Teaching Portfolios : Presenting Your Professional Best

This portfolio handbook includes authentic, student-generated artifacts as well as insights from administrators, teachers, and parents. Issues of classroom management, diversity, communication, planning, standards-based education, and reflection are all addressed in the context of how to approach these important aspects within a teaching portfolio and during interviews. The materials are designed for continued use as the students become in-service educators.

Patricia Rieman began her teaching career in 1982 in Tulsa, Oklahoma with a Bachelors degree from the University of Tulsa. After teaching special education in the Tulsa Public School system for 10.5 years, Rieman moved to Illinois to complete her Masters degree in the area of Social and Emotional Disorders at Northern Illinois University. It was during this period that Rieman first began collaborating with Dr. Pamela Farris, and thus became involved in many projects for the Higher Education Division of McGraw-Hill. After completing her Masters, Rieman continued teaching high incidence junior high school special education students in Loves Park, Illinois and then worked with students with behavior disorders for four years in Sandwich, Illinois. In 1999, Rieman began her doctoral coursework in the Department of Literacy Education at Northern Illinois University. She has served as a clinical supervisor of students completing their first professional experiences in the Department of Teaching & Learning, and has taught a number of courses for the Department of Literacy Education. Rieman is currently an adjunct professor in the Department of Literacy Education and teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in reading methods, language arts, and children’s literature. Her dissertation topic is an examination of influences on classroom reading instruction. Rieman has created many student study guides, online resources, and instructors’ manuals for McGraw-Hill, and helped to create FolioLive. In addition to her work with McGraw-Hill, Rieman has also worked with Dr. Jerry Johns and Roberta Berglund on a content area reading strategies text for Kendall/Hunt Publishing.

Jeanne Okrasinski taught for 8 years as a 5-11 grade teacher of math, social sciences, and language arts. She also served as the teacher representative to the PTO and as a volleyball and soccer coach. While completing her Masters degree from Northern Illinois University in Curriculum & Instruction with a multicultural emphasis, Okrasinski taught English Rhetoric & Composition, tutored ESL students, and also supervised undergraduate students in their final student teaching experiences. From 2001-2002, Okrasinski was the Northern Illinois University Coordinator for Alternative Certification. Additionally, Okrasinski was an assistant in the preparation for the College of Education’s NCATE review. Okrasinski is currently an adjunct professor in the Department of Teaching & Learning, teaching undergraduate and graduate students in the areas of social sciences, middle school organization, and classroom management. She is completing her dissertation on the topic of curricular philosophy in middle school teaming. This is Okrasinski’s first experience working with McGraw-Hill, and her first publication.