A Study of Application of Portfolio

in Junior Middle School’s English Teaching

A Study of Application of Portfolio

in Junior Middle School’s English Teaching

General description of the background

The English Curriculum to further identify the purpose of English lear

ning develop students’ autonomous learning abilit

y form the effective learning strategies cultivate students’ integral language practica

l competence

English teaching and learning overstress: sorting and selecting function ignore: students’ practical ability and attitude duri

ng the process of learning

classroom teachings mainly presented in the form of lectures

the main method to assess students’ performance summative assessment in the form of exams

Students’ English level assessed mainly according to the total scores of one

exam or a series of tests

Significance of the study

The English Curriculum:

the English learning portfolio is one of the important tools of the formative assessment

it is a collecting of the evidence that documents students’ efforts, progress and accomplishments made in the learning process and reflects their learning results

Portfolio a way for artists, designers and other such p

rofessionals to show evidence of their works and illustrate their skill at applying knowledge to practice

an interface between learning and evaluation

a tool to collect systematic information so that students and teachers can organize, manage, and analyze life inside and out of school.

The aim of the study

to explore the feasible way of constructing a sound English learning portfolio for junior students

to report an applied research on whether it’s effective on student’s learning and English teaching

Research questions

1). How to design and use an English learning portfolio in junior

English classroom?2). What effects does the portfolio have on student’s learning and

English language teaching?

Theoretical framework

1 The Constructivist Learning Theory 2 The Theory of Multiple Intelligences 3 The Strategy-based Approach

Origin of Portfolio

The concept of portfolio development was adopted from the field of fine arts where portfolios were used to display illustrative samples of an artist’s work.

Portfolios have been used for a long time by such professions as photographers, artists, architects or similar practitioners as a means to document individual achievements.

Overview of Portfolio

Definition of Portfolio

portfolio has been widely used in teaching and learning area and aroused many educational practitioners’ interest.

Though the portfolio has been applied in instructional practice at home and abroad for more than twenty years, it is still hard to define it precisely.

some typical definitions in the relevant literature: A purposeful ,selective collection of learner’s work and refl

ective self-assessment that is used to document progress and achievement over time with regard to specific criteria

A purposeful collection of students’ work that demonstrates to students and others their efforts, progress and achievements in given areas.

A purposeful collection of students’ work that exhibits the students’ efforts, and achievements in one or more areas.

A collection of the student’s work in an area, showing growth, self-reflection, and achievement.

A container that holds evidence of an individual’s skills, ideas, interests, and accomplishments.

Types of Portfolio

According to the purpose that portfolios serve, the audience that portfolios are presented to, the help that they offers to students and so on, there are many different types of portfolios.

Margaret E.Gredler:

ideal portfolio

showcase portfolio

documentation portfolio

evaluation portfolio

class portfolio

Bill Johnson:

best-works portfolio

selection portfolio

process portfolio

Burke, Fogarty and Belgrad:

personal growth portfolio achievement portfolio professional portfolio

Seely: showcase portfolio documentation portfolio evaluation portfolio process portfolio

Campbell, Cignetti,Melenyzer,Nettles and Wyman

working portfolio

presentation portfolio Xu Fen and Zhao Decheng:

of all kinds of portfolios, process portfolios have the most typical meanings as a tool to promote learning, often used at all grade levels

Current research at home and abroad

quite a lot of researches into the approaches of portfolio assessment in theory and practice

little is discussed on the construction of the English portfolio

DESIGNING OF ENGLISH PORTFOLIO FOR STUDENTS

Planning for Portfolios 1) Determining the purpose of the portfolio 2) Determining the collection pieces for the portfoli

o 3) Introducing the idea to students 4) Establishing assessing criteria 5) Involving parents 6) Forming a project group

Design of Portfolio

1 Portfolio Cover 2 Contents table 3 Collection of Portfolio Contents

Portfolio Cover

different shapes and styles generally with the contents of the student’s name,

school year, teacher’s name and grade, the required and optional contents and comments

to arouse students’ interest, develop their ownership of the English portfolio and awareness of English learning, students design the portfolio cover by themselves

My English Portfolio

Name

photo

Name:______________English Name:___________

Sep.2008 Jan.2009

Cover

Contents table

show clearly what have been put into the portfolio

The table of contents

◆portfolio guidelines ☆My first English paper in this term ☆My self-assessment on the paper ☆My plan for this term ☆My progress step by step ★My English dairy ★My summary for English study weekly ★Vocabulary ★Grammar ★Reading ★Writing ★My English papers ★My self-analysis report on each paper ☆Other materials about my English study ☆My last English paper in this term ☆My self-assessment on the paper ☆My view on my English portfolio

Collection of Portfolio Contents

depend on the type and the purpose of portfolio construction.

at least include the dated materials that show students’ efforts, progress and achievement made in the learning process, with the explanations of inclusion.

Collection of Portfolio Contents

1) A piece of portfolio guidelines for students 2) A cover letter 3) Core contents 4) Options

A piece of portfolio guidelines for students make students fully understand the

significance of portfolios and actively take part in portfolio establishment and assessment

help students exactly know the definition and functions of the portfolio and what they should collect and do with the items included in and memorize the standards for selecting the entries of the portfolio

A cover letter

A cover Letter includes “Personal information”, “My goal/plan” and “My progress”

The cover letter summarizes the evidence of a student’s learning and progress. In the cover letter the students can show most clearly their growth.

Personal Information

Birthday :__________________

Height :___________________

Weight :_______________

Type of blood :______

Star sign: __________

Hobbies :___________

Favourite colours:____

Favourite stars:________

Favourite songs:___________

Cover letter

Goal/Plan

__________________________

__________________________

__________________________

__________________________

__________________________

__________________________

__________________________

__________________________

__________________________

__________________________

My Process

__________________________

__________________________

__________________________

__________________________

__________________________

__________________________

__________________________

__________________________

__________________________

__________________________

Core contents (items students have to

include) (1)English diary a) Study journal b) Extracurricular acquisitions(2)Summary of each unit(3)Weekly feedback(4) Reflection on exams(5)Project

Date :________Before class:___________________

_______________________________

In class :

Teacher teaches:_______________

_______________________________

_______________________________

_______________________________

My performance:________________

_______________________________

At home:

I learn :_______________________

_______________________________

My problems:__________________

_______________________________

Solution :_______________________

English diary

My zone

I read (listen to、 watch)

_____________________

_____________________

_____________________

_____________________

_____________________

I like _______________

__________________

_______________

parents` say:___

English dairy

Unit___ Summary

Vocabulary:_____________________

_______________________________

_______________________________

Grammar:______________________

_______________________________

_______________________________

Reading :_______________________

_______________________________

_______________________________

Writing :________________________

_______________________________

_______________________________

_______________________________

Finish this unit

I say:________________

Classmates say:_______

_____________________

Parents say to me:_____

_____________________

to teacher:__

_____________________

Teacher says to me:____

_____________________

to parents:

_____________________

Every Week

Paper Date :________________

Marks :_____________

Mistakes :____________________

_____________________________

_____________________________

_____________________________

_____________________________

Correction:___________________

_____________________________

_____________________________

Reflection :___________________

_____________________________

_____________________________

_____________________________

After an exam

Project

At weekends

(teamwork)

THE RESEARCH DESIGN

1. The Subjects Classes17,18, Grade 2 of No. 13 Junior School in Xuzhou

2. Instruments Questionnaires Tests Interviews

3. The process of the research

The Subjects

Two classes in Grade Two of No. 13 Junior School in Xuzhou

They are taught by the same teacher, and use the same textbooks and workbooks.

Their English scores in the final examination of the last term in these two classes were similar to each other.

They had the same class hours, the same instructional methods, and the same instructional materials.

Instruments

Questionnaires

Tests

Interviews

The process of the research

1. Pre-survey 2. Constructing and implementing the por

tfolio 3. Exhibition of portfolios 4. Summary of the portfolio 5. Post-survey

1. Pre-survey

1) Distributing a questionnaire: The experimental students were asked to answer

a questionnaire to determine their entering attitude towards students goal setting, assuming responsibility for their English learning, organizational skills for managing their work, parent involvement, meta-cognitive strategies for learning, peer interaction and self-assessment in the learning process.

2) Pre-test The two classes had a test at the beginning,

using the same paper; at the same time. The students' English scores in this examination were similar to each other.

It states clearly that there is no obvious difference in the English level between the two classes.

2. Constructing and implementing the portfolio 1) the activities during the selection proc

ess The selected work must match the purpose

of the portfolio. It is necessary to let the students know that t

he collection of the materials must serve the purpose of the English portfolio.

Materials should show students’ efforts, progress and achievements made in English learning process.

2) the activities during the collection process

During the construction and implementation of the portfolio, everyone’s portfolio was a special picture of the student’s learning, reflection and development.

Portfolios can give an outline of various students’ learning abilities and interests.

The portfolio construction showed the students’ learning abilities.

3) the activities during reflection and assessment process

The students should reflect on their learning situations at least once a week.

The students should reflect on their works every week in their study journals; they can communicate with each other in groups about their progress, their advantages and disadvantages, and get timely help from the teacher or peers.

The teacher should check the journals every week to make brief but positive comments on them and help students with their problems.

Exhibition of portfolios

Two exhibitions of portfolios were held to show students’ progress and achievements made in the course of constructing the English process portfolio, after the mid-term exam and at the end of the term.

Summary of the portfolio

Portfolios offer students a good chance to reflect on their works.

At the end of the term, students should write a summary report to self-assess and sum up their progress and achievements in English learning;

they set goals for the further study next term at the same time .

Post-survey

1) Distributing two questionnaires 2) Post-test 3) Interviews

CONCLUSIONS

Findings of the research

1) Finding One

explore the designing process and contents of an English learning portfolio for junior school students

2) Finding Two Portfolio gives a newer, wider, deeper view

on student skills, knowledge, learning, and development in English learning process

Students became aware of self-progress in English learning, realized learning objectives, examined their learning processes and upgraded their learning methods by creating portfolios,.

arouse students’ interests in English learning. help the students pay close attention to learning pr

ocesses rather than the results of tests encourage the students’ autonomous learning. offer teachers a lot of chances to watch students’ s

kills in English learning process. provide the opportunities for students to assess ea

ch other's works. give students a sense of success

Portfolio

show students’ development in their English study

present students’ English study process

promote students’ learning proficiency

let students get a successful experience