Digital Portfolios

All students who are pursuing programs leading to a teaching license will complete a digital portfolio. The portfolio will begin in the introductory course and will be further developed throughout the program. The digital portfolio will be a major source of information and assessment about the student's progress toward recommendation for a teaching license.

The digital portfolio is organized around the ten INTASC principles. These principles describe the characteristics that a successful beginning teacher should demonstrate. At each step in the teacher preparation program, candidates will submit reflective statements describing how they are developing as professionals in relation to each of the ten INTASC principles. These statements will be reviewed by faculty as a means of assessing each candidate's progress, and to give the candidate useful feedback. As candidates move through their programs, these reflections will provide valuable insights for faculty, and for candidates themselves, about their development as emerging professional educators.

In addition to providing reflective statements about their progress, candidates will also submit digital artifacts along with rationale for each artifact. The artifacts may include text, graphics, audio and video pieces, lesson plans, interviews, or any other type of item that has been digitally prepared. The rationale is an articulated narrative explaining the connections between the artifact and a particular standard. An artifact is required for only one of the INTASC reflections at the introductory course level. At succeeding levels, additional artifacts are required for additional standards. At the final Decision Point (Student Teaching) artifacts are required for all ten of the INTASC principles.

The digital portfolio will be a valuable tool that candidates may use for a variety of purposes. Digital artifacts may be created in various classes and may be stored for future use during student teaching or to prepare a professional portfolio to show prospective employers. Support is provided to enable students to create and maintain their digital teaching portfolio. Staff can be found in TC 709 and TC 406 to aid in the construction of digital portfolios. For additional information, go to http://portfolio.iweb.bsu.edu.