By Joanne M. Haas
Christina Hutterer describes herself as an “old” college student, since she spent time studying to be a cook before changing direction and pursing education as her career.

But this “old” student is on the cutting edge of a new era in education in Wisconsin. Hutterer is among the new crop of teachers-to-be whose college education is barely recognizable from that experienced by current teachers.

Student Christina Hutterer (foreground) takes notes during a Portfolio II class at Cardinal Stritch University in Fox Point. Her portfolio is in the binder in front of her. Instructor Margaret Tackes guides students through the process of creating their portfolios, which students will ultimately present to prospective employers when they begin searching for jobs. The emphasis on development of portfolios in teacher training institutions is reflective of the new requirements of the state’s new teacher licensing law known as PI 34.

Hutterer – a Milwaukee native in her junior year at Cardinal Stritch University in Fox Point – welcomes the new approach, with its emphasis on performance rather than an accumulation of credits.

“I think of myself as a lifelong learner,” she said.

Before Hutterer and her fellow students can wear the title of teacher officially, they must complete their degrees and all the new requirements spelled out in the state’s three-tier teacher licensing law, known as PI 34.

Hutterer is about to begin work on the final section of a three-part portfolio required by PI 34 to receive an Initial Educator license. The new law focuses on what a teacher needs to know to be successful instead of compiling a certain number of credits. However, PI 34 regulations do not overrule or negate the individual campuses’ degree requirements.

Each college with teacher training programs under PI 34 is required to create an assessment system. Those assessments are addressed in a student’s portfolio, which the new graduate takes to show potential employers his or her accomplishments in college.

As Hutterer explained, each student in the program must complete a portfolio, and each part reflects the coursework at hand.

For example, Hutterer said, the first portfolio is often completed during a student’s second year. In the first year, a student begins accumulating a personal collection of documents for the first portfolio, which focuses on a teacher belief inventory.

“It is a statement of what you believe and how you would achieve it,” Hutterer said, adding some students opt for a list while others craft their own format. The second section of the portfolio is termed the “art and science of teaching,” which is often lesson plans. The third section is human relations. “This is how you relate to people, your volunteering and other work you’ve done.”

The second portfolio, completed during the junior year, is devoted to expressing a philosophy of education, along with a goal statement and a resume.

“This is your personal philosophy and goal statement, which is one statement that you hope to achieve,” Hutterer said. “The philosophy is a one-page document, double spaced. There are very specific criteria.”

The second part of the second portfolio, just like the first, covers the art and science of teaching, which contains two lesson plans in Hutterer’s case. And the third section, on human relations, could be another lesson plan or a case study.

Building a portfolio is time-consuming, and is done on top of regular course requirements. Hutterer estimates it took her “upwards of 50 hours” to complete her second portfolio. And that’s 50 hours on top of what Stritch requires of its students.

The third portfolio will follow the same format but be devoted to her student teaching experiences. She anticipates two assignments -- one in the early grades and a second in a middle school social studies class.

The portfolios, which are in print, are submitted to professors for review by randomly selected individuals. The first two portfolios are subject to a pass-fail grade.

Hutterer recalls the important role some very good teachers at Rufus King High School in Milwaukee played in her life. So while the portfolio is a lot of work, she is willing to do it because she realizes the connection between portfolio success and in-class success.

“It helps me process and synthesize and see everything a little clearer and a little crisper. That’s why you do the pre-assessment. It helps you articulate who you want to be.”

Education students gain broader vision of their roles
Resource page on teacher licensing

Posted November 10, 2003