How to Build a Big 10 Portfolio
Scaffolding your Big 10 Portfolios
Set up folders for each Big 10 to collect ideas and supporting documentation, including examples from your professional and personal life as well as feedback from faculty that calls out the Big 10 you demonstrated in an assignment or class.
Use a Big 10 Template to draft your submissions.
Understanding the Big 10 Competency Components
Components
Each component is an important element of the larger competency. Your examples will showcase each component, thereby creating a robust portfolio of the entire Competency. Templates are available and provide guiding questions to explore the depths of each competency.
How to use the questions
You do not need to answer every question. The questions are there to help you connect the component to your lived experiences. Use the questions that work for you or provide examples in your own way that fits the rubric.
Completing the 3 parts of a Big 10 Portfolio
1) Examples
Write about two distinct times you showcased each component (work, home, school, community, etc.)
Give brief context. (1-2 sentences)
Concisely tell the story. (1-3 sentences)
Explain HOW the story showcases this component. (1-3 sentences)
2) Evidence
For each component, include 1 piece of evidence to support 1 of your examples. Ensure that you identify the Example the evidence relates to, and that you clearly identify the piece of evidence with a label.
3) Reflection
Reflect on your overall understanding of the competency.
Introduction - Taking Stock of Your Learning:
Start with an introduction.
Introduce the skill, explain what it means, and summarize how you’ve used it in your life.
Reflecting Backward:
Talk about how you’ve grown in this area over time.
Share moments when you were challenged, surprised, or proud.
How and why has your understanding of this competency changed overtime?
Discuss what you’ve learned from others and how you’ve developed this skill in different ways.
Explain how College Unbound helped you grow in this Big 10.
Reflecting Forward:
Now that you’ve developed this skill, what’s next?
How will you use this Big 10 in your personal, professional, and academic life?
How will you continue to grow in this area professionally, personally, and/or academically?
When writing your reflection, remember your audience might not know your learning context. Avoid using acronyms, abbreviations, or specialized terms.
We know skills and experiences are interconnected.
You may find that one or both examples from a component might also serve as powerful examples in another area. Go ahead and use those stories again, ensuring that you are still speaking to the specific component.
You can use evidence again too if it fits!
You can note the interconnections in your reflection, too.