Sherry TE803-10

Portfolio: Professional Artifacts for Reflection and Interviewing

Description
Teachers, as part of a professional community, share and evaluate their work
with others over time. In this assignment, you will use various modes to
document your practice, showing others why, how, and what you do. This tool
will help aid awareness and reflection and may also be useful at various stages
of the job interview process. Some conventional pieces are required—others
are up to you to select!

Artifacts
1 – Resumé/Cover Letter (Required)*
Brief introductions to your experiences and your goals
2 – Teaching Statement(Required)
Like a “philosophy of teaching,” but briefer and more concrete
3 – Unit/Lesson/Student work (Required)
Shows how you connect standards, teaching, and assessment
4 –6 Teaching artifacts (Your choice)
Examples of your work with students in- or outside the classroom
*Note: Some teachers also include transcripts, certification docs, and recommendations.

Process
1. Look at models
Look online and/or ask other young teachers about their portfolios. Remember
that there may be several versions of a portfolio with different purposes:
online/hard copy, short/long, reflection/interview.

2. Provide context
Your goal is to create a collection that can represent you honestly to a variety of
readers: yourself, administrators, colleagues, students, rural/urban/international

3. Collect classroom artifacts

Get in the habit of saving handouts and student work, as well as documenting your
practice with photos and video; save lots and choose the most interesting ones.

4. Organize and explain for an audience

Why did you choose these artifacts? In what order do they make sense? How do they
connect to the other materials you’ve collected?

5. Practice explaining your artifacts (in writing and in talking, separately and together)
It’s unlikely that someone besides you will sit down and read/listen to your entire
portfolio. Rehearse brief, compelling answers to big questions by writing/speaking
about the concrete examples your artifacts provide.
 Sherry TE803-10
Assessment
4.0 All parts of the project are included and on time.
Many telling details provided about context (e.g., school, students, standards,
curriculum, etc.) and teacher (e.g., intentions, beliefs, routines).
Several, varied, relevant artifacts illustrated by specific, thorough explanations
are clearly connected to the background info and to each other
in order to draw challenging, personal conclusions about teaching and learning.

3.0 All parts of the project are included and on time.

Many general or few specific details provided about context (e.g., school, students,
standards, curriculum, etc.) and teacher (e.g., intentions, beliefs, routines).
Several relevant artifacts illustrated by specific explanations
are connected to the background info and to each other
in order to draw personal conclusions about teaching and learning.

2.0 All parts of the project are included and on time.

Details provided about context (e.g., school, students, standards, curriculum, etc.)
and teacher (e.g., intentions, beliefs, routines).
Relevant artifacts illustrated by explanations
are connected to the background info and to each other
in order to draw conclusions about teaching and learning.

1.0 All parts of the project are included and on time.

More details needed about context (e.g., school, students, standards, curriculum,
etc.) and/or teacher (e.g., intentions, beliefs, routines).
Artifacts are unrelated to the topic or need further explanation,
seem disconnected from the background info and/or each other,
and allow limited conclusions about teaching and learning.

Criteria/Points 4.0 3.0 2.0 1.0

Thoroughness
Specificity
Relevance
Connectivity
Personal challenge