It is the season of job hunting in education.
Teachers are retiring,
being promoted,
changing grades in the same schools,
and maybe looking to change schools.
There are also new teachers trying find their first teaching job.
Teaching job situations vary all over the county.
Some state have a huge shortage of educators
while other states are extremely hard to even get an interview.
I know of many fresh out of college teachers take positions as
Teaching Assistants or substituting to get their foot in the door of schools
and on the minds of principals.
As the teacher who wants THAT job,
you have to do whatever you can to set yourself apart from others.
I suggest putting together a
showcasing you as a professional.
I suggest doing this for you as much as for your potential interviewer.
This will help your organize your mind for any job interview that comes
and help you show off what you do best
… teach!
And honestly…
You don’t want to leave an interview and
suddenly remember the 3 things you really wanted to mention.
And please don’t “copy” this portfolio.
MAKE IT YOUR OWN.
This was just a creation of mine…
the way my mind flows…
the way I want to represent myself.
And we all know I like to color code everything,
as I did this.
You want to do this your way.
I have my portfolio opening to this page immediately.
I want my potential employer to know these things about me,
esp that I am married with children.
Whatever school I teach at is the school my children will attend.
{I did block out my specific town for privacy reasons.}
The first section in my portfolio is for Education & Documentation.
Most of the time these background items are the reason you got an interview to begin with.
But I have found that one person might know this information.
But if you are doing a panel interview
they might not all know your background and experience.
You can see the elements I have listed.
TKES is our state evaluation system for teacher reviews
and for classroom walk through assessments from administration.
GKIDS is our state grading system for Kindergarteners.
And ESGI is the Software I use for classroom assessments,
which is shown below.
Since I wasn’t sure the reader(s) would know what ESGI is…
I made sure I described ESGI on the left and showed evidence of my use on the right.
I wanted to show the actual charts/graphs because
that is a talking point I use to show how I use the data to drive my instruction.
I made sure I blocked out student names and anything that would violate confidentially.
Next, I have a tab for Classroom Management.
I show the specific way I set my classroom up for success.
I wanted to showcase how I adapt my Monkey Clip Chart
to the school wide PBIS Behavioral System my school adopted.
I also added a section for Collaboration.
This is my weakest area in an interview
because I don’t remember to mention the way I collaborate
when given a close ended question like
“Do you collaborate with your team.”
On this section’s outline I made sure I listed
the numerous ways I collaborate with others.
I also showcase theses phonics sheets I created and
shared with my county to help support a new phonics system we implement a few years ago.
And a the SPED collaborate teacher,
I do a LOT of collaborating to support teachers.
I show evidence of each way in all the sections listed as well.
I show evidence of each way in all the sections listed as well.
Of course I have a whole section dedicated towards technology.
This is only because I am passionate about using technology in the classroom.
I would not add this section to your portfolio if it is not a strength for you.
I showcase my favorite technology ideas
that I can show evidence of using in the classroom.
I have a page for Computer Center Sheets.
I also dedicate parts for QR Codes integration which I call QR Scan & Learn.
Another section in my portfolio was to showcase
My Classroom in Action.
I want to make the readers feel like they could see my classroom
and almost see me in that room teaching.
Again, I show off the things I am proud of as an educator.
Here are the pages dedicated to Sight Word Stations.
And a literacy initiative for my county…
Daily 5 and CAFE.
I tried to capture the ways I made this big level decisions and goals
work in my classroom and for my students.
Since so many of you wanted a look at my resume… here it is.
I hope you gives you some tips and
help to create an awesome Teaching Portfolio.
And if you need some amazing Interviewing Tips…
Great tips! I'm working on updating my portfolio now. You reminded me of several things I need to add. Than you!
LOVE LOVE LOVE! Thank so much for linking up to the Ultimate List of Kindergarten Summer Reads! This makes having a portfolio effortless (well mostly.) =)
Jennifer with Simply Kinder
Hi! Your portfolio is awesome! But do you have suggestions for someone who has not taught in a classroom yet? Ive worked in day cares but never my own classroom so how would I spice up my portfolio in that sense?
Get super creative. Take pics of the things you help create and put together. Yours may not be as picture rich, but that is OKAY!
Thanks Mary! So helpful! I enjoyed hearing your presentations in Indianapolis this past December for the Kindergarten conference!
Thank you for sharing your tips! I am in the process of putting together my portfolio, and I love some of your ideas – especially where you add the contents of the category on the cover page of the category. what a great idea!