1Running Head: TEACHING PORTFOLIO

2TEACHING PORTFOLIO

'

Introduction

Teaching is a profession that demands a lot of responsibility for us as future teachers, and all these responsibilities are carried out to obtain good results in learners. To know about our responsibilities in teaching and made us conscious in fact that teachers must be continuously improving their weaknesses, and looking for a way of solving conflicts during the teaching process. Being a teacher is the way of facilitate the connection between knowledge and learners, this way is built through a series of task and structures that must be chosen specifically for a certain group of learners, and based on ethic principles to have a complete guide during the teaching process. We must create such guide with many tools and structures to follow step by step all the process of teaching during the course, and do the teaching process easier but productive; in that way, we can achieve settled goals to accomplish successful our role as teachers. As in all process, there exist possibilities to face problem in which our professional ethic will be applied to solving this problems in the better way. Our stands and belief as teachers will be helpful to lead with all kind of conflicts presented in our teaching process. The creation of a teacher portfolio is very important, because it will be a guide to follow during teaching process, we must keep it always updated, and organized correctly to gain positive results, and also look at it as a very important tool that must be respected. The teaching portfolio is also a binnacle that allow us realize about things that we did in our past to know if we have improved or not, and follow a procedure of possible solutions or improvements. It is also a cover letter for us as future teachers in which we present our expectations in teaching, the way we teach, and how well we teach. The teaching portfolio is purely a description and a compilation of all that will be carried out in the teaching process. The best tool that represents us as future teacher is our teaching portfolio, so that is the importance of creating our own.

What is a Teaching Portfolio?

There exists a broad vary of definitions in literature about what is a Teaching Portfolio. The most confident source I found to support and understand that important question will be exposed in this answer. The definition proposed by Peter Seldin that says: “It is a factual description of a professor’s teaching strengths and accomplishments. It includes documents and materials which collectively suggest the scope and quality of a professor’s teaching performance. It is to teaching what lists of publications, grants, and honors are to research and scholarship.” (Seldin, 1997). In other words, Seldin summarize a teaching portfolio is a summary you compile to demonstrate your commitment, major accomplishments and strengths in teaching field. It is a compilation of documents and tools you will use in teaching. Those documents in your teaching portfolio also serve as base of reference for evidence improvements in your teaching.

Author: Manuel Parada

March, 2nd 2015

3TEACHING PORTFOLIO

The teaching portfolio also serve as a binnacle in which we evidence our teaching methodology, strategies, techniques, and many more documents that we provide to our students. Through this dossier we can compare with our results in teaching to identify the contrast, and find possible future improvements into the teaching process. “Teaching portfolios capture evidence of one’s entire teaching career, in contrast to what are called course portfolios that capture evidence related to a single course." (Hutchings, 1998). A Teaching Portfolio serves us as a source of review and reflection, because it prompts us to engage us in a comprehensive self-assessment of different aspects in our work and reflect all about what we do it? Why we do it? And how we do it? At the time we recognize our strengths and weaknesses.

There are two types of Teaching Portfolios: a Working Portfolio and a Showcase Portfolio. A Working Portfolio contains items that show how a teacher has progressed toward meeting a particular goal (as implement), and a Showcase Portfolio is designed to show the teacher his or her best (as reference). Through preparing a Teaching Portfolio facilitate the process during the teaching practice, because it provides us all the tools to work successfully if it is well prepared.

Self-evaluation and Reflection

I consider teaching as the most sophisticated process in all learning, because it involves lots of process into one action that determine a vary results in learners. That profession involves important tasks such as facilitator, assessing, observer and so on that made complex the profession in all sense. The creation of a teaching portfolio is a task that serves us to link everything that made us teachers to show our expectations as teachers. As teacher we should know what our student necessities are as priority, because we need to know their weakness in their learning in order to build it into strengths. It is our responsibility facilitate learning in students through tools we pretend use during the teaching process. I aware that being a teacher demand lots of responsibility and capacity, because a teacher is the model to follow by students, so everything we do as teacher no matter if it is wrong or right is our responsibility.

I agree that is really important firstly to know who what kind of teacher we are, so I will identify my positive and negative background and follow changes to accommodate myself to my students. My personality and attitude will define my stands to deal during the teaching process, I think that a positive personality create confidence for developing the role as a teacher as well as possible; personality is something we can keep improving to do our work much better. The attitude I take in front of students will define the quality of my teaching, I believe that a good teaching depends too much in teacher’s attitude, because when we adopt a comprehensive and sensitively attitude we create a confidence environment with students, and hat opens door to a good relationship and

4TEACHING PORTFOLIO

a participatory class. “The effective attitudes and actions employed by teachers ultimately can make a positive difference on the lives of their students.”(Gourneau)

I realize that in teaching profession we must keep improving and innovating day by day. Since I was studying in basic school I got interested in teaching field, but it was not until few years ago that I wanted to learn English for teaching. I remember my first English teacher in school, she was a good teacher but English field was not her strength. She could have a correct methodology, good strategies, and vary of techniques but she did not have a good English proficiency. It was the reason that motivated me to learn English for teaching, I actually think that I do not have high English proficiency, but I have enough knowledge about English and teaching for being able to introduce and familiarize that new language to my students.

I trust in all knowledge I got during my preparation for teaching, and I think that I can implement a new process of teaching for students in which student can improve their English knowledge and skills as well. I do not pretend compare how I learned English in order to teach in that way, because each student has different kinds of minds and therefore learn, remember, perform, and understand in different ways according to the Theory of Multiple Intelligences (Gardner, 2010), so I believe that we should adapt our teaching methodology strategies and techniques in a way that we can succeed with all students learning.

I think about experience as major in all teaching, because it is through experience we realize what are our weaknesses? What are our strengths? What we should improve in our methodology? And many more questions that will help us to find out a possible improvement of teaching we provide to students. I agree that my teaching experience as too short, but it is necessary carry out my teaching practice in order to gain experience what is important for me as it is for students. "The four pillars of education: learning to know, learning to do, learning to live together, and learning to be.” (UNESCO)

Why do I need a Teaching Portfolio?

There is a wide vary of thoughts suggesting reasons about the importance of developing a Teaching Portfolio, Sally Wijesundera form University of Western Australia staff, suggests the following reasons why staff may need or want to develop a teaching portfolio:

Evidence in applications for grants, appointments, tenure, promotion, or consultancies.

Self-evaluation, reflection and improvement. Planning for Staff Development Review discussions. Fostering discussion about teaching. Evidence of work quality. (Wijesundera, 1995)

5TEACHING PORTFOLIO

They help document what has happened in the classroom over months or years, and can provide valuable evidence for hiring, tenure, and promotion committees. But they also help teachers reflect on changes made in teaching over time, as new materials, improve technologies are incorporated into courses or as the curriculum changes. Such year-end a Teaching Portfolio reflection helps an instructor evaluate whether students are learning from current teaching strategies or whether other kinds of assignments or activities could accomplish the same goals more effectively. And finally, keeping an up-to-date file of teaching practices also may come in handy when applying for specific kinds of grants or teaching awards.

According to (Seldin, 1997), Teaching Portfolios has two main purposes of using. Firstly, it is a summative statement of what you have achieved, that is, a document that presents your teaching achievements. This information will be necessary when you apply for new positions, probation and promotion or when applying for grants, consultancies or teaching awards. Secondly, a teaching portfolio can be used as part of the formative assessment of your own performance, that is, to reflect on what you are trying to achieve and how you might improve upon it.

How should I structure my Teaching Portfolio?

The structures of you can choice for creating your teaching portfolio might differ significantly depending upon the purpose for which you intend to use it. In some circumstances you can focus your structure applying for a new job or a position in which you should emphasize your Teaching Portfolio in academic background. If you consider adapt your structure to the needs in institution you want to work for, you should focalize your Teaching Portfolio in academic development from this institution. Probably you want adopt a structure in which you need to evidence your work for improving your abilities, so you should structure your Teaching Portfolio in your personal expectation to succeed. Whatever your purpose, you should also structure your portfolio to highlight what you consider to be your relative strengths in teaching and learning, "Competencies required for good teachers" (Simpson., 1995).

There is no correct structure for a teaching portfolio, but most of the literature indicates that it should at least address the following aspects of your teaching:

Your philosophy on teaching and learning. Documentation for current teaching practices, self-reflection on current

practices and plans for future improvement. Evidence of your performance as a teacher.

Those basic aspects are meaningful as a base in the structure of your Teaching Portfolio, it depends on the purpose you want to focalize you will have modify and adapt it in the way you consider. “What we have looked

6TEACHING PORTFOLIO

for, but not seen, in advice for developing portfolios is advice on how to go about a concurrent process to understand and express what constitutes excellent teaching in the academic unit in a way that reflects actual teaching practice.” (Richlin, 1995)

Teaching Responsibilities

It’s very important to know what the responsibilities for teachers are, because it shows an engagement with teaching profession and students learning as well. My teaching responsibilities are focused in creating a dynamic environment into the classroom applying a variety of techniques in which student participation is taken into account. I use a blended of writing, lecture, discussion, and solving exercise in my lessons because this kind of activities awake and put student’s mind in working status. I assign individual, pair, and groups work to allow students discuss, comment, and solve problems for creating lessons in which student-student is evident.

I make frequently use of short periods of time to make students reflect and comment on behaviors, improvements, and some necessary facts for creating confident relationship teacher-student and vice versa. I plan and improve my lessons structures constantly because student’s need change and it is necessary adapt everything to success with student’s learning in all my lessons. I respect the syllabus provided by the educative institution and I follow it using all the technological resources the institution posses to make interactive and interesting my lessons. I engage my professionalism to assess students equally and being considerable giving special support when students present a deficit in their academic performance. Using a multitude of teaching approaches, I guide students to appreciate the complexity of every topic. My aim is to introduce and familiarize the English language in students through a dynamic environment in which they can develop the language easily by using their experience and rewarding them with motivation eventually.

Statement of Teaching Philosophy

I recognize that teaching is more than a profession, I think in teaching such a life style in which I must enjoy every moment. The purpose of teaching results widely in many aspects, but I am really sure that one of them is the ability to change behaviors in students through knowledge acquired from teachers. During my preparation in teaching field I have coursed by many teachers with different ways to teach, and I have collected most part of attributes from them for giving my best in teaching. I believe that everyday a student is exposed in front a teacher will have something new to know. But I realize that teaching imply experience for teachers when it is giving a lesson. Through my short

7TEACHING PORTFOLIO

experience with students I have learned a great amount of things that makes more interesting this profession.

I keep my ideology that experience with students is gained a long time, and as teacher I have something new to acquire from my students. But as English teacher my labor is not only teach the students how does the English language works, I care the way my student learn. I consider that a teacher must focalize in facilitating the way of learning from students in order to create better learners. I not only pretend internalize the practice of the language inside the classroom; I motivate students to become English language in a generalized practicing. I am a believer of teachers are models to be followed inner and out the classroom, that’s the reason to be carefully about our behaviors because it affect or contribute our teaching reputation.

My expectative in teaching is student centered learning. I consider that this approach make students works in their autonomy and independency by putting responsibility for the learning path in their hands. That’s the reason I based my teaching in the constructivist learning theory in which learners construct their learning through their own experience (Jean Piaget & Lev Vigotsky, 1978). My approach change the traditional teaching in which teacher is seen as primarily the active role and students are seen as secondary passive role into the classroom. Within this approach I pretend keep active students and emphasizes them the critical role in constructing meaning from new information and prior experience. I try to create in my students a good image of my role in teaching and I want to be exposed to gain experience from them too.

I consider strongly that students motivation influence enormously in their learning, that is why I keep a comprehensive posture with students giving them support of motivation and improvement, because learning a second language involve lot of stress and frustration for some students. The way of measuring the effectiveness of my teaching will be based through the improvement of my students especially when the course has finished. My statement of teaching philosophy will be susceptible to changes for improvements along time; the experience I acquire will be exposed continuously for improve my teaching role.

Teaching Methodology, Strategies and Objectives

It result difficult define a perfect methodology for teaching a second language in which learners present a completely success in learning this new language. Each teacher has a different methodology for teaching English as a second language according the theories they follow. I base my teaching methodology in the theory that learners construct their own learning through experience (Jean Piaget & Lev Vigotsky, 1978), so I apply this theory in a sense to learn by the process of using and being exposed to this new language. “To be exposed”(perceiving) implies that students will develop the reading and listening skills, and “using it”

8TEACHING PORTFOLIO

(communicating) in the other hand will develop writing and speaking skills, so students will have a complete develop of four macro skills.

My methodology is not focused in the use of one single method, one single strategy, neither one single technique; my methodology is based on handle more than one because I want to vary the teaching style constantly and do not be monotonous. Despite my teaching approach, the Syllabus of Tenth & Eleventh Grade provided by Ministry of Education (MINED, 2008) suggest the use of Communicative approach, it based on the development of language competencies essential for communicating and properly interacting with the environment. So, following this requirements I will make use of Direct Method in which students can be exposed to the target language by receiving the class in English. They also will have the opportunity of communicating in English during the class and change the traditional Grammar Translation Method in which learners cannot develop their communicative abilities because the use of target language is not allowed, in that way learners not only have theory about how to use the language, they will use the language applying grammar and structures in real context for developing their communicative abilities. The purpose of using the Direct Method is to reduce the use of L1 during the class and create the habit of communicating in the target language in my students (Larsen-Freeman, 2008).

I will also apply in my teaching practice the use of Audio-lingual Method because this method is also based on Communicative Approach. I want to use this method because it will allows to students practice the target language through exposure of real situations, they will learn grammatical structures by conditioning helping them to respond correctly to stimuli through shaping and reinforcement, and the last one method I will apply is the Community Language Learning. This method is applied for teenagers and adults who are the most exposed to feel fears in performing a new language. I will see all my students as whole-person I will not focus only my students intellect because it necessary focalize what is behind the improvement, I will consider reduce fears in student to participate because it could block their learning, so I want to focalize generalize the class in all my students (Larsen-Freeman, 2008).

The strategy and techniques I will use with my learners are selected carefully to develop competences in student according to each method that I will apply. Techniques are important because these encourage flexibility, agility, strength, and endurance in learning. Warm up techniques are important because it gradually sets the mood to engage students in learning and it also gets the student's language schemas activated to connect with previous classes and with what is about to happen. Wrap up techniques in the other hand, it can be used to celebrate the fact that the group is together and to prepare students to leave the classroom in a relaxed stated with the desire of having more of it. I will use strategies using all technological tools the institution offers me to work with students in individual work, pair works and group works in which I will apply techniques for developing competences in students. Some of

9TEACHING PORTFOLIO

techniques I will use in individual work will be questioning, reading aloud, fill in the blanks, transcriptions and puzzles because these kind of techniques will help students to improve their pronunciation, acquisition of vocabulary, put in practice grammatical structures, and also develop their speaking skill. In pair works I will put in practice techniques that involves communication such as dialogs, translations and scrambles in which students will develop their comprehension, perception, getting syntax abilities and communicative as well. In group of work as last one of my strategies, I will make use of role plays such as round tables, group discussions and conversation groups for creating a collaborative learning and a mutual interchange of vocabulary in which students can put into practice what they learn.

Through these tools I want to create better students, and achieve a proficiency Intermediate Low & Intermediate Mid in students, following the objectives of the Syllabus. This is my methodology, my own way of teaching my students, I consider we all follow the same objectives in teaching English but we all have different methodology to achieve this objectives, but it is my guide to teach English and that makes my methodology different from others.

REFERENCES

Gardner, H. (2010). Howard Gardner. Retrieved February 22, 2015, from http://howardgardner.com/books/mi_new-horizons/

Gourneau, B. (n.d.). Five Attitudes of Effective Teachers: Implications for Teacher Training. Retrieved February 21, 2015, from University of North Dakota: http://usca.edu/essays/vol132005/gourneau.pdf

Hutchings. (1998). The Course Portfolio: How Faculty Can Examine Their Teaching to Advance Practic. American Association for Higher Education.

Jean Piaget & Lev Vigotsky. (1978). Contructivism Theory. Retrieved February 2015, 27, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constructivism_(philosophy_of_education)

Larsen-Freeman, D. (2008). Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching. New York: Oxford University Press.

MINED. (2008). ENGLISH SYLLABUS HIGH SCHOOL. San Salvador, El Salvador: Ministerio de Educacion.

Richlin, L. (1995). A Different View on Teaching Portfolios: Ensuring Safety While Honoring Practice. In L. Richlin, A Different View on Teaching Portfolios: Ensuring Safety While Honoring Practice. (pp. 161-78). Journal on Excellence in Teaching.

Seldin, P. (1997). a factual description of a professor’s teaching strengths and accomplishments. . In J. E. Peter Seldin, a factual description of a professor’s teaching strengths and accomplishments. . 2nd Ed. Anker Publishing Company, Inc. .

10TEACHING PORTFOLIO

Simpson., S. K. (1995). Validating Teaching Competencies for Faculty Members in Higher Education: A National Study Using the Delphi Method. In S. K. Simpson., A National Study Using the Delphi Method (pp. 19:223-34).

UNESCO. (n.d.). UNESCO. Retrieved February 22, 2015, from http://en.unesco.org/

Wijesundera, S. (1995). Teaching portfolios - what are they and how do I create one? . Edith Cowan University.