In this episode Selena answers questions from pre-service teachers about portfolios of practice. Tune in if you'd like to hear her answers to questions like:

• Who am I building this for?
• How details do I need to make it?
• Will this get me a job and more.

Is your Portfolio Due This Term?

Right now, up and down the country, thousands of pre-service teachers are getting ready to finish up their four year degrees or one year master of teaching courses.  They've dedicated nearly 1460 days of their life to learning everything possible about how to be a teacher and the time to grab that qualification is coming closer and closer.  
This is usually the time when they also have to submit their portfolio of evidence or complete a graduate teacher assessment.  

As a lecturer at a local uni, I see the stress this causes.  So many pre-service teachers feel like they're left feeling around in the dark.  They're not sure what evidence they need, why or how to put it all together.   Of course, here at Edufolios we serve thousands of pre-service teachers each year as they grow and develop their portfolio and in this week's podcast I want to talk directly to any pre-service teacher who's going through this right now!

In this podcast I'm going to share with you five key pieces of information that are designed to take a bit of the pressure off and maybe even shift the way you see this assignment in the first place.  I'm also giving you the opportunity to leave me a message, ask me a question.  I'm keen to make sure I answer as many of them as I can so click here to leave me  a question to answer.

Tune in now to learn:

• What your focus should be when you put your portfolio together - Who or what are you supposed to be showing you're impacting on?
• How you can and should include lectures, uni assignments and more
• How you don't need 37 pieces of separate evidence

and more... 

If you've been wondering when you should start gathering evidence then this episode is for you. Selena shares two of the most common excuses (and yes I did say excuses) people make to put off 'till tomorrow what could be done... right now!

So.. I've made time to reflect but I have no idea WHAT to write about

Knowing what to write about for teacher accreditation and professional growth can be tricky can’t it? 

I get it.  You’ve done a great thing and put aside some time to write about your practice and it’s important that you get to use this precious time wisely. 

 
Let me share some quick tips to get you on the path to reflection

This week I want to talk to you about how to know exactly what to talk or write about in your reflections.  You need to be able to focus on your impact (whether that impact is on yourself, your  students, colleagues or your whole site, that’s what you should be writing about.

In this episode I’m going to teach you some simple techniques for identifying the moments from your practice that show that impact.  We’ll talk about tapping into our professional  intuition as a flag for an opportunity to find awesome artefacts and evidence for your portfolio.

"Wherever perfection is driving us, shame is riding shotgun" Brené Brown

The more I work with teachers on reflective practice and accreditation the more conversations I have about perfectionism.  For some it’s worn as a badge of pride, for others it’s said with the side ways, downward move of the mouth that implies we’re aware that it’s not really a good thing.   It’s not.  It’s not a good thing.  In fact it’s a very bad, very damaging thing. 

Being a perfectionist means that what’s important to you is that everyone thinks that you are a high achiever and that you’re working hard. That the way you show you work hard is by never taking any risks or doing anything that you can’t do 100% correctly. Is that really who you are?

Imagine if the students in our classroom never took any risks, never did anything that they couldn’t do 100% correctly. There would be absolutely no progress in our learning environment if we work that way with our students and there will be absolutely no progress in our classroom practices if we continue to work in that way as educators either.  

It’s not cool. 

Perfectionism prevents healthy achievement and growth. It’s a defensive move. 

It's time to create a culture where there is no need to be defensive against learning and growth.

Perfectionism is not a shield that protects us, it’s a heavy weight that creates all sorts of negative emotions and barriers to our own learning.  In this podcast we unpack all of that and, guided by the research of Brené Brown, begin to consider how we can re-frame this conversation and remove this awful way of thinking and feeling from our professional experience.

Join me to talk about how to model and encourage “healthy striving, empathy and self-compassion” in the way you lead yourselves, your students, your colleagues or your site.

It's so hard to find a mentor who get's this!

Have you ever had a bad day and wished that there was someone (a someone who would be completely NON judgemental) you could share what happened with? Even if it was just to get a different perspective let alone some advice?

Is there someone at your site who lights you up, who you feel comfortable with? Someone who it’s easy to talk to? Is there someone who saps your energy, someone who makes you feel like there’s no point to this anyway?  

Sounds like you’ve met some walnut trees and you’re in need of some marigolds..

It's time to find your Marigold!
This podcast is inspired by a blog post written and shared on the cult of pedagogy blog.  If you’re wondering what on earth a flower has to do with reflective practice and professional growth then let me tell you!

You’ll find the link to the full blog below in the further reading section.  I totally recommend that you read it.  In fact I’d love to hear what it helps you to connect with when you’re done.  Let us know in the comments section below.

In this episode I’m going to share with you my take-aways from reading this post.  I’ll also show you how regularly reflecting on your practice means that you can attract (and be a marigold).  

If you’re someone who would love to know how to surround yourself with the right people.  The people who are going to do nothing but lift you up and help you grow, then this one is for you

I don't have to worry about Copyright, I'm an educator...
 
Well, that’s partially true.  All educators are covered by a standard copyright licensing agreement that covers Education establishments, their staff and their students.  As long as what you’re doing is related to school, teaching and learning.  

However, there’s a whole Australian Professional Teaching Standard that relates to this. It’s 4.5 and it talks about how you apply social and ethical protocols and practices.  In fact, at highly accomplished and lead, you’re even supposed to be mentoring and supporting others in this area. 
 
...That statutory license isn't going to cut it​
 
Not when it comes to you showing that you understand how Intellectual Property (IP) works and how you can support others to work with other people’s IP. 

In fact, it’s something that’s also in the curriculum. It’s right there in the ICT General Capability.  It’s also something that many of us just don’t know enough about.  That changes now.

In this podcast episode we’re going to talk about:

What IP is and what the law says you’re covered by
How important it is that you know how to operate outside of the basic legal requirements of an educational licenses
How you can set up your e-portfolio to make sure you’re covering the Grad standard and demonstrating you’ve got this
Some practical resources you can use in your classroom with your students.

"There's nothing about me on the Internet"

She said with an air of pride....

So, you’ve been writing your stories of practice and creating awesome evidence of impact. Is that something that you should be sharing publicly? Is it OK to share your journey with the world of the interwebs?

It's time to Google Yourself and get real with the Internet Generation.
In this podcast we’re going to talk about what to consider when dealing with the dilemma of private verses public. We all know that the privacy settings exist on our Edufolios but how much should we use them?

We’re going to touch on what it means if there’s absolutely nothing out there about you (and how that might be viewed by a principal), explore how you can take control of your digital tattoo before someone else beats you to it AND how being just public enough can help demonstrate your ability to meet standards 2.6 and 4.5 of the the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers.

How is writing for accreditation different to writing for reflection?

Sharing your story and telling it with integrity is one thing.  Sharing your story and following the requirements for stage one of Highly Accomplished (HA) or Lead accreditation process can be slightly different. Of course you want to get your Stage one application right.  Your portfolio is one of THE BIGGEST elements of that process isn’t it!  So, how is preparing your evidence for accreditation assessment at H.A. and Lead different? What does that look like and how can you make sure your putting your energies into the right things as you put your portfolio together?

Let me share some tips that will help focus you and save you time!
In this podcast I share six tips that will take you from unsure to certain and help you get past stage one of your accreditation process (at Highly Accomplished or Lead) and make sure you are focused, clear and on the road to success.  I’m going to share key ideas and thoughts around:

• Being super clear who you’re showing you’re having an impact on
• How to make sure you’re focus on quality over quantity – trust me you don’t have many words!
• What the word counts are and how to make each word… count
  How to make it clear to the assessor where you’re referring to each Focus Area
• What actually counts as evidence in your application
• How many years you can dig through (with that handy time machine) to find your evidence

We’ve even got a freebie for you this episode!  Just enter your email address and name over at Edufolios.org/024 and grab a copy of a handy guide to exactly what the focus is on each of the descriptors you’re trying to evidence.

Does reflective practice sometimes seen intense, confronting or even painful?
In this episode of The Reflective Teacher Podcast we are lucky enough to chat to Dr Leigh Burrows.  She has spent the last few years exploring the idea of mindfulness and the impact it can have on educators if they are able to practice mindful reflection and connect with their authentic voice.  Before we can begin to explore the social, intellectual and developmental needs of our students, perhaps we need to first discover our own and learn how to become truly grounded.  Grounded in such a way that we have even more power to support those around us to grow.

A portfolio should "highlight a rich journey of discovery".
Join Leigh and I as she shares strategies to help us “notice” and focus more on the environment than our selves. In doing so, she shares how we can make far deeper connections with our students that allow us to see the flow between the learning and teaching happening in our classrooms and create reflective writing that is deeper, more grounded, richer and holistic.

In this episode we touch on:

• How we should hold the standards lightly not let them frame or influence what we write; at least in the first instance.
• Why it’s important to use the first person, to write in your own voice and to drop the idea that academic = stuffy and 3rd person
• Why it takes time to develop the natural voice for your reflections and why you should practice.
• How writing reflectively gives you the opportunity  to try out different version of your self, as a teacher, and why that’s powerful stuff!
• How reflective writing can sometimes surprise us by showing us things we never expected. 
• How important a mentor is to the whole process
  and so much more!

It’s a long one but it’s totally worth it.  Leigh has done some very important work around well being, wellness and reflection and I can’t wait for you to hear all about it!