Does my portfolio portray the types and levels of courses that I have taught? Does my portfolio display a cross– section of my work in teaching?

Characteristics of an Effective Portfolio Selective The natural tendency for anyone preparing a portfolio is wanting to document everything. However, if a portfolio is being used either for summative or formative purposes, careful attention should be given to conciseness and selectivity in order to appropriately document one’s work. Instructors should consider limiting the contents of a portfolio to ten pages.

What are some specific purposes of a teaching portfolio? Full-time and Adjunct Instructors can use ü Job applicants for faculty positions can use teaching portfolios to document their teaching ü document their teaching effectiveness for promotion or tenure purposes effectiveness. ü reflect on and refine their teaching skills and philosophies. ü to invite comments from their peers and to share teaching successes so that their peers can build on them.

"Portfolios have much to offer the teaching profession, " writes Dr. Kenneth Wolf, of the University of Colorado. "When teachers carefully examine their own practices, those practices are likely to improve. The examples of accomplished practice that portfolios provide also can be studied and adapted for use in other classrooms. "

Portfolios: The Historical Perspective

Fine Arts Historically, portfolios were utilized by those in the Fine Arts; artists and musicians would collect their best "samples and examples" into a professional portfolio for when they attended exhibitions. . These days, artists tend to use the web to showcase their work.

Architecture Architects also used portfolios to showcase their best work. The Yale School of Architecture encourages their students to post portfolios on online sites such as Pinterest and Tumbler.

Education majors have used portfolios to show that they have mastered specific state requirements. For instance, Florida has the FEAPS, Florida Education Accomplished Practices, a list of twelve core practices and expectations specifically geared to those in the teaching profession and teacher education programs. Teacher Education colleges and universities may require portfolios in their programs. An illustration would be the University of Central Florida's Teaching and Learning Center's web site that devotes a web page for portfolio development.

Nursing Colleges and universities all over the nation have implemented portfolios in their undergraduate and/or graduate nursing programs. These portfolios provide "a means of documenting skills, professional development, and goal achievement. " A portfolio enables registered nurses returning to school to describe their achievements and earn credits for their experiences. Currently, many colleges use an online program to help their students develop professional portfolios.

Engineering Graduates of engineering programs, especially in the computer programming areas, are encouraged to create portfolios as best practices for their own future job search. Portfolios help them "stand out" when they are in completion for specific jobs. Recommendations are made for what should be considered in building a portfolio.

Creating a Teaching Portfolio

Guidelines Be selective in which materials you choose to include; be sure to represent a cross-section of your teaching and not just one aspect of it. A relatively small set of well-chosen documents is more effective than a large, unfiltered collection of all your teaching documents. Make your organization explicit to the reader. Use a table of contents at the beginning and tabs to separate the various components of your portfolio. now! Many of the possible components of a teaching portfolio are difficult, if not impossible, to obtain after the course(s) are finished. Collecting these components during the term will make assembling the final portfolio much easier. Start Give a fair and accurate presentation. No one is the perfect instructor. Be sure to highlight the positive, bur show the reflective process whenever a lesson does go AND doesn’t go quite as planned. The reflective process is essential to good teaching.

Essentials to Include in a Professional Teaching Portfolio Background Information q Resume q Background information on teacher and teaching context q educational philosophy statement and teaching goals Professional. Information q list of professional activities q 2 -4 letters of recommendation q formal evaluations Teaching Artifacts and Reflections Documenting an Extended Teaching Activity q overview of unit goals and instructional plan q list of resources used in lessons q two consecutive lesson plans q videotape of teaching q student work examples q evaluation of student work q reflective commentary by the instructor q additional units/lessons/student work as appropriate

Background Information Resume ü Instructors should take care with their resume — that important "first impression" to those viewing your portfolio — is as good as it can be. Background information on teacher and teaching context which may include ü A list of courses taught with enrollments and a description of your responsibilities ü Syllabi ü Course descriptions with details of content, objectives, methods, and procedures for evaluating student learning ü Assignments ü Exams and quizzes, graded and ungraded (Remember FERPA) ü Handouts, problem sets, lecture outlines ü Descriptions and examples of visual materials used ü Descriptions of uses of computers and other technology in teaching ü Videotapes of your teaching Educational philosophy statement and teaching goals

Educational Philosophy Statement

An Educational Philosophy Statement clarifies ü Why do you teach? ü What do you teach? ü How do you measure your effectiveness?

What’s Your Teaching Orientation? http: //www. authenticeducating. com/education-philosophy-inventory/

Consider These Questions What are the specific subjects and courses taught? What are the objectives for student learning? Why are these objectives important? Do the objectives differ depending on the type of course or the background of students taught? If so, how? What should students gain from taking your courses? Examples include an understanding of foundational concepts in the field • sophistication as critical thinkers • the ability to write concise and wellsupported arguments. •

Articles to contemplate 4 Steps to a Memorable Teaching Philosophy from the Chronicle of Higher Education. The steps: Begin with the end. Make distinctions Be specific Cite your sources How to Write a Statement of Teaching Philosophy from the Chronicle of Higher Education. The steps: Getting Started Do Some Research Don't Rehash Your Vita Don't Make Empty Statements Keep It Short Ground Your Teaching Philosophy in Your Discipline Make Sure It's Well-Written Adopt a Tone of Humility Remember That Teaching Is About the Students Don't Ignore Your Research Get a Second Opinion Just Be Yourself Samples and Examples of Educational Philosophy Statements: http: //www. crlt. umich. edu/tstrategies/tstpum

Practice Take inventory and practice writing your educational philosophy statement.

Professional Information

Professional Information List of professional activities Instructors may have responsibilities in addition to their teaching duties. Some instructors are involved in college-wide, discipline, and/or campus based committees; advisory committees; and community-based organizations. . 1 -3 letters of recommendation Instructors may include recommendations from other faculty, students, and/or administrators Formal Evaluations

Artifacts Collection and Reflection

Although portfolios vary in form and content, depending upon their purpose, most contain some combination of teaching artifacts and written reflections. These are the “heart of the portfolio. “ Further, the artifacts, whether lesson plans, instructional modules, or sample student work samples must be accompanied with written explanations. For example, what is the purpose of a student’s project? What did the class learn from the class debate? Be specific and be reflective. It's the intent and thoughtful evaluation that the artifacts should reveal. Each artifact be accompanied by a brief, identifying caption. Include, for example: title of the artifact date produced description of the context purpose, evaluation, or other types of comments

Keep records of everything. Use a jump drive to save documents. Copy emails to a MS Word document and save them to a jump drive. It’s better to have and not need than to need and not have.

Contemplate your Artifacts

Artifacts Direct ü Performance assessments ü Projects or work based assignments ü Copies of minutes of discipline meetings, action plans, progress reports ü Internal and external correspondence ü Product evidence (e. g. examples, & samples as appropriate) Indirect ü Achievement in related areas ü Attendance on courses/training activities relevant to the learning outcomes ü Membership of related committees or outside organizations

Suitability of evidence Those who review a professional teaching portfolio will need to be satisfied that the evidence is üsufficient üauthentic ürelevant ücurrent

Sufficient Evidence must cover all aspects of the assessment criteria for each segment you are seeking to achieve. Some qualifications require specific evidence and instructors should check the guidelines to ensure you have what’s needed. Sufficient does not equate mass. It simply means collecting enough evidence to demonstrate competence.

Authentic Evidence As you work your way through the portfolio, the evidence that you include must substantiate that you have met the objectives. It is important, therefore, to ensure you only submit evidence relating to your own performance.

Relevant Evidence Any evidence must relate clearly to the qualifications you are seeking to achieve. Assessors are only interested in evidence directly related to the requirements set out in the units. You should avoid the inclusion of reference documents, training materials, and other evidence that does not demonstrate competence.

Current Evidence You must only include evidence that demonstrates your compliance with the requirements that has occurred since your hire date. Including evidence that does not fit the time frame will disqualify your portfolio.

Samples and Examples http: //trc. virginia. edu/resources/developing-a-teaching-portfolio/