As the TESOL Practicum Coordinator it is always exciting to showcase Digital Portfolios for EDDN 680.
The learning theory behind ePortfolios
According to Basken (2008), ePortfolios “are a way to generate learning as well as document learning”. Both generating learning and documenting or recording learning are important, but the process of generating learning sometimes gets overlooked. ePortfolios generate learning because they provide an opportunity and virtual space for students to critically assess their academic work, to reflect on that work, and make connections among different courses, assignments, and other activities, such as work experience, extracurricular pursuits, volunteering opportunities, and more. ePortfolios are effective learning tools because they support students’ own knowledge construction, make otherwise invisible aspects of the learning process visible, and place agency in the hands of students, which fosters learners’ motivation. (Basken, P. (2008, April). Electronic portfolios may answer calls for more accountability. (Links to an external site.) The Chronicle of Higher Education.)
Project Description
The purpose of creating and maintaining an electronic portfolio is for Touro TESOL/Bilingual teacher candidates to reflect on their course of study at Touro College and create a digital repository of their work done during the program. The portfolio includes a statement of the teacher candidates’ goals, philosophy of education, and files which showcase the candidates best work.
Touro College TESOL faculty Arlene Suarez Caporaso
Bilingual (Spanish/English) Touro TESOL faculty Arlene Suarez Caporaso, an experienced educator with Departmental Supervision IEP’s, ENL Part 15 and school leadership experience was the facilitator and course lead.
Jaclyn Esposito
Jaclyn Esposito wrote: “I wanted to be a teacher for as long as I could remember. I always wanted to follow in my grandpa’s footsteps and help students the same way he did.”
She further elaborated on her teaching philosophy: “As a teacher my desire to grow is because of my students. I want to make sure that I am doing everything I can to be the best teacher for my students. Depending on the students in my class, I might have to learn new ways or styles of teaching. As my years of teaching increase, there will be different standards to follow or how teaching is conducted. After this past year, my goal is to become more familiar with digital ways of teaching and how we can include technology into our every day of teaching. Technology can be a way that I can connect with my students and can be a way that they are able to understand with the world they are growing up in now. Another goal I would like to have as a teacher is to make sure I give every student a chance no matter what is said about them from the previous years.”
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