The Portfolio Connection

"As a new teacher, I am always looking for ideas that will make me feel more confident. Using a portfolio will help me show evidence that the students are making progress toward meeting state standards."-Stephanie Jones, TeacherForrest City High School, AR"A good overview of the entire portfolio process, from its philosophical foundations to the celebration of student achievement."-Michael F. Dwyer, English Department ChairOtter Valley Union High School, Brandon, VTEncourage student creativity and academic growth through portfolios and authentic assessment!Research and practice show that portfolios are powerful tools for assessing students authentically, communicating with parents about the learning process, and helping learners across all grade levels and content areas record their successes and take ownership of their learning. The third edition of The Portfolio Connection offers practical advice and reader-friendly strategies for implementing student portfolios in the classroom. Through step-by-step procedures, the authors help teachers incorporate standards into the portfolio process by providing expanded checklists and rubrics to monitor student progress. The updated edition also includes:Additional information on e-portfolios and integrating technologySteps for conducting student-led conferencesPortfolio examples for children with special needsGuidance on increasing parent involvement Information on the impact of NCLB on student assessmentDiscover how you can use portfolios to heighten students' self-reflection while expanding their critical and creative thinking skills.

This guide explores the multitude of purposes and types of student portfolios as well as practical ideas for implementing them in classrooms. Following an introductory chapter discussing a rationale for portfolio use and the concept of authentic assessment, the first chapter of the guide explores the different purposes portfolios may serve and lists relevant portfolio characteristics. The remaining chapters present nine steps to portfolio development. Each chapter provides lesson options, examples, and suggestions for encouraging creative and critical thinking. Chapter 1, "Project Purposes", helps teachers to determine the uses of portfolios. Chapter 2, "Collect and Organize", describes ways for developing and organizing portfolios. Chapter 3, "Select Key Artifacts" offers guidelines on what items should be included; Chpater 4, "Interject Personality" proposes ideas pertaining the appearance, design, and texture of a portfolio. Chapter 5, "Reflect Metacognitively" explores ideas for metacognitive reflection. Chapter 6, "Inspect to Self-Assess" refers to students' reviewing their short- and long-term goals while thinking about how the portfolio reflects those goals. Chapter 7, "Perfect and Evaluate," and chapter 8, "Connect and Conferences" propose methods for evaluating portfolios and using them for meaningful feedback. Chapter 9, "Inject/Eject to Update", proposes ways for keeping portfolios updated. Finally, chapter 10, "Respect Accomplishments" is devoted to the art and skills of exhibiting a portfolio. A sample portfolio is presented in the concluding chapter. Contains 60 references. (AA)

This third edition covers implementing portfolios that incorporate standards. Includes examples for students with special needs, plus expanded information on e-portfolios and NCLB's impact on assessment.

Project purposes - Collect and organize - Select key artifacts - Interject personality - Reflect metacognitively - Inspect to self-assess - Perfect and evaluate - Connect and conference - Inject/eject to update - Respect accomplishments.

ôThis is an excellent text for all individuals about to or actually engaged in the portfolio development process. It guides candidates step-by-step through the initial decision making, process development, and presentation stages, and it answers questions that newcomers may not even know to ask.ö ùKimberly Kinsler, Hunter College of the City University of New York ôThe information on creating an electronic portfolio is clear, concise, and complete. Even a novice will be successful!ö ùPatricia A. Parrish, Saint Leo University Developing Portfolios in Education: A Guide to Reflection, Inquiry, and Assessment is a far-reaching and engaging text on portfolio development. Within a conceptual and research framework about the usefulness of portfolios, this book suggests practical methods to organize the process, and provides tools that will be used not only during preparation programs but also for professional and academic advancement. Key Features: ′′′′Provides a conceptual framework for portfolio development: Readers are given clear descriptions about how portfolios are designed and used, and are guided through the process of selecting, organizing, evaluating, and presenting portfolio artifacts. An entire chapter is devoted to developing an electronic portfolio. ′′Emphasizes institutional processes: Careful attention is given to the role of standards in the development of portfolio rubrics and evaluation. ′′Offers real-life scenarios: Real world examples genuinely connect the reader to the portfolio process and make the experience of developing the portfolio more relevant to practice.. In addition, visuals help create a concrete representation of the material for the learner and templates provide hands-on tools. ′′Accompanied by High Quality Ancillaries:! Additional resources on the CD that accompanies the text include PowerPoint® slides, video clips, templates, sample documents, and electronic links for creating a portfolio. An icon appears in the pages of the text wherever related or additional material is available on the enclosed CD. Intended Audience: This is an excellent supplementary text for virtually any advanced undergraduate or graduate teacher preparation course including Introduction to the Teaching Profession, Introduction to Classroom Management, Instruction and Assessment, Reflection and Evaluation, and Field-Based Experience. It is also a valuable resource for in-service teachers, administrators, and counselors.

Developing Portfolios in Education: A Guide to Reflection, Inquiry, and Assessment, Second Edition takes preservice and inservice teachers through the process of developing a professional portfolio. It is designed to teach readers how traditional and electronic portfolios are defined, organized, and evaluated. The text also helps teachers to use their portfolios as an action research tool for reflection and professional development.

More and more, schools are looking to student portfolios as a valid, reliable, and authentic form of assessment. This collection offers practical, well-researched answers to a variety of philosophical, organizational, and implementational questions surrounding portfolio assessment. Articles in the first section provide a rationale for student portfolios and address initial concerns teachers have when exploring portfolios as an assessment tool. Chapters in the second part focus on the practical concerns related to implementing portfolios in the classroom, and on the varied aspects of this process, including the role of technology. Articles in the third section center on the reflective sharing of portfolios and its important place in the assessment process. The articles are as follows: (1) "Setting Standards for Students: The Case for Authentic Assessment" (Linda Darling-Hammond); (2) "Portfolio Assessment and the New Paradigm: New Instruments and New Places" (Brenda S. Engel); (3) "Assessing Portfolios Using the Constructivist Paradigm" (F. Leon Paulson and Pearl R. Paulson); (4) "Portfolio Assessment" (Susan Black); (5) "'What Do You Really Care About Here?': Portfolios as Rites of Passage" (Judith Fueyo); (6) "User-Friendly Portfolios: The Search Goes On" (Susan Mandel Glazer and others); (7) "What Makes a Portfolio a Portfolio?" (F. Leon Paulson and others); (8) "The Portfolio Connection: Real-World Examples" (Robin Fogerty and others); (9) "Portfolio Assessment: Sampling Student Work" (Dennie Palmer Wolf); (10) "Electronic Portfolios--Some Pivotal Questions" (Christopher Moersch and Louis M. Fisher III); (11) "Technology-Supported Portfolio Assessment" (Helen C. Barrett); (12) "Portfolios and Self-Assessment" (Leslie Ballard); (13) "Portfolio Assessment: Documenting Authentic Student Learning" (Vincent J. Melograno); (14) "Student-Led Portfolio Conferences" (F. Leon Paulson and Pearl R. Paulson); (15) "Portfolios and Your Child: Some Questions and Answers for Parents and Families" (Vermont State Department of Education); and (16) "Portfolios Invite Reflection--from Students and Staff" (Elizabeth A. Hebert). (HTH)