Grade School Giggles

7 Simple Steps to Planning the Perfect

Portfolio
by April

Portfolios…

File folders crammed full of endless work samples. Unorganized stacks of

papers hidden away until an IEP meeting. Chaos…

When I first started teaching, I REALLY didn’t know how to set up a portfolio.

I randomly collected work samples, squirreling them away in case I needed

them.
There was no clear organizational structure. My students certainly didn’t
evaluate what work to include. In fact, my students were hardly aware that I
was collecting work samples.

Maybe you’re better at this whole portfolio thing than I was. You probably are.
It wouldn’t take much. But, if you’re feeling even a little lost with the whole
portfolio thing, I’ll share what I learned over the years.

Portfolios done right are not chaotic at all!

(#OrganizationForTheWin)

They’re organized, purposeful, and structured to for success.

7 simple steps are all you need. You can plan a portfolio that’s perfectly
manageable and easily maintained.

Knowing what you want to accomplish makes

it a lot more likely you’ll reach your goal.
(#BePurposeDriven!)

Portfolios generally fall into one of two main purposes. They’re either
supporting instruction or serving an administrative purpose.

Supporting Instruction:

o Portfolios can increase communication between students and

teachers
o They drive students to engage in work worthy of sharing
o Portfolios can clarify the criteria for quality work
o They can help students engage in self-reflection

Administrative Purposes:

o Portfolios can provide a source of accountability reporting

o They can be an assessment of student learning
 o Portfolios can serve as a tool for program evaluation
o They can be an archive of a student’s work across time

Rubrics are great for scoring portfolios. Of course, you don’t have to score
them at all. The decision of whether to grade a portfolio depends on its
purpose. Also, consider the age of your students and their role in putting the
portfolio together.

A kindergarten teacher putting together a collection of their students’ artwork

throughout the year to give parents at the end of the year probably shouldn’t
grade it.

A fifth-grade teacher whose students create a portfolio to show their learning

as part of a project-based unit might need to grade it.

Did you know there two main types of portfolios? Portfolios can be process-
oriented or product-oriented. You might also be looking for more of a data
folder. (You can also combine elements of each type.)

Process-oriented portfolios focus on showing growth. They include:

 o Goal setting
o Self-reflection
o Reflections on obstacles to learning
o Work from throughout the process
o Rough draft

Product-oriented portfolios focus on reflecting on quality

accomplishments. They include:

o Finished products
o Best samples (often chosen through self-selection)

Data Folders are an assessment record. They help show what a

student has mastered with the goal of informing instructional planning.
They contain:

o Work samples
o Tests
o Informal assessment results

So, now that you know why you’re using developing a portfolio, whether you’re
scoring it, and what kind of portfolio it will be. Next, decide how involved your
students will be.

The level of involvement your students will

have will vary by their age and by the purpose
of the portfolio.
Consider these questions.

o What level of student involvement is required to meet the

portfolio’s purpose?
o Who will decide what to include?
o Will your students set goals?
o Will self-reflection be included in the portfolio?
o Who will be responsible for putting the portfolios together?

Sure, portfolios can cover all subjects for the entire year. But, they don’t have
to. They can cover just one subject or even just one project.

It’s really up to you what you want to include, just remember your
purpose and have a plan.

Storage can be a real challenge with portfolios, especially if you’re already

short on space. Sometimes creating portfolios means keeping all of a
student’s work until the student can self-select their best samples.

Sometimes creating portfolios means keeping all of a student’s work until the
student can self-select their best samples. But, if you can have the student
cull unnecessary samples at set points throughout the process it will cut
down on your storage requirements. It’s especially helpful if you are doing a
year-long portfolio.

You’ll also want to think about student accessibility if you plan to have the
student be regularly involved in maintaining the portfolios.

Some storage ideas include:

o Three-ring binders
o File folders in crates
o Display folders with prongs
o Page protectors connected with metal rings

Going digital is another option. Digital portfolios can include pictures of work
samples, scanned work, digitally created work, video clips, and even audio
recordings.

Some options for creating digital portfolios include:

o Kidblog
o Edublogs
o Evernote
o Seesaw
o Easy Portfolio

Finally, portfolios are meant to be shared. They are a tool for

communication.
They will be shared between the teacher and student. Eventually, they will
either go home with the student or be passed onto the next teacher. So, plan
for that.

Portfolios can be a part of student-led conferences before being passed onto

the next teacher. Or, maybe you will send them home as an end of year gift.

Portfolios can be a great tool. Portfolios are manageable. Having a plan in

place will make it a manageable process that can be fun for teachers and
students.
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See the privacy policy here.

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