Blog Post: Licensing
Portfolio Entry (LPE) for Dummies submitted by MM
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NOTE To NON-JSCers:
When I wrote this blog, I was unaware that although the themes, standards, and assessment
tools are the same for all of us, we don’t all follow the same format.
Therefore, please be aware that there may be possible differences in the format
that your school is using.
NOTE to fellow-JSCers:
Dr. Brinegar has read and approved my comments. Hope you find them helpful!
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Please don’t be offended by the title. I’m the dummy,
not you!
Here is what I think I’ve learned about writing licensing portfolio
entries (LPEs).
First, I will tell you what an LPE is not. Then, I will
describe what it is. There are 5 parts of an LPE.
1. UNPACK THE PRINCIPLE
An LPE is NOT an opportunity to paraphrase what the
principle says.
“They” already know what it says. “They” or “their
colleagues” wrote it. Actually, I don’t know who wrote it. The point is…don’t
just paraphrase the principle.
You need to show “them” that YOU understand what it
says.
We keep hearing our professors say to make sure you
UNPACK THE PRINCIPLE.
For those of you who think unpacking your luggage
means to take all of your stuff out of your suitcase at the same time and shove
it in the drawers, or worse, yet, put it in a pile, that’s not how to unpack a
suitcase, or in this case, the principle.
[BTW when you unpack
your luggage, you should take out each item or group of items neatly and
place them together so that you can find them.]
For
an LPE, read each sentence and explain what it means. It does not matter that
you understand what it says and needs no explanation.
You need to EXPLAIN IT IN
YOUR OWN WORDS so that “they” can tell that YOU understand it. They can’t read
your mind!
IN
YOUR OWN WORDS, write out what the principle means.
(BTW, I’m not yelling…just trying to make a point.)
2. GROUND THE PRINCIPLE IN LITERATURE
Again, I will begin with what an LPE is not.
An LPE is
NOT a review of every article you have ever read about topics that might be related
to the entry.“They” can do their own research.
It is NOT an
opportunity to simply add a quote that has the same or similar word or words
that you have in your paper.
Furthermore, grounding the principle does NOT mean
that it (the principle) cannot use the family car or go out this weekend.
(If
you missed my attempt at humor, don’t waste time thinking about it. Just keep
reading.)
Grounding
the principle means to find a quote from a scholarly piece of writing that
supports what you are saying. Find something that somebody wrote that either
agrees or disagrees with what you are saying.
Note: You may want to wait until after you decide upon
an episode to look for this. That’s up to you.
My overall point is that the
principle, the literature and the episode need to be interrelated. So…you may
want to think about this while you’re choosing an episode. Please see next
section.
3. LOCATE AN EPISODE / PROVIDE EVIDENCE
To be consistent, I will begin, once again, with what
an LPE is not.
An LPE is NOT a deep, reflective essay in which you
analyze a situation and re-think what you could have done better.
Although
reflective thinking is a highly recommended practice that you should do
throughout your teaching career, the LPE is neither the time nor the place.
An EPISODE is something that you have seen or done
that relates to the principle AND the literature.
Think of an episode of a TV show. It is usually a
short part of an entire story.
If you were to describe it to a friend, as in,
“Hey, what happened in last night’s episode?”, you would provide a description
of the setting, who was involved, when it happened and what occurred.
You don’t
need to provide TMI (too much information). Your friend will just walk away.
(Again, if you missed my attempt at humor, don’t waste
time thinking about it. Just keep reading.)
For
the LPE, an EPISODE is a short, concise description of what actually happened,
where it occurred and who was involved. Be specific. Don’t just say that
something happened over the course of your internship. Provide ONE specific
time with details (who, where, when and what).
EVIDENCE
is more obvious. It is the required documentation, such as the actual lesson
plan, unit plan, samples of student work, or activity that you used.
In any case, it needs to be related to the principle
AND to the literature.
4. GAUGE THE CORRESPONDENCE
When I see the word gauge (which rhymes with cage,
not George), I think gas gauge, as in, “How much gas is there left in my car before I need to get
more?” (If you don’t drive a car, skip this part and go on.) In any case, a
gauge is a measurement or a judgement.
For
an LPE, this is when you look at the principle, the literature and the evidence
and make a judgement. How do they connect? Do they support one another? They
don’t have to agree. You can explain how they contradict one another.
5. LAST BUT NOT LEAST (You’re almost
done…)
Read your LPE from beginning to end and ask yourself:
1. Are all the elements (the principle, the
episode/evidence, the literature) about the principle?
2. Is it coherent? Are the elements (principle, literature, episode/evidence) linked to one another?
PRINCIPLE EVIDENCE LITERATURE
GOOD LUCK!
