

		About Portfolios Why Portfolios Where do I Start? Purpose & Structure The Main Portfolio Sections User's Example Portfolios



		Username Password Not a member yet? Why not register now! Forget your username or password? Click here.

		Help us improve this site! We want your feedback: Online Feedback Form Email

Why Portfolios?

Professional Teaching Portfolios promote reflection on our teaching through tangible representation of one's own practice. As those who keep portfolios know, the process of collecting evidence of our teaching - and commenting on that evidence - gives each of us a different sense of who we are as professionals. We see our strengths anew and in a different light, doing a self-appraisal of our professional practice in relation to established standards.

In the time I have been researching Professional Portfolios, I have conducted portfolio work with thousands of teachers, and teacher candidates. In that time I have only known people to come away with a renewed sense of their integrity as professionals and of the legitimacy and excellence of their daily practice.

Like nothing else, portfolios also show us the areas in which we need to improve our practice. In creating a Professional Portfolio, we begin to recognize the areas which are 'light,' where we do not have as much evidence as we wish. Teachers have found this process to be one of the most valuable ways of identifying annual learning goals, and setting focused learning plans to address areas they themselves have identified as needing attention.

These processes of selection and reflection enable us to speak to our teaching practices in very powerful ways. When our portfolios are completed or updated, we see ourselves anew, and we are able to speak to our practice and the theory and research that supports the things that we do.

Lastly, the portfolio is a tangible artifact that can remind us at any time of the excellence of our professional practice.

Yes, the portfolio is of great use in interviews and performance appraisal, but, it is much more than that - it is a source of renewal for us when we are in the midst of challenging times. It is a reminder to us of our integrity, our beliefs, and the reasons we choose to stay in this profession. During times of challenge, it helps us re-create ourselves, find energy, and move forward in ways that are consistent with our deepest values and beliefs.

I wish you all the best of luck in the process of creating your Professional Portfolio.

Deborah Berrill
Director, School of Education and Professional Learning
Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada

Next: Where do I start?

Site Map | About PortfolioMaker.ca | Contact Us | Technical Support | Privacy Policy