School Media Library Portfolios

Portfolio documents should reflect key knowledge and skills acquired throughout the program. These documents come from a variety of sources and may include entries collected during course work as well as professional development opportunities. Portfolios are finalized during the practicum and reviewed at the conclusion of the candidate's practicum experience. The portfolios are evaluated during the midpoint and final assessments, and must include required entries that document Kentucky's Teacher Standards and the AASL Standards for School Media Librarians. Copies of the Standards can be obtained from the faculty member who is responsible for the practicum or from the Kentucky Education Professional Standards Board.

The following guidelines will be followed by candidates in the preparation and compilation of entries for eligibility portfolios.

Required eligibility portfolio contents include:

1. A demographic page that includes the following student information:
   
   • Name
   • Social Security Number
   • Permanent Address
   • College/University
   • Content Area Specialty (School Media Librarian) and Grade Level for Certification (P-12)
   
   
   
2. Table of Contents--a page that includes a summary of the entries. Each entry should be identified by entry number and by type (lesson plans, assessment instrument, selection policy, acceptable use policy, etc.). Each entry should indicate which of the standards and which of the subsections of the content standard are addressed. Each entry should also have an accompanying tab in the portfolio. (See the following example.)
   
   Entry 2: Annotated Bibliography; New Teacher Standards I, VIII; AASL Standard 1.2 (or Experienced Teacher Standards II, III; AASL Standard 1.2)



3. A statement of the candidate's personal philosophy of professional practice as a school media librarian.



4. A matrix that indicates which New/Experienced Teacher Standards and which AASL standards are addressed in the portfolio entries.



5. Entries or artifacts that provide evidence that the candidate has competency in all the New/ Experienced Teacher Standards and all subsections of the AASL Standards if seeking initial certification in school media librarianship. If already certified and seeking advancement in rank, entries or artifacts that provide evidence that the candidate has competency in the prescribed number of Standards on the candidate's program of study. An entry or artifact can apply to more than one Standard as long as there is a rationale for the application. Each artifact should include the context for which the entry was created and indicate at what point in the candidate's preparation program it was developed. The certification eligibility portfolio for School Media Librarian P-12 New/Experienced Teacher should contain no more than eight entries. At least two of the entries should demonstrate oral and written communication skills.



6. Rationale should be included for each entry or artifact. A rationale is a typewritten, grammatically correct explanation of how each entry addresses the New/Experienced Teacher Standards or subsections of the AASL Standards. The rationale discusses how the candidate reasoned through the process of selecting a task or strategy to meet student's context and environment. The rationale includes a discussion of why a particular entry or artifact was selected. (Refer to the Teacher Standards Benchmarks for evaluation criteria developed by the Education Professional Standards Board).



7. Evidence of the student's continuing professional development, beyond the required course work, must be included in the plan. (Refer to the Teacher Standards Benchmarks for evaluation criteria developed by the Education Professional Standards Board)



8. Signed statement affirming content is candidate's own work.



9. Signed release form allowing the higher educational institution permission to release the portfolio for review by credentialing/accrediting agencies.

Videotapes and multimedia presentations can be included in the portfolio. The use of these kinds of artifacts is encouraged. If these formats are included as entries, a commentary must accompany the entry to explain the purpose of the presentation. If there are students included in the videotape, written parental permission must be secured from the parents or guardians of the students. Children who do not have parental consent to be videotaped should be placed behind the camera and out of the taping scene. When videotaping a class presentation, the taping must be continuous for the entire portion that is to be viewed. Videotapes may not be edited (Kentucky Preservice Teacher Portfolio Assessment Guidelines, p. 5). Multimedia presentations should include a hard copy of the presentation, if possible, as well as a diskette containing the multimedia presentation.

In addition to the print copy of the portfolio, the candidate should submit an electronic copy of the portfolio with the candidate’s name, social security number, and date on the label. It is highly recommended that the candidate save the portfolio in pdf format. The electronic copy will be kept by the School of Library and Information Science for possible review by credentialing/accrediting agencies. The original portfolio will be returned to the candidate.