Portfolios : a strategy for professional learning

There has been a proliferation of literature in the last fifteen years on the use of portfolios, specifically in the field of education. The portfolio purpose has been wide ranging including reflection on early teaching experiences, evaluation of teachers for tenure, national teaching certification and as a method to improve teaching. This paper discusses the learning portfolio as an instrument that assists with professional learning and encourages conversations about reflections on teaching. A model developed by (1997) was found to provide a useful framework for student teachers at the University of Western Sydney for organising the structure of the portfolio. What differentiates this research from others describing learning portfolio implementation is that the student teachers organised their portfolios into categories, which were derived from an Australian context of teachers’ work identified through content analyses of beginning teacher documents from Departments and Ministries of Education across Australia