This module was created by Jenni Donohoo
Special Assignment Teacher, Computers in the Classroom

Portfolios in the Classroom

What are portfolios?
Portfolios are selective and purposeful collections of student work that provide meaningful documentation of the student achievement through products, processes and perceptions. Products include their actual work (e.g. essays, poems, a list of problems they have solved, digital images of a three dimensional work of art, etc.). Processes include the evidence of learning that took place along the way (e.g. brainstorming, drafts, planning, questions, evidence gathering, hypothesizing, problem-solving, etc.) Included in the process is the identification of goals, rationale and the actual selection of relevant evidence. Perceptions are another important type of evidence to include (e.g attitudes, reflections, motivations, reasons for selections, self assessment, etc.).


Why portfolios?
It is a good teaching practice to encourage students to constantly assess how activities are helping them to gain understanding. By questioning themselves and their strategies, students gain the tools needed to become independent learners. Portfolios are useful as a support to this instructional approach, emphasizing the student's role in constructing understanding and the teacher's role in promoting understanding. Assessment strategies in today's classroom are not solely based on tests and correct answers; the process is as important as the product. Assessment includes student works, observations and point of view based on conferences and discussions. Portfolios help promote student centred environments by fostering responsibility among students to become agents in their own education through reflective thinking. Furthermore, portfolios promote collaboration in a student centred environment when students are teamed cooperatively and encouraged to share and comment on each other's work.

Planning Guidelines
Teachers should never begin a portfolio project without a clear view of the type of portfolio you wish your students to create and the purpose in collecting student work. Portfolios are not meant to include everything that students produce. Portfolios are meant to include purposefully selected items that have some clear relevancy to the students' lives. It is in this decision making process, where students are encouraged to consider criteria for selected pieces and explain the basis of their choices, that an increased student involvement and ownership over their learning occurs.

1. Decide on the type of portfolio you wish your students to create. Portfolios may focus on a single curriculuar area - such as writing, mathematics, literature, or science, or they may span two or more subjects, such as reading and writing, writing across the curriculum, or mathematics and science. Decide on an area of focus or type of portfolio that will be clearly identified to students.

2. Consider storage issues. Manilla envelopes, pocket folders, or file folders can be used for storage of portfolios. If you have shelf space, pizza boxes make an ideal storage container for portfolios. Alternatively, you may consider electronic portfolios.

3. In order to make informed decisions on the what to include in their portfolios, students need to know the specific purpose their portfolio is going to serve. To help students understand performance assessment, hold a discussion about professionals who are evaluated based on their performance and what can be learned about people from their performance over time.

4. Have students set goals and then help them to identify indicators of how individuals could demonstrate progress toward meeting their goals.

5. Involve students in the assessment process by providing a skeletal rubric and having groups make up the criteria and descriptors. Stress that selections (products, processes and perceptions) should reflect their growth and demonstrate their understanding of how activities are helping them to become better learners.

6. What should be included? Utimately, those decisions should be made in consultation between the student and the teacher but the student makes the final decision.