Portfolios are frequently considered a more genuine form of assessment compared to traditional classroom tests. Instead of merely proving that a student understands the material, a portfolio showcases their ability to apply what they have learned. For instance, while a test might assess students’ knowledge of the elements of a short story, a portfolio containing a written short story demonstrates the student's skill in creating one. In the profession of teaching and as we learnt in the previous course ‘TCSF for Teacher Professional Development’, new teachers are assessed against a teacher competency framework like the Myanmar Teacher Competency Standards Framework (TCSF) and they can develop a teaching professional portfolio in order to demonstrate their competencies.  This course will build on the ‘TCSF for Teacher Professional Development’ course and allow teachers to explore more about how and why portfolios are used as an assessment tool, and then look at more examples of beginning teachers using teaching portfolios to reflect their proficiency in teaching.

The course covers the following modules: 

Module 1. Introduction to portfolio assessment

1.1. Portfolios as Assessment of Learning and Assessment for Learning

1.2. Types, benefits and challenges of portfolio assessment 

1.3. Scoring professional portfolios

Module 2. Teaching professional portfolio 

2.1. The ‘Learn, Apply, Reflect’ process   

2.2. Assembling a teaching professional portfolio

Key terms

Assessment of Learning, Assessment for Learning, Myanmar’s TCSF, competence standards, domain areas, minimum requirements, indicators, professional development, portfolio contents, teaching statement/philosophy, Teacher Competency Standards Framework tracker

This course aims to provide teachers with a comprehensive understanding of portfolios as assessment tools, both for assessing student performance and as tools for assessing their own growth as teachers.

By the end of this course, you will be able to 

• Distinguish between the two types of portfolios;
• Explain how portfolio assessment reflects both the Assessment of Learning and Assessment for Learning approach;
• List the benefits and challenges of using portfolios as a tool for assessment;
• Identify scoring tools used for grading portfolios; 
• Investigate the ‘Learn-Apply-Reflect’ process;
• Identify the stages of Gibb’s Reflective Process;
• Discuss the benefits of reflection for teachers and students;
• Review the competency domains in the Myanmar Teacher Competency Standards framework; and
• Identify the types of evidence that can be inserted into a teacher professional portfolio, as related to the Myanmar Teacher Competency Standards framework tracker.