Professional Learning Portfolio for Teaching

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Professional Learning Portfolio for Teaching

• Dr Chris Reading
• Professional Development Lecture Series
• University of New England
• February 2007

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What is a profession?

• special status in the community
• exclusive right to perform particular functions
• seek social good
• right to engage in self regulation

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What is a portfolio?

• compilation of evidence which demonstrates the
  acquisition, development and exercise of
  knowledge and skills
• (from Retallick Groundwater-Smith, 1996)
• structured collection of teacher and student work
  created across diverse contexts of time, framed
  by reflection and enriched through collaboration,
  
• (from Wolf, 2000)

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Portfolios

• the goals of portfolios can vary greatly
• a diverse range of tools can be used to create a
  portfolio
• reflection is a critical element
• issues arise such as privacy

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Why use a portfolio?

• to provide a richer picture than more
  conventional forms of assessment
• Campbell, Cignetti, Melenyzer, Nettles and Wyman
  (2001)
• How to develop a professional portfolio - A
  Manual for Teachers

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Types of portfolios

• process portfolio - to improve rather than prove
  - an ongoing formative process that focuses on
  the learning process
• product portfolio - to meet desired outcome(s) -
  demonstrates that pre-determined standards have
  been met
• showcase portfolio - to celebrate achievement - a
  collection of best work

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Types of portfolios (continued)

• Terminology can vary .
• working, growth, cumulative, learning ( process)
• assessment, accountability, evaluation, status
  report ( product )
• display ( showcase)
• Try to focus on the purpose of your portfolio.

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Professional Learning Portfolio for Teaching

• So what type of portfolio will yours be?
• you have to allow for the fact that your
  portfolio may in fact be a combination of
  portfolio types
• what is the purpose?
• you need to create a living-history of your
  preparation for teaching life
• you also need to demonstrate your competence
  against teaching standards

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Purposes of portfoliosfor teachers

• assessment portfolio - provides information about
  a teachers effectiveness and is highly
  structured
• employment portfolio- provides information about
  suitability for a particular position and is
  semi-structured
• learning portfolio allows for teacher reflection
  and is open-ended
• What is the purpose of your portfolio?

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Electronic portfolio - why use technology?

• most documents are originally in a digital form
• hyperlinks provide meaningful connections between
  the evidence and the standards
• fun and easier to manage
• easier to distribute finished product
• helps to develop technology skills
• modeling - teacher uses ep -gt students use ep

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Portfolio stages

• portfolio planning - purpose, audience, process
• working portfolio - standards, evidence, tools
• interject personality
• reflective portfolio - for standards artifacts
• portfolio turns professional
• connected portfolio - organize, link
• presentation portfolio - record, present, evaluate

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Portfolio guidelines