Teaching Portfolio

One of the first things you are told about as a student is the need to create a professional portfolio and the importance of staying organized and updating it with every class and every experience you have.

I am also told that many districts are now using them for performance reviews. There are two options available to current professionals: electronic or traditional portfolios. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. Some districts or schools prefer one over the other.

For me, I simply decided to do both to satisfy whomever I meet in the future.

My university requires a completed electronic portfolio as a graduation requirement. Their choice of provider:

After countless hours of researching, I finally decided to create a custom binder at Zazzle. Zazzle is another one of those great finds that create custom products for a fair price and you receive it quickly.

I paid about $15 for my binder with free shipping and it arrived in about 2 weeks. Look for special offers online.

I love how it turned out. It is a 2-inch binder with two pockets inside. I used my classroom colors that I had chosen previously so that it will all tie nicely together.

The next thing I did was to create a title page (which I still need to add a professional picture of me to) and stationary. I used scrapbook paper to design these items them took them to a print shop to have high-quality/resolution copies made.

I am using page protectors to keep the pages neat and clean. Look for future blogs for information on organizing your portfolio, my template for classroom reflections, and items to include. I am still building mine so this will be an ongoing process. My TaskStream Portfolio is an electronic reflection of this project.

YOUR SHOPPING LIST:
~ 1 Custom Binder from Zazzle
~ 1 Black scrapbook paper
~ 1 White scrapbook paper
~ 1 Red scrapbook paper
~ 1 Black & White polka-dot scrapbook paper
~ Red glitter letters
~ Top-loading page protectors
~ TaskStream Account