A Teacher's Professional Portfolio

*update* after using this Professional Portfolio in my interview last week, I got the job! And a permanent one at that!
*another update* My new Head Teacher gave me some feedback from my interview. I thought this may be helpful to some of you as the end of the school year approaches and some of you may be interviewing for new jobs. Here are some of the positive points from the interview when I used this portfolio:

1. Referring to items in the portfolio during the interview showed that I was organised and prepared for my interview. This indicated that I am an organised teacher as well.
2. My Head Teacher liked that I had photos of things I'd done in other classrooms so she could see what I was talking about.
3. By including things I'd made (like my behaviour management clip chart), I showed that I was creative and ICT savvy.
4. My depute self-proclaims to suffer from OCD and she loved all the tabs, charts, and tables in my folder. :)

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Does anyone actually use one of these in interviews? I'm under the impression that these are a must in America, but here in Scotland, teaching portfolios aren't really something the majority of teachers take with them to an interview. That being said, it's not going to stop me from putting together a folder of "look how great I am" to my interview next week. For the interview I did for the job I'm in now, I took with me some resources and photos of things I've done in my classes, but not much else. It impressed and it got me the job. This time around, inspired by all the teaching portfolios I've seen on Pinterest, I've decided to take that extra step and put together a folder of goodies to take with me. From my experience the last time around, it really helped to focus my thoughts when I had something to refer to. So without further ado, here is my portfolio:



Right at the front, I made sure to put a title page with my name. The next page is a Table of Contents to state what each section of the folder holds, and of course, I have dividers to make it easy to flip through the folder as I'm speaking in my interview.

The first section is my Philosophy of Education, which was in my application when I applied for the job. Next, I included a section for Relevant Work History and References. Again, this stuff was in my application, but I just thought I'd pop it in there anyway. Most likely, I won't be referring to this stuff during the interview.

Next, I have a section for Planning and Assessment. In this section, I included forms for planning and assessment I've used for different stages of Primary. I want to be able to make myself look like a versatile teacher who can succeed in any Primary stage, so I have examples throughout the portfolio from Nursery to Primary 5 (Pre-School to Grade 4 for you North American folks).



I've included a copy of a topic plan I created for Early stages last year in Health and Wellbeing. I also have an example of a mind map I did with the children in my current Nursery class. I did this to show that I plan using the Curriculum, but also using the children's knowledge and influence. I've also included a daily plan example from Primary 4, as well as a Topic Plan for tasks children can do when they complete classwork.



To show my knowledge and experience with Assessment, I've included a resource I created on Assessment is for Learning strategies (AifL), an example of Learning Intentions and Success Criteria being used in assignments, and an assessment format that I would like to use in future for larger projects or units of study. I'm very interested in assessment strategies and methods at the moment because the Scottish Curriculum can be a bit vague when it comes to National Assessment.

Next, I have a section for Curriculum Development. I'm fairly early on in my career, so I don't have much experience with Curriculum Development, however I have had the benefit of teaching the Heath and Wellbeing Curriculum to Primary 1-5 last year, which brought the responsibility of developing the Health Education Plan. I've included a copy of the plan in this section.



Following that, I've included a short section on classroom displays, and I popped in some photographs for interest. The reason I did this is to show that I have an understanding of how display can be used in the class to benefit the learner, and not just to show how creative I can be.



Next, there's a section I've titled Active Learning. This is a hot topic at the moment, which is why I've included this in my portfolio. It also allows me to show some of the fun learning opportunities and experiences my pupils have had. I made sure to include photographs of children of varying ages to show my versatility. The photos will also be a great talking point and give my memory a wee kick when I'm trying to come up with examples of active learning.



After that, I have a section for Behaviour and Classroom Management. I've actually printed off one of my blog posts and popped it in here because its all about behaviour management strategies that I've used or heard of. I've also put in a behaviour scheme that I created. I think this section will highlight my knowledge of behaviour strategies as well as my ICT savvy! Personally, I think Behaviour and Classroom Management goes hand in hand. If you have good Classroom Management routines and expectations, then behaviour should be in check. Of course behaviour strategies are still necessary. That being said, I've also included some group task cards that I created as an example of good classroom management, as well as reading task cards that I use during reading groups. Along this topic, I would also be talking about the way I set up my class (grouped desks vs rows) for different types of learners.



The next section is on Inclusion, where I've included photos of a visual timetable, a poster I made with different languages, and examples of visual, auditory, and kinaesthetic learners. During my time speaking about Inclusion, I'd also be mentioning other professionals involved with different types of learners, provision the school provides, and ensuring that I have a clear and deep knowledge and understanding of pupil needs.



Next is Parent Communication, where I have photos of ways in which I've made parent communication much easier. I've popped in a copy of a recent newsletter I put out, as well as a calendar I use to keep parents informed about upcoming events. Here, I would also speak about parent inclusion and partnership and how they are vital to their child's learning journey.



Lastly (finally!), I have a section on Professional Development, where I've included the titles and dates of courses I've attended.



Each section has a title page the same as the one at the front, and all papers are neatly tucked into page protectors. Sounds a bit OCD, but it looks pretty, so it's worth it.

Hope this helps any of you for upcoming interviews. Is there anything you would include in your portfolio that I missed out?