I was once taught that a portfolio is a collection of one's work. When you think about it, that's true but also so limiting. Portfolios must be capable of much more than just showcasing one's work. Why else would we, as professionals, create one or even have our students create one. There's got to be much more significance attached to the intent of a portfolio - I just never knew what the significance was. It was not until I watched Hellen Barret's presentation about the possibilities and benefits of student portfolios that I became an instant believer. Every single young adult and adult should create a portfolio for two simple reasons: we all have a unique story to tell, and we should all participate in reflection.
In her video "E-Portfolios: Digital Stories of Deep Learning", Barret reveals the limitless potential of not just ordinary, paper-based portfolios, but electronic portfolios. After all, we are amidst an era in which technology is an integral part of our everyday lives; so it makes sense that our students no longer create paper portfolios, and, instead, create what's called e-portfolios that are done online. In retiring paper portfolios, we are exposing our students to more opportunities. Students create more than essays and paper projects; they also create websites and videos and many more media based mediums. Those forms for media literacies should also be a part of our students portfolios, because our students are creative, well-rounded beings, and they should reflect on all the materials they produce - paper and technology based.
Since our students are unique individuals that have their own story to tell, we need to make sure that, as teachers, we are allowing our students the opportunity to have choice and voice when they create their portfolios. If we mandate what to include, where to include it, and what to say about it, students will lose their individual identity and they won't be making authentic meaning. Barret quotes Paulson & Paulson when she says: "A portfolio tells a story. It is a story of knowing. Knowing about things...Knowing about oneself...Knowing an audience...Portfolios are students' own stories of what they know, why they believe they know it, and why others should be of the same opinion." What students know and how they perceive what they know differs from student to student. What students have also experienced in their lives differs from student to student. And how students write or create differs from student to student. As you can see, each student's portfolio should contain different material, and all around look different from their peers' portfolios, because they are all unique individuals. Just like we differentiate instruction to meet the needs of individual students, our students portfolios should also be differentiated.
Barret suggests that perhaps the most important element of creating a portfolio is the reflection that should take place once students have choice and voice about what goes into their portfolio. Barret calls reflection the "heart and soul" of e-portfolios because they help our students "think about thinking". As a result, we should guide our students to view e-portfolios more as a conversation than a presentation. What does our work say about us? What do we have to say about our work? How might our audience perceive our work? Reflection is ideal and sounds great in theory, but how do we get students to reflect on what they include in the portfolio instead of just uploading artifacts? Barret suggests having students reflect on their portfolio through blogging. In this case, the blog should serve as a reflective journal where students can write about their authorial decisions, what they learned, their strengths and weakness, make goals, etc. Barret maintains that there are really two elements to a portfolio: a working element (where work is viewed as a process and reflection takes place) and a presentation element (where work is showcased). If you look at a portfolio as just a presentation element, learning does not take place. John Dewey once said, "We learn from reflecting on experience." True effort and higher order thinking skills come into play when we ask our students to view the creation of their portfolio as a process that doesn't stop after they hit upload. Students need to see themselves as an author that has an online presence that communicates their passions. And the only way our students will see themselves as such is if we have them reflect. Through their reflection, they will grow as a writer, creator, critical thinker, analyzer, synthesizer, problem solver, etc. Ultimately, the work students upload to their e-portfolio will undoubtedly become richer because their reflection will push them into new learning territories.
"...we need to make sure that, as teachers, we are allowing our students the opportunity to have choice and voice when they create their portfolios."
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with the "choice and voice" concepts that you give here. You're absolutely right--these are a matter of identity and pride; they need to own them and we need to assess them that way. Which, then, presents its own problems, because how would be objectively grade pieces of the portfolios if much of it (template, design, content...) is up to the student? Hmmmmm...a thought for the future!