Teaching Competency Portfolio
for Preservice Teachers
John D. Marvelle, Ed. D.
Department of Elementary & Early Childhood Education
Bridgewater State College, Bridgewater, MA
© 1997 by John D. Marvelle, All Rights Reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording,
or otherwise, without the prior permission of the author.
Written requests to distribute this text should be sent to Dr. John Marvelle, Department
of Elementary & Early Childhood Education, Bridgewater State College, Bridgewater, MA
02325. E-mail requests may be sent to: jmarvelle@bridgew.edu
Bridgewater State College professors may photocopy this document for use in their courses.
Ä I would like to thank the many educators who shared their insights and experiences
with portfolios and offered suggestions for this publication. This list includes: Kelly
Buxton, Sarah Crowley, Jennifer Dort, Beth King, Kristie Lambalot, Elise Marvelle, Erica
Morrill, Dr. Joanne Newcombe, Dr. Charles Robinson, Barbara Watts, Laurie White, and Jamie
Vient.
Ä The research behind this publication was made possible because of a generous grant from
CART, the Center for the Advancement of Research & Teaching at Bridgewater State
College and as a result of the support and encouragement of the Eisenhower-supported B3
Collaborative.
Ä As the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and other states move toward performance-based
teacher certification, it is becoming necessary for preservice teachers to learn how to
create portfolios that go beyond the typical "job-search" design to provide
evidence of teaching competencies.
Ä A Teaching Competency Portfolio is a collection of selected artifacts and evidence and
accompanying commentaries and reflections that are organized to document your experiences,
content and "teaching" knowledge and skills as an educator.
Ä The purpose of this publication is to help students in Bridgewater State College's
teacher certification programs to develop Teaching Competency Portfolios, that display
evidence of their content knowledge and teaching competencies and that help them gain
insight into their teaching practices.
It is an organized collection of artifacts that presents the many dimensions of
your work as a teaching professional including: planning, teaching, dialoguing, creating,
and reflecting. It is a display of artifacts selected from your Working Portfolio
and accompanying commentary and reflection about each of the items. It is a
collection of artifacts that provides evidence that you have attained specific teaching
competencies.
The preparation of a Teaching Competency Portfolio gives you an opportunity to
reflect on your teaching practices and your growth as a professional educator. A
Teaching Competency Portfolio is a valuable "tool" that you can use to share
your competencies with teaching certification boards, with those writing references for
you, and even prospective employers.
To create a Teaching Competency Portfolio you must first keep a Working
Portfolio. The most common portfolio used in higher education is the
"Working" Portfolio. A Working Portfolio typically has an informal look, often
simply a file folder or box, containing assignments and other artifacts.
Ä You should become familiar with the Principles for Effective Teaching and the
examples of descriptors. For the most current list, visit the Massachusetts Department of
Education's web page at http: //info.doe.mass.edu/ Ä The Principle of Effective Teaching
should become the framework on which you should build your "personal"
curriculum. Ä Your personal curriculum should influence everything you do from the books
you read, the experiences in which you get involved, to the questions you ask in class.
All of your actions should be directed toward helping you achieve the competencies
required of a highly-skilled teacher. Ä Of course, the goal of your personal curriculum
should not be to simply meet the Principles, but to go beyond them. Good teachers don't
just meet the standards--they strive to exceed them. Good teachers don't simply check off
competencies--they seek to deepen their understanding of learning and teaching. Ä Interns
should build their Competency Portfolios on the Principles of Effective Teaching and their
school's goals.
Ä Collecting is a critical step in creating a portfolio. Without "stuff," it
is difficult to provide tangible evidence. Ä Immediately designate a box for your
"stuff". Ä Locate old artifacts (i.e., papers you wrote, photographs from
previous teaching experiences) and put them into your newly-created Working Portfolio box.
Ä During your daily teaching, save artifacts (i.e., lesson plans), gather evidence (i.e.,
videotapes of a lesson in action and samples of student work) and attach dated reflections
to each piece of evidence. Ä Save award certificates or congratulatory notes that you
receive and news items that feature you or a project that you worked on. Ä In other
words, gather and save anything that you might use to document your progress and,
eventually, your accomplishments. By the time you are ready to create your Teaching
Competency Portfolio your Working Portfolio should have many artifacts that you will use
to provide evidence of your content knowledge and teaching skills. A quality Working
Portfolio gathers three types of items: artifacts, evidence, and ideas that will support
your teaching competencies.
Ä Continously gather samples of your work and keep them in your Working Portfolio.
Examples of things to save are: A lesson you designed (that reflects your teaching
philosophy) An "assessment" procedure you constructed and used A
teaching artifact you created, i.e., a game or "adaptive" device A piece
of software you developed A newspaper article about you or a class project
Award certificates A "pre-referral" plan for a student in need of class
modifications Membership certificates Artifacts from education-related
experiences, such as, camp photographs or a speech you gave at Toastmasters
Published works or communication pieces you wrote Hobby artifacts or artifacts from
unique experiences, such as, photographs of an unusual or educational trip
Ä Continously gather samples of evidence of your teaching skills and keep them in your
Working Portfolio. Some "evidence" gathering techniques include:
"Selected verbatim" [a word-for-word transcript of an aspect of a specific
lesson] "Verbal Flow" [a technique that documents the "flow" of
the dialogue between you and your students during a specific lesson] An audiotape
demonstrating your skill with a second language Samples of children's work that you
have stimulated Action-research projects focusing on a specific teaching strategy
A "case" description of a problem you faced and your solution
Results from a student and/or parent survey about your classroom A tape (audio or
video) of a lesson Photographs of a lesson in action Supervisor's
Evaluations Parent and student thank-you notes or commendations
Ä Continously write down your ideas, date them, and include them in your Working
Portfolio. Some examples are: A page of "I believe children learn best
when..." statements Yearly Update of Goals & Objectives Your notes
and thoughts on a workshop you attended Your thoughts on an article you read
A statement of your discipline philosophy A diagram and description of classroom
environment A daily journal reflecting on your teaching A written
self-evaluation on a particular lesson you taught
Ä Periodically, take some time to organize the stuff in your Working Portfolio box and
reflect on your teaching practices and your progress. Ä You may find it helpful to start
a file folder for each Principle (paste the Principle and its Examples on the outside of
the folder). Keep the folders in the Working Portfolio box. Ä As often as you can, write
"running" notes to yourself about things you are doing to achieve each
competency and place them in the appropriate folder. Refer to specific artifacts (i.e., a
"verbal flow") in your notes, however, keep the artifacts/evidence in the
Working Portfolio box so that you can refer to them when documenting other competencies.
Ä By reflecting on your practices and progress, your Working Portfolio becomes more than
a scrapbook or a box of stuff.
Ä The second most common type of portfolio in higher education is the
"Showcase". Ä A Showcase Portfolio typically has a formal look, often a 3-ring
binder, containing selected artifacts and reflections. Ä Preservice teachers typically
create Showcase Portfolios to use during job interviews. These portfolios typically
contain a resume; a statement of educational philosophy; lesson plans, and pictures of
teaching experiences. Ä A Teaching Competency Portfolio is a Showcase Portfolio that
provides evidence of your teaching competencies. Ä A Competency Portfolio is designed to
stand alone as proof of your teaching competencies. Ä A Competency Portfolio must
document your competencies. Your challenge is to convince readers of your knowledge and
skills, but not overwhelm them with unnecesary words or artifacts. Present each competency
and your evidence in an understandable, concise manner. Ä The best way to prove your
competencies is to provide evidence. Sometimes evidence is hard to gather. In these cases,
your words will serve as your evidence.
Ä Table of Contents [with page numbers and dividers] Ä Introductory
Statement The purpose of the Introductory Statement is to inform readers of the
purpose of the portfolio (i.e., to provide evidence that would qualify you for initial
teacher certification) and to describe how it is organized. Ä Presentation of Evidence
[Organized by competency] In this section state each Principle for Effective
Teaching and follow each statement with a discussion of how you attained it. Select
evidence and artifacts from your Working Portfolio that best support your claim and make
commentaries/reflections as to how that piece of evidence shows that you have attained a
competency. Thoughout this discussion refer to evidence and artifacts presented in
your Appendix. In other words, make your claim that you have achieved each competency
while providing the evidence in the Appendix. Ä Appendix In the Appendix you will
organize and present your artifacts. Your Appendix may be the final section of your 3-ring
binder or a collection of file folders in a separate Appendix box. Most artifacts should
be organized as separate appendices, however, artifacts that go together may be clustered
into one appendix. Each artifact should have a statement "posted" on it.
This statement should describe the artifact and offer a commentary/reflection about it.
These "Post-it" sized comments guide readers through your Appendix explaining
artifacts and providing written evidence of your thinking.
Use the following format to make your case
Principle Title: State the title of the Principle.
Principle of Effective Teaching: State the Principle.
Examples of Descriptors: State the examples of descriptors. Note that
each of Principles has sample descriptors. These descriptors are offer ways to show
evidence that a standard has been met. Descriptors are not standards in and of themselves.
Achievement Strategy: Write a short narrative that shares your
understanding of the Principle (and its importance) and discusses actions you took to
develop associated competency. This should be about one page in length.
Evidence of Achievement: In a bulleted list/short-explanation format,
present evidence that documents your attainment of this specific Principle. Refer to the
artifacts in the Appendix (i.e., see Appendix C: Verbal Flow) instead of including the
actual evidence within this section. This narrative should be about 1-2 pages in length.
Be concise, but also be sure that you explain each artifact or piece of evidence.
You should present each of the required Principles in this fashion.
Ä It is important to know your messages and present them throughout your portfolio -
in your philosophy, through your visuals, and in your reflections. Be up-to-date:
Make sure that the ideas that you express are consistent with latest research and current
best practices Arrange your artifacts and evidence in a thoughtful manner
Only include artifacts that provide evidence of your skills or insight into your teaching
ideas. Explain each artifact and share your thinking through the post-it-sized
comments Proof read and have several "critical" friends proof read.
Ä A good looking portfolio will help show off your evidence. Organize your
portfolio into a 3-ring binder and Appendix box. Use a binder that allows you to
insert a personalized cover Use a Table of Contents, sections dividers, and page
numbers Word-process all text Use photographs and computer graphics to add
color Emphasize key points with bullets, text styles, color, and sizes
Ask yourself the following questions: Ä Is my learning/teaching philosophy expressed
in my portfolio consistent with best practices? Review the Massachusetts Curriculum
Frameworks at http://info.doe.mass.edu/edreform/init2.html Ä Did I place a
"Post-it"sized comment on each artifact and do they explain the artifact and
offer a refection of my learning/teaching philosophy? Ä Do the photographs provide visual
evidence of my beliefs in action rather than fluff? Ä Does my portfolio show my growth as
a professional and my belief in life-long learning? Ä Is my portfolio attractive: neat,
organized, free of errors, and inviting?
Ä Remember why you are creating a Teaching Competency Portfolio. Ä Work with a critical, constructive friend. Ä Organize your portfolio by required teaching competencies. Ä Be selective with your artifacts! It's quality, not quantity. Ä Use "Post-it"sized comments to help readers understand each artifact and to "hear" your thinking. Ä Use photographs to help readers "see" your beliefs in action. Ä Find ways to show how you have grown as a professional. Ä Have a good proofreader review your Teaching Competency Portfolio. Ä Keep an active Working Portfolio even after you've finished your Teaching Competency Portfolio. Ä Start collecting today!