Your Portfolio Guide

Build your portfolio — a process for taking action and telling your story.

The CompSAT Portfolio Guide is a tool to aid you in the preparation of your professional portfolio. It offers a protocol for planning and developing your portfolio entries. It also includes a variety of portfolio formats for you to explore, and tips for creating high quality documentation. All of the examples are intended to assist you in exploring issues that arise in your daily practice, inspire you to formulate clear questions and take carefully considered action to answer them, and to stimulate your creativity.

A close-up of a woman writing in a journal.

Overview…

Portfolios can take many forms, particularly with the wide range of technologies available today.

A professional portfolio captures your thinking, your reflections, and your work in progress. It isn't just about documenting the results of your work. It provides a record of the continuum of observation, inquiry, action, reflection, revision, then back again to observation.

We encourage you to experiment with the different approaches offered here. You will find samples of portfolio segments throughout CompSAT, formats such as journaling, blogs, newsletters, photo essays, and electronic presentations. The samples document the work of practitioners from all types of early childhood programs. In all cases, the portfolio segments are tied directly to the California ECE Competencies in order to demonstrate how you can connect your work to the expectations for high quality early childhood practice.

The Learning Continuum - Observation, Inquiry, Action, Reflection, Revision.

The role of reflection in portfolios

Posner (2005) made an astute observation when he said, "We do not actually learn from experience as much as we learn from reflecting on experience" (p. 21). Reflection is essential to human learning. In the context of portfolios and professional growth, it serves some very important purposes. It helps you:

connect your experience with new learning, resulting in knowledge that is personally meaningful.
bridge the gap between theory to practice.
continue to build a critical reflection disposition.
learn more about how you learn best and what works well for you.
tap both your emotional and cognitive domains in the pursuit of exceptional practice.

Mapping your professional growth

The CompSAT portfolio, in conjunction with the ECE Competencies, is an effective tool in mapping your professional development path.

As you document your learning, you will see ways to move beyond where you are now. New areas of interest may open up for you as you reflect on your work and engage in dialogue with an advisor or mentor. With these tools, you can assess your strengths, areas of special interest, and the knowledge and skills that require further development. You can take a close look at your dispositions — the way you see and act on the world. Building your portfolio can also help you in setting professional goals and moving forward to ever-greater competence, pride, and enjoyment of your work with children and families.

A male and female college students studying.

Learn about the Portfolio Protocol

Now that you have familiarized yourself with the CompSAT Portfolio Guide, the next step is to explore the Portfolio Protocol. The protocol can guide you as you reflect on where you are now in your professional development and where you want to go next.

View the Portfolio Protocol