The professional development portfolio : towards the professional development of student teachers

Abstract

The idea of introducing portfolios for student teachers arose out of the "Tomorrow's Teachers' Project" in 1997. Part of this project involved trying to find alternative ways of assessment for student teachers and one of the proposals suggested the development of student teacher portfolios. A short description of what portfolios were was included in an Assessment Guidebook published by the Faculty of Education in 1998. It was also decided during a Faculty Staff Seminar to pilot portfolios among second year B.Ed. (Hons.) students. This pilot project was in fact carried out between October 1998 and April 1999. During this period all second year students were asked to develop a portfolio. The students were then interviewed and asked to share their views about the relevance and usefulness of the portfolio. The students were in fact very positive about the experience and Faculty Board approved the introduction of student teacher portfolios within the Faculty of Education. In October 1999 the Dean appointed a committee which started to work on the introduction of the student teacher portfolios. The committee was made up of members of the Faculty of Education and the Education Division and proved to be a successful collaborative project. The committee set about identifying what the student teacher portfolio which they renamed "The Professional Development Portfolio" should include and preparing a guidebook for student teachers on how to prepare and develop the portfolio. This guidebook will be launched in January 2001.