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RUNNING HEAD: Teaching ePortfolios as Evidence for Ones Practicum

(Infographic by The University of Edinburgh, 2008)

Teaching ePortfolios as Evidence for Ones Practicum

How practical and useful are these portfolios?
By Prof. Jonathan Acua Solano
Thursday, August 26, 2015
Twitter: @jonacuso
Post 189

Reflective self-assessment is a key competency and the most challenging aspect

of learning to be a teacher (Jaaniten, 2013). At Universidad Latina, as part of my
Teaching Practicum training for ELT student teachers, reflection is key to have learners
reflect upon their teaching practice and their experiences in a classroom with real
learners. Our student teachers, as well as any graduate instructor elsewhere, can learn
a lot about teaching by discussing it and talking about materials and techniques but, like
most skills, including using a language effectively, [they] cant really learn it without doing
it (Gower, Phillips, & Walters, 2005). However, where should reflections be stored to
attest ones teaching reflections, materials, or even lesson plans? Is a teaching ePortfolio
the answer to the former question?
As Jaaniten (2013) puts it, it is a constant challenge in teacher education to
integrate theoretical knowledge with teaching practice. Student teachers or teachers in
in-service training tend to produce lots of materials and reflect upon their particular
teaching circumstances and challenges derived from their comprehension of theory and

Prof. Jonathan Acua-Solano

Teaching ePortfolios as Evidence for Ones Practicum

teaching strategies, but where is all that data going? It needs to be placed somewhere
so others can see it. For instance, at Universidad Latina is not mandatory to keep an
ePortfolio to store and organize thoughts and materials, student teachers are encouraged
to keep one that can later on be used as evidence for ones teaching practicum
experiences, especially when one lacks work experience as a language teacher with a
tenure. By means of teaching ePortfolios that instructors can keep, the builder constructs
meaning, makes the learning process transparent and learning visible, crystallises
insights, and anticipates future direction (Jaaniten, 2013) in their current or future
teaching.
If you are still wondering what a teaching portfolio or ePortfolio is, let us point out
some of its most salient characteristics. As it can be viewed at the Center for Teaching of
the Vanderbilt University (n.d.), these are the most relevant characteristics of a portfolio:

Portfolios provide documented evidence of teaching from a variety of

sourcesnot just student ratingsand provide context for that evidence.
The process of selecting and organizing material for a portfolio can help one
reflect on and improve ones teaching.
Portfolios are a step toward a more public, professional view of teaching as a
scholarly activity.
Portfolios can offer a look at development over time, helping one see
teaching as on ongoing process of inquiry, experimentation, and reflection.
Teaching portfolios capture evidence of ones entire teaching career, in
contrast to what are called course portfolios that capture evidence related to
a single course.
(Vanderbilt University, n.d.)

Student teachers learn to reflect, set personal goals, develop their teacher identity, work
more autonomously and collaborate (Jaaniten, 2013). And the evidence of all these
cognitive processes can be of great help for a future employer to see the potential new
recruits can have in their school setting.

Prof. Jonathan Acua-Solano

Teaching ePortfolios as Evidence for Ones Practicum

The benefits for ePortfolios for language professionals or student teachers are
many, and it is a great idea to have one of yours to be used as evidence that can attest
ones life as a language teacher or any other kind of instructor, because through
narrative texts, student teachers are able to express their personal voices and be heard
by others (Jaaniten, 2013) such as their college professors, their mentors in school, their
supervisors or coaches, and their peers. If all language teachers were into having an
ePortfolio to validate their teaching experiences, it will be simply awesome to count with
all this reflective journaling that can help readers understand who these teachers are,
what these individuals aspire in their professional life, and the level of mindfulness that
can be actually seen in their writings, planning, and so on.

References
Gower, R., Phillips, D., & Walters, S. (2005). Teaching Practice A Handbook for
Teachers in Training. Oxford, GB: Macmillan.
Jaaniten, R. (2013). Integrating Theory and Practice in FL Teacher Education. In
IATEFL, & T. Pattison (Ed.), IATEFL 2012 Glasgow Conference Selections (pp.
23-25). Canterbury, GB: IATEFL.
The University of Edinburgh. (2008). What is Portfolio? [Infographic]. Edinburgh, GB,
Scotland. http://www.scieng.ed.ac.uk/LTStrategy/eportfolio.html
Vanderbilt University. (n.d.). Center for Teaching. Retrieved August 27, 2015, from
Vanderbilt University: http://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/teachingportfolios/

Prof. Jonathan Acua-Solano