Your Teacher Portfolio

Why is a teacher portfolio important?

• it is an essential tool in your teacher interview
• it provides hard evidence to back up what you are telling the interviewers about yourself as a teacher, your teaching style and abilities and your achievements during your teaching career

We discuss what to include in your teaching portfolio and how to use it to your best advantage in your job interview.

Avoid over complicating your teacher portfolio. It should be easy to read and understand and well organized. Don't overload it with documents but stick to highlights and relevant examples of your teaching career.

Make sure it is up to date and that the pages are clean and neat. It should be bound in a neat and professional looking binder.

Suggestions of what to include in your teacher portfolio

• title page
  
• table of contents
• extra copies of your resume
• letters of recommendation
• copies of references
• your educational philosophy statement
• sample lesson plans and /or unit plans you have recently used 
• sample assignments
• samples of student work
• creative handouts you have designed
• sample worksheets
• examples of assessments
• scores on standardized or other tests
• photographs of classroom layouts and displays
• photographs of your students in action
• appropriate examples of your technology skills such as graphics design, presentations, word processing, spreadsheets
• parent newsletters
• peer and department observations and evaluations
• examples of formal student feedback such as questionnaires
• professional development efforts such as teaching workshops and seminars

Have extra copies of your documents to leave with the interviewer if requested.

How to best use your teacher portfolio in your job interview

Simply having prepared a portfolio and bringing it to the interview sends a positive message. You are demonstrating your commitment, your planning and preparation skills and your organizational ability. All these are key competencies for a successful teacher. Put it in front of you when you sit down for the interview and make sure it is easily accessible.

Be very familiar with your teacher portfolio so that you can access any relevant documents quickly and easily.

Don't wait for the interviewer to ask to see your portfolio. Be ready to show examples of your work whenever something in your portfolio is relevant to what you are discussing. You are providing proof of what you are telling the interviewer in your answers.

You will create more interest by using your portfolio effectively during the interview. It is far more inspiring for the interviewer to be shown examples of lesson plans and photographs of classroom layout than just to be told about it. It creates better rapport as you transform a question and answer session into a discussion with your show and tell.

Your teacher portfolio should be considered a work-in-progress. You can customize it for the specific job opportunity by adding and removing documents according to the teaching responsibilities of the position.

A good tip is to show your portfolio to colleagues whose opinions you value and ask for feedback. Use this to improve on the content and presentation of your portfolio.

Should I create a digital teacher portfolio?

There are advantages to creating a digital portfolio:

• it can be sent with your application to several different positions
• it can be accessed by more than one individual
• it can be reviewed before and after your job interview

It also provides a showcase for your technology skills!

There are a number of ways to create a digital portfolio:

• you can simply scan all the documents into an electronic file and save it as your portfolio
• you can develop a presentation online using any number of applications including PowerPoint
• You can build a website to host your content using various platforms including Google Sites, WordPress, Adobe Spark and Weebly
  
• you can use Google Docs to create and edit your portfolio

Whatever format you select for your portfolio the content you include is key to the impact it makes. Having a well organized portfolio full of meaningful and relevant content to present in your teaching interview will give you a distinct advantage.

Teacher job interview questions and answers

Teacher interview questions and answers about your classroom management and discipline skills as well as your ability to manage student relationships and parent contact.

Prepare for teaching interview questions that explore your:

• subject knowledge
• technological skills
• your understanding of the specific teaching position

Teacher interview questions about about your instructional skills and planning skills.

What are Your Personal and Professional Goals?

Behavioral Interview Questions for Teachers

Always prepare a list of well-considered questions to ask in your teaching interview. Use these sample questions to ask in your interview to help you.

Special Education Teacher Interview Questions

Elementary Teacher Interview Questions

Teacher Interview Tips

Teacher Interview Thank You Letter

Teacher job applications

Teacher Job Description

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