Assignment One: Portfolio outline and rationale

Name: Erin McGuinness

Student Number: 31864933
Portfolio Link: _____________________________
HD
D
C
P
N

Comments:

Clearly articulated rationale and plan explicitly linked to purpose and

relevant standards (or other relevant data)
Well articulated rationale and plan with links to the purpose and relevant
standards
Adequate rationale and plan with some links to purpose and relevant
standards
An attempt at a relevant rationale and plan with mention of purpose and
relevant standards
Fails to make an adequate attempt to meet the requirements

Assignment 1
I would like to commence this rationale by providing some context of
myself. My name is Erin McGuinness and I am completing a Diploma of
Secondary Education, majoring in the area of Science. I am currently
placed at Comet Bay High school for my final ten-week practicum.
Therefore, this assessment of a Professional Development Portfolio has
several purposes that are entwined with my current situation. Firstly, and
perhaps most foremost, it is a requirement for all graduate teaches to
demonstrate their learning and proficiency of teaching in order to be
registered under the Teachers Registration Board of Western Australia.
This Portfolio aims to document the journey I am currently going through
so that I can achieve my overall goal of becoming a science teacher. Also,
the Portfolio has the benefit of allowing myself to reflect on my practice so
that I comply with and meet all the necessary standards of becoming a
registered teacher, that are defined by the Australian Institute for
Teaching and School Leadership. By creating a document of this journey, I
am able to highlight to myself, the areas in which I am succeeding and
areas I require improvement. Finally, in taking the time to develop a
portfolio while I am in the middle of my final practicum allows me to have
an increased understanding of the Professional Knowledge that teachers
are required to have entering the profession. This portfolio physically
requires that I read and reflect upon each standard, and this in turn will
allow me to reflect upon where there are gaps in my teaching. Lastly, this
portfolio can be used in job interviews as evidence and a reason for
employment.
I am currently in the seventh week of my ten-week practicum and I have
moved from a 0.6 load to a full-time load. I teach several lesson per day
and I spend a lot of time at home working on new lessons and trying to
work on points of improvement that my mentor gives me. My Professional
Portfolio will be based on my teaching practices throughout this final
practicum.

Therefore,

can

use

lesson

plans,

feedback

forms,

assessments I have created and marked, as well anecdotal evidence, that

will provide the basis for my portfolio. I plan to use this portfolio,
specifically for graduation purposes, and so it needs to be able to
demonstrate the ways that I have achieved success as a teacher in the
area of Science. The career relevance of the portfolio is that it needs to
demonstrate my proficiency in particular areas of teaching.
Over the course of the last term I have been able to identify areas of
weakness and strength. Firstly, as I have completed a degree in
Biomedical science, my scientific knowledge is very thorough and so I
have been able to answer odd and challenging questions in class, to teach
beyond the scope of the content. Even areas of science that are outside
the scope of my degree, such as physics, have been dramatically
improved throughout this practicum to the point that I will be able to
confidently teach them once I graduate. I have been able to connect well
with students and create a rapport that has assisted in making a
meaningful impact in these students lives. I also have expertly utilized IT
in the classroom, while on practicum. Nevertheless, as all new teachers,
my behavior management on a class level could be improved. I have
reflected and taken on the feedback of my mentor and I know that I need
to be more consistent with consequences. In doing this, I will improve in
another area of which I may be lacking classroom presence that is both
approachable and authoritative. These are two areas I will aim to improve
well into my teaching career. Therefore, the teaching standards I aim to
address in this Portfolio are: Standard 2 - Know the content and how to
teach it, Standard 3 - Plan for and implement effective teaching and
learning, and Standard 4 - Create and maintain supportive and safe
learning environments. These standards, and the minor standards
associated with them will allow me to be reflective so that I can improve in
my areas of weakness, but at the same time, I will be able to present my
strengths so that I can demonstrate my competency for a potential
employer or assessor.

As I have discovered through this practicum, I have very prominent

professional beliefs and values. Something that has become apparent to
me is that it is highly important to be organized and knowledgeable. This
allows for easier teaching and less things to be concerned about in the
classroom. I prefer playing the role of a facilitator of learning, rather than
an instructor that is, I serve as a bridge between basic learning to
independent discovery. I achieve this through teaching beyond the scope
(or limitations) as set by the curriculum, and draw from a wide variety of
resources that encourages curiosity and positive engagement with the
content. I believe that learning is cyclical and constantly being built upon
(as supported by the constructivist theory of learning) and to avoid the
repetitive pitfalls of some teaching styles, I always try and vary my
delivery of content through the inclusion of cooperative group work,
practical activities, video and ICT, and STEAM-influenced activities
(incorporating art into science and technology).
In the portfolio I plan to show specific evidence that relates to these
standards. Most likely, I will present a lesson plan and power-point that I
used to teach at my school. In this, I will be able to demonstrate my ability
to teach using ICT, and show how I have used different strategies to
engage the students. I am also likely to provide anecdotal evidence on my
experiences in school, and particularly the challenges I face when trying
to maintain a positive classroom environment. I will describe strategies
that I have found to be effective, such as low-key strategies, putting
names on the board, etc., which have helped me maintain control. It is
also very important to be aware of students that possess learning
impairments or difficulties in my class (such as autism and ADHD), in
order to forward-plan and cater to the struggles that they have to face in
education, which is far too often ill-suited to students with alternate
needs.
I will complete my Portfolio electronically using the web service, Weebly.
This is an online program where I will be able to create a personalized

website. I have chosen this service for several reasons; firstly, it is easy to
create an appealing portfolio so that university assessors will not struggle
to mark and approve it for graduation purposes. As I can utilize multiple
pages on the website, it will be easy to divide and label each page under a
different Teaching Standard so that people reading the website will be able
to sift through the evidence I provide in the portfolio. As the portfolio is
online, it could be accessed by potential employers. Likewise, because I
have chosen this format, I will be able to easily access it so that I can use
it in future job interviews. Overall, I believe that this format and style will
allow me to create a job portfolio that will efficiently and effectively
demonstrate my proficiency as a graduate teacher.