As states across the country continue their implementation of the Teacher Performance Assessment Portfolio (edTPA), a complex and high-stakes certification requirement for teacher certification, there are important lessons for educators and education advocates to learn from New York State's implementation. As Linda Darling-Hammond, developer and…

Two groups of student teachers, one school-based and one university-based, were introduced to portfolio construction. School-based students received more guidance in and time for portfolio construction. Surveys and interviews indicated that the extra time and guidance helped school-based students, who benefited more from portfolios than…

Introduces an issue devoted to teaching portfolios in teacher education. The articles present initial research and reflections on the use of portfolios and share lessons learned through practice. They address such issues as the purposes of portfolios in teacher education; portfolio organization, management, and evaluation; and strengths and…

Presents an overview of teaching portfolios in teacher education, defining and describing the strengths and limitations of three portfolio models (the learning portfolio, the assessment portfolio, and the employment portfolio). The article emphasizes that portfolios can serve a variety of purposes and take many forms and notes the relationship…

Surveys of teacher educators in 24 teacher education programs nationwide examined their use of teaching portfolios with preservice teachers. The educators provided documents, assignments, and guidelines used in connection with portfolios. Results showed that they recognized the positive impact, but not the full value, of portfolios. Portfolio use…

Examined tensions arising from the use of portfolios for inquiry into personal practice during preservice teacher professional development and as a means of evaluation in their licensure. Student and faculty interviews, portfolio meetings, and program review documents indicated that efforts to combine the dual purposes of portfolios did not always…

Examines how reflection has been discussed in teacher education, presenting data from a longitudinal study of 10 teacher apprentices that investigated the experience of becoming reflective through a portfolio process and identifying developmental elements of reflection. The study notes that student teachers consistently report little formal…

Describes how portfolios enrich teaching and learning for elementary credential students at one California university, explaining the context for teaching portfolios, functions of the teaching portfolios, the process of constructing portfolios, how the university uses portfolios, and future directions for the program's portfolio use. (SM)

Suggests that conversations about portfolio entries offer the best opportunity to grow, learn, and enhance teaching expertise as teachers develop from beginners to experts. Portfolios have emerged as an alternative form of assessment well-suited for formative and summative assessment of self and others and for elevating the dialog about teaching…

Summarizes two trends in teacher education: using performance-based portfolios for assessment, instruction, and professional development and transforming computers from complicated instruments to universally available tools that facilitate tasks involving knowledge access and processing. The article explores connections between the two trends and…

Results of a study, which evaluated both a university student teaching program and the procedures used to evaluate individual student teachers, suggest that student teaching experiences can be enhanced by systematic and methodological strategies for analysis and improvement of both the preservice preparation program and student teacher…

Describes how portfolio use motivated teachers to become researchers in their own practice, synthesizing personal and professional experiences of graduate level student teachers. A three-year followup showed how they became researchers, carrying into their professional lives habits of mind learned from preservice portfolio projects. They continued…

Investigated the evolution of electronic portfolios by preservice elementary teachers, examining how they constructed and thought about electronic self-assessment portfolios. Data from portfolios, interviews, and surveys indicated that creating portfolios allowed participants to be reflective because of how the portfolio development process…

Researchers examined relationships between the SRI Gallup Pre-Professional Teacher Interview and performance-based student teaching evaluations and between SRI Interview and California Student Achievement Test (CAT) scores. A relationship between SRI Interview scores and performance-based student teaching evaluations surfaces. CAT scores did not…