EDUC 4988 Faculty Notes: by Shirley Sung Davis, Ph.D.

How to Develop a Professional Portfolio

Date: 8/22 or 8/24 Week #: 1

Topics: What You Need to Know about portfolios and Guidelines for Assembling your Portfolio

Notes:

1. Introduce self to the class

2. Ask each student to share something about themselves since some are new

3. What is a portfolio? Answers may vary, but the definition for this class/purpose is: an organized, goal-driven documentation of your professional growth and achieved competence.

4. Why portfolios? Students’ answers are:

a. To chronicle what I have learned

b. To collect my materials in education in an organized manner

c. For interview purposes

d. To meet the graduation requirement at the Department of Elementary Education, Dixie State College

e. For assessing/evaluating progress in the education program

Most state departments of education are requiring pre-service teachers to provide portfolios as evidence of their performance before issuing teacher certification. Also, in 1987, a National Board for Professional Teaching Standards was formed for the purpose of setting standards for the teaching profession. We will be following the standards developed by Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC). http://people.uncw.edu/sherrilld/EDN355/intasc.htm

5. How do I organize my portfolio?

a. Identify where all the material/course work are

b. Establish an organizational filing system

c. Use INTASC standards as a guide – many students voted to put their lesson plans/work under subject headings, then categorize them under the INTASC standards

6. Guidelines for assembling portfolio

a. Working portfolio: an unabridged version or collection of all the work done in education program

b. Presentation portfolio: Compiled for the expressed purpose of giving others an effective and easy-to-read portrait of your professional competence – this is the version we’ll be working on in this class.

7. Creating the presentation portfolio

a. Get organized: most decided that they should have a crate or drawer to organize their material into subject matters

b. Get a copy of INTASC standards

c. Choose 2 artifacts for each of the 10 standards

d. Write a rationale for each artifact: state why it’s included in the standard

e. Each student takes a lesson plan or activity and practice writing a rationale – share

f. How to make it unique: various ideas, most felt that simple and to the point is necessary to make it a good portfolio.

Assignments due next week:

Resume (no more than 6 months old): May use a template to construct the resume

Biographic sketch: answer the following questions to help you construct a bio

1. Why you want to be a teacher

2. Goals

3. Personal characteristics

Preface (optional): self introduction, up to individual to decide if it’s necessary

Q/A: