Running head: PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Professional Development Quest Portfolio Progress Report

Assignment 3
Jennifer Buck
National University

In partial fulfillment of the requirements for

TED 690Capstone Course
Professor Carol Shepherd

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Abstract

This paper describes the progress in developing a professional development quest portfolio
(PDQP). The items being reviewed are goal achievements, frustrations that occurred while
creating the PDQP, questions that have risen while developing the portfolio, and concerns that
one may have. Some goal achievement acronyms that will be discussed in this paper are as
follows: CBEST (California Basic Educational Skills Test), CSET (California Subject
Examinations for Teachers), and RICA (Reading Instruction Competence Assessment).
Beginning Teacher Support and Assessment (BTSA) is definitely a goal achievement that has the
name of Induction in the district I am currently teaching in. This paper also explains the next
steps in the continued development of the PDQP. Since teaching is an ongoing learning
experience, the content of this paper will discuss changes to show mastery, skills, knowledge,
and competency in the Teacher Performance Expectations (TPEs). The time expended on the
development of the PDQP is highly regarded as important, as were being selective of the artifacts
that were chosen to show competency in specific domain areas.

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Professional Development Quest Portfolio

Since I was a young girl, I was considered bossy. During playtime, I always wanted to
be the teacher, while others needed to be my students. I knew from a young age that I wanted to
be a teacher. Anytime someone asked what I wanted to be when I grew up, I answered, a
teacher. Many people change their minds throughout their years of education. Careers they
never knew existed began to surface, when people understood how to research job opportunities.
As for me, I, not once veered from my decision to become a teacher. My sixth grade teacher
inspired me to follow my dreams when I encountered his classroom in 1999. He strengthened
my decision and there was no looking back. From then on, he kept in touch with me via email
and always encouraged me to follow my dreams. So, that is just what I did. I graduated high
school, went to California State University Stanislaus on a softball scholarship where I pursued
my life-long goal. I graduated from CSUS in 2012 and immediately enrolled in the dual
credential and masters program at National University.
This is where I realized my dream was going to take much more work than I ever
imagined. I always maintained at least a 3.8 grade point average and never intended to struggle
in school. I passed the CBEST on the first attempt. I became a part-time substitute teacher,
while I kept a full time manager position in the food industry, all while attending National
University. I figured substitute teaching would give me experience in the classroom and I was
right. I struggled with passing all three CSET tests; I never had this much trouble passing tests.
I rethought my future, spent countless hours crying, decided to persevere and paid a tutor to help
me study. After three long years, I finally invested in the online study tutorial for the CSET tests.
I finally passed all three CSET tests and realized there was a light at the end of the tunnel.
My sixth grade teacher emailed me one night and informed me there was a job opening
for sixth grade at his school site, where I attended elementary school. I figured it could not hurt

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to go through the interview process, so I applied for the job position. I was hired on the spot and
had the opportunity to have my sixth grade teacher now as a colleague. But, because I did not
have my preliminary credential, I was hired on an internship credential. I just completed my first
year teaching and received my preliminary credential last week! As I look back, I realize this is
just the beginning of my goal achievements as a teacher. Next year I am at the same school site
location and grade level. However, I will be in the Induction Program for two years. Until I
complete the Induction Program and receive a clear credential then the beginning goals will be
achieved.
This course has given me guidance in setting short and long-term goals for personal
learning development and growth as a teacher. The next steps I will be taking are making sure I
accomplish my 5-year plan I created. We look at educators of today as leaders. They must take
risks and embrace new pedagogy (Crocket, Jukes, & Churches, 2001, p. 14). Teaching is a
process of continued and ongoing learning to enhance teaching strategies and effectiveness in the
classroom. Teachers need to continually seek instructional strategies and tools that best fit the
needs of the students they serve. They (portfolios) encourage teachers to assume responsibility
and ownership for their own learning and professional growth (Costantino & De Lorenzo, 2009,
p. 5). While I continue my education from taking professional development courses, attending
conferences, receiving university units, and implementing what I have learned, I will be updating
my PDQP to show the areas I have strengthened.
Portfolios are one of the most authentic ways to represent the knowledge, dispositions,
and skills of a teacher (Costantino & De Lorenzo, 2009, p. 7). As I began to create my PDQP, I
questioned many of the artifacts I wanted to incorporate. While this is one of the most
beneficial aspects for the use of the portfolios, it may present a problem when portfolios are used
in the evaluation process (Costantino & De Lorenzo, 2009, p. 7). I kept analyzing each artifact

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to see if it showed my competency, skills, and abilities in Domains A-F of the TPEs (CTC,
2013). I recognized my need for documenting and saving student work. This frustrated me
because, I knew results from student work were some of the best ways a teacher could show
growth. It (PDQP) illustrates your ability to describe, analyze, and reflect upon what you have
accomplished during your field experiences as well as what you have taught and your students
have learned (Reed & Beregmann, 2005, p. 164). Had I saved more student work, I could have
discussed and shown direct examples and explained my areas of weaknesses and strengths
during my reflections. This would have included what went wrong, what I could have done
differently, what went well, the overall outcome from student data, and where I can grow from
this point as a professional learner. I will definitely be collecting student work or copies of final
student work to reflect upon for the upcoming years.
Another frustration was the famous quote too much to do, too little time. I felt as if this
was labor intensive and very time consuming (Costantino & De Lorenzo, 2009, p. 6). Luckily
for me, I am on summer vacation, I do not have children to tend to, and I had plenty of time to
devote to the development of my PDQP. However, this caused much anxiety even without those
other time consuming components. A remedy to this dilemma is for teacher candidates to start
collecting potential documents early in their teacher education program (Costantino & De
Lorenzo, 2009, p. 6). Although I did not document much student work, I felt as if I had a variety
of artifacts that were used to document professional growth (Reed & Beregmann, 2005, p.
158).
A third frustration was dealing with the technology aspect of developing a portfolio. I am
learning everyday and finding resources to view and read to make my life easier. As I researched
many websites to hyperlink my artifacts to, I had to make sure the site I selected was user
friendly and easy to follow. I watched numerous YouTube videos with step-by-step instructions.

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As I began this very slow process, I realized I caught on quicker than I originally anticipated.
Increasing your technical skills early in your teacher preparation program or teaching career
will reduce the complexity of developing a portfolio (Costantino & De Lorenzo, 2009, p. 7). I
learned very quickly how to access help with technical issues. These research skills have helped
me in the developmental process.
Portfolios can provide a broader perspective of a teachers full range of professional
competencies (Costantino & De Lorenzo, 2009, p. 7). As I read this statement I questioned, do
my artifacts clearly showcase my competencies completely correlating to the TPEs? Who is the
evaluator of my PDQP? I completely believe my artifacts reflect my strengths and professional
growth, ability, and competency, but will whoever evaluates my PDQP have the same reflection
and evaluation from my artifacts as I did? Teachers who use reflective action tend to enjoy the
process of combining all the content materials and methods they have learned during planning
into an original set of learning experiences that fit their own teaching style (Eby, Herrell, &
Jordan, 2011, p. 87).
The next steps I will take is, collecting student data. This will help me analyze and
reflect upon lessons. No two thematic units are ever alike (Eby, Herrell, & Jordan, 2011, p.
87). I will be able to adjust or modify the lesson depending on what went wrong, what went
well, and how the students responded. Some further steps I will be taking are updating my
PDQP when I feel an artifact has surpassed an artifact that is currently in my portfolio to
highlight my professional development and achievement. I will also be looking to incorporate
varied types of audio, visual, graphics, and text (variety of formats). I will also be attaining my
short-term goals and creating new timelines of goals I wish to conquer. In addition to
illustrating an individuals career, a portfolio exhibits the persons ability to reflect, appropriately
assess professional strengths, and organize (Reed & Beregmann, 2005, p. 157). Creating a

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timeline is becoming organized. This timeline will be created to enhance my strengths but focus
on my weaknesses.
As one can see, the development of a PDQP is time consuming, reflective of teaching
abilities and knowledge that coincide with TPEs, and a very elaborate process. During the
process, frustrations, concerns, and questions arise but being able to reflect on strengths and
weaknesses in our professional education can only benefit our teaching strategies and students.
Looking ahead and providing a structured outline will help keep our short and long-term goals
attainable. Since the PDQP is a reflective process, a continued update of the portfolio is
necessary.

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References

Commission on Teaching Credentialing. (2013). California teaching performance expectations.

Retrieved from http://www.ctc.ca.gov/educator-prep/TPA-files/CandidateHandbookAppendixA-TPEs.pdf
Costantino, P.M., De Lorenzo, M.N., & Tirrell-Corbin (2009). Developing a professional
teaching portfolio: A guide for success. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Crockett, L., Jukes, I., & Churches, A. (2011). Literacy is not enough: 21st-century fluencies for
the digital age. Kelowna, B.C.: 21st Century Fluency Project.
Eby, J.W., Herrell, A.L., & Jordan, M. (2011). Teaching in K-12 schools: A reflective
action approach (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Reed, A.J., & Beregmann, V.E. (2005). A guide to observation, participation, and
reflection in the classroom. New York: McGraw-Hill.