Steve Simpson, Professor
136 Wittich Hall (608) 785-8216
Graduate Students Portfolio
Page
All graduate students must, in addition to all other
requirements for graduation, complete a portfolio as a reflection of what they
have learned through their efforts in graduate school.
It is due prior to the last two weeks of the semester that the
student intends to graduate. While the graduate director may hold the
portfolio for a couple of months, it will be returned to the student. The purpose is twofold.
First, it provides the student with a method for organizing and
reflecting on the graduate academic experience.
Secondly, it provides faculty of the Department of Recreation Management
and Therapeutic Recreation with a tool for assessing learning outcomes in the
graduate program (the purpose here is not to assess individual students, but to
use a collection of portfolios to assess and improve the education that graduate
students are receiving in the department).
Responsibility
of the Student
1.
Each student must develop a student portfolio (explained below).
2.
The portfolio must be reviewed at least twice, once in the first year as an
evaluation of portfolio quality (amount of effort, content, depth of coverage,
format, etc...), once toward the end of the program of study as final review and
approval.
Portfolio
Defined
The
simplest definition of a portfolio is a collection of materials that tells a
particular story. Anything that
helps tell the story in a clear and complete way merits inclusion.
A slightly more complete definition is;
a portfolio is a purposeful collection of student work that exhibits the
student’s efforts, progress, and achievements in one or more areas.
The collection must include student participation in selecting contents,
the criteria for selection, the criteria for judging merit,
Portfolios
are not a collection of everything about an effort jammed into a 3-ring binder
or accordion file. They are orderly
collections of materials that explain a project, the learning that occurred
during that project, the student’s feelings and assessments about the project,
and the external review conducted by peers and/or teachers.
Each item should be dated, and a cumulative table of contents maintained.
The portfolio should be ongoing (continual vs. focused assessment), part
of the process rather than a review following completion of the effort.
Portfolio
Contents
Proponents
of portfolios claim that their advantages over traditional assessment include 1)
review of the full range of the student’s work, 2) allowance for students to
be involved in goal setting and assessment, 3) consideration for individual
student differences, 4) encouragement of collaborative assessment, 5) focus on
improvement and effort, and 6) an intentional effort to link assessment directly
to teaching and learning (i.e. part of the process) (Melograno, 1994).
Portfolios
commonly include;
·
table of
contents
·
statement
of purpose and anticipated outcomes
·
art work
·
photographs
and videotapes of events
·
tests and
homework assignments
·
selected
readings or excerpts from readings
·
samples
of student work
·
peer
assessments
·
instructor
assessments
·
self-administered
assessments
·
reflections
·
task
sheets
·
pre-project
inventory (expected outcomes, purpose for study, statement of prior knowledge)
·
self-assessment
checklists
·
journal
entries
·
independent
study contracts
In
approaching your portfolio, Zessoules and Gardner (1991) recommend that you;
1. tackle the project work regularly and frequently (slow and regular
vs. cram)
2. regularly judge your work
3. collaborate and converse with others (advice, encouragement, other
perspectives)
4. identify your real audience (are you doing this for your instructor
or yourself)
5. picture the learning not only as requirement, but journal of academic
career and tool for life of learning.
References
Hill,
B.C., Kamber, P., and Norwick, L. 1994.
Six Ways to Make Student Portfolios More Useful and Manageable.
Instructor, 10(1): 118-121.
Melograno,
V.J. 1994. Portfolio Assessment:
Documenting Authentic Student Learning. Journal
of Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance.
65(8):50-61.
Paris,
S.G., and Ayres, L.R. 1994. Becoming
Reflective Students and Teachers: With Portfolios and Authentic Assessment.
Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Paulson,
F.L., Paulson, P.R., and Meyer, C.A. 1991.
What Makes a Portfolio a Portfolio. Educational
Leadership, 48(5): 60-63.
Zessoules,
R., and Gardner, H. 1991. Authentic assessment: Beyond the Buzzword and Into the
Classroom. In V. Perrone, ed., Expanding Student Assessment (pp. 47-71) Alexandria, VA: Association
for Supervision and curriculum Development.
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Dept. of Rec Mgmt and TR |
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Email me at simpson.stev@uwlax.edu
Last modified 9/5/04.