A professional portfolio is a collection of carefully selected artifacts that represent a teacher's progress and accomplishments in learning to teach.  It is a professional learning tool that interns can use to reflect on their growth as a teacher over time, clarify their philosophy and teaching goals, connect those ideas to their emerging practice, and communicate their accomplishments to prospective employers. 

Feedback from prior interns indicates that although not all employers review portfolios, many give prospective applicants an opportunity to refer to them during interviews.  More importantly, many interns from previous years have reported that the experience of preparing a portfolio and the effort involved in articulating and representing their talents, abilities, expertise and accomplishments was an invaluable tool in preparing them for job interviews. They felt more confident and prepared to talk about their philosophy, goals and experience after engaging in the portfolio development process.  Moreover, many states are encouraging beginning and experienced teachers to develop professional portfolios to promote ongoing professional learning. The portfolio can become a valuable tool to foster ongoing learning throughout one's career.

Engaging in portfolio processes.  The creation of a professional portfolio is a professional development process through which teachers document their progress and accomplishments in learning to teach for themselves, for their colleagues, and for prospective employers.  Interns engage in several processes that are also associated with the classroom-based work with their CTs, that assist them in acquiring and making sense of new knowledge and skills and reflecting on their ongoing work in the classroom:*

• Reading: gathering evidence of new knowledge and information from texts, articles, teaching resources

• Writing: formal and informal writing that demonstrates thoughtfulness and integration of new knowledge

• Thinking: making new meaning, connecting ideas, taking stock, constructing new perspectives

While the above processes may take place individually, it is also important for teachers to interact with colleagues to express their ideas, get feedback and learn from each other.  Therefore, interns and their colleagues,  in TE 501 and TE 502 seminars, in their TE 801-4 courses,  and in the professional communities within their schools, also engage in:

• Interacting: sharing ideas, discussing and defending, actively constructing artifacts during group inquiry

• Demonstrating: presenting, critiquing, publishing, enhancing traditional lessons, applying thinking and learning

TE 501/2 support.  Although the portfolio process necessarily cuts across all aspects of the internship experience, the task of creating the portfolio itself is officially connected to the TE 501 and TE 502 seminars, where the field instructors provide support and guidance and clarify requirements.  Below are some suggested ways that CTs--those who are quite familiar with many aspects of the interns' development--can provide advice and support to interns.

Identify, share, and selecting potential portfolio artifacts.  As interns engage in co-planning and co-teaching, they will be asked to gather and reflect upon various artifacts that will become potential portfolio items.  In a sense, they are working on a "rough draft" of their portfolio across the internship year, that can be thought of as having two types of activities:

• Collecting:  A major part of developing a teaching practice involves acquiring new knowledge and skills.  Artifacts that may represent interns' gathering of new knowledge and skills may include items such as:  

• Working:  By themselves, teaching resources do not demonstrate a teacher's professional knowledge and skill.  Attempts to create, test and hone their new knowledge and skill help document how they are making connections, reflecting on and assessing their teaching practice, and finding ways to learn with and from their colleagues--these are the very activities they engage in with their collaborating teachers.  CTs can remind interns that artifacts that represent these aspects of an intern's professional learning may include:  

Obtain document permission.  The portfolio process will begin in the fall months and continue on through the spring semester.  Since this involves collecting examples of classroom interactions (audio tapes, videotapes, still photographs), examples of students' written work, or information from short interviews with students, interns need to obtain parent/guardian permission to do so in accordance with school building and district policy.  A Sample Documentation Cover Letter is available on this website in downloadable form. Interns may use this example, or create their own in consultation with their CT and building/district policy. 

Interaction and demonstration.  Collecting and working with artifacts become especially helpful when interns take advantage of opportunities to share their ideas with colleagues.  Then they are able to articulate their thinking, reflect on their teaching decisions and actions, and learn from their ongoing practice.  The TE 501 and TE 502 seminars, as well as TE 801-4 courses, are places where interns will have opportunities to discuss many of the artifacts they may consider including in their portfolio.

CTs are in a key position to help interns identify and reflect on potential items that provide evidence of the heart of their work: engaging in standards-based teaching and meaningful student learning.  Since CTs are present and actively involved in collaborative unit teaching, they can be especially helpful in advising their interns regarding what might count as evidence of the intern's standards-based teaching and students' classroom learning (e.g., use of a particular assessment tool; samples of student work that represent their learning; observation notes from a classroom discussion).  These same discussions also have the potential to help interns and CTs reflect simultaneously on whether and how the goals for unit teaching were met.  CTs can help interns identify ahead of time what to collect, and organize themselves to collect information in feasible ways.

Final drafting, editing and publishing of the portfolio.  Across the internship year, interns collect far more artifacts than they will be able to include in a portfolio that "showcases" their strengths and professional accomplishments.  Interns will need to select those items that best represent  and most effectively communicate their professional learning to an audience who is not familiar with the day-to-day details of your experience. The selection process, therefore, includes:  (a) choosing items as well as providing commentary (as needed) that help the audience make sense of how each artifact represents your learning and accomplishments; and (b) making decisions about how to categorize, organize and present your information.  CTs can be "interested readers" who provide valuable input in this final stage.

• Showcasing:  Artifacts with commentary that represent an intern's progress and accomplishments in learning to teach are included in the "final draft" of the professional portfolio.  Generally, these are artifacts that have been shared, critiqued and revised so that they can feel confident that they meet professional standards to which they will be held.  There are several different types of artifacts that are needed to represent expertise and talent as a learner and professional.  The following items are examples of artifacts interns may choose to include in your portfolio:

Organizing the portfolio to look professional.  While the above suggestions are listed in categories, only the interns can decide on the best way to organize and present their artifacts to an outside audience.  CTs can provide advice about a design that:

• shows that the intern has met the Teacher Preparation Program Standards

• focuses on how the intern's teaching has led to meaningful student learning

• is creative and original

• displays organizational skills

• provides a table of contents and/or overall organizer

• divides the materials into sections that are clearly labeled and easily understood

• communicates key attributes, talents and values

• uses tools to enhance attractiveness (lettering, photographs, captions, charts, color, spacing/arrangement, borders, computer graphics, graphic organizers, variety of materials)

• shows careful editing and proofreading

Showcasing and celebrating at the Intern Convocation. Collaborating teachers are members of the audience at the Intern Convocation where interns share their portfolios with family, colleagues, course and field instructors, and Team Two Program Personnel.  CTs take special pride in knowing that they provided critical advice and support to interns in creating their portfolios.

* Note: The categories for the portfolio process as represented here are adapted from Wilcox, B. & Tomei, L. (1999). Professional Portfolios for Teachers: A Guide for Learners, Experts, and Scholars.  Norwood, MA: Christopher-Gordon Publishers.):

College of Education | MSU | Department of Teacher Education | Team 2 |