A SUGGESTED APPROACH TO PORTFOLIO BUILDING Step one: Select a portfolio topic by writing down a number of topics (i.e. brainstorm preferably with a colleague) which come within some area of your professional teaching practice that you want to grow or develop. Step two: Pose an organising question. This is the main idea – the problem you wish to solve: the professional growth you want to reflect on. Step three: Refine the topic and focus by developing related but more detailed questions: Centered about: Internal Questions related to you (teacher) External questions related to others (students) Step four: Set a goal or goals. To review the way I am introducing Habits of Mind To use Habits of Mind in my teaching To have students using the Habits of Mind without teacher direction Step five: Do a resource review: Courses and or talks to attend: Books or articles to read Internet resources People resources Step six: Write the portfolio over one term. Step seven: Write a conclusion: What learned? What worked and what didn’t? Where to next?

Questioning and problem solving Main idea (organising question) Internal Questions related to you External questions related to others T. as model Pedagogy CognitionEmotional ®

Persistence Develop a strategy to answer the questions Act Collect data Reflect Design Act Own reflection (metacognition) Mentor/peer (interdependence ) Joharis Windows ARRARR Alternatives Negative & positive Managing Impulsivity Risking wisely Past knowledge Parents Time (accuracy) ®

Listening With Empathy EmotionLadders Actions Adopt beliefs Draw conclusions Make assumptions I add meaning I select data Internal Fight +f +f External Metaphor ®

Alice Overwheel Last night's prep was quite easy, but I regret -not using my tree map because my map could have been a higher Ievel. I only got 9 out of 16 but I know I could have done better. I was not too proud. If we did another map like this again I would use my tree map. I put the direction star in the wrong place but that was soon fixed. I also made a key and I'm sure it's easier to read now. Unfortunately my frame was in pen. Conference with me Alice was quite cross with herself as she said they had done this a lot last year and she should have remembered most of it. She felt that she knew all the mapping skills and so didn't bother to take her S. S. book home. Although her tree map in her book was well set out, detailed, and very easy to-understand, she still forgot some of the minor details.

My Metacognition The standard format that I used in previous years to teach letter format was a laminated sheet with a letter and horizontal writing showing missed lines, punctuation setting out etc. It is still a very neat form and without wordy instructions yet when it came to marking letters I found that there were very few handed in without errors somewhere in the format. This year we produced a flow map which was the majority choice, on a letter writing format. Because there is a specific way in letter writing I wanted the children to all have the same criteria on their maps (as with the geographical map in SS). The prep was set, yet I consciously didn't mention taking their TMs home. When they handed in their letters the next day I was overwhelmed that I had 100% accuracy rate. Praising the children and asking why did they think this happened they stated that it was because they used their TMs this time. Several reflected back to the Social Studies lesson where they hadn't used their TM and that they forgot lots of details.