Digital Teaching Portfolios: Pathways to Professional Development Natalie B. Milman, Ph.D. The George Washington University

Today’s Agenda 1. Overview/Introductions/Creation of a KWL Chart about digital teaching portfolios 2. Multimedia presentation and examination of digital teaching portfolios 3. DTP Commandments 4. Presentation/activity/discussion: Portfolio development process and standards 5. Presentation and dialogue about digital tools for creating digital teaching portfolios 6. Revisiting the KWL chart and considering what was learned

Introductions l Describe name and position l Describe your experience with portfolios (if any--in general and/or digital portfolios) l Complete KWL chart (K-W parts only)

port*fo*lio (pOrt-'fO-lE-"O) l a hinged cover or flexible case for carrying loose papers, pictures, or pamphlets, l [from the use of such a case to carry documents of state]: the office and functions of a minister of state or member of a cabinet, and l the securities held by an investor : the commercial paper held by a financial house (as a bank) a set of pictures (as drawings or photographs) either bound in book form or loose in a folder.

What is a portfolio? A portfolio is a goal-driven, organized, collection of materials that demonstrates a person's expansion of knowledge and skills over time. The contents, organization, and presentation of materials in portfolios vary depending on their audience and purpose.

Types of portfolios l Working Portfolios – Descriptive – Learning l Presentation Portfolios – Assessment – Class – Employment – Professional – Showcase – Teaching

What are teaching portfolios? l Special type of presentation portfolio l Contain artifacts from teaching l Demonstrate deliberate selection, reflection, and communication revolving around the artifacts l Illustrate a professional’s recognition of personal competence

Critical attributes of teaching portfolios "structured documentary history of a set of coached or mentored acts of teaching, substantiated by samples of student portfolios, and fully realized only through reflective writing, deliberation, and conversation (Shulman 1998, p. 37).” Shulman, L. (1998). Teacher portfolios: A theoretical activity. In Lyons, N. (Ed.), With portfolio in hand: Validating the new teacher professionalism (pp ). New York: Teachers College Press.

What are digital teaching portfolios (DTP’s)? l Contain the same content traditional portfolios include but present these professional materials in digital format l Also referred to as multimedia portfolios, electronic portfolios, e-folios, webfolios, and electronically-augmented portfolios

Let’s look at some! 1.What elements are common among the DTP’s you have examined? 2.Which portfolios did you like most? Explain why. 3.Which portfolios did you like least? Explain why. 4.What elements do you think are important to include in a portfolio? Why? 5.What are the advantages and disadvantages to creating DTP’s? 6.Why would you create a digital portfolio as opposed to a traditional (print-based) portfolio?

DTP (Kilbane & Milman, 2003) DTP Commandments (Kilbane & Milman, 2003) l When in doubt DON'T throw it out! l Do it digital! l Be organized, not frustrated! l Log it or lose it! l If it is nice, save it thrice! l Be careful, not sorry! l Give credit where credit is due! l Do unto others as you would have done unto you. l Create and stick to a timeline!

What is the DTP development process? 1. Planning the portfolio: Focus & frame 2. Considering portfolio contents: Collect, select, & reflect 3. Designing the portfolio: Organize & produce 4. Evaluating the portfolio: Perform formative & summative evaluation 5. Publishing the portfolio

Stage 1: Planning the DTP Focusing the portfolio - determine the purpose of the portfolio and its intended audience. (RATIONALE) l Who is my audience? l Why am I creating a portfolio?

Stage 1: Planning the DTP (cont’d) Framing - determine how to create continuity among the various components of the portfolio. (FRAMEWORK) l How can I create continuity? (theme, standards/domains, question)

Which frameworks could be used? l Praxis III Domains l Professional Standards: – State – INTASC (beginning teachers) – NBPTS (experienced teachers) l Technology – ISTE (National) – State

Stage 2: Considering DTP Contents Collect SelectReflect

What items should be collected? Artifacts An artifact is “tangible evidence that indicates the attainment of knowledge and skills and the ability to apply understandings to complex tasks” (Campbell, Melenyzer, Nettles & Wyman, 2000, p. 147).

Artifact examples l Educational philosophy statement l Résumé l Classroom management plan l Professional development plan l Student portfolios l Photos l Lesson plans l Seating charts

What items should be collected/created? Supporting documentation Items that do not fit into “artifact” definition. Such items provide information about the person/portfolio, but are not artifacts.

Supporting documentation examples l Table of contents l Authorship statement l Credits l Rationale or introductory statement l Dedication

Selection guidelines l Examine as many artifacts as possible (i.e., lesson plans, student work samples, etc.) l Determine which artifacts support the framework by asking the following questions about each artifact:

Selection guidelines (cont’d) l Does this artifact/item meet the criteria for which I am framing my portfolio? How? l Is this artifact/item the best example(s) I can use for demonstrating these criteria? If so, why? If not, why not? l Should I include this artifact/item in my portfolio? Why? Why not?

Selection guidelines (cont’d) Create a chart of the artifacts, how they correlate with your framework, and how they rate (i.e., definitely include or maybe) PRAXIS III DOMAINSArtifactRatingLocation Domain A: Organizing Content for Student Learning Letter of referenceMaybe2001 student tchng files Recycling unitYes!Fall 2001 Science methods folder Educational philosophy statement Yes!Fall 2001 TRED 220 class folder

Stage 2: Reflecting “A [digital] portfolio without reflection is just a multimedia presentation, or a fancy electronic résumé, or a digital scrapbook” (Barrett, 2000)

Reflection is... "a drawing together of long strands of connections, the weaving together of experiences, theory, and practices into meaning for the individual teacher and a kind of construction of knowledge – a knowledge of teaching practice" (Lyons, 1998, p. 106).

Reflective questioning l How does this artifact demonstrate competence in a particular standard? l Why did I include this artifact (why is it important to me)? l What did I learn as a result of using/creating this artifact? l How would I do things differently as a result of the artifact?

Stage 3: Designing the Portfolio Organizing l Creating a table of contents (TOC) l Putting artifacts into different categories in the TOC l Creating storyboard l Creating a design grid (layout of web pages)

Stage 3: Designing the Portfolio Before Producing - Consider l Skills l Portfolio development process l Resources (Software, Hardware, People) l Need to digitize artifacts l Time

Stage 3: Designing the Portfolio Producing l Transforming artifacts and supporting documentation into digital format l Creating, testing, and building the portfolio from a template

Stage 4: Evaluating the Portfolio l Conducting both formative and summative evaluation (involve “critical friends in the process) l Revising the portfolio

Stage 5: Publishing the Portfolio l FTP to WWW l Save on CD, DVD, Zip disk l Print a Hard copy l SHARING of portfolio with students, colleagues, administrators, professors

How do I develop a DTP? l Integrative approach l Turnkey approach l Stand-alone software

Which tools are available for creating a DTP? Integrative approach l Adobe Acrobat l Macromedia Dreamweaver l Microsoft PowerPoint

Which tools are available for creating a DTP? Turnkey approach l Chalk & Wire l LiveText l Taskstream

Factors to consider when selecting tools for creating DTPs l Technical skills l Availability l Difficulty l Support l Transferability l Support for various media formats

Factors to consider when selecting tools for creating DTPs (cont’d) l Multimedia environments l Platforms l Technical requirements l Hardware and software required for viewing l Audience skills required for viewing

What have you learned about digital teaching portfolios?

References l Barrett, H. (2000). Electronic portfolios = multimedia development + portfolio development the electronic portfolio development process. Retrieved July 23, 2001, from l Campbell, D.M., Melenyzer, B.J., Nettles, D.H., & Wyman, R.M. (2000). Portfolio and performance assessment. Boston: Allyn & Bacon. l Council of Chief State School Officers. (1996). Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium Standards For School Leaders. Retrieved December 1, 2004 from l Kilbane, C.R., & Milman, N.B. (2003). The digital teaching portfolio handbook: A how- to guide for educators. Boston: Allyn & Bacon. l Kilbane, C.R., & Milman, N.B. (2005). The digital teaching portfolio workbook: Understanding the digital teaching portfolio process. Boston: Allyn & Bacon. l Lyons, N. (1998). Grant, G. E., & Huebner, T. A. (1998). Portfolios and their consequences: Developing as a reflective practitioner. In Lyons, N. (Ed). With portfolio in hand: Validating the new teacher professionalism (pp ). New York: Teachers College Press. l Shulman, L. (1998). Teacher portfolios: A theoretical activity. In Lyons, N. (Ed.), With portfolio in hand: Validating the new teacher professionalism (pp ). New York: Teachers College Press. l U.S. Department of Education. (2000). Building bridges: The mission & principles of professional development. Retrieved January 29, 2002, from