TEACHING PORTFOLIO

LUISA COREAS

Knowing students needs makes us good teachers, but teaching students what they need to know makes us successful teachers LUISA COREAS

MARCH 4RD 2014

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INTRODUCTION

By creating a teaching portfolio, you are providing to your colleagues or any other reader the evidence of your work; the things that you have done, how have you done it, what you are doing, how you are doing it, where do you want to get and what are the steps that you are going to follow in order to get there. Besides that, a teaching portfolio provides us a self-assessment where we can identify not only the things that we are doing right, but also all those things that we are doing wrong. The teaching portfolio serves as a reflection of all the work that we have done in our teaching process and it also shows us if we have improved and how we have done it, and by the use of that date we are going realize of all of the things we have gone through before becoming who we are now. The teaching knowledge that we have is a long period of experiences gained during our process as teachers, due that we have to go through lots of difficulties and maybe disappointments that will create much better teachers.

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WHAT IS A TEACHING PORTFOLIO? A teaching portfolio is a collection of documents that together provide a record of

the ideas and objectives that inform your teaching the courses you teach or are prepared to teach the methods you use your effectiveness as a teacher how you assess and improve your teaching (Louis, 2013)

In simpler words, teaching portfolios show evidence about the teachers performance and development in teaching; portfolios allow us to be reflective on what we are doing and what things we need to change or modify.

SELF-EVALUATION AND REFLECTION Self-evaluation is one of the most overlooked forms of explicit evaluation. Ideally and logically, this should precede all other forms of the evaluation of teaching effectiveness. For professional educators, the goal is always the same: monitor and adjust instruction to increase the learning of all students. Conscientious faculty members subject their teaching strategies, instructional techniques and style to their own critical evaluation on an almost constant basis. This evaluation often does not have a formal structure but even a simple checklist can help to focus ideas. Self-evaluation can assist you to:

Improve the educational experiences you provide for your students. Identify the professional education you need to further develop your capacity to teach well. (Pettifor, 2012)

It is very important to do a self-evaluation, make a pause, check what we have done and see what we need to improve. Personally, I have been thinking a lot on what I have done recently (in the teaching area) and I realized that I am capable to teach but I have to change my methodology because I am not teaching effectively; I am not feeling it.

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Maybe if I change a little bit my mind I can change my methodology, add another strategies and so that get another result.

Self-reflection: In a profession as challenging as teaching, honest self-reflection is the key. That means that we must regularly examine what has worked and what has not in the classroom, despite how painful it can sometimes be to look in the mirror. Then take your answers and turn them into positive, resolute statements that give you concrete goals on which to focus immediately. Be honest, work hard, and watch your teaching transform for the better. (About.com, 2014) There are many aspects that I need to reflect on What are the three things that make a successful teacher? There are many qualities that come together in successful teachers, but here are three that I think youll find over and over again:

Passion: Great teachers are truly passionate about what they do. It isnt just a job, but their lifes work. Empathy: Incredibly important because on the other end of any lesson is a person, full of potential and complexity and humanity. We must always see the humanity in what we do and in who were doing it for. Grit: Teaching is hard work. There has to be tenacity in the day to day routine and a willingness to see past the routine and into the unique moments waiting to be realized. (Wessling, 2013)

WHY DO I NEED A TEACHING PORTFOLIO? A Teaching Portfolio is a useful tool that can help you

develop, clarify, and reflect on your teaching philosophy, methods, and approaches present teaching credentials for hiring and promotion in an academic position document professional development in teaching identify areas for improvement prepare for the interview process (Louis, 2013)

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HOW SHOULD I STRUCTURE MY TEACHING PORTFOLIO? Because a portfolio describes and documents the abilities of a unique individual, no two teaching portfolios look alike. A portfolio can include a number of different types of documents. Those which you may choose to include will depend on your purpose for creating a portfolio; the type of teaching you have done; your academic discipline; and your portfolios intended audience. In spite of the variation that exists across portfolios, the following materials are often included:

Statement of teaching philosophy. Description of teaching experience (responsibilities). Course planning artifacts: sample course syllabi, lesson plans, assignments, exams Evidence of teaching effectiveness: summary of student feedback, department evaluations. Teaching awards and recognition. Professional development efforts. A table of contents is an important tool in organizing the various sections of your portfolio. Some of the above sections, such as the statement on teaching philosophy, are strictly narrative (reflective). Others consist of a set of materials that are supplemented by a narrative or rationale that explains what they are. The following questions should be answered in the narrative component:

Why did you include (item) in the portfolio? How did you use (item) in the classroom? How do you know that (item) was effective e.g., what did your students learn as a result of incorporating (item) in your teaching? How has your teaching changed as a result? What have you learned about yourself as a teacher? To be effective, a teaching portfolio must be more than a mere compilation of teaching documents that are interspersed with random pages of reflection. (UCAT, 2012)

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TEACHING RESPONSIBILITIES Teaching responsibilities are the description of a relatively simple document to start writing first. These are a list of all the duties that we have to include in our curriculum vitae, and it will provide all the necessary information about you to the people who is going to be reading it.

My teaching responsibilities might look like this:

Luisa Coreas English Bachelors Degree Universidad Capitn General Gerardo Barrios School of Arts and Human Sciences

While I was doing my social service at Instituto Nacional De El Transito, I remember that I was in charge of more than 40 students, all from the ages around 16-17 years old, they did not want to learn English, because they saw it just like one more subject to pass and well, that kind of disappointed me because their level of English was really poor, so I had no more option than to use the Grammar Translation Method, which, eventually I turned it into the Audiolingual Method, because they were getting more vocabulary week after week.

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STATEMENT OF TEACHING PHILOSOPHY

How do I formulate my teaching philosophy statement? A teaching philosophy statement is a brief and focused narrative expressing your beliefs, attitudes and values regarding teaching and learning. There is no right or wrong way to write a philosophy statement and it may vary according to your preferred style. The main components of teaching philosophy statement are:

A brief overview of your teaching responsibilities A description of how you think learning happens How you think you can get involved in this process What main goals you have for your students in particular modules or learning programmes What actions you take to implement those goals.

Your philosophy statement should critically reflect on how you put your beliefs about teaching and learning into practice, using evidence such as a syllabus, assignments or other relevant documents from your teaching practice. While statements vary by individuals or discipline, it is meant to reflect your strengths as well as areas for development. Therefore, certain guidelines apply: 1. Be brief Keep it short and use a straightforward narrative (first-person) style. Avoid technical language and use broadly-applicable language and concepts, since not everyone reading the document is an expert in your field. 2. Reflect Make the statement reflective and personal. For example: what skills and values do you bring to the instructional aspect of your job? What is your goal with respect to student learning? What qualities would you like to be remembered by as a teacher? 3. Be concrete You should be as specific as possible, and provide evidence from your teaching experiences. If you want to use your teaching portfolio as summative assessment you should have factual evidence of achievement in line with objectives, assessment methods stated in your performance contract or relevant policy criteria. 4. Do some research No matter how good a teacher you are, you have to engage with the scholarly contribution of others including literature of teaching and learning of a general
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nature and particularly that in your discipline. This is the first step to develop your scholarly approach to teaching. Just as you are familiar with current trends and issues in your own discipline, it is important to be informed on the trends and challenges in teaching in your discipline. 5. Be creative Stand out by making your statement unique to you. Use an interesting organizing style, an original perspective on teaching, or an engaging and creative writing style. 6. Know your audience It is important to identify your portfolios purpose and your audience. If it is to serve as a professional assessment for promotion, make sure to check for any requirements as far as format and structure are concerned. (University, 2013)

My Own Teaching Philosophy

As a High School student, I kind of lost faith in teachers because I felt like none of them could fill my own expectations, they were all lazy teachers, always putting us together in groups so we could discuss a certain topic and then developed it to the rest of the class, I remember that I said to myself once that, if I was going to become just like those teachers, I just was not going to be a teacher at all. And then I answered to my own self question, well, I want to teach, I want to give to my students a meaningful learning, something that they are going to use, something that they will remember for the rest of their lives, so then it was that I decided to become a teacher; and I just do not want to be just a teacher I want to become their friend, someone who they can come to if they are in trouble, someone who they will respect, and also, someone who will gain they love and admiration. I want to be different, I know I can make the change, and I know I will make it; I will teach them English but not only that, I will teach them to know how to fall in love with the English Language, that is why I want to use the Communicative Language teaching, as my approach, because I know that with the use of the different principles that this specific method has, my students are going to be learning more.

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Teaching Methodology, Strategies, Objectives Grammar Translation Method, Desuggestopidia and Communicative Language Teaching. Grammar Translation Method: Application of methods used in Latin and Greek to teaching of modern languages. Rules of grammar, not the language itself, are all important. Verb declensions are set out tables, vocabulary lists to be learned, leading to translation from mother tongue into target language and vice-versa. Little or any kind of attention to pronunciation. Principles:

Grammar rules are presented and studies explicitly. Grammar is taught deductively and then practiced through translation exercises. The primary skills to be developed are reading and writing. Hardly any attention is paid to speaking and listening skills. Teacher correction is the only way to make students produce the right forms of the foreign language. The goal of foreign language learning is the ability to understand the texts written in the foreign language. Mastering the grammar of the foreign language is essential in order for students to understand the written target language. Vocabulary is learnt from bilingual word lists. The mother tongue is used as the medium of instruction. A paramount use of translation exercises is given.

Desuggestopidia: The approach was based on the power of suggestion in learning; the notion being that positive suggestion would make the learner more receptive and, in turn, stimulate learning. Lozanov holds that a relaxed but focused state is the optimum state for learning. In order to create this relaxed state in the learner and to promote positive suggestion, suggestopedia makes use of music, a comfortable and relaxing environment, and a relationship between the teacher and the student that is akin to the parent-child relationship. Music, in particular, is central to the approach. Unlike other methods and approaches, there is no apparent theory of language in suggestopedia and no obvious order in which items of language are presented. (Bowen, 2000-2013) Principles:
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The first principle is that people are able to learn at rates many times greater than what we commonly assume to be the limits of human performance. The second principle is that learning is global; it involves the entire person. The third principle is that people learn either consciously or unconsciously or both, either rationally or irrationally or both. The last principle is the one that many people do not always agree with.

Communicative Language Teaching: Communicative language teaching makes use of real-life situations that necessitate communication. The teacher sets up a situation that students are likely to encounter in real life. Unlike the audio-lingual method of language teaching, which relies on repetition and drills, the communicative approach can leave students in suspense as to the outcome of a class exercise, which will vary according to their reactions and responses. The real-life simulations change from day to day. Students' motivation to learn comes from their desire to communicate in meaningful ways about meaningful topics. (Linguistics, 2014)

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References
About.com. (5th de Nov de 2014). Elementary Education. Recuperado el 28th de Feb de 2014, de Elementary Education: http://k6educators.about.com/od/professionaldevelopment/a/self_reflection.htm Angier, N. Friedman HS, Booth-Kewley S. (13 de january de 2014). About.com Educational Psicology. Obtenido de http://psychology.about.com/od/personalitydevelopment/tp/facs-aboutpersonality.htm Bowen, T. (2000-2013). One Stop English. Recuperado el 01 de marzo de 2014, de http://www.onestopenglish.com/support/methodology/teaching-approaches/teachingapproaches-what-is-suggestopedia/146499.article Champion, M. E. (2005-20013). Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University for Tomorrow. Recuperado el 28 de febrero de 2014, de http://tdu.nmmu.ac.za/Teaching-Portfolio-Development Davies, C. (2001-20014). A+ Resumes for Teachers. Recuperado el 01 de marzo de 2014, de http://resumes-for-teachers.com/philosophy-help/teachers-portfolio.aspx Dr. Joseph Marolla, D rZachary Goodell . (unknown de unknown de unknown). Developing a teaching portfolio. Recuperado el 28 de febrero de 2014, de http://www.vcu.edu/cte/resources/nfrg/DevelopingaTeachingPortfolio.pdf Freeman (1991), S. (. (2000). Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching. En D. L. Freeman, Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching (pg. 2). Oxford: Database Oxford University Press. Linguistics, C. f. (2014). CAL center for Applied Linguistics. Recuperado el 01 de marzo de 2014, de http://www.cal.org/resources/digest/gallow01.html Louis, W. U. (26th de July de 2013). The Teacher Center. Recuperado el 28th de February de 2014, de The Teacher Center: http://teachingcenter.wustl.edu/About/ProgramsforGraduateStudentsandPostdocs/resources/P ages/Creating-a-Teaching-Portfolio.aspx#.UxQCQPl5P7o Pettifor, L. (Tue 10th de Jul de 2012). Learning and Development Centre. Recuperado el 28th de February de 2014, de Learning and Development Centre: http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/services/ldc/resource/evaluation/tools/self/ Sauveur, F. Franke. (unknown de unknown de unknown). Alternative Methods. Obtenido de http://www2.vobs.at/ludescher/Alternative%20methods/direct_method.htm Luisa Coreas Page 10

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UCAT. (27th de July de 2012). University Center for the Advancement of Teaching. Recuperado el 02nd de March de 2014, de University Center for the Advancement of Teaching: http://ucat.osu.edu/read/teaching-portfolio University, N. M. (24th de jan de 2013). Teaching Development. Recuperado el 3rd de March de 2014, de Teaching Development: http://tdu.nmmu.ac.za/Teaching-Portfolio-Development Wessling, S. B. (21st de Nov de 2013). Teaching channel. Recuperado el 01st de March de 2014, de Teaching channel: https://www.teachingchannel.org/blog/2013/11/21/self-reflection-comes-inthrees/

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