Developing a professional portfolio

A professional portfolio is one of the best ways for a professional to showcase their knowledge, skills and experience in their field. Educators will learn the value of a portfolio for job acquisition and career development as they work through the content and format of their own personal and professional portfolio.

Developing a Professional Portfolio

What is a Professional Portfolio?

Organized collections of work compiled for a specific purpose related to the demonstration of one's learning, skills, and accomplishments.

They contain purposefully organized documentation that clearly demonstrates specific knowledge, skills, dispositions and accomplishments achieved over time.

The Process Involves 4 Steps

1. Select personal or professional goal.
2. Collect actual items and documents that could demonstrate what you are doing to reach your goal.
3. Decide which items best illustrate your achievement of or progress toward the goal.
4. Determine how to present the selected items.

Purpose/Benefit of the Professional Portfolio

First, the portfolio process helps students to reframe how they see themselves as learners.

It encourages them to think about their learning, and the learning environment, in critical and meaningful ways - to become mindful, intentional, self-directed learners. For many learners, the portfolio process reignites their intellectual curiosity, the same quality we admire and seek to foster in children.

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Second, the portfolio process provokes adult learners to look at education differently - as integrative and ongoing - reaching far beyond the confines of the classroom and continuing throughout life.

We have heard so often from students over the years that they have felt that their college classes were irrelevant and had no connection to “real life.” Many have experienced higher education as a series of hoops one jumps through to get the “piece of paper.” On the contrary, students who have experienced the portfolio process report a high degree of connectedness between what they do in the college classroom and what they experience beyond the classroom door. The real-world nature of portfolio work bridges the theory-to-practice gap in ways that result in meaningful learning and change. Course content ceases to be the stuff one crams for a test and soon forgets. It comes to be owned by the learner, and therefore it becomes part of the fabric of one's professional life and development.

Difference Between Personal & Professional Portfolio

http://www.unhm.unh.edu/pdf/Career-Portfolio.pdf>

Retrieved on 17-May-2011

Contents of a Professional Portfolio

Design and Develop a Format and Building Your Portfolio

Step 1: Title Page

• Course Name
• Assignment Name
• Student Name/Community

Step 2: Table of Contents

• Outlines the order of your Portfolio
  • Introduction
  • Personal Philosophy
  • Current Resume
  • References & Reference Letter
  • Collection of Work
  • Professional Development
  • Closing Remarks

Step 3: Introduction of Self- characteristics, qualities, personal traits, values, beliefs

• Introduce your self. - name, community and a little bit about yourself.
• Include characteristics, qualities, personal traits, values and beliefs you have that will support your position as an EA or ECE.

Personal Qualities Skills Checklist

Review this list of personal qualities and skills and check those that you believe you exhibit

adaptable	good natured
artistic	honest
calm	industrious
confident	patient
considerate	pleasant
dependable	practical
discreet	punctual
energetic	reasonable
fair-minded	reliable
flexible	responsible
helpful	self-confident
attentive	stable
loyal	accurate
meticulous	ambitious
open-minded	clear-thinking
organized	competitive
persevering	cooperative
realistic	curious
resourceful	eager
thorough	enthusiastic
versatile	intelligent
active	logical
alert	methodical
assertive	outgoing
broad-minded	precise
competent	purposeful
conscientious	productive
creative	steady
determined	tenacious
efficient	trustworthy
enterprising	understanding

Transferable Skills Checklist

Review this list of transferable skills and check all the skills that you think you have.

adapt to situation	advise people	analyze data
arrange function	assemble product	audit records
budget money	build	buy products/service
calculate numbers	check for accuracy	collect money
communicate	compare data	construct buildings
coordinate activities	cope with deadline	create
delegate	design	detail
do precision work	draft	drive
edit	establish	estimate
evaluate	examine	expedite
explain	file records	find information
fix/repair	follow direction	follow through
gather information	gather materials	generate
handle equipment	help people	illustrate
implement	improve	inspect products
install	instruct	invent
investigate	learn quickly	listen
locate information	log information	make decisions
make policy	manage a business	meet the public
move material	obtain	operate equipment
order goods/supplies	organize data	own/operate business
paint	plan	prepare material
print	process material	produce
promote	record data	reduce costs
replace	report information	research
restore	retrieve information	review
schedule	sell	review
service equipment	set goals	set-up equipment
set-up system	solve problems	supervise
support	survey	tend equipment
test	track	train
transfer	translate	troubleshoot
type	update information	upgrade
verify	work quickly	write procedures
write proposals	write reports

Characteristics of a Good Educator

Review this list of characteristics of a good educator and check those that you believe you exhibit

Characteristics	Behaviors, attitudes, abilities, skills
Articulate	Communicates so children and families understand
Available	Interacts responsively with children and families
Caring	Demonstrates compassion and empathy
Committed	Devoted to caring for children
Creative	Uses a variety of teaching strategies
Fair	Responds to each child equitable
Flexible	Demonstrates ability to adapt to situations
Fun	Has a sense of humor
Individualizes	Adapts program to individual child's needs and interests
Knowledgeable	Knows current teaching strategies and materials and matches them to children's interests, needs and developmental levels
Motivating	Promotes active involvement; makes learning fun
Open	Sees things from other's perspectives
Organized	Arranges environment, materials, time and curriculum plans
Patient and pleasant	Even tempered, uses effective voice tone and gestures
Professional	Conscientious about carrying out responsibilities; uses strategies to keep personal pressures from interfering
Reflective	Reflects upon performance and accepts constructive feedback

Identify Who are the Team Members in Child Care and Education

This is a Story about Four People ...

http://towerhousequilts.com/2011/03/20/a-fun-little-story-about-four-people/

Retrieved on 17-May-2011

What Is A Team?

A team consists of a collection of people who interact with each other, usually face to face, over time in order to reach goals.

A Child Care/Classroom Team Consists Of

• children
• staff
• parents
• administrators
• support services

(The list varies depending on the needs of children, program, and members involved)

Characteristics and Skills of Team Members

Building Cohesiveness

- Cohesiveness is what takes place that causes members to feel apart of a team and make them want to remain on that team.

- Highly cohesive team members spend more time interacting, and there are more expressions of positive feelings for one another as well as report more satisfaction with the team and its work.

- Cohesive teams have greater control over the behavior of other members.

- Highly cohesive teams have the potential to be productive.

The goal of the team is to boost cohesiveness in a way that also helps get the job done. There are eight factors that can enhance cohesion in a professional team.

1. Shared or Compatible Goals: People draw closer when they share a similar aim or when their goals can be mutually satisfied.
2. Progress Toward These Goals: While a team is making progress, members feel highly cohesive: when progress stops, cohesiveness decreases.
3. Shared Norms and Values: Although successful teams will tolerate and even thrive on some differences in member's attitudes and behavior, wide variation in the team's definition of what actions or beliefs are proper will reduce cohesiveness.
4. ack of Perceived Threat Between Members: Cohesive team members see no threat to their status, dignity, and material or emotional well-being. Often competition arises with teams, and as a result members feel threatened.
5. Interdependence of Members: Teams become cohesive when their needs can be satisfied only with the help of other members.
6. Threats from Outside the Team: When members perceive a threat to the team's existence or image (teams have self-concepts, just as individuals do), they grow closer together.
7. Mutual Perceived Attractiveness and Friendship: Teams often become close simply because members like each other.
8. Shared Team Experiences: When members have been through some unusual or trying experiences, they draw together.

Nature of Conflict

Conflict

-Conflict is an expressed struggle between at least two interdependent parties who perceive incompatible goals, scarce resources, and interference from other party in achieving their goals.

-Conflict can only exist if both parties are aware of the disagreement.

-Conflict is natural. So are the associated feelings.

-Hurt, Anger, Frustration, etc. can make conflict intense

-Every relationship of any depth has conflict

-No matter how close, how understanding, how compatible you are with each other your ideas, actions, and needs won't always match.

Example of Conflict

Conflict: Neighbors Music Keeps You Awake All Night

Incompatible Goals: Neighbor wants to enjoy to loud music at night and you want get a good night sleep.

Scarce Resources: Your neighbor or you will loose out.

Interference From Other Party In Achieving Their Goals: Does the neighbor achieve their goal of enjoying loud music at night and you loose sleep? Or will you achieve your goal of a good night sleep and the neighbor does not get to achieve their goal of listening to loud music at night?

Impossible to Avoid Conflict

Since it is impossible to avoid conflicts, the challenge is to develop effective communication and constructive conflict resolution skills.

• listening carefully
• empathy
• relating to the other persons side
• effective communication

Remember. ..conflict can actually keep good relationships strong and may help to clear the air.

Personal Conflict Styles

Nonassertive Behavior	inability or unwillingness to express thoughts or feelings of conflict
Direct Aggression	communicator expresses a criticism or demand face to face that threatens the person at whom it is directed
Passive Aggression	the communicator expresses hostility in an obscure way
Indirect Communication	conveys a message in a roundabout manner
Assertion	a message expresses the speaker's needs, thoughts, and feelings clearly and directly without judging or dictating to others

Conflict Style	Approach to Others	Decision Making	Self-Sufficiency	Behavior in Problem Situations	Response of Others	Success Pattern
Non Assertive	I'm not OK; you're OK	Let others choose	Low	Flees; gives in	Disrespect, guilt, anger, frustration	Succeeds by luck or charity of others
Directly Aggressive	I'm OK, you're not OK	Choose for others. They know it.	High or Low	Outright attack	Hurt, defensiveness, humiliation	Feels compelled to beat out others
Passive Aggressive	I'm OK, you're not OK. (But I'll let you think you are.)	Chooses for others. They don't know it.	Looks high, but usually low	Concealed Attack	Confusion, frustration, feelings of manipulation	Wins by manipulation
Indirect	I'm OK, your not OK or I'm not OK, your 're Ok.	Chooses for others. They don't know it.	High or low	Strategic	Unknowing compliance or resistance	Unwitting compliance of others
Assertive	I'm Ok you're OK	Chooses for self.	Usually high	Direct Confrontation	Mutual Respect	Attempts "win-win" solutions

Which Style is Best?

You may say "assertive communication" is superior because it allows you to express yourself honestly, and seems to have the greatest chance of success but it is an oversimplification to say that any one style is best.

Factors it Depends on:

The Situation

The Receiver

Your Goals

Assertion in Conflict Resolution (Also know as the clear message format.."I statements")

A complete assertive message has five parts:

Behavioral Description - describing an event without interpreting it.

Interpretation - attaching meaning to the behavior.

Feeing - clarifying the impact. How do you feel about this ...angry ...frustrated ...confused?

Consequence - explaining the result

Intention - communicating where you stand; or, request of others; or, description of how you plan to act in the future.

Methods of Conflict Resolution Strategies

Method of Conflict Resolution	Description
Win-Lose Problem Solving	one party gets what he/she wants typical of an "either-or" situation power is the distinguishing characteristic
Lose-Lose Problem Solving	neither side is satisfied
Compromise Problem Solving	gives both parties some of what they wanted, and both make sacrifices success depends on the satisfaction of the parties
Win-Win Problem Solving	goal is to find a solution that satisfies everyone involved

Although a win-win approach sounds ideal, it is not always possible, or even appropriate.

Choosing the Most Appropriate Method of Conflict Resolution

Consider deferring to the other person

• When you discover you are wrong
• When the issue is more important to the other person that it is to you
• To let others learn by making their own mistakes
• When the long-term cost of winning may not be worth the short-term gains

Consider Compromise

• When there is not enough time to seek a win-win outcome
• When the issue is not important enough to negotiate at length
• When the other person is not willing to seek a win-win outcome

Consider Competing

• When the issue is important and the other person will take advantage of your noncompetitive approach

Consider Cooperating

• When the issue is too important for a compromise
• When a long-term relationship between you and the other person is important
• When the other person is willing to cooperate

Win-Win Communication Skills and Steps

Win-Win process is difficult!!

• people feel the need to compete
• emotional reflexes prevent constructive solutions
• require both party's cooperation

Step 1 - Identify your Problem and Unmet Needs

• realize that the problem is yours - you are the one dissatisfied!
• what are your unmet needs?
• clearly describe each without judgment or evaluation (to yourself)

Step 2 - Make a Date

• recognize that immediately may not be the best time
• find a mutually convenient time

Step 3 - Describe your Pr