What is a rationale statement and why do we write them?
A rationale statement provides a professional argument for the evidence you are submitting to demonstrate the accomplished practice. The rationale statement communicates the link between the accomplished practice and the evidence so that the reviewer of your portfolio understands your professional thinking and understanding of the professional literature. If the reviewer of your portfolio has to construct the link on his/her own, then the portfolio rationale statement is not strong enough.
How
do I write a rationale statement?
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For
each artifact/illustration you include in your portfolio you must
write a brief rationale statement about why you chose it. A rationale
begins with a description or summary of the artifact, provides an
analysis of the essential elements of the artifact, and then provides
a brief justification as to how the artifact demonstrates proficiency
in the corresponding Florida Accomplished Practice (FAP).
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The
rationale is an argument that you are building based on professional
knowledge (i.e., literature, standards, personal practical
knowledge). The rationale should discuss how and why your
illustration exemplifies quality work connected to FAP. In other
words, your rationale statement should show your reader that you
understand the FAP, how you have chosen to illustrate that
understanding, and what the illustrations demonstrates you are
capable of doing.
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Examples
of Weak Rationale Statement:
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Rationale:
I chose this illustration to show how I am able to apply the Cognitive Strategy
Instruction approach
to a group of diverse students. There were many different learning styles within this group of
kindergartners and the CSI lesson that we taught was very effective.
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were you able to apply it?
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was this appropriate for different learning styles?
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do we see the literature or other forms of knowing in this rationale
statement?
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do we know the lesson was very effective? What does effective mean?
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there writing errors in this rationale?
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When you write your rationale statement, answer
the following questions:
*What is the artifact? (Describe or
summarize the artifact)
*What are the key
elements that made you select this artifact? (Provide an analysis of the essential elements of the
artifact)
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*
What is your
argument for the artifact based on professional knowledge? (Draw on
professional literature and personal practical knowledge)
*What
is (or are) the connection(s) to the Florida Accomplished Practice?
*What does the
illustration say about your understanding and demonstration of the
Florida Accomplished Practice?
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Description:
The
evidence I selected to demonstrate AP#3 is my teacher inquiry
project. This
task required my partner and I to identify an inquiry question,
develop an approach or method for studying that question, carry out
the data collection process, analyze the data collected, and draw
conclusions/implications from our research. The inquiry project was
analyzed through the DDL Lenses of Democracy, Diversity, and Literacy
and implications for student learning.
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Rationale:
Accomplished
Practice #3 focuses on the importance of a continuous improvement in
the life of a teacher. Teacher inquiry is a tool for lifelong
learning and self-reflection is a key components of the process. Teacher
inquiry is defined as systematic, intentional study of one’s own
professional practice (see, for example, Dana, Gimbert, & Silva,
1999; Hubbard & Power, 1993; Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 1993). Inquiring professionals seek out change by
reflecting on their practice. They
do this by posing questions or “wonderings,” collecting
data to gain insights into their wonderings, analyzing the data along
with reading relevant literature, making changes in practice based on
new understandings developed during inquiry, and sharing findings
with others. Hence,
whether you are a prospective teacher at the dawn of your teaching
career, or a veteran teacher with years of experience facing new
educational challenges every day, teacher inquiry becomes a powerful
vehicle for learning and reform.
Given today’s political context where much of the
decision making and discussion is occurring outside the walls of the
classroom (Darling-Hammond, 1997), the time seems ripe to create a
movement of teacher voices armed with the tools of inquiry and
committed to educational change. In addition to the literature
cited, I believe that inquiry allowed me to look inward at my own
professional practice. For
example, in the inquiry you can see how I recognized the strengths of
my questioning and the limitation of the resources that I used.
This has led to my own critique and improvement of my social
studies instruction. My
current efforts will shift towards including multiple voices in the
content that I deliver. As you can see, inquiry
provides evidence of continued professional improvement (AP #3) as a
result of this self-reflection and collaborative investigation with
colleagues.
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Evidence:
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You do not have to put a whole project up on the web for evidence unless that is the only way for the rationale to make sense. Consider clipping a small sliver of the project that really captures the evidence in the rationale.