Types of Portfolios

Process: A process portfolio is simple. Students create a product and then later reflect on the process by answering some thought-provoking questions. The important part here is getting the students to think about their learning. This is often an important step that gets overlooked as teachers move quickly from one lesson to another. Allow students the time to reflect, to ask more questions, or to do additional research. The reflection is a means of communicating the KWL (Know, Want to Know, Learn) process. This is a more personal view of how an individual has constructed their learning through experiences. It allows for other parties to see the journey of what is learned and to gauge the amount of growth the individual has undergone.

Showcase: This type of portfolio seeks to highlight the students’ best work. This focuses on the individual and their products. Here is where they publish the work they are most proud of and/or the work that has become important to them. Showcased work will allow students to populate their digital footprint, create a longitudinal learning inventory, and show growth over time. This is a powerful experience for students and can really increase student self-esteem and pride in their work. This generally demonstrates the quality final products. In showcase portfolio, students are encouraged to share their finished work using different formats including: images, videos, blog posts, audio clips, pic collage and many more.

Hybrid: This is a combo of the two portfolios above and my favorite of the three. The hybrid model allows students to reflect on their learning and then additionally choose those pieces that they value and that show the most growth. It is through this hybrid model that students take work from a previous year and expand on it in subsequent years. This encourages students to work on a project over time or enhance a writing assignment as their skills improve. In a hybrid portfolio, students can work on longitudinal projects spanning extended periods of times. They can for instance take a project from the previous year and expand more on it over the following years.