Building your Advancement to Student Teaching Portfolio in Evergreen's Master in Teaching Program is a way to reflect upon and present your emerging teaching persona. We believe that progressive/holistic educators in the 21^st century need to be clear in their critique of past practice, articulate in their vision of a better approach to schooling, and well-versed in the means to move from one to the other.

This portfolio is primarily a reflection of what you KNOW (Knowledge), combined with some evidence for what you can DO (Skills) in the areas of research and curriculum development. When you begin your student teaching in the Fall of 2004, you will continue to demonstrate your knowledge, skills and personal qualities -- especially what you can do with what you have learned -- in working with students in the classroom.

This Advancement to Student Teaching Portfolio should include a Table of Contents and the cover letter that you prepared for Loren introducing yourself for your Fall student teaching placement. Following this letter, please include a page with your (confirmed or unconfirmed) requests for Fall and Spring Student Teaching Placements.
 

1.  TEACHER AS REFLECTIVE PRACTITIONER - Demonstration of a balanced blend of personal theory-building through experience and the questions, ideas, and theories of others. Demonstration of a reflective, critical view of educational practices and a growing understanding of one's own educational vision.

• Revised personal philosophy of education statement, including a statement of your current views on classroom management. Usually educational philosophy statements contain references to other educators or philosophers in the field whose work or thinking may have influenced your own e.g. Piaget, Dewey, Delpit, Friere, Vygotsky, Moses. This paper should be written in a way that parents, teachers, and prinicipals will find understandable. It should be no longer than 3 typed pages (double spaced, 12pt font, 1" margins).

• Reflective essay on specific and useful things you have learned about teaching from the year's Field Observations and micro-teaching experiences.

• List of all schools/grade level classrooms that you have observed throughout the year's observation placements and list of focused interviews that you have had with school personnel.

• Micro-Teaching Lesson Evaluation Packet including your lesson plans and handouts, pre and post lesson assessments and analysis of results, teacher's feedback sheet plus the two items from the pilot Pedagogy Assessment that you selected, and your written self-reflection to the Micro-Teaching.

2.  TEACHER AS FACILITATOR OF LEARNING - Demonstration of movement toward socially responsible practice as shown in designs and activities for classroom use. Reflection of awareness of human development, learning theories; multicultural perspectives; learning styles; age and content appropriate methods and materials; principles of integrated curriculum; authentic assessment; classroom organization, structure and dynamics; modifications for special needs; cooperative learning; technology in the classroom.

• Copy of the concept web, content web, faculty and self assessment from your Curriculum Unit.

• Three examples of lesson plans that are responsive to and supportive of individual differences among students, taken from either your Curriculum Unit or gradeband lessons, or micro-teaching lessons e.g. bilingual students, students with learning disabilities, learning style variations, culturally diverse backgrounds, different skill levels. *

• Two examples of lesson plans that address academic skill development, taken from either your Curriculum Unit or micro-teaching lessons e.g. teaching a reading or writing skill, use of Internet resources, visual organizers, data collection, skill development for group work, seminaring, lab safety.*

• A written reflection about the relationship of interdisciplinary instruction based on guiding questions to the development of students' critical thinking. What are the advantages and/or disadvantages of teaching from a conceptually based guiding question perspective versus teaching from a skills or subject, discrete knowledge perspective

• Revised Ethnic Autobiography Your autobipgraphy may integrate reflections on what you have learned through the year's seminar books, reading, writing, math and other workshops, writing your ethnic autobiography, Day of Absence/Day of Presence, your own curriculum development experience, your classroom observations and other influences on your thinking about your own development as an anti-bias teacher in our diverse democracy. Include specific implications of your cultural encapsulation for you as a teacher of other people's children.

• Revised draft of the "Introduction" to your Master's project, and first draft of your "Historical Background" section of the project and outline of Chapter 3, with faculty comments attached.

• Documentation of any professional development opportunities that you have taken advantage of this year:

• any seminar facilitation strategies you were responsible for, or specific contributions you made to the MIT program and your colleagues;
• description of any professional development opportunities or in-service days you may have attended with your teachers or in the school where you teach;
• any education or content area related conferences or workshops you may have attended this year outside of our program;
• any subscriptions to professional journals and/or membership in education organizations you may have joined;
• any substitute teaching or other outside teaching, coaching, youth program support work that you may have done.

• NOTE FOR YOUR TABLE OF CONTENTS:The final entry in this portfolio will be your year-long Self-Evaluation. This self evaluation may be no longer than 3 full pages, single-spaced and typed on the college’s official form. The evaluation should be a clear answer to "What have I learned?" and "What difference does it make in how I think about teaching and learning?" Focus on your strengths and new learning and remember that when you apply for your first job, this self-evaluation will be a part of your official transcript, so it should be well-written and be carefully edited. We'll give you feedback on it at your Evaluation Conference.