Teacher portfolios

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Teacher Portfolios What are they?

How should they be assembled?

Rob DickeyKeimyung University

KOTESOL’s Professional Development SIG

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Portfolio Types?

• Professional• Teacher (Teaching)

– Working– Display (Showcase)

• Learner (Learning)

• Significance of “ing” ???

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How Long?

• Dress Analogy

– Short enough to be inter-esting …

– Long enough to hide what needs to be hidden

– WAIT!!! Reverse that!– Everyone has different

perceptions

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What is a Teaching Portfolio?

• What would you like your teaching portfolio to do for you?

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Conceptualizations?

• Mirror (process of reflection)

• Map (goal-setting)

• NOT – a “resume”– A resume can be a piece of the portfolio

• What is the purpose of your portfolio? (helps define targets and other aspects)

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Purpose

• Document the

Scope and Quality

of your

Experience and Training• Showcase your Skills and Abilities • Showcase Your Achievements

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Targeting

What strengths, skills and abilities do I have to offer to this specific school?

Which of the above relate to the identifiable needs of this school?

What have I done to demonstrate these skills?

What do I want my Portfolio to say about me as a Teacher/Learner?

What do I want my Portfolio to say about my plans for Future Professional Growth?

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Contents?

• Teaching Philosophy• Standards (TESOL, ACTFL, other)

• Teaching Credentials & Responsibili-ties (what you've done)

• Goals (3~5 years)

• Activities (Beyond Classroom, but relevant)

• Performance Evaluations & Awards

• Product Samples (Yours & Students’)

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Standards

• Professional Bodies• Course of Studies (MATESOL, etc)

• Employer-set– Teaching, Research (Scholarship), Ser-

vice, Collegiality

• Self-selected• Mix from the above?

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Evidence (Artifacts)

• Compiled over months & years• Selected to meet targets• May meet more than one target• Annotated at time of collection• Reflective comments

– At time of collection, and/or– At time of inclusion

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Portfolio Media

• Bound Hardcopy• Electronic

– USB/CDROM/DVD– Internet-based

• Brochure (summary)

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Portfolio Arrangements

• Lots of “Sections”• Table of Contents• Tied to Standards or a required for-

mat• Product-oriented?• Introductions and Reflections every-

where!

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Hardcopy Portfolios

• Looseleaf (ring) binder• non-glare plastic page covers to hold

materials• 10-20 pages???• Consider larger than A4 and/or reduc-

tion of page size in artifacts

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Portfolio Table of Contents

1. Professional Qualifications & Goals

2. Philosophy, Vision, & Mission

3. Performance Documentation

4. Performance Evaluation

5. Professional Growth & Development– Readings, Reflections, Writings (3Rs)– Future Plans and Targets

6. Professional Accolades

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Portfolio Table of ContentsAREAS OF TEACHING COMPETENCE:1. Knowledge of Subject Matter

2. Lesson Design & Implementation

3. Use of Technology & Resources

4. Classroom Assessment

5. Classroom Management & Discipline

6. Communication Skills

7. Parent & Community Involvement

8. Multicultural Awareness & Attention to Diversity

9. Professional Qualities

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Portfolio Table of Contents

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Portfoliomaker.ca

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Types of Artifacts (1)

• Professional Product– Scholarly/Academic Presentations– Publications (journals, books)– Classroom Materials– Lesson Plans (include “after-action” –

did class follow plan? Why/Why not?)– Audio/Video/Charting of classroom per-

formance

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• Educational Product– School Assignments

• Engagements:– Committee Assignments– Textbook & Curriculum Reviews

(official or independent)

– Courses Taught (summaries)– Supervision & Mentoring roles

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• Professionalism– Professional Development Plan– Collegiality

• Letters from colleagues• Self-Narratives of your own collegial acts &

the environment in your workplace and pro-fessional community

– Peer Observations & Shadowing

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• Reflections on:– Professional & Educational Products,

Engagements, Professionalism– Meetings & Seminars (Memberships?)– Readings– Diaries and Teaching Performance (own

and others’)– Resume/Evaluations

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Reflection on Teaching Teaching and Related Responsibilities (as a Graduate TA)

As indicated, I have been the teaching assistant for the following courses:– SPAN101: Introduction to Spanish– SPAN322: Intermediate Spanish Literature

For these courses, I was responsible for two weekly sections, the grading of all exams and papers, the implementation of review sections and slide reviews, and the general administrative duties needed for the smooth running of these courses.

Departmental evaluations conducted at the end of each course docu-ments student feedback on my teaching and how my sections were run. For SPAN322 I also conducted a personal mid-semester survey in order to evalu-ate my sections and to improve their quality. Summaries and highlights from these evaluations are attached.

Please refer to Appendix A: Syllabi and handouts from courses; Ap-pendix B: Mid Term Student Evaluations and Year End Student Evaluations; Appendix C: Critical Review evaluations and Appendix D:Teaching Refer-ences.

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Teaching Philosophy

• “I believe …”• Takes hours & hours• Multiple Revisions• Deserves input from others• Believable• Consider using a Teaching Goals In-

ventory or similar to start

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Teaching PhilosophyPart 1. Your teaching aims• Why do you want to teach? to teach English? in Korea?• What are your goals when you walk into a classroom? (list a few, not too

many)• What are your goals for English learning in general?

– which are high priority goals in the class you most commonly teach? (consider a Teaching Goals Inventory instrument such as at http://www.koreatesol.org/content/teaching-goals-inventory

– do these change if you are teaching a different type of course?

• Which courses do you most enjoy teaching? Explain your choice.

Now write a single paragraph explaining the above.

Part 2. What makes for great teaching?• Describe one of your past teachers, why was he a great teacher?• Create a list of characteristics you think are good for the type of courses

you• wish to teach.

Synthesize all the above, make sure STUDENTS are the focus.

http://www.koreatesol.org/content/teaching-goals-inventory

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Teaching Philosophy

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Teaching Philosophy

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As a teacher of both English language and subject-matter content at university in the Korean setting, I BELIEVE:

1. Students learn from challenging yet personally-rewarding activity that connects with each learner's experiences (schema-building) and goals;

2. Students are informed both through Presentation (P-P-P) and Elicita-tion (matter previously learned by themselves or their peers), develop skills through Restricted Practice, and acquire language and master higher-level language/subject-matter fluency through Authentic Produc-tion;

3. Personal connections between faculty and students build trust, leading to increased learner risk-taking, humor can play a part;

4. Great teachers - memorable and influential in the student's future life - are those who co-create new successes with learners.

5. Korean university students in the social sciences need to develop criti-cal and creative thinking skills which can be practiced effectively while working in English with issues in the social sciences.

6. Teachers must balance language, content, and thinking skills with con-sideration for cognitive-load (“Flow”) in mixed-level classrooms.

(150 words)

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Reviews

• Ask Peers for comments• Consider balance of artifacts:

– Your own documents– Student work– Materials about you from others– Versus targets and Standards

• Copy-edit!

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For Interviews

• Let employer know about your Portfo-lio from the very beginning

• Mention Portfolio in your cover letter• Take Portfolio to interviews • Respond to questions with Portfolio

examples when appropriate• Leave electronic version / Brochure

after interview

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For More Information / Ideas

• The KOTESOL Professional Develop-ment SIG has an online discussion group (study group) to collaborate and share ideas on developing teaching portfolios.

• Visit the SIG page and Subscribe! (must be logged in to subscribe)

http://www.koreatesol.org/professional-development

http://www.koreatesol.org/professional-development

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Hope this was useful...

Rob Dickey

[email protected]