GENERAL WEB BUILDING TIPS FOR TEACHER PORTFOLIOS

 

LOOK AT MODELS OF OTHER STUDENT PORTFOLIOS: 

 

USE A BALANCED APPROACH

NOT TOO LONG OR TOO SHORT:

Avoid long sections of text – lead with a bulleted list of key points, then use italics, color, or heading to break up text.

Avoid short snippets of reflection that say little.

 

Reflection can be short, but rich. A good format might be.  “PAST:  I used to . . . because of _____, I decided to try. . . . PRESENT: Now I do ________, and in the FUTURE I plan to try _______________. 

 

Reflection is not just “What I did wrong and what I will do to fix it next time.”  Reflection is . . .

·         making sense of what is happening as I teach

·         listening to students, realizing how student feel and what they think, and then making teacher decisions based on this information.

·         making plans for the future based on observations and stories

·         professional thinking

 

EXPLORE PACKAGES

 

     Put a number of documents together into one package.

 

ARTIFACT PACKAGE SUGGESTIONS: 

 

1. CREATE A PACKAGE AROUND SUPERVISOR OR COOPERATING TEACHER OBSERVATIONS: -- use the following 1. One paragraph describing context of daily lesson and conclusion of unit. 2. Detailed lesson plan 3. Observation sheet by supervisor 4. Post Observation Conference notes 5. Student teacher’s written reflection 6. Have your CT or a student take photos. Incorporate photos in with text or add a mini-photo essay with captions.  

 

2.  PHOTO ESSAY OF STUDENT TEACHING  Photos of CT and ST, principal and ST when possible, by school sign, by door, other – bulletin board displays, with small grps of students. 

 

3. CREATE A WEBPAGE DEDICATED TO DESCRIBING YOUR STUDENT TEACHING SITUATION AND EXPERIENCES. Include the following:  1.  Description of your school – what is unique about the school; population, demographics, SAGE school etc. 2. Around the school photos – with you in the photos.  3. Writings: short paragraphs describing your predictions about the placement, discoveries, surprises, what excites you about special experiences at this site.

 

4.  CREATE A SPECIAL PACKAGE OF A FAVORITE UNIT TAUGHT:  Include: 1. Sample lesson plans, 2. Sample student work, 3. Photos in action, 4. Assessment instruments, 5. Reflections:  what you learned and discovered as a teacher.

 

 

SOE CATEGORIES – WHAT MIGHT GO WHERE

 

INTRODUCTION:  This page makes a first impression of you to a reader.

A photo and paragraphs revealing who are as a person and who you will be as a professional are appropriate here.

 

PHILOSOPHY:  Students had written unique philosophies using art work, bulleted lists, quotes, metaphors. A teaching philosophy reveals your beliefs, values and intentions about teaching, learning and children.  You might create links on this page to categories for more expanded views:  Teaching Philosophy, Classroom Management Philosophy, My Beliefs and Values Related to Teaching My Content Area, Diverse Learner and Learning Philosophy, Assessment Philosophy.

 

SUBJECT KNOWLEDGE:  

Links to Performance Tasks Charts:  Content Courses and Field Experiences 

(Ideas to try:  Add column with standards, and try replacing generic artifact description with description of your specific artifact or a catchy title.)

Evidence of content knowledge:

Secondary and Communicative Disorder Majors: content knowledge in your field

Elementary Majors: content knowledge in all subjects

Early Childhood Majors: content knowledge in child development

 

INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES: Evidence of pedagogical content knowledge:   Evidence you know how to teach your content knowledge. Artifacts may include, but are not limited to lesson plans.  You will include models of projects, class web pages, planning ideas, proposed teaching resources,

A link on this page might lead back to chart of performance tasks in Subject Knowledge for easy reference.

Types of artifacts: Lesson Plans, Photo Essays, Teaching Observations, Teaching Experiences both for School of Ed and Special Teaching and Coaching Experiences.

 

ADAPTIVE INSTRUCTION: Evidence you are sensitive regarding learner differences and can adapt instruction to meet these needs:

Diversity: Cultural, social, physical, socio-economic, special needs (both struggling learners, gifted, and at risk), gender differences, learner styles and modalities.

The main focus in this section will be to identify your beliefs, values, and intentions, and If you include resources to links related to laws or  links related to Exceptional Education these will be a background to support your knowledge base about special education. Types of artifacts: Descriptions and reflections of working with diverse students for School of Ed. and Special Teaching and Coaching Situations,  Beliefs and Philosophy statements showing your commitment to  working with diverse students, Examples of your responses to students’ work, Lesson plans with highlights of enrichment activities or accommodations for special learners.

 

ASSESSMENT: Evidence you are able to assess learners in diverse authentic ways.

(This section is not a place for assessment and evaluation of you as a teacher.)  Types of artifacts: You may include formative evaluation (instruments used to support students in improving performance) and summative evaluation (final evaluation of a unit, course, or semester). Types of artifacts: paper and pencil tests, evaluation instruments used for projects, rubrics, students’ works’ and teacher responses, activities for final assessment (student portfolios or exhibitions of work) and documentation of evaluation reporting such as parent-teacher conferences

 

CREDENTIALS:  Evidence documenting your teaching credentials, such as resumes, personal data sheet, and evaluations of teaching.  Some future teachers include documentation of practicum and student teaching experiences in this section.  Types of artifacts:  Resume, Personal Data Sheet – showing experiences working with students, student teaching experience package, letters of recommendation (with permission of CT or supervisor), documents with explanation and reflections related to your community involvement and professional growth experience, i.e. conference, inservices, meetings attended. In the future this might be a place to include your Professional Growth Plan.