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The word portfolio is used to describe a variety of
things. It is used by artists as the name for a collection of the
pieces of their work that they regard as truly showing their style
and ability. It is used by financial planners to describe a
collection of investments, stocks, bonds, GlCs, and so on. A
portfolio can also be used as a tool by both educators and
learners to collaboratively evaluate the work of an individual and
decide whether the individual has mastered new skills and
concepts to established standards. It ensures that the learner has
full input into both what actually goes into the portfolio and the
evaluation process. Learning how to select and how to evaluate are
highly desirable skills the learner gains by using portfolios.
Leon and Pearl Paulson describe a portfolio in this way:
A portfolio is a carefully crafted portrait of what a
student knows or can do... a personal and public statement... a
purposeful, integrated collection of student work showing student
effort, progress, or achievement in one or more areas. The
collection is guided by performance standards and includes
evidence of student self-reflection and participation in setting
the focus, selecting the contents, and judging merit. A portfolio
communicates what is learned and why it is important.¹
In a workshop she gave at the Ottawa Board of Education
Professional Development day, Kate Parry, associate professor in
the Department of English of Hunter College, City University of
New York, said,
While student portfolios were first developed for
purposes of assessment, they have proved to be valuable teaching
tools: they give focus to students' work and they make it possible
for students to evaluate for themselves what they are doing. |