Portfolio Organization: Part 1

Is anyone even interested in the portfolio information? I know that when I started this project, I searched and searched and rarely came across any good information on the subject so I decided to create my own information to share with all of you.

There is A LOT of information that goes inside a portfolio. It is a record of your teaching career. It is designed initially to be shared with potential employers but then can later be used in the review process. It should not be something that is put away once you have completed school. It is an ongoing tool. It should be sitting on a shelf in your classroom right now.

There are a lot of different ways to organize your portfolio. The preferred method currently is to organize them according to standards: either your state standards or national standards of your choosing as long as they fit within the scope of the position you are applying for/teaching. I just have one small issue with this.... how are you suppose to write the standard on a tab???

 Umm... Yea... I am pretty sure I cannot fit the standard onto one of these tabs! So I came up with my own method that makes sense to me but I made sure that each standard is somehow addressed within the pages of my portfolio. I used the dividers pictured above.  I {heart} them as I can create custom dividers or in my case table of contents for each section. I printed out the labels in red ink to match my binder and custom stationary. These are the exact same size and look just like my page protectors which gives my portfolio a nice streamlined look to it. They are perfect!

I have 10 sections in my portfolio. In another post I will share with you what I have in each section. Remember, this is an ongoing process and not created in one day! I add things continously to this binder. Kind of like I do my blog!

1 ~ Resume
2 ~ Philosophy
3 ~ Classroom Management
4 ~ Classroom Design
5 ~ Lesson Plans
6 ~ Parent Communication
7 ~ Certification & Education
8 ~ Evaluations
9 ~ References
10 ~ Professional Development

My e-folio is broken up into different sections as mandated by the university I am attending. I have a cover page, a certification page, a page for me to add whatever I want, and a page for each class I am taking.

So there you have it... a breakdown of how I have organized my portfolio. How did you organize your portfolio?

YOUR SHOPPING LIST:
~ 2 Packages of Dividers (5 Tabs)
~ Page Protectors