Create a Teacher Portfolio

Create a Teacher Portfolio

Create a Teacher Portfolio : Multi-thousand tips to make your life easier.

Whether you are a fresh graduate or a veteran teacher, you need to prepare a comprehensive teacher portfolio when you apply for a job. A portfolio should contain more than your usual resume, curriculum vitae, and cover letter. More importantly, it should showcase who you are as a teacher, what you teach, how you teach, and your teaching philosophies. In today's increasingly competitive and selective job market, you need an extra something that will immediately get you considered for a position. A well-organized portfolio can help you do that. Read on to learn how to prepare a professional teacher portfolio.

• Present your curriculum vitae. A curriculum vitae summarizes your educational and professional background. Allot one page each for your academic and professional details. List the names of the schools you attended since elementary school, and indicate the inclusive years you spent at each. List the important honors and awards you received. List the major contests you joined and the important positions or offices you held. For your professional background, list the jobs you have held from the first to the most recent. List the names of the schools and other educational institutions you have worked with. Indicate the job title or position and the inclusive years you spent in each. Indicate the subjects you taught and any special types of classes you handled. Also briefly describe your major responsibilities, tasks, and achievements in each position. If you are a recent graduate with no work experience yet, include any training, practicum, or volunteer experience you have had.
• Include a list of lectures or seminars attended. Include only the most important ones you have participated in, such as IT or management classes and professional development seminars. Indicate the inclusive dates and the seminar title. Briefly describe what each was about and what you accomplished or achieved.
• Highlight other relevant skills. Let prospective employers know if you have interests, talents, and skills that can complement your teaching. Some examples are computer and research skills, IT skills, management skills, foreign language fluency, writing skills, and artistic skills. Some of these skills can be especially useful if you work with children, foreign students, or special students who require you to have more patience and creativity.
• Present your unique teaching philosophies. Include a brief statement describing your teaching styles, strategies, methodologies, and philosophies. Every teacher is unique and will differ in these areas. However, many statements already sound familiar and unoriginal to prospective employers. To truly stand out and be considered, you need to find something unique and specific in yourself that you can offer to your students, the institution, or the teaching profession itself. Remember to include how you effectively instill learning, values, and discipline in your students. Briefly discuss how you handle disciplinary situations.
• Include samples. To make your portfolio more personal, unique, and professional, include samples of your work. These include copies of your individual class plans and activities. Include a course syllabus. Include class photos and selected best works by your students. When including samples, choose at least two of the best ones; you do not have to include everything. For evaluation letters, include at least three: one from your university professor, one from your previous employer or supervisor, and one from a peer.
• Maintain a professional look. Create your portfolio contents using a word processor such as Microsoft Word. Type all the information first. Use a simple standard font style such as Times New Roman and the standard font size of 12. Provide enough space between lines for easy reading—1.5 is ideal. Keep the margins at 1 inch on all sides. Edit and proofread your document before printing. Print on clean, wrinkle-free sheets of letter-size typing paper. The first page should have the title “Professional Teacher Portfolio” in the middle. Include your full name in the bottom-right part of the page.
• Make it organized and reader-friendly. To make your portfolio more organized and reader-friendly, you can distribute similar contents into appendices. For example, your first appendix can include the course syllabus and descriptions. Your second appendix can include sample lesson plans and class activities. Your third appendix can include all your professional evaluation and assessment forms. Another appendix can contain class photos or sample student work. Remember to group similar contents together.

Employers always look for the best from a pool of potential candidates. Having the right credentials plus a well-organized portfolio might just give you the edge you need to get the ideal teaching job.