Guidelines for
Advancement to Candidacy Portfolio
MIT 2002-2004
Due Wednesday, January 29, 2003
Advancement to Candidacy Portfolio
All students in the MIT Program are required to prepare a portfolio of materials
for the Advancement to Candidacy Interview during the second quarter of the
program's first year. The Advancement to Candidacy Portfolio must be
completed by Wednesday, January 29, 2003.
There will be three major competency areas around which this portfolio will be
organized. All of these competencies must be addressed in your portfolio with
samples of your work and Reflective Essays covering each major area of
documentation. The areas are,
1. Teacher as Person
a. Self-Knowledge
b. Personal Qualities Appropriate to Teaching
c. Intellectual Competence
2. Teacher as Inquirer
a. Assessment of Prior Endorsement Area Work
b. Ability to Identify and Evaluate Resources
c. Understanding of the Construction of Knowledge
d. Observation Skills
3. Teacher as Colleague
a. Community Building and Group Skills
b. Ability to Work Across Differences
c. Interpersonal Communication
Your documentation of competencies will come both from "prior learning" -- the
kinds of personal and academic skills and competencies that you brought with
you to this program -- and from "new learning" -- the personal and academic
skills and competencies that you have developed as a result of participating in
this program.
You're expected to make careful selections of a representative sample of
documents reflecting your best work. The evidence you choose needs to be
clear enough that the reader can understand its inclusion in the portfolio. Should
any further clarification be needed, it should be provided in the Reflective Essay
which precedes each section.
The materials must be typed, clearly organized in a portfolio, and contain a Table
of Contents. Your portfolio will be returned to you at the end of the review.
Carefully select evidence that best demonstrates what you are attempting
to document in each sub-area of the three major sections of the
Advancement to Candidacy Portfolio. One of the three pieces of evidence
may be something that you think is relevant, but that is not included on the
sample list. In addition to the suggestions made in each area for evidence,
we encourage you to use photographs, drawings, poems or quotations to
supplement and elaborate on your portfolio.
Preceding each major section write a reflective essay that speaks to the
competencies described for that area. The reflective essay should indicate
why you chose the particular pieces of evidence and what you feel they
indicate about your strengths and areas for continued growth as well as
what you have learned through the selection/reflection process. Your
portfolio will represent something important about you as a person, a
learner, and a teacher. We encourage you to bring it to life through your
thoughtful selection, reflection and creativity.
Section 1 - Teacher as Person: Write a concise 3 page essay that reflects
upon sections a,b, and c of this section and include the evidence you selected
for each section.
a. Self-Knowledge- awareness of own strengths, weaknesses and personal biases;
appropriate clarity of personal identity, values and moral commitments; awareness of
personal needs being fulfilled through teaching; ability to self-reflect and learn from
experience; knowledge of own learning style preferences.
Sample Portfolio Evidence: choose 3 pieces of evidence demonstrating selfknowledge
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Reflections on impacts of particular personal experiences or lack of experiences
in dealing with others in interpersonal situations, e.g. Who am I? Or your ethnic
autobiography
Selected field observation journal reflections on what you react strongly to in the
classroom
Your personal reflections on various pedagogical approaches used in this
program
Your personal reflections on the various learning approaches of fellow students
and their feedback to you
List of characteristics you perceive as related to your own learning style and
preferred modalities
Reflections on your responses to readings, lectures, videos
Reflections from group discussions on how your particular experiences or beliefs
might affect your teaching e.g. rural upbringing, alcohol/drugs, religion, well-to-do
family, experiences with difference, etc.
Other relevant evidence
b. Personal Qualities Appropriate to Teaching - personal integrity, curiosity,
emotional stability, flexibiity, empathy, good judgment, ability to manage time and
accomplish quality work on time, sense of personal authority.
Sample Portfolio Evidence: select 3 pieces of evidence that demonstrate your
personal qualities appropriate to teaching
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Reflection on your role and responses to your work with colleagues in triads,
seminars, project groups
Admission essays, if appropriate
Describe your ability to manage your responsibilities and time while in this
program, including punctuality and attendance at program classes and site
observations, and completion of reading and written work.
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Reflection on personal responses to program/personal stresses in this program
and/or examples from prior work with children that provide support for this area.
Other relevant evidence
c. Intellectual Competence - ability to write clearly; to reason and engage in
professional discussions; to identify, discuss and critique major themes and theses in
professional books and journal articles; to perform very competently in studies at the
graduate level.
Sample Portfolio Evidence: select 3 pieces of evidence that demonstrates these
abilities
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Best example of your writing in the program
Discussion and concrete examples of roles that you've played in triad, seminar.
democracy project/workshop
Best seminar paper integrating the readings for the week
Reflections and analysis of a significant field observation Xeroxed from your
journal
Material from your planning and jig-saw teaching
Selection of annotation(s) of resources for use in your Master's Project
Philosophy of education or democracy project analysis
Other relevant evidence
Section 2 - Teacher as Inquirer: Write a concise 2 to 3 page essay that reflects
upon sections a,b,c,and d of this part and the evidence that you selected for
those sections.
a. Assessment of Strength of Endorsement Area(s) Work - Understanding of
key theories, concepts and methodologies in one or more of the liberal arts and
sciences, or an interdisciplinary combination, required for your endorsement(s).
This must include a comparison of your academic and extracurricular
preparation with the requirements of the Essential Academic Learning
Requirements (EALR's) for which you anticipate being responsible.
If you plan to teach K-8 (elementary)-- evaluate your preparation for teaching to meet
Benchmarks 1 and 2 in your endorsement area.
If you plan to teach 4-9 (middle)-- evaluate your preparation for teaching to meet
Benchmarks 2 and 3 in your endorsement area.
If you plan to teach grades 5-12 (middle and high school)-- evaluate your preparation for
teaching to meet Benchmarks 2 and 3 in your endorsement area.
Sample Portfolio Evidence: choose 3 pieces of evidence that demonstrate the
strength of your preparation
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Matrix in which you lay out your undergraduate courses and projects in your
endorsement areas next to Benchmarks for which you will be responsible.
Reflective discussion of other learning or work experiences related to your
endorsement areas
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List of statements on the strengths you bring to your endorsements and gaps in
your preparation that you want to address as you continue to prepare for
teaching, including any incomplete endorsement work
Other relevant evidence
b. Ability to Identify and Evaluate Resources - Demonstration of ability to identify and
evaluate information resources on the Internet, ERIC, disciplinary indexes and other
library resources as well as colleague and community resources. Demonstration of
ability to use basic media technology.
Sample Portfolio Evidence: choose 3 pieces of evidence of these skills
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Evidence of ability to use e-mail, add attachments to e-mail messages, Web
Crossing, use basic Word processing program.
Evidence of passing competency test(s) for some media equipment through
Media Loan
Examples of your ability to identify and evaluate information resources e.g. an
annotated bibliography including Internet resources; data for democracy project
taken from an Internet source
Evidence of development of Power Point presentation for democracy project
Reflective discussion of your use of media, colleague or community resources
democracy project or other outside presentation prior to the program
Other relevant evidence
c.Understanding the Construction of Knowledge - Ability to recognize and articulate
examples of the influence of cognitive, personal and cultural biases and family influence
on the construction of our perceptions, interpretations and actions. Ability to identify and
articulate some of the personal and cultural influences on the construction of “truth” in
history, other social sciences and natural sciences.
Sample Portfolio Evidence: choose 3 pieces of evidence that demonstrate your
understanding.
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Examples of the impact of your own experience on your construction of the
“truth” about something e.g. about American history, about schools, about other
racial or ethnic groups.
Your ethnic autobiography
Seminar papers that demonstrate your awareness of the role of the author or
historian in “constructing” his/her own version of “truth”.
Discussion of strategies you might use to include many different perspectives in
classroom teaching.
Other relevant evidence
d. Observation Skills - Demonstration of the ability to observe and describe
classrooms, teacher-student interactions, and pedagogical strategies.
Sample Portfolio Evidence: choose 3 pieces of evidence of these skills
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Select the 3 best examples of your observations and reflections from your field
journal.
Other relevant evidence
Section 3. Teacher as Colleague: Write a concise three-page essay reflecting
on sections a, b, c and explaining the evidence selected for each section.
a. Community Building and Group Skills - Demonstration of your understanding of
how communities begin to form and strategies which support community building;
knowledge of group roles and development; understanding of collaborative project
work, fruit seminar and small group strategies; assessment of your own strengths
and areas for improvement in community and group processes.
Sample Portfolio Evidence: choose 3 pieces of evidence that demonstrate your
understanding.
“Self-Reflection of Roles you Play in Seminar” response
descriptive statements from seminar colleagues/ triad members about your role
in the group
samples of comments you posted on colleagues’ Web Crossing paper
responses
reflections on experience and personal growth as a result of community-building
opportunities in MIT - retreat, democracy project planning, covenant
discussions, workshop groups, jigsaw teaching team, triads, car pools, e-mail
other relevant evidence
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b. Ability to Work Across Differences - Assessment of your ability to work across
differences in personal style, learning style, ability differences, gender, religious
beliefs, class background, race/ethnic cultural background, sexual orientation,
political beliefs.
Sample Portfolio Evidence: choose 3 pieces of evidence of this ability.
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Examples from your ethnic autobiography or other written descriptions that
demonstrate your ability to work well with differences as well as vignettes
which describe differences that are most challenging for you.
Written statements from colleagues or triad members
Self-reflection on your own growth working across differences as a result of
experiences within this program or other groups
Other relevant evidence
c. Interpersonal Communication - Ability to communicate appropriately and
effectively in face-to-face situation with program colleagues, faculty, public school
staff, parents. (At this point, you will not have had the opportunity to demonstrate
your interpersonal competence in the classroom, but this category will continue to
be part of your portfolio).
Sample Portfolio Evidence: choose 3 pieces of evidence of this ability
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Affirmations from colleagues at end of first week retreat
Statements from triad or seminar mates describing the effect of your
communication style.
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Self-reflection on your interpersonal strengths and areas for growth related to
your development as a professional teacher