Materials for Your Teaching Portfolio
Over the course of your teacher preparation program, you will create and collect many materials that you may wish to include in your teacher portfolio as evidence of your knowledge, skills, and attitudes for teaching. These materials should show that you meet the standards for new teachers developed by INTASC, the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium. The INTASC standards are available at
http://www.ccsso.org/intascst.html#draft.
To help you begin developing materials for your portfolio, complete one or more of the following activities.
- Research school districts where you are interested in teaching. (Use the web links for this chapter and the resources listed in this chapter of your textbook as starting points for your research.) Determine whether the districts are likely to have openings for teachers in your specialty area when you are ready to look for a position. Use the information you gather about each district to prepare a list of questions about teaching contracts, schools that are likely to need teachers, and other issues that concern your possible employment in the district. (INTASC Principle 10)
- Research school districts where you are interested in teaching to learn more about opportunities to serve as a substitute teacher. Obtain application materials to determine your qualifications for substitute teaching. If you are qualified, interested, and have time, consider applying and gaining experience as a substitute teacher. (INTASC Principles 1-10)
- Prepare a list of questions you would like to ask the principal of a school during an interview for a teaching position at the school. (INTASC Principle 10)
