How I use portfolios in my classroom


How I use portfolios in my classroom

 

My major form of assessment at the end of the semester is having students create and present portfolios of their work. I give them the learning objectives that I wrote in designing the course and tell them that they now have to prove to me that they have learned what I wanted them to learn. They will use all the work they have done for this class to select which pieces demonstrate the greatest learning.

 

They assemble the portfolio and present it to me during individual conferences. After they have presented the portfolios, I then ask them questions and probe further about their learning. I want to see what they have learned, but I also want to get them to think about and consider what they have learned. Student self-assessment is very important to me and these conferences afford me the opportunity to really push students to do this kind of work.

 

I judge the portfolios on two levels: (1) academic level of work demonstrated (Did students learn what I wanted them to learn and how well?) and (2) level of reflection and self-assessment (Are students looking critically at their work and can they identify areas of learning in their work?) The grade they get on the portfolio comprises 25% of their total final grade - the other 75% is how much effort they put into their work.