teaching portfolio

 

Clusters: 1 (Standards 1 - 5) | 2 (Standards 6-9) | 3 (Standard 10)

Standards: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10

 

Standard 9 - Contribute effectively to professional teams

 

I strive to foster positive working relationships with my colleagues in order to build a strong learning community as well as enhancing my personal and professional growth. Working in teams builds a bond between colleagues creating knowledge and emotional support (Friend & Cook, 2010). Teachers need support in building an effective learning community and through collaboration, learning outcomes are achieved for teachers and students (Westwood, 2001). This notion is reinforced by Lingard and Mills (2003) whose research reported that effective learning communities encourage positive collaboration and reflection.

 

One of the more difficult tasks I found as a teacher of Information Technology at an international school in Macau where I was employed was to encourage teachers to develop their own ICT skills. Towards the end of the 2009-2010 school year, a Yearbook was compiled containing a collection of images and information on school events and classes at the school. Traditionally the yearbook was a compilation of photographs of student work and events by a single teacher using Adobe Photoshop software. In order to improve the skills of the teachers and lighten this single teacher’s load, I took it upon myself to instruct the teachers in some Photoshop basics.

 

For a period of four weeks I held 30 – 60 minute classes based on my custom made user guides (artefact 4). The teachers participated of their own accord and skills ranged from basic computer ability to beginner level Photoshop proficiency. I started with basic Photoshop essentials such as selections and layers, and culminated with exciting effects to enhance the look and feel of teachers’ work.

 

Initially the classes were of approximately three to four teachers, however by the fourth week the class had grown to nine or ten. The teachers expressed their enjoyment in using a different tool that made their pages look “jazzy”. The resulting yearbook pages demonstrated this enthusiastic response from the teachers with the lesser skilled teachers (artefacts 1 and 2) and more proficient teachers (artefact 3) alike creating outstanding yearbook pages.

 

Most positive were the comments I received from the teachers expressing their desire to use the software again in the future. I learned a great deal about working with school staff, most notably that you need to find a relevant use for ICT if they are going to take the time to learn it. I also found that small exercises like these create a bond between the staff, forging a willingness to find time to help each other when the need arises.

 

As a new teacher it is extremely important to build relationships with staff. Collaborating with your colleagues opens the door for new learning expertise which may help increase students’ achievement (Dettmer, Thurston, Knackendoffel, & Dyck, 2009). Most importantly you build a support structure which is integral in any family or community.

 

References

Dettmer, P., Thurston, L., Knackendoffel, A., & Dyck, N. (2009). Collaboration, Consultation, and Teamwork. New Jersey: Pearson Education. 

Friend, P., & Cook, L. (2010). Interactions : collaboration skills for school professions. Boston: Pearson. 

Lingard, B., & Mills, M. (2003). Teachers and school reform: Working with productive pedagogies and productive assessment. Melbourne Studies in Education , 44 (1), 1-18. 

Westwood, P. (2001). Differentiation' as a strategy for inclusive classroom practice. Australian Journal of Learning Disabilities, 6(1), 5-11.