E-Portfolio
E-Portfolio Requirements
Each Concurrent Education Student is required to develop and maintain an electronic portfolio (e-Portfolio). The e-portfolio is embedded in the BEd. courses which begin in year 3.The CTEP e-Portfolio is a performance assessment tool. The CTEP e-Portfolio is, a collection of artifacts, assignments and reflective writing that mirrors students' growth over the course of the program.
It requires that Concurrent Education Students as developing teachers demonstrate their learning and reflection through the analysis of a variety of artifacts that represent their experiences and evidence of learning in years 3, 4 and 5 of the program.
In the 5th year of the program, as students prepare to enter the teaching profession, the focus of the CTEP e-Portfolio will change, along with audience and purpose. At this time, students will modify their e-Portfolios into CAREER e-Portfolios targeting specific teaching positions.
The e-Portfolio process is collaborative. Students are required to share their e-Portfolio entries with others to facilitate a diversity of ideas and feedback.
All e-Portfolios include the following:- a specific structure
- a specific organization
- meaningful artifacts representing learning experiences
- "reflective writing about important learning experiences related to professional development"
- collaboration (sharing, feedback, and support)
The CTEP e-Portfolio is embedded in Blackboard. The Blackboard online environment provides an accessible and creative format for displaying work in multi-media formats. Files can be easily stored and managed within the Blackboard system, and can be transferred onto compact disks or websites. Files can be quickly posted or emailed to others to facilitate sharing and collaboration within a protected online environment.
As a key program component, completion of the e-Portfolio requirements will be indicated in ROSI and reported on individual student transcript each year (as of June 2009). Completion means achieving a Level 3 (or higher) on the Self-assessment Rubric each year, and adhering to the timelines for submission.
Benefits
e-Portfolios are useful because they:- Integrate learning across a course or program
- Demonstrate evidence of learning over time
- Encourage sharing of learning and growth
- Involve reflection, self-assessment, goal-setting
- Develop and demonstrate technology skills
- Enhance organizational abilities and creativity
- Integrate a variety of learning experiences
- Cater to a range of learning styles
The use of e-Portfolios also serves the added benefit of familiarizing Concurrent Education Students with technology and multi-media formats so that they become technologically literate educators.
e-Portfolios focus on:- Developing reflective skills – "a habit of mind"
- Becoming a teacher and practising being professional
What you need to know to develop your e-Portfolio
E-portfolio Syllabus
The new E-portfolio Syllabuses will be available on the Publications page. http://www.utsc.utoronto.ca/~ctep/publications.html- Each Syllabus document includes an e-Portfolio Checklist and Rubric specific to your year. Twice this year (see due dates in your Syllabus),
you will need to:
- Copy the Checklist and Rubric and paste into a new document (as one Word document).
- Save on your computer (titled 'Checklist and Rubric).
- Complete the Checklist and Rubric to meet each due date (see your Syllabus for dates)
- Save again on your computer (include the date within the title – e.g., 'Checklist and Rubric, Dec. 10, 2009').
- Upload into your Content Collection and into the Self-assessment section of your e-Portfolio.
As a method of authentic assessment, and as preparation for a professional career in education, the e- Portfolio process requires Concurrent Education Students to demonstrate clear understanding of the six Knowledge Base Strands of the Concurrent Teacher Education Program, consistent with what developing teachers need to know.
Six Knowledge Base Strands of the Concurrent Teacher Education Program are:
SUBJECT MATTER (subject knowledge and beliefs about the subject);
PEDAGOGY AND CURRICULUM
(general and subject/age-specific, includes assessment, evaluation, planning, instruction);
KNOWLEDGE OF THE LEARNERS(including development, how people learn, motivation, concepts of self);
EQUITY AND DIVERSITYSocial, political, and institutional contexts of schooling, including foundations for equity and diversity (social, cultural, gender and identity differences, inequitable relations of power in schooling and social institutions);
SELF/TEACHER DEVELOPMENT, and relations with others (including inquiry, critical analysis, reflection; communication and conflict resolution; teachers′ professional, personal, social identities and beliefs, effective collaboration among peers, across discipline-areas, and with communities);
PHILOSOPHY- Educational ends, purposes, and values (philosophy, related history, legal rights and responsibilities)
Workshops/Events
- Concurrent Teacher Education Program candidates are required to attend a number of workshop sessions about the e-Portfolio each year.
- In the e-Portfolio workshops, students will learn about the development of a professional portfolio and share aspects of their e-Portfolio with other Concurrent Education Students from across the University of Toronto.
- The goal of the workshops is to provide a forum for Concurrent Education Students to learn more about the e-Portfolio process while allowing the Program Coordinators and e-Portfolio facilitators to monitor the development process and ensure that all students have met the e- Portfolio requirements by the middle of April each year.
- The CTEP Coordinators’ role is to oversee the e-Portfolio process and provide support when needed.
Mentorship
If you would like to share your knowledge and experience that you have acquired in the Concurrent Teacher Education Program with new or junior students become a mentor.
If you would like to become a mentor please email CTEP Coordinator- Saddaf Syed ssyed@utsc.utoronto.ca