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A portfolio
is a collection of work that evidences mastery of a set of skills, applied
knowledge, and attitudes. The individual works in a portfolio are often
referred to as "artifacts." A portfolio may contain test scores from standardized
tests, Praxis scores as well as lesson plans, videos that demonstrate
your teaching, K-12 student work, scanned notes, pictures, any evidence
that shows what you know and what you can do, and how you do it.
Educational portfolios also contain
evidence of being a reflective practioner. You must demonstrate that
you look back upon what you have learned and taught and assess how effective
you were in meeting your pre-defined goals. How successful you were
in helping your students meet grade expectations, standards, and excitement
about learning. When you teach you learn. Portfolios can be divided
into two groups: process
oriented or product
oriented portfolios.
Process Orientated
(Developmental Portfolios)
Process oriented portfolios report about
the growth of a learner. They document the learning process by containing
drafts of documents, reflections on the process and obstacles encountered.
They may be organized into skill areas or themes, yet each contains
samples of the student's work from the beginning, middle, and end of
a learning unit. For example, there may be three drafts of a short story:
a preliminary draft, a reworked draft reflecting teacher and peer feedback,
and a final draft. The student can comment on the ways one is better
than the other. In this manner, the artifacts can be compared providing
evidence about how the student's skills have improved. In any number
of ways, in writing or perhaps during a parent-teacher conference, the
student would reflect on the learning process: identifying how skills
have changed, celebrating accomplishments, and establishing present
and future challenges.
Product oriented portfolios (Certification
Portfolios)
Product oriented portfolios are collections
of work a student considers his or her best. Some people also refer
to these as Showcase Portfolios. The aim is to document and reflect
on the quality and range of accomplishments rather than the process
that produced them. It generally requires a student to collect all of
their work until the end, at which time they select artifacts that represent
work of the highest quality.
The Process of Portfolio Production |
