Running head: PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Professional Development Quest Portfolio Final Reflections

Assignment 4
Jennifer Buck
National University

In partial fulfillment of the requirements for

TED 690Capstone Course
Professor Carol Shepherd

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

2
Abstract

This paper is a reflection of developing a professional development quest portfolio (PDQP).

Advice will be given to future candidates going through this program or specifically this course.
The advice will reflect on my personal experience while developing my PDQP, selecting artifacts
that are mine or found on the Internet, sharing my progress with my peers, participating in a
positive learning community, and the most beneficial aspects from this course. This is a
reflection on the last month, progress and completion of my PDQP, and advice to future
candidates. I will make comments regarding my own journey, realizations, frustrations, and
advice to those hoping to acquire a masters degree. This is a reflective journey that can
continue to our last years as a teacher and exhibits our professional growth and student learning.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Professional Development Quest Portfolio Final Reflections

I would advise future candidates going through this program and course to stop, take a
death breath, and relax. Remember, It is important to note that a portfolio is a professional
document designed to highlight an individuals professional development and achievement
(Reed & Bergemann, 2005, p. 157). Therefore, research examples of an e-portfolio and what
others have incorporated. Use the examples of the assignments as a guideline and read through
all rubrics and course materials. With this being said, use sources other than the required text to
show your depth of knowledge and ability to do research. Also, use the discussion threads to ask
questions, provide timely and respectful, constructive feedback. I would also recommend
students attending the class live pro sessions to their benefit. This time can alleviate stress and
answer lingering questions that you may have with an immediate response. The last piece of
advice I have is to stay organized, start promptly, and continue filling your PDQP with evidence
of substance and insightful reflections (Costantino & De Lorenzo, 2005, p. 7).
Many people are visual learners and any candidate will benefit to view progress of their
peers PDQP each week. This is very encouraging because some students use different websites,
visuals, auditory items that maybe were never considered by you before. Also, it challenged me
to make my PDQP visually appealing to others. I wanted to go above and beyond just the
simplification of the expectations and hyperlinking my artifacts to an e-portfolio. Keeping a
portfolio should be viewed as a rewarding activity. Like most rewarding tasks, it is complex,
perplexing, and time-consuming. A portfolio should not be looked at as something that can be
quickly thrown together (Reed & Bergemann, 2005, p. 158). Therefore, I added a picture for an
overall portfolio teaching theme, personal photos, and a statement of purpose for the e-portfolio.
By doing this, it makes the portfolio more personal and engaging for the viewer.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

The 5-year timeline we created for our professional development is very enlightening.
Creating a timeline for the next 5 years really put my goals into perspective. Also, writing the
reflections on why we selected specific artifacts was powerful. It (portfolio) 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 &
Bergemann, 2005, p. 164). This helped me self-evaluate my teaching experiences and student
outcomes. Likewise, I was able to justify the correlation between the artifact and the TPEs.
Sometimes we see what someone else has created, mastered, or done and we would like to
emulate this. This provides professional development growth, which can turn weaknesses into
strengths and our strengths even stronger. What we hope to emulate shows that we are targeting
a goal for ourselves. This also alleviated time constraints for some of us who may not have kept
copies of student work. Goals identify areas for professional development and correlate with
performance standards (Costantino & De Lorenzo, 2009, p. 67). Some of my future plans are
goals to incorporate updated artifacts that show my ability, knowledge, and growth as a teacher.
This also incorporates artifacts showcasing student learning based on my teaching growth.
Sometimes we create something, revise, edit, revise again, and still miss some errors.
Sharing your PDQP progress on a weekly basis is helpful due to the respectful, immediate
feedback on your creation. At this point in your education, success is what your peers want to
see. You have come this far, and they truly want to see you showcase your artifacts in a
professional way. They (portfolios) encourage teachers to assume responsibility and ownership
for their own learning and professional growth (Costantino & De Lorenzo, 2009, p. 5). The
professional learning community comes from very different backgrounds, intelligences,

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

strengths, as well as weaknesses. They offer suggestions to encourage growth and also offer
assistance when needing help with implementing those suggestions.
In addition to illustrating an individuals career, a portfolio exhibits the persons ability
to reflect, appropriately assess professional strengths, and organize (Reed & Bergemann, 2005,
p. 157). A continuous portfolio can impact your students in a positive way. If a teacher can
reflect on their teaching, explain what went wrong, right, why make a change in the lesson and
how to effectively make that change to the lesson plan and instructional strategies, then student
learning and mastery of the content will have higher chances. There is no one right way to create
an e-portfolio, but one thing is for certain, it can be a lifelong journey to add updated artifacts,
self evaluate, and reflect on your own teaching.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

6
References

Costantino, P.M., De Lorenzo, M.N., & Tirrell-Corbin (2009). Developing a professional

teaching portfolio: A guide for success. 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.