As a student teacher one thing I recommend is creating a teaching portfolio. Although no interviewers ever directly asked me for it during an interview it came in handy before interviews to remind myself of what I've done, as well as during an interview when the interviewer asks specific questions. As a student teacher no one told me how to create a portfolio so I thought I'd post some information on here in case anyone was hunting around for some tips.
So here is the layout of my portfolio and a brief explanation of each section:
1. I choose a bright green binder, one of those nice flexible kind, I placed a bright yellow page on the cover with my name and a title on it. The more colorful the better when you are creating your portfolio. Also every page is protected in a clear page protector
2. The first document when you open the portfolio is my cover letter
3. My resume is next (tons on online formats to steal from, or go to your career center, they are a HUGE help)
4. My philosophy of teaching is next--there are several formats that this can take but it should be no longer than one front and back page--the format I choose was to pick 5 points and list them with an explanation (ex. Education should be student centered)
5. Next is my BCI and FBI check--this is more or less just a way for me to keep them in a place where I would not lose them
6. Next are my letters of recommendation, I have letters from the following people: my graduate college advisor, my student teaching mentor, assistants who worked with me while student teaching, the two instructors that I worked for during my assistantship, my teacher educator, the SLP I worked with while student teaching,
7. My license (when it came in, mostly again so I would not lose it)
8. My transcripts (color copies)
9. My praxis scores (color copies) along with a certificate of excellence (you could go ahead and place other awards/certificates here as well)
10. Next I have the a review from my mentor teacher, a review from my teacher educator, and my mid-term while student teaching--then another review from my mentor, my teacher educator and my final (obviously you want to pick your best reviews)
**Now here comes the important part, documentation of student teaching which is what I mostly turned to when I was being interviewed**
11. Unit outline for social studies: each day of the week of the unit I listed a quick objective and like 5-7 steps of the lesson (super brief)
12. I then chose a highlighted lesson plan from that unit and created an official, college style lesson plan
13. I then included documents/worksheets/work samples that I collected from that unit and then I also included some other work samples from other social studies lessons in there (if the kids names are on them you need to black them out)----this is a great chance to show your ability to differentiate worksheets/unit exams so include your high/medium/low tests/worksheets
14. I then did a unit plan for science as well as included a highlighted lesson plan from the unit, work samples from the unit, and other science work samples.
15. I then did a unit plan for reading and included a highlighted lesson plan from the unit, work samples from the unit and other reading work samples.
16. I then did a unit plan for math and included three highlighted lesson plans (one high, one medium, and one low) as well as work samples from each lesson plan
17. I then did a unit plan for social skills and included a highlighted lesson plan from the unit as well as work samples from that unit and others.
18. Next I included color photographs of various activities I did while student teaching, including photos of my students using technology (I put a caption under the pictures to explain what they were)
19. I next included a sample IEP I wrote (name blacked out of course)
20. I next included various parent contacts I'd had throughout the years including color copies of monthly news letters
21. I also included contacts made within the community for community based instruction as well as field trips
**The best part about these portfolios are that they help you remember what you did so you can prepare for an interview, they also keep your best work organized and together, I recommend that after you land your first job you create a small file folder where you can store items you may want to include in a professional portfolio such as awards/certificates/professional development as well as pictures/lessons/units/work samples you collected over your years of teaching--this makes you highly organized and you will look very competent at interviews. It's important to continue to update your resume as you are teaching so you wont forget any important things you've done over the years and you should also collect more letters of recommendation, especially from co-workers, even if you are not planning on leaving any time soon you can go ahead and stock pile some of those letters--you don't want to be a 4th year teacher trying to find a job and still using your student teaching portfolio, but the student teaching portfolio will give you a good starting point!!!
Here is a sample of the Unit Shell I used (again color printed for maximum effectiveness)--I think I found this template on Microsoft's website
TEACHER NAME: WEEK
BEGINNING:
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Theme:
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M
O N D A Y |
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T
U E S D A Y |
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W
E D N E S D A Y |
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T
H U R S D A Y |
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F
R I D A Y |
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Here is a sample of the Lesson Shell I used--This template came from my teacher educator while student teaching
Lesson Plan
Name
Date
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Ohio Standards Connections: |
Pre-Assessment:
Post-Assessment:
Instructional Procedures: Differentiated Instructional Support Extension Homework Options and Home Connections Interdisciplinary Connections Materials and Resources: Key Vocabulary Technology Connections Research Connections General Tips Attachments |
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