Portfolio submissions will be done electronically to ensure safe delivery to Practicum Facilitators and Mentor Teachers, and to provide TCs with valuable experience in working with online presentation formats.
Teacher Candidates understand that every teacher must accept personal responsibility for his/her professional growth and the reflective practice that supports ongoing learning. A professional portfolio provides evidence to support the TC's self-assessment of the learning journey.
Teacher Candidates in (EDPR2000) will prepare a Portfolio of Documented Evidence that clearly demonstrates how they have achieved the Learning Outcomes of EDPR2000 practicum. While it is fully the responsibility of the TC to initiate, maintain and complete the portfolio, ongoing discussion with the Mentor Teacher will support the TC in identifying gaps in the required experiences and taking the required next steps to support successful completion of the EDPR2000 practicum. At the end of EDPR2000, the Mentor Teacher will conference with TC on the TC's learning as demonstrated by the portfolio. A conferencing report will be included in the portfolio prior to presentation to the Practicum Facilitator.
Teacher Candidates in (EDPR3000/EDPR4000) are provided with a number of tools to help assess their practicum performance and to identify the goals they need to establish for the upcoming term. While it is acknowledged that hiring panels rarely request a formal portfolio, the creation of a portfolio should be seen as a valuable tool to facilitate self-assessment of professional growth, and as an organizational tool for thinking about practice to support articulate responses to interview questions. Further details can be found in the learning modules of the Practicum ECLASS. The professional portfolio for EDPR3000/4000 is an exit requirement of the practicum program and will be checked at final culminating practicum meeting.
All TCs should also consider their personal beliefs about teaching and learning and include a belief statement in their professional portfolio that highlights their individual identity as a teacher. TCs should take time to think about the evidence they have collected for their portfolios, how this evidence is representative of their learning, and where it demonstrates gaps in learning that signal a need for further development and growth.
Discuss progress based on inquiry and probing questions such as:
- How do you feel you are progressing in terms of your practicum?
- What do you consider to be your strengths and needs/challenges as a teacher?
- What is your rationale for choosing a particular experience/reading/engagement as evidence of learning for the portfolio?
- Which learning outcomes (EDPR2000) or exit requirements (EDPR3000/EDPR4000) do you think you demonstrate most consistently?
- Which learning outcomes (EDPR2000) or exit requirements (EDPR3000/4000) do you feel you need to focus on for the end of term?
- What are your professional learning goals for the upcoming weeks?
- How will you know you have reached these goals?
- How can we work together to facilitate achievement of the TC's professional learning goals?
