Portfolios

Portfolios, as defined in the Assessment and Grading in Classrooms text is: "a limited collection of a student's work used either to present the student's best work(s) or to demonstrate the student's educational growth over a given time, on one or a set of learning targets." In my opinion, portfolios are this definition and more. As discussed in class this past week, portfolios can be a collection of anything a student produces. The first time I ever made a portfolio was in high school for a photography class. I look back on that experience and although it was a lot of work to put together, I definitely feel it was a necessity because it showed all the progress I made in that class throughout the year and how much fun I had in doing so. As a future teacher, I believe portfolios should be made in every grade level for any subject, as young as pre-school. It is a great way to collect the students' work and have it showcased in a book or set form. It can be organized by work in a certain subject, a particular theme such as Fall or Thanksgiving, time of the year (beginning - September) or semester, etc. There are endless ways porfolios can be made. I feel that along with representing students' work, they also show who the student is as an individual and how he/she thinks. Artwork, in particular, such as paintings and drawings brings out creativity and personality in students. This, along with anything else a student produces such as essays, is a physical representation of him/her and their intelligence. I think they are also a wonderful keepsake for students to have and be able to look back upon with pride in what they accomplished educationally. The sooner students' are introduced to portfolios and how to use them, the easier it will be for them to be made and have for years to come.