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Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc.
Unit 1 You—The Teacher of Tomorrow
Your portfolio is a personal collection of materials and reflections
that illustrate your learning, accomplishments, strengths, and best work.
These examples show what you have learned over time.
Think of your portfolio as an opportunity to keep track of your
learning. Use it to display and record items that showcase your
developing skills and abilities. These may include artifacts, or items such
as projects or papers you prepare for class, examples from a related
volunteer activity, and academic and other awards, just to name a few. As
you add items to your portfolio, it reveals how your knowledge, thinking,
and skills are growing. Your portfolio also serves as a source of personal
reflection, much like a visual journal.
Characteristics of Effective Portfolios
Effective portfolios share several common features. As you prepare
and evaluate your own, keep the following in mind:
• Portfolios have a clear purpose. Remember that the purpose of
your teaching portfolio is to record and highlight your experiences
and abilities that identify you as a good candidate for teaching. It
is not simply a scrapbook about your life.
• Portfolios reflect uniqueness. Your abilities and experiences
are not the same as anyone else’s. Because of this, your
portfolio should be original. You may choose to include
different artifacts than others in your class. You might, for
example, include photographs, certificates, descriptions
of your work with children, and evidence of your personal
leadership experiences.
• Portfolios show progress. Your portfolio is not just a random
collection of things. Think carefully about what to include.
Identify and date each item. For each, you also need to include
a thoughtful statement about why the item is meaningful and
what it demonstrates. These statements, along with the changing
quality of your work, show how your thinking, understanding,
and skills have evolved. For example, you might include the first
lesson plan you developed for your teaching class, along with a
paragraph about what you learned from the experience.
Later, you may add other teaching materials that you have
developed. The differences in their quality and your thoughts
about them show how you have progressed from your earlier
efforts. Remember that portfolios evolve over time, but they
should be current. You may remove some items (or store
them elsewhere) as you add new ones and progress in your
professional preparation.