English teacher portfolio

A teacher's portfolio is a collection of all acquired knowledge, achievements and skills that confirm the professionalism, experience and skills of a teacher.

The portfolio shows the degree of preparedness of the teacher, the accumulated pedagogical experience, as well as all types of achievements and all forms of work that the teacher has encountered.

The portfolio is created in order to show the competence of the teacher, his successes and talents when changing jobs, improving qualifications, as well as participating in various competitions.

Portfolio Structure

A classic portfolio is created in the Microsoft Power Point, or in the form of a website web page and consists of the following sections:

• Teacher's business card: full name, date of birth, education, specialty, qualification, teaching experience;
• Teacher photo: you can post several photos in the work environment and several personal ones;
• Data about advanced training: completed courses, webinars, seminars, conferences;
• Awards and certificates: information on participation in industry events, open lessons, awards, letters of thanks, information on participation in competitions;
• Publications: title, source of placement, certificates of publications;
• Results of work: for example, scores of students who passed the exam, certificates, victories of students in various competitions, olympiads, competitions;
• Pedagogical technologies used in the work: for example, the technology of adaptive, differentiated or integrating learning;
• Developed programs in the framework of basic or additional education: this can include guidance on student projects, creative extracurricular activities;
• Improving the quality of the educational process: this section describes the measures taken to preserve the health of students, broaden their horizons, familiarize themselves with modern information technologies;
• Scientific and methodological activities: description of the educational literature used in the work, conducting scientific research, writing manuscripts for a candidate or doctoral dissertation, reports and speeches, etc.;
• Forms of study sessions: types of lessons, pairs or electives that were organized by the teacher: quiz lesson, walk lesson, distance test, couple conference, etc.
• Extracurricular activities of the teacher: scenarios of KVN, performances, speeches, circle programs;
• Feedback from the administration and colleagues;
• Feedback from students and parents;
• Photo gallery: photos of students with a teacher at exhibitions, performances, etc.

It is important to indicate any original activity, idea that was developed and implemented in the educational process. In addition, it is worth keeping a diary of extracurricular activities with photo and video materials to attach these files to the portfolio.

A separate section may be preparation for classes, which may include teacher visits to libraries, scientific exhibitions, and watching films.

Portfolio for a teacher for certification

The content, completeness, quality of the portfolio help to assess the professionalism and effectiveness of the teacher's work. This document becomes decisive during the examination to improve the qualification category.

When submitting a portfolio for a new job or for a new category, it is also recommended to provide contact details and write a short essay about yourself and your professional activities.

Recently, an important evaluation factor has been the placement of articles and reports on professional thematic sites, a list of which must also be indicated in the portfolio.

It is considered good manners to show scanned student awards if they have been received for activities under the guidance of a teacher.

Many employers note that for them, a description of the teacher's hobbies, as well as links to social media accounts, is no less important. Lively, interesting and real photos will be an advantage and an opportunity to evaluate the teacher as a person.

How to improve portfolio?

Obtaining new and modern knowledge will significantly improve information about yourself, for example, studying new teaching methods, in-depth study of the theoretical foundations of the subject, teaching additional types of language: business English, English for IT, lawyers, accountants and other specialties with the planned introduction of this knowledge into studying proccess.

proven source of relevant and useful knowledge are TESOL, after passing which you will be able to indicate in your portfolio:

• ability to teach grammatical structures of the English language,
• confident use of new educational technologies in the process of work,
• professional lesson planning
• ability to teach children, adolescents and adults,
• the ability to teach English for specific purposes ( English for Specific Purposes ),
• knowledge of the best teaching practices in the world,
• access to the international forum of teachers to discuss current topics and issues,
• knowledge of CLIL - content-language integrated learning,
• learning EAP - English for Academic Purposes, etc.

Taking advanced courses and obtaining a certificate will not only help you gain important knowledge for the profession, but will also give you a chance to find work abroad, where teacher salaries start at $ 2,500.