Reflection is an important aspect of the portfolio process. Reflections include written statements that provide insight into a professional's growth and produce evidence that a teacher is also a critical thinker, problem-solver, and lifelong learner.
Reflection, in the context of portfolio development and professional growth, however, requires more than simply identifying and understanding what has occurred in a teaching situation. Once a problem is identified, the next step is to consider and test possible solutions. This is often referred to as the reflection-in-action process. Reflection in action shows your identification of the problem and reflection on the implications/ a plan of attack/ implementation/ reflection on the plan's effectiveness. Your portfolio will provide many opportunities for you to illustrate this process as you reflect upon your personal and professional growth as an educator.

A portfolio offers the opportunity to provide evidence of successfully meeting a given set of educational standards, or illustrating a meaningful or critical incident in your teaching. Lesson plans, examples of student work, photographs, and video clips can all be used as evidence of learning (known hereafter as artifacts). These items provide support to the standards used in your portfolio. But a collection of artifacts alone is merely a scrapbook-not a reflective activity. Building a portfolio requires planning, reflection and collection of evidence both of teaching and learning. Please take a moment to complete Activity 1 to get a better sense of the portfolio process.