As I look back though the documents and materials I saved from my first year of teaching, I now recognize some areas that need to be improved. The first year of teaching was much harder than I had anticipated and many of my lesson plans were created on site (ie..between classes) and at the spur of the moment. The time restraints/challenges of attending NTI, teaching, advising HOSA, coaching cheerleading, and being a mom & wife led to too little time to develop great lesson plans and projects for the students. But I imagine this is where we all are. This portfolio creation will enhance my professional growth by allowing me the time to genuinely critique which areas need time devoted to them. I had not saved some of my previous work and really wish that I had. I have started to organize my artifacts and save them in INTASC
files for future use and add to each standard. I noticed areas that I had few resources for such as Standard #3 Adapting Instruction for Individual Needs. I am glad to be critiquing my work and see that I have a lot of work to do.
I will also start earlier in the year in helping the students create their own portfolios. One area to help enrich the students is the building of their resumes. Once the framework is completed it is much easier to add to it throughout the year. As a nursing student we had some of the nurses who had already graduated come back and talk to us about their portfolios and let us look through them. I think the advanced students (3rd year) could do the same to the newer Intro students. A visual is always a great learning tool.
I completely agree with you. The first year is so much harder than one could imagine. There are times that you feel like you don't have time to breath let alone plan. I had a hard time switching from private to public education. There is so much more detail needed in private school. I can only encourage you to save all of your work and critique each year. Good luck and know we are all in the same boat.
ReplyDeleteI really agree with your comment that hte portfolio project makes you focus more on pulling it all together so to speak. With everything that is going on in real life, it is hard to give 110% to lesson plans and everything else, and the portfolio gives one a chance to focus on those things and review what has worked and what could be improved upon. I also agree that it can be used as a motivational point for the older levels as well as the younger levels alike. I remember doing my own hard copy nursing portfolio and going back through it to find some of the artifacts that I could use has really been an eyeopener. I keep wondering where that wide eyed, fresh "idealistic" new nurse has gone, and I see that she is not really gone, but just changed. Good Blog!
ReplyDeleteHi Linda,
ReplyDeleteI like what you said. A portfolio is supposed to show you improvement over time when used in education. That is why we call it a work in process. As always, you are right on target. Dr. J.