Portfolios in the ELA Classroom

Honor Moorman

Agenda

• Part One: What is a portfolio? What is the purpose of a portfolio? What does the portfolio process look like?

• Part Two: What are the affordances of digital portfolios?

• Part Three: How will you implement writing portfolios in your classroom?

What is a portfolio?

A special case

An

art

ist’

s p

ort

folio

A collection of artifacts

What is an academicportfolio?

A purposeful collection of student work that exhibits the student’s

efforts, progress, and achievements [over time]

Northwest Evaluation Association

A portfolio is a collection of evidence that is gathered together to show a person’s learning journey over time and to demonstrate their

abilities

Philippa Butler

A collection of student work that demonstrates achievement or

improvement

Richard Stiggins, Student-Centered Classroom Assessment

What is the purpose of a portfolio?

Please take the Purpose of Portfolio Survey

Portfolio as aProcess/Workspace

• Main activity: learning & collaboration

• Organization: chronological

• Documenting growth over time for both internal and external audiences

• Primary purpose: learning or reflection

• Reflection: immediate

• Main activity: showcasing achievement

• Organization: thematic

• Documenting achievement of standards, goals, learning outcomes for primarily external audiences

• Primary purpose: accountability

• Reflection: retrospective

Portfolio as a Product/Showcase

Portfolio as aProcess/Workspace

• Focus on artifact or learning experience

• Assessment FOR Learning

• Formative Assessment (feedback)

• Portfolio as journey

• Reflection leads to interactivity, and feedback

• Focus on standards, goals or learning outcomes

• Assessment OF Learning

• Summative Assessment (evaluation)

• Portfolio as destination

• Reflection leads to presentation and evaluation

Portfolio as a Product/Showcase

A portfolio is botha process and a product.

Process Product

Workspace Showcase

What’s your metaphor for a portfolio?

What does the portfolio processlook like?

The Portfolio Process

Collect Select Reflect Present Share

Present Share

We do not learn from experience.

We learn from reflecting on experience.

~John Dewey

Reflection Questions

• What do you want to remember about this learning experience?

• What was challenging about this learning experience?

• What was interesting about this learning experience?

• How did this learning experience help you grow as a learner?

What are the affordances of digital portfolios?

Web 2.0 is becoming the Personal Learning Environment of the “Net Generation”

Learning that is . . .

• Social and Participatory

• Lifelong and Life Wide

• Increasingly Self-Directed

• Motivating and Engaging

• . . . and Online!

Web 2.0

• Access from Anywhere

• Interactivity

• Engagement

• Lifelong Skills

• Mostly FREE

A digital portfolio is a tool for:

• assessing a students work and progression

• structuring learning and teaching

• enhancing communication and collaboration

• sharing experiences and resources

• supporting the construction of a “community of practice”

Hakon Tolsby, Digital Portfolio: A Tool for Learning, Self-Reflection, Sharing and Collaboration

An e-Portfolio is an electronic collection of evidence that shows your learning journey over time. … Evidence may include writing samples, photos, videos, research projects, observations by mentors and peers, and/or reflective thinking. The key aspect of an e-

portfolio is your reflection on the evidence, such as why it was chosen and what you

learned from the process of developing your e-portfolio.

Philippa Butler

Portfolio processes andvalue-added benefit of technology

Traditional portfolio processes include

Collecting

Selecting

Reflecting

Presenting

Sharing

Celebrating

Adding technology allows enhancement through

Archiving

Linking

Storytelling

Collaborating

Connecting

Publishing

Adapted from Helen Barrett, “Researching electronic portfolios and learner engagement,” Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, March 2007

Technology provides a variety of tools to support

• Capturing and storing evidence

• Reflecting

• Giving and receiving feedback

• Planning and setting goals

• Collaborating

• Presenting to an audience

Digital Workspace/Learning Portfolio

• Space for document/artifact storage (collection)• Space for reflection connected to individual

artifacts• Facilitate collaboration on artifact development• Facilitate feedback/dialogue on documents (by

peers or teachers)• Privacy Protection/Security• Track participation on group-developed artifacts

(optional)• Facilitate evaluation of artifacts (optional)

Digital Showcase/Presentation Portfolio

• Hyperlink to select specific documents in collection

• Organize presentation by themes (outcomes, goals, standards) with reflections

• Personalize presentation

• Publish online to selected audiences (privacy/security)

• Create archive of presentation portfolio with artifacts

• Facilitate evaluation of portfolio as a whole (optional)

Select a Quotation and Connect to

• Archiving

• Linking

• Storytelling

• Collaborating

• Connecting

• Publishing

• Capturing and storing evidence

• Reflecting

• Giving and receiving feedback

• Planning and setting goals

• Collaborating

• Presenting to an audience

What will writing portfolios look like in your classroom?

Design Questions to Consider

• Purpose? (to demonstrate best work, growth, proficiency, readiness, etc.)

• Collect and Select – What will be Included? Who will decide?– How will it be organized? (create a Table of Contents)

• Reflect– Which pieces will students reflect on and when?– What kinds of reflection questions will they address?– What format? (short response, reflective essay, letter, etc.)

• Present and Share– How and when will this happen?– When and with whom will the portfolio be shared?

• Assessment– What to evaluate? When to evaluate?– How to assess? (rubrics, checklists, etc.) Who will assess?

Looking at Portfolio Design

• Do students choose their own topics?• Do students get peer and instructor response to

drafts before a piece of writing is graded?• Do students write to different audiences?• Do students reflect on their own writing

processes?• Do students determine which pieces of their

work will be published?• Is the class given the responsibility, the time, and

the resources for publishing?

All Images CC via Flickr

• Portfolio Case by Streetfly JZ

• Investment Portfolio by Iscan

• Abstract Photo collection by catchesthelight

• Puertas de Cartagena by Luz Adriana Villa

• pottery in the making by dave~

• 3 pots by cobalt 123

• guiding touch by pangalactic

All Images CC via Flickr

• Pottery Factory by user.c

• Notebook Collection by Dvortygirl

• One Done by Daniel 1977

• Digital Portfolio Reflection Points langwitches

• Soph Board Intro Ken Robinson by Talia Howard

• OZ 318 by torres21

• Roof Reflection CC sharkbait

References

• Helen Barrett, “Balancing the Two Faces of ePortfolios,” electronicportfolios.org/balance

• Helen Barrett, “Metaphors for Portfolios,” electronicportfolios.org/metaphors.html

• Helen Barrett, “Researching electronic portfolios and learner engagement: The REFLECT Initiative,” Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, March 2007

• Philippa Butler, “Review of the Literature on Portfolios and Eportfolios,” 2006

• Northwest Evaluation Association, quoted in Paulson, Paulson, and Meyer, “What Makes a Portfolio a Portfolio?” Educational Leadership, Feb. 1991

• F. Leon Paulson and Pearl R. Paulson, “What Makes a Portfolio a Portfolio?” Educational Leadership, Feb. 1991

• Geoff Rebbeck, quoted in Effective Practice with e-Portfolios: Supporting 21st Century Learning, JISC, Sept. 2008

Sample 10th Grade Student Portfolios

Look at examples

Click around

Make notes

I notice . . . I like . . . I wonder . . .