Writing Explanatory Statements The primary section of the performance portfolio is the Explanatory Statements. In these brief narratives, candidates discuss and describe their knowledge, skills and abilities relevant to each professional standard. Length Explanatory Statements should be no longer than 2 pages per standard with the exception of standards (a)2 and (d)2 which have two parts. The 2 page limit applies to each part which could result in 4 pages for these standards. Portfolios exceeding this length will be returned to the candidate for revision. Content Explanatory Statements must provide convincing evidence through discussion and descriptive examples of candidates’ knowledge, skills, and abilities related to the standard. Explanatory Statements must be targeted specifically to the professional standards being demonstrated. Candidates should clearly label the standards within the portfolio. For example, Standard (a)1. Incorporates theories of and research in adult development in designing effective instruction appropriate to the learning environment. Respond to the appropriate set of Explanatory Statements (ABE or ESOL) based on the content of the lesson plans submitted in the portfolio (e.g., candidates submitting math lesson plans would respond to the ABE Explanatory Statements). It is candidates’ responsibility to: ensure that information is presented in clear, concise language and organized in a logical sequence so that evaluators do not have to search for relevant information. make explicit connections for the evaluators between your Explanatory Statements and your evidentiary documentation, and, when applicable, your teaching demonstration. provide adequate direction when referring to evidentiary documentation (e.g., see Tab 4, Sample 3). If using the same documentation for more than one standard, only include the documentation once.
Writing Explanatory Statements The primary section of the performance portfolio is the Explanatory Statements. In these brief narratives, candidates discuss and describe their knowledge, skills and abilities relevant to each professional standard. Length Explanatory Statements should be no longer than 2 pages per standard with the exception of standards (a)2 and (d)2 which have two parts. The 2 page limit applies to each part which could result in 4 pages for these standards. Portfolios exceeding this length will be returned to the candidate for revision. Content Explanatory Statements must provide convincing evidence through discussion and descriptive examples of candidates’ knowledge, skills, and abilities related to the standard. Explanatory Statements must be targeted specifically to the professional standards being demonstrated. Candidates should clearly label the standards within the portfolio. For example, Standard (a)1. Incorporates theories of and research in adult development in designing effective instruction appropriate to the learning environment. Respond to the appropriate set of Explanatory Statements (ABE or ESOL) based on the content of the lesson plans submitted in the portfolio (e.g., candidates submitting math lesson plans would respond to the ABE Explanatory Statements). It is candidates’ responsibility to: ensure that information is presented in clear, concise language and organized in a logical sequence so that evaluators do not have to search for relevant information. make explicit connections for the evaluators between your Explanatory Statements and your evidentiary documentation, and, when applicable, your teaching demonstration. provide adequate direction when referring to evidentiary documentation (e.g., see Tab 4, Sample 3). If using the same documentation for more than one standard, only include the documentation once.