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imgApplication Skills

Full Breakdown: Building a Teaching Portfolio

A resume tells a school what you've done. A teaching portfolio shows them how you actually teach. It's the difference between a school reading a list of qualifications and a school seeing real evidence of your classroom thinking — and in a competitive market, that evidence is often what moves you from “maybe” to “yes.”

Listen to this guide

Application Skills
Building a Teaching Portfolio
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Watch: Building a Teaching Portfolio That Stands Out

A short breakdown of what to include and how to put it together. Watch this before you start pulling your portfolio together — seeing a real example built out makes it much easier to know what “good” actually looks like.

What to Include

  • Sample lesson plans — two or three well-structured examples, ideally covering different age groups or skill levels
  • A teaching philosophy — a short, genuine statement (a few sentences to a short paragraph) on how you approach teaching and why
  • Classroom activities — games, worksheets, or exercises you've genuinely used and would use again
  • Worksheets or materials you've created yourself, not just downloaded
  • Projects — any larger pieces of student work you've guided, if you have them
  • Certificates — your TEFL/TESOL/CELTA certificate, and any additional professional development
  • Student-learning examples, where appropriate — anonymised or with permission
  • Photos of classroom activities, only where you have genuine permission to use them

Writing Your Teaching Philosophy

This is the part most people find hardest, because it asks you to put your own approach into words rather than just listing facts. Keep it short — a few honest sentences beats a long, generic paragraph. Focus on:

  • What you believe makes a lesson actually work
  • How you handle a mixed-ability classroom
  • What you want students to feel, not just learn, in your lessons
Make it genuinely yours.

A philosophy that sounds like it could belong to any teacher isn't doing its job. The more specific and genuinely yours it is, the more it actually tells a school about you.

Do's & Don'ts

DO
DON'T
Include only your own work — lesson plans and materials you've genuinely created or adapted
Don't pad it with downloaded materials you didn't create or genuinely use
Keep it organised and easy to skim — a school reviewing your portfolio won't read every page in full
Don't write a generic, copy-paste teaching philosophy — it should sound like you
Update it as you gain experience — a portfolio should grow with you
Don't include identifiable student information or photos without clear permission
Get explicit permission before including any student work or photos
Don't make it overwhelming — a focused, well-chosen selection beats an exhaustive dump
Tailor it slightly for the type of role you're applying to
Don't let it sit unfinished forever — a partial portfolio you actually send beats a perfect one you never finish