Do you have a teaching portfolio? If not, you absolutely should! Not only is it a great way to showcase all of your hard work and accomplishments, it can be a valuable tool when you’re looking for a new job. Let’s face it: working in education is really unpredictable right now. You need to find ways to put your best foot forward. Get started with these teaching portfolio examples.
Top Tips for Creating a Teaching Portfolio
When you start putting together your teaching portfolio, keep in mind that the goal is to provide evidence of your teaching experience from a wide range of sources. As you gather and organize material for your portfolio, you’ll get a better sense of what you want to include.
Why you should create a teaching portfolio:
- It’s a great opportunity to reflect.
- It documents your professional development.
- It highlights teaching successes for job interviews.
- It validates that you’ve met the criteria for promotion.
- It tells the story of how you’ve evolved as a teacher over time.
Be honest.
When you’re putting together your teaching portfolio, you don’t want to exaggerate your experiences or qualifications. You don’t need to look perfect! Your portfolio should be an accurate and fair representation of your teaching career. Tell the world all about your successes, but don’t omit the losses. Instead, focus on how you’ve learned from negative experiences.
Choose wisely.
Include materials that show the many aspects of your teaching. Be selective and put some real thought into this. It’s much better to have a strong set of well-chosen materials than a large collection of documents that are unfiltered and overwhelming to the reader.
Get organized.
Your teaching portfolio should have a clear structure that makes it easy for readers to find what they want to review. Include a table of contents and headers to keep everything in order.
Start planning now.
Creating a solid teaching portfolio takes time. You might be tempted to put it off until sometime in the future, but you never know when you’ll need it. It’s better to start right now and set aside time every week to work on it until it’s finished. Then, at the end of each quarter, spend some time updating it to keep it current and relevant.
Teaching Portfolio Examples
1. Elementary Teacher Portfolio
Mary, a kindergarten teacher from @sharingkindergarten, shared her portfolio on her blog. It includes an About Me section, professional resume and certificate information, classroom management overview, information on her classroom in action, and more. This portfolio is nicely laid out in a binder with cover pages for each section that list out what’s included.
Learn more: Sharing Kindergarten
2. Digital Student-Teacher Portfolio
Check out this example of a digital portfolio for a student teacher looking for their first job. This example highlights a teaching philosophy, student work, classroom management, reference letters, and more.
Learn more: Cassandra Burke Teaching Portfolio
3. Print Student Teacher Portfolio
In this video, a teacher who was newly hired into her first role shows off the portfolio that landed her the job! If you are just finishing up your student-teaching experience, this example is for you. Skip to the second minute of the video to get into the portfolio pages.
4. Editable Portfolio Templates
Finding a template that you can customize to your liking can save so much time. This template from Teach Starter is free! It also includes sections on behavior management, parent communication, assessment and tracking, and teacher collaboration. This example has lots of in-depth sections, and you can choose which ones you want to include.
Learn more: Teach Starter
5. Google Sites Portfolio
Although it’s important to have a physical portfolio to bring to interviews, also having a digital portfolio is quite convenient! When applying to jobs or emailing with schools, you can easily include a link to your online portfolio for others to learn more about you. If you’re looking for teaching portfolio examples from Google Sites, check out this one from Martha Moore of Primary Paradise. She nicely laid out how she created a digital portfolio using Google Sites. Google Sites is free and you can transfer information from your physical portfolio, so if you have one already, make it a digital option!
Learn more: Primary Paradise
6. Digital Scroll-Through Portfolio
Another example of an online portfolio, this option features one scrolling page of content. Instead of clicking through various tabs on the site, readers are able to take a look at the entire portfolio by scrolling one page. Adding visuals such as student examples, icons, and links to lessons can really make your page pop.
Learn more: Gretchen Seibel
7. Colorful Portfolio
Don’t be afraid of color because it can really make your experience pop. This example includes color tabs with content areas such as assessments created, evaluations, policies, and lesson examples.
Learn more: Luckey Frog Learning
8. Substitute Teacher Portfolio
Not looking for a full-time position? Or are you looking to transition from part-time to something more permanent? This teaching portfolio created by Sarah Cheesman might be perfect for you! Not only does it highlight substitute teaching work, it highlights other related professional experiences as well.
Learn more: Sarah Cheesman
9. PDF Portfolio
This portfolio is extremely comprehensive! Take a look and you just might get some ideas that you want to include in your own portfolio. This example sets itself apart because it includes information on teaching students as well as letters from students.
Learn more: Holly’s Portfolio
10. World Language Teacher Portfolio
If you teach a world language or specialty class, this example may be more helpful to you. This Spanish teacher included comments from students and information on engaging class activities.
Learn more: Tyson’s Portfolio
11. Portfolio Update
In this YouTube video, a third-year teacher reviews what she included in her portfolio when she was searching for her first job. Throughout the video, get tips on revisiting and updating your teaching portfolio.
Learn more: Mrs. Katie in Elementary
12. Experienced Teacher Portfolio
In this video, a teacher with several years of experience shows off her detailed portfolio. An awesome feature in this portfolio is the use of a QR code to link to a digital website or portfolio!
Plus, check out tips for teacher job fairs and the most common teacher interview questions.
