A professional portfolio is a collection of a person’s skills, experiences, and achievements. It is essential to create one because it showcases certain attributes that may not otherwise be noticeable. For instance, it is possible to communicate values such as honesty, adaptability, and grit via a professional portfolio. Additionally, one can record their accomplishments and life experiences in the portfolio. It amplifies their career goals and contributes to successful job applications. A professional portfolio gives one an advantage over peers in the job market.
Professional learning communities (PLCs) equip members with valuable skills including collaboration, inquisitiveness, and commitment to goals. Such communities are important in the education sector because they provide a forum for educators to share their professional journeys. For instance, it is in these communities that members discuss common classroom issues such as how to promote diversity and inclusivity. Aside from such classroom issues, people also gain insightful career advice from PLCs (Voelkel & Chrispeels, 2017). For instance, once can learn how to secure funding for a certain project they are undertaking.
I can apply numerous principles from professional learning communities to my teaching situation. PLCs are guided by three main components, that is, learning, collaboration, and results. First, I must ensure that students learn and understand the material taught in class. Next, I plan to create a culture of teamwork and collaboration (Scageret al., 2016). For instance, I will adopt a student-centered model of teaching that encourages students to work together. Finally, I will measure the results of my approach to know if it is working. Professional learning communities give practical knowledge that can be extrapolated to the classroom context and beyond. I have learned a lot from this class that will be impactful to my career life.
References
Scager, K., Boonstra, J., Peeters, T., Vulperhorst, J., & Wiegant, F. (2016). Collaborative learning in college science: Evoking positive interdependence. CBE life sciences education, 15(4), ar69. Web.
Voelkel Jr, R. H., & Chrispeels, J. H. (2017). Understanding the link between professional learning communities and teacher collective efficacy. School Effectiveness and School Improvement, 28(4), 505-526. Web.