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Danube RegionProject Portfolio

An Innovative Teachers‘s Guide

Odessa 12/2012Franz Frech MEd

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Sharing your experience

Aim

Content

Formate/structure

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Ultimate aim of a project:

To change the situation of

a specific target group to the better +

specific focus on cooperation with

out-of-school partners

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• Innovative can mean that:

– Good practice is adapted, modified, further developed

– New target group– Unknown approach

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Portfolio (PF)

• Windows into your learning process• Collection of evidence of your work

• Systematically collected

• Reflective practice (Reflexion is the defining characteristic

of a portfolio)• Teachers and students are partners

Process + Results

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Portfolios

Record of acquisition of kowledge

and the adaption of new knowledge

in novel situations

over the period of the project

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Purpose of PF

• Facilitate and chart development• Highlight performance and capabilities

through the production of complex work-products

• Portfolios are living documents – they document major learning– Adaptions (additions,

deletions,reformation,reconfiguration of materials)

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Mindfulness

• Openess to new information

• Implicit awareness of more than one perspective

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Portfolios

• Foster development of knowledge, skills and dispositions (will, discipline, being critically reflective)

• Increasing self-assessment, reflection,observation...reflective practice

• Engaging in collegual dialogue

• Show growth over specific time

• Content in dialogue with students

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AIM

Get a clear picture of the whole

and how the parts relate

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Planning andorganizing for a PF

• Discipined and systematic approach

• Careful, realistic planning and organizing

• Clear view of the big picture

organize

plan

plan

result

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Content-overview 1

• Title page

• Table of contents

• Reflection on professional

growth - major learning achieved

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Content overview 2

• Project description • one page that includes a brief description of the

project (+ partners, coordinator)

• Evidence and rational (set of reasons)• Evidence pages – includes artifacts and personal

documents, rationales,

• Reflection• reflections associated with the specific project

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Title Page

• Important

• Good first impression

• Identifies the builder(s)

• Name, title, year

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Table of contents

• Two main purposes:– Information what is included– How you have organized the content

• Linear / nonlinear table of contents

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Reflection on overall professional growth

• Overview of your growth and change through your experiences as part of the project.

• Also reflections throughout the portfolio in conjuction with, and as part of, your evidence.

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Project description 1

• Driving question/challenge (brief description of the project) What is the project about?

• Aims/objectives

• Project partners /external contributors/cooordinator

• Main project activities

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Project description 2

• Main project products/output

• Target group

• Involvement of students

• Involvement of regional partners

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Reflection-lessons learned

• The defining feature of portfolios

• Covert experience into personal knowledge

• Providing evidence of growth and change over time

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Purposes of reflection

1. Experience and knowledge produce new meaningful learning

2. Connect theory to practice3. Strenghten a critical reflection

disposition4. Gain insight into your learning and

development5. Manage your emotions throughout the

learning process

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Reflection in practice

• Experiences you have as an observer of self and others

• Qualities and content of relationships

• Experiences you have as an implementer of activities

• Processes and products associated

with your activities (production of

artifacts)

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4 stepsin the reflection process

1. Observation and description

2. Analysis and interpretation

3. Insight and implications

4. Projections and planning

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What is evidence?

All components of the portfolio that support the builder‘s claims of competence with regard to knowledge, skills, dispositions, and accomplishments.

1. Personal documents (descriptive who you are)

2. Artifacts (descriptive of what you know, what you can do, what you have done).

Milestones, revised activityplans, our most important steps toward the goal…

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Exercise

Which artifacts could you include?

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Examples of evidence

Personal docs

• Professional growth plans

• Reflections• Evaluations• Transcripts …

Artifacts 1• Work samples• Lesson plans/units• Agendas of meetings• Internal/external

reports• Important agreements

with partners• Photos…

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Examples of evidence

Personal docs

• Philosophy statement• Reflections• Evaluations• Transcripts• Professional growth

Artifacts 2• Field work

journals/logs• Audio/video clips• Handbooks/dissemi-

nation products (flyers…)

• Contextual information about class/ kindergarden…

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Guidelines forselecting evidence

1. Express the voice of the builder2. Support the purpose of the PF3. Each piece should be weighted against criteria

to determine best fit.4. Must be explained clearly to communicate

connections and relevance5. The body of chosen evidence should be

evaluated to ensure balanced coverage of all criteria.

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Inventory yourevidence

• Planning and organizing are your best friends when it comes to portfolio building.

• Experiment with the tools

Organizing tool (doc)

Checklist for portfolio development (doc)

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Please:

• not too much

• your best pieces

• clear

• ongoing documentation

• work samples

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• I‘m looking forward to getting insights into your fascinating

experiencesFranz