Student Portfolios Beyond the Scrapbook

Student Portfolios—Beyond the Scrapbook

Student Portfolios

Beyond the Scrapbook

Developing

How do we plan, organize and manage portfolios effectively and meaningfully?

· AAC 5 Keys for Assessment and Planning Key Visual

· Engaging Students

-Goal Setting

-Selecting

-Establishing Criteria

-Reflecting

· Designing a Student Portfolio assignment

Use Curriculum Guides in this section.

Alberta Assessment Consortium - Key Visual

Key 1 Clear Purpose

· Have I identified the purpose and essential questions for the portfolio task?

Key 2 Clear Target

· Based on the tasks that I think students may be able to include in their portfolio, are the learning targets or learning outcomes clear to the students?

· Do I phrase them in “I can” or in the form of an essential question to be answered?

Key 3 Good Design

· How will I plan, manage and select activities?

Key 4 Effective Communication

· How can you help students communicate this learning?

· How will I provide descriptive and specific feedback?

Key 5 Student Involvement

· Do students help establish criteria?

· How will they self assess?

Engage Students in Goal Setting

· ensure that students know what the goal is and provide time for them to set up reasonable personal goals in relation to the learning outcome

· use think-aloud to demonstrate your thinking processes

· ensure that students get in the habit of dating and citing their submissions (provides context.)

What would you like me to notice in the project you are working on?

- effort — time taken to do it
- clear and easy to read
- detail and information
- creativity
- presentation
- accuracy
- layout
- based on real events
- have a research question and answer it
- personal understanding
- creativity — original ideas / - organization
- neatness
- easy to read
- not boring
- design
- detailed characters
- facts / information
- realistic model or games — reflect Medieval Times
- good vocabulary — fits the times
- presentation

Gregory, Kathleen; Cameron C; Davies A; 1997.

Setting and Using Criteria: For Use in Middle and Secondary School Classrooms.

Merville, B.C. CA: Connections Publishing
Engage Students in Selecting

· find a balance between being prescriptive and allowing students to make their own choices (consider allowing one “personal choice” per selection session)

· ask students to suggest types of evidence to include where possible, go beyond paper

· encourage use of graphic organizers such as mind maps, steps in problem solving.

Anne Davies, PhD, 2007. Second Edition

Making Classroom Assessment Work

Courtenay, BC, CA: Connections Publishing

Engage Students in Setting Criteria

Allow students to establish the criteria for assessment and base assessment rubrics on their criteria. This strategy provides greater opportunities for self-assessment.

Sample Criteria sheet for students

Criteria for a Descriptive Paragraph / Met / Not Yet Met
- has an introductory sentence
- uses powerful words that show rather than tell
- has a concluding sentence
Date received / Assignment ______
Student ______

Gregory, Kathleen; Cameron C; Davies A; 2000.

Self-Assessment and Goal-Setting:

For Use in Middle and Secondary School Classrooms

Courtenay, B.C. CA: Connections Publishing

Connections Publishing. May be reproduced for classroom use.

Engage Students in Reflecting

· include opportunities for self-reflection using prompts (I used to think/do… Now I think/do… How I changed my work or thinking… This is evidence of my growth/learning because…)

· Traffic Light Dots, Goal posts, Traffic Light Picture or Happy Faces for self assessment, others

Anne Davies, PhD, 2007. Second Edition

Making Classroom Assessment Work

Courtenay, BC, CA: Connections Publishing

Reflective Prompts for Portfolio Pieces

· Why is this my best work?

· What makes this my most effective piece?

· What did I do well that I want people to notice?

· What do I want my advisor to look for as he/she evaluates this piece?

· What content knowledge from class was important to complete this task?

· What critical thinking strategies did I use to complete this task?

· How did I go about accomplishing this task?

· What skills did I improve while completing this task?

· What other skills do I need to improve that I noticed as a result of this work?

· What did I find most difficult about completing this task?

· What problems did I have and how did I solve them?

· What would I do differently if I had a task like this again?

· Where do I go from here?

· How could I improve this work?

· What does this work show about me?

· How does this relate to what I learned before?

· What did I learn about myself when doing this work?

· How can I apply this to the real world?

Design Your Portfolio Assignment

This section provides an opportunity for you to develop a plan based on ideas provided in this section. If participants brought curriculum guides and topic ideas, this section will be easier. You can work individually or in collaborative groupings. You will probably need a full day to accomplish this section. For most teachers, this is an extremely valuable component. Make every effort to provide time for them to develop and an assignment.

This section provides two Templates. Template A is a shorter version. Template B, the AAC Performance Assessment Template, is better for more detailed planning.

Template A

Planning Your Student Portfolio Assignment
Unit of Study
Purpose
Essential Question(s)
Target/Learner Outcomes
Criteria
(To be established with students)
Target Audience(s) / ÿ The Student / ÿ Parents / ÿ Peers
Type of Portfolio / ÿ Growth / ÿ Life Skills / ÿ Celebration
Types of Evidence
Format / ÿ Traditional / ÿ Electronic / ÿ Other
Assessment / ÿ Formative / ÿ Summative
Self-assessment tools
Timeline
Conferencing / ÿ Teacher / ÿ Parents

Template B

AAC - Performance Assessment Development

Grade ______Subject ______

Topic ______

Title of Task ______

LEARNER OUTCOMES

The Bigger Picture:
How does this task link to the ‘big ideas’ of the discipline?
General Outcome(s)
Specific Outcomes
Number / Heading and Outcome (and bullet where applicable)

CRITERIA

/ Students provide evidence of their learning as they:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

TEACHER NOTES

/ TEACHER NOTES

STUDENT ASSESSMENT TASK

/ Planning an Authentic Student Task
Student Role:
Audience:
Performance and/or Product:
Context:

Writing the Student Assessment Task

Title of the Task______
The first paragraph is an overview of the task. It informs the student about the context, role and audience, and anticipates the product and/or performance. It sets the stage for student engagement.
Subsequent paragraphs help students understand what they must do to be successful with the task. The criteria previously identified must be made evident to students. Use numbering and/or bullets as appropriate. The criteria previously identified must be evident in this section.

Subject ______

RUBRIC______RUBRIC______

(Task Title)

Level
Criteria / 4
Excellent / 3
Proficient
2
Adequate / 1
Limited* / Insufficient/ Blank*
No score is awarded because there is insufficient evidence of student performance based on the requirements of the assessment task.

* When work is judged limited or insufficient, the teacher makes decisions about appropriate intervention to help the student improve.

Student Self-reflection Checklist

Student Name ______Date ______

Task______

Criteria / Yes / Not
Yet / I know this because:

Student Self-reflection Checklist (variation)

Student Name ______Date ______

Task ______

Criteria / Yes, because . . . / Not yet, but here’s how I can make it better:

Student Self-reflection Rating Scale

(frequency – 3 levels)

Student Name ______Date ______

Task ______

Criteria / Consistently / Frequently / Occasionally / I know this because:

NOTE: Many other variations exist for checklists and rating scales. See the Tools and Templates section of the AAC website for further samples and templates.

www.aac.ab.ca/tools/12.doc

Developing

How do we plan, organize and manage portfolios effectively and meaningfully?

What is important to remember in planning a student portfolio assignment?

How can I better engage students in the process?

Participant Portfolio p 17