Portfolio Requirements
**You will be required to submit a portfolio at the end of each unit of study to demonstrate that you have mastered the learning goals for the unit. ** You will keep all completed work in a file in class.
Welcome to Integrated Science. This year should prove to be both a fun and challenging year. The main purpose of this year is for you to learn the essential knowledge and skills you need in order to successfully master integrated science. It is my job to facilitate your learning; everything we do in class will be aimed at the goal. This year is going to be a journey that will lead you to this end goal, but in order to reach this goal it is essential that you become an engaged learner. Throughout the year, I have designed activities that will help you evaluate your present learning and set goals for future learning. One component will be a science portfolio.
Science Portfolio
Evaluation Portfolio
1. to document achievement for grading purposes
2. to document progress towards standards
In order to master integrated science, there are some fundamental skills you must show mastery of. Essentially, the skills can be broken down into two groups: reading and interpreting scientific information and scientific experimentation. The purpose of the science portfolio is for you to demonstrate your mastery of these skills. It is my belief that the mastery of these skills is the most important learning you can do throughout this year; these skills will help you as you move on in life.
I am here to support you throughout this journey and process. I am looking forward to the journey.
Sincerely,
Ms. Tucker
Audience of portfolio:
The portfolio will be used as an assessment tool by the teacher and student.
Content of portfolio and Process:
The portfolio will be a selection of the student’s performance.
Students will select two pieces of work. Any of the tasks from the unit. Ms. Tucker will also select pieces that she wants all students to have in their portfolios. The criteria for the task and the completed rubrics will be contained in the portfolio.
Along with the pieces of selected work, students will have a reflection on each piece.
- Finally, the portfolio will contain reflections of performance.
Evaluation Portfolios:
Purpose
a. to document achievement for grading samples of representative work in each subject/unit/topic to be graded- samples of work documenting level of achievement on course/grade-level goals/standards/objectives tests/scores
- rubrics/criteria used for evaluation of work (when applied)
- self-reflection on how well samples indicate attainment ofcourse/grade-level goals/standards/objectives
- teacher reflection of attainment of goals/standards
- identification of strengths/weaknesses
b. to document progress towards standards- list of applicable goals and standards
- representative samples of work aligned with respective goals/standards
- rubrics/criteria used for evaluation of work
- self-reflection on how well samples indicate attainment ofcourse/grade-level goals/standards/objectives
- teacher reflection of attainment of goals/standards
- analysis or evidence of progress made toward standards over course of semester/year
c. to place students appropriately- representative samples of current work
- representative samples of earlier work to indicate rate of progress
- classroom tests/scores
- external tests/evaluations
- match of work with standards accomplished
- self-reflection on current aptitudes
- teacher reflection on student's aptitudes
- parent reflection on student's aptitudes
- other professionals' reflections on student's aptitudes
Other Content
In addition to samples of student work and reflection upon that work, a portfolio might also include a table of contents or a cover letter (both typically composed by the student) to aid a reader in making sense of the purposes, processes and contents of the portfolio. This can be particularly useful if the portfolio is to be shared with external audiences unfamiliar with the coursework such as parents, other educators and community members.
Process: What processes will be engaged in during the development of the portfolio?
One of the greatest attributes of the portfolio is its potential for focusing on the processes of learning. Too often in education we emphasize the products students create or the outcomes they achieve. But we do not give sufficient attention to the processes required to create those products or outcomes, the processes involved in self-diagnosis and self-improvement, or the metacognitive processes of thinking. As a result, the products or outcomes are not as good as we or the students would like because they are often unsure how to get started, how to self-diagnose or self-correct or how to determine when a piece of work is "finished."
Although a variety of processes can be developed or explored through portfolios, I will focus on three of the most common:
- selection of contents of the portfolio;
- reflection on the samples of work and processes;
- conferencing about the contents and processes.
- Selection of Contents
Once again, identifying the purpose(s) for the portfolio should drive the selection process. As listed in the tables above, different samples of student work will likely be selected for different purposes. Additionally, how samples are selected might also differ depending on the purpose. For example, for an evaluation portfolio, the teacher might decide which samples need to be included to evaluate student progress. On the other hand, including the student in the decision-making process of determining appropriate types of samples for inclusion might be more critical for a growth portfolio to promote meaningful reflection. Finally, a showcase portfolio might be designed to include significant input from the student on which samples best highlight achievement and progress, or the teacher might primarily make those decisions.
Furthermore, audiences beyond the teacher and student might have input into the content of the porfolio, from team or department members, principals and district committees to external agencies to parents and community members. External audiences are most likely to play a role for evaluation portfolios. However, it is important to remember there are no hard rules about portfolios. Anything can be included in a portfolio. Anyone can be involved in the processes of selection, reflection and evaluation of a portfolio. Flexibility applies to portfolios as it does to any authentic assessment. That is, you should be true to your purpose(s), but you should feel no constraints on how you meet them with a portfolio assignment.
How might the selection take place?
What I will describe below are just a few of the many possible avenues for selecting which samples will be included in a portfolio. But these examples should give you a good sense of some of the choices and some of the decisions involved.
When?
- when a sample of work is completed -- at the point a piece of work is ready to be turned in (or once the work has been returned by the teacher) the student or teacher identifies that work for inclusion in the portfolio;
- at periodic intervals -- instead of selecting samples when they are completed, the samples can be stored so that selection might occur every two (three, six or nine) weeks or once (twice or three times) every quarter (trimester or semester);
- at the end of the ... unit, quarter, semester, year, etc.By whom?
- by the student -- students are the most common selectors, particularly for portfolios that ask them to reflect on the work selected. Which work students select depends on the criteria used to choose each piece (see below).
- by the teacher -- teachers may be the selector, particularly when identifying best pieces of work to showcase a student's strengths or accomplishments.
- by the student and teacher -- sometimes portfolio selection is a joint process involving conversation and collaboration.
- by peers -- a student might be assigned a "portfolio partner" or "portfolio buddy" who assists the student in selecting appropriate pieces of work often as part of a joint process involving conversation and collaboration. A peer might also provide some reflection on a piece of work to be included in the portfolio.
- by parents -- parents might also be asked to select a piece or two for inclusion that they particularly found impressive, surprising, reflective of improvement, etc.
Based on what criteria?
- best work -- selection for showcase portfolios will typically focus on samples of work that illustrate students' best performance in designated areas or the culmination of progress made
- evidence of growth -- selection for growth portfolios will focus on identifying samples of work and work processes (e.g., drafts, notes) that best capture progress shown on designated tasks, processes or acquisition of knowledge and skills. For example, students might be asked to choose
- samples of earlier and later work highlighting some skill or content area
- samples of rough drafts and final drafts
- work that traces the development of a particular product or performance
- samples of work reflecting specifically identified strengths and weaknesses
- evidence of achievement -- particularly for showcase and evaluation portfolios, selection might focus on samples of work that illustrate current levels of competence in designated areas or particular exemplars of quality work
- evidence of standards met -- similarly, selection could focus on samples of work that illustrate how successfully students have met certain standards
- favorite/most important piece -- to help develop recognition of the value of the work completed and to foster pride in that work, selection might focus on samples to which students or parents or others find a connection or with which they are particularly enamored
- one or more of the above -- a portfolio can include samples of work for multiple reasons and, thus, more than one of the above criteria (or others) could be used for selecting samples to be included
Reflection on Samples of Work
Many educators who work with portfolios consider the reflection component the most critical element of a good portfolio. Simply selecting samples of work as described above can produce meaningful stories about students, and others can benefit from "reading" these stories. But the students themselves are missing significant benefits of the portfolio process if they are not asked to reflect upon the quality and growth of their work. As Paulson, Paulson and Meyer (1991) stated, "The portfolio is something that is done by the student, not to the student." Most importantly, it is something done for the student. The student needs to be directly involved in each phase of the portfolio development to learn the most from it, and the reflection phase holds the most promise for promoting student growth.
In the reflection phase students are typically asked to
- comment on why specific samples were selected or
- comment on what they liked and did not like in the samples or
- comment on or identify the processes involved in developing specific products or performancesor
- describe and point to examples of how specific skills or knowledge improved (or did not) or
- identify strengths and weaknesses in samples of work or
- set goals for themselves corresponding to the strengths and weaknesses or
- identify strategies for reaching those goals or
- assess their past and current self-efficacy for a task or skill or
- complete a checklist or survey about their work or
- some combination of the aboveReflection sheets
Probably the most common portfolio reflection task is the completion of a sheet to be attached to the sample (or samples) of work which the reflection is addressing. The possibilities for reflection questions or prompts are endless, but some examples I have seen include
Selection questions/prompts
- Why did you select this piece?
- Why should this sample be included in your portfolio?
- How does this sample meet the criteria for selection for your portfolio?
- I chose this piece because ....
Growth questions/prompts
- What are the strengths of this work? Weaknesses?
- What would you work on more if you had additional time?
- How has your ______ (e.g., writing) changed since last year?
- What do you know about ______ (e.g., the scientific method) that you did not know at the beginning of the year (or semester, etc.)?
- Looking at (or thinking about) an earlier piece of similar work, how does this new piece of work compare? How is it better or worse? Where can you see progress or improvement?
- How did you get "stuck" working on this task? How did you get "unstuck"?
- One skill I could not perform very well but now I can is ....
- From reviewing this piece I learned ....
Goal-setting questions/prompts
- What is one thing you can improve upon in this piece?
- What is a realistic goal for the end of the quarter (semester, year)?
- What is one way you will try to improve your ____ (e.g., writing)?
- One thing I still need to work on is ....
- I will work toward my goal by ....
Evaluation questions/prompts
- If you were a teacher and grading your work, what grade would you give it and why?
- Using the appropriate rubric, give yourself a score and justify it with specific traits from the rubric.
- What do you like or not like about this piece of work?
- I like this piece of work because ....
Effort questions/prompts
- How much time did you spend on this product/performance?
- The work would have been better if I had spent more time on ....
- I am pleased that I put significant effort into ....
Overall portfolio questions/prompts
- What would you like your _____ (e.g., parents) to know about or see in your portfolio?
- What does the portfolio as a whole reveal about you as a learner (writer, thinker, etc.)?
- A feature of this portfolio I particularly like is ....
- In this portfolio I see evidence of ....
As mentioned above, students (or others) can respond to such questions or prompts when a piece of work is completed, while a work is in progress or at periodic intervals after the work has been collected. Furthermore, these questions or prompts can be answered by the student, the teacher, parents, peers or anyone else in any combination that best serves the purposes of the portfolio.
Other reflection methods
In addition to reflection sheets, teachers have devised a myriad of means of inducing reflection from students and others about the collection of work included in the portfolio. For example, those engaging in reflection can
- write a letter to a specific audience about the story the portfolio communicates
- write a "biography" of a piece of work tracing its development and the learning that resulted
- write periodic journal entries about the progress of the portfolio
- compose an imaginary new "chapter" that picks up where the story of the portfolio leaves off
- orally share reflections on any of the above questions/promptsReflection as a process skill
Good skill development requires four steps:
- Instruction and modeling of the skill;
- Practice of the skill;
- Feedback on one's practice;
- Reflection on the practice and feedback.
Reflection itself is a skill that enhances the process of skill development and virtually all learning in innumerable settings. Those of us who are educators, for example, need to continually reflect upon what is working or not working in our teaching, how we can improve what we are doing, how we can help our students make connections to what they are learning, and much, much more. Thus, it is critical for students to learn to effectively reflect upon their learning and growth.
As a skill, reflection is not something that can be mastered in one or two attempts. Developing good reflective skills requires instruction and modeling, lots of practice, feedback and reflection. As many of you have probably encountered, when students are first asked to respond to prompts such as "I selected this piece because..." they may respond with "I think it is nice." Okay, that's a start. But we would like them to elaborate on that response. The fact that they did not initially elaborate is probably not just a result of resistance or reluctance. Students need to learn how to respond to such prompts. They need to learn how to effectively identify strengths and weaknesses, to set realistic goals for themselves and their work, and to develop meaningful strategies to address those goals. Students often have become dependent upon adults, particularly teachers, to evaluate their work. They need to learn self-assessment.
So, the reflection phase of the portfolio process should be ongoing throughout the portfolio development. Students need to engage in multiple reflective activities. Those instances of reflection become particularly focused if goal-setting is part of their reflection. Just as instruction and assessment are more appropriately targeted if they are tied to specific standards or goals, student identification of and reflection upon strengths and weaknesses, examples of progress, and strategies for improvement will be more meaningful and purposeful if they are directed toward specific goals, particularly self-chosen goals.
Once opportunities for reflection (practice) take place, feedback to and further reflection upon student observations can be provided by conversations with others. Conferencing is one tool to promote such feedback and reflection.
Based on what criteria?
- samples of earlier and later work highlighting some skill or content area
- samples of rough drafts and final drafts
- work that traces the development of a particular product or performance
- samples of work reflecting specifically identified strengths and weaknesses