How to create the portfolio?
A) Artifact- A collection of evidence used to justify an accomplished practice (ex. Teacher work, student work, curriculum).
1) Name of artifact- give the artifact a title
2) Description of artifact- provide a statement that describes the artifact (5 w’s- Who, What, When, Where, Why)
3) Accomplished practice- The Accomplished Practices have been adopted by the Florida State Board of Education to specify what preprofessional teachers should know and be able to do as they begin their career. Identify which AP the artifact represents. Choose only one. For more information about the accomplished practices you can visit: http://www.coedu.usf.edu/ap/
4) Tags- Select the subcategories of the accomplished practice that the artifact represents.
B) Rationale- A rationale is the basis or reason for including the artifact in the portfolio and will consist of the following components:
Claim- Write a one sentence statement or assertion that connects the accomplished practice or reading competency to the artifact.
Example 1: Weekly newsletters connect curriculum and school/classroom events with families increasing parent involvement in my classroom and in their child's learning .
Example 2: Teachers stay updated on current trends through professional sources and organizations.
Example 3: Students increase reading fluency by reading the same material several times.
Example 4: Student cooperative groups enhance engagement in the lesson.
Example 5: Responsive classroom enhances classroom community.
Evidence to support claim- Share an artifact that proves the claim. This includes uploading the evidence (ex. lesson plan, journal reflection, spreadsheet of grades, powerpoint, student work) and highlighting the specific connections to the APs or Reading Competency. This type of "highlighting" could be done with "add comments" or color changes on the document. These are necessary to show the reader what parts of the artifact are important to your argument. Additionally, in the text box you should also write an explanation of how you see that evidence supporting your claim.
Connection to the literature- Use the literature review produced by the Florida Education Standards Commission (or other professional source) to tell why this is an important professional accomplished practice or use the literature from _____ to tell why this is an important element of Reading Competency 2.
Example:
The use of cooperative learning fosters extensive positive interaction among students. It is the skillful teacher who can implement effective cooperative learning strategies (Slavin, 1990). Researchers have found students in cooperative learning situations communicate with each other more extensively about content, set group goals, and explain subject material to each other (Deering and Meloth, 1990; Webb, 1998). Cooperative learning strategies are identified as having positive effects on a variety of student prformance outcomes. According to Johnson and johnson (1985) and Slavin (1987b), cooperative learning groups benefit students both academically and socially. It can contribute to cross-cultural interaction, foster positive attitudes towards the teacher and other students, provide beneficial effects for mainstreamed students, and enhance the self-esteem of all involved (Hunt, 1987; Johnson & Johnson, 1985; Slavin 1987b; Wood, 1987).
C) Reflection- What do you make of this?
What did I learn?- Write a reflection that explains what you learned related to the rationale. This might include insights you gained as a result of discussion about this lesson with your coach, mentor, or peer. Also, be sure to include things that didn't work. We are looking for serious self-reflection not perfect stories. Be sure to think about the different focuses of reflection. Use the following ideas to help prompt your reflection:
Self exploring possible reasons, weighing different viewpoints, and exploring alternatives.
Providing reasons for actions based on personal judgment or reading the literature.
Reporting events and focusing on the immediate.
Thinking about the effects of one’s actions on others, taking the broader historical, social, and/or political context into account, and raising questions about your teaching practice.
What did the students’ learn?- Write a reflection that explains what the students learned or didn't learn related to the rationale. Think about all the children in your class and how they responded to the lesson. Take a look at work samples. Upload examples of student work or other evidence of student learning when appropriate and explain here what the evidence tells you about student learning.
What will I change? - Describe what changes you would make in the future. These changes could be specific to this lesson or be broader lessons learned that will influence the way you teach in the future. These changes could be specific to individual children or sub-groups of children within your classroom. We expect each lesson will lead you to many future changes in your instruction.
