Home >> Teaching >> EDF 3604 >> Policies >> Portfolios
EDF 3604—Coursework and portfolios
I encourage all students to use their papers, quizzes, and other work they produce from this course as part of portfolios many need to compile for their programs. The content and objectives of this course meet NCATE Standard 1 for teacher candidate knowledge, skills, and disposition (see May 11, 2000, NCATE Professional Standards for the Accreditation of Schools, Colleges, and Departments of Education, p. 18-19) and Florida's Accomplished Practices regarding Communication (#2), Critical Thinking (#4), and Diversity (#5), as well as Florida's ESOL standards regarding cultures and social context. Reflecting these standards, my colleagues and I teach this course to produce educators and other professionals who think critically about the relationship between schools and society and clearly articulate their ideas in both oral and written work. We expect you to interpret (not just passively read) the material, learn the major research findings in the areas, develop informed opinions and theories about this research, and clearly express their thoughts in grammatically correct, edited American English. For instance, the evaluation of written work rejects the false dichotomy between form (style and composition) and content (information and thought). This course will help you develop your ideas and your ability to articulate them to parents, fellow educators and the larger public. Evidence of your skill development in any of these areas is documentation that belongs in your portfolio. For example, one preapproved topic for the perspectives paper each semester concerns language and culture. Students could use such a paper to document growing knowledge of the social context of language diversity. Any perspectives paper, certainly, could document communication and critical thinking skills.