Design

Essential Questions

• What role does a digital portfolio play in the process of learning?

• What glimpse does a digital portfolio give into the classroom?

Key Ideas

• Be clear on the purpose and vision for the type of portfolio your students will create.

• Establish a plan.

• Digital portfolios are part of a comprehensive system to support student learning with assessment.

Activate Your Thinking

Engagement vs. Empowerment

Watch the video by John Spencer about students owning their learning and read the image from Bill Ferriter about the difference between engaging learners and empowering learners. Think about the role that Digital Portfolios play in learning...

Why do you want your students to create a digital portfolio?

Who is the digital portfolio for?

Communicating Student Learning ≠ Digital Portfolios

A digital portfolio is just one approach in a comprehensive system of supporting student learning with Assessment. Surrey Schools uses the four elements of CSL including: Capturing Learning (Portfolios), Open doors (Concerts, shows, etc.), Conferencing, and Reporting. For more information take a look at this video from Surrey Schools.

Acquire Some Ideas: Portfolio Design Considerations

Careful consideration of the type of portfolio that you want your learners to engage in is an important step is designing a valuable reflective experience for your learners.
Anne Davies, Sandra Herbst, and Brenda August outline five types of portfolios in their book "Knowing What Counts - Collecting Evidence and Portfolios: Engaging Students in Pedagogical Documentation". We have included a brief summary of their five types of portfolios here.

Achievement Portfolio

The focus of this portfolio type is to paint a clear picture of achievement.
It pushes the learner to reflect on his/her current level of achievement... Am I there yet? How close am I? What level am I at?
The purpose of this type of portfolio is to show proof of learning in relation to standards (outcomes, expectations, criteria).
Achievement portfolios are typically organized according to the standards or outcomes, and a description of why this piece best illustrates the achievement.

Competencies Portfolio

The focus of this portfolio type is to share the current level of competency or skill that a learner posesses.
It engages the learner to reflect on his/her proficiency in a particualr competency across all subject areas... I'm ready for the future. These are the skills I have. I can learn across subject areas.
The purpose of this type of portfolio is to provide the very best evidence that, across the curriculum, the learner meets specific competencies outlined by the teacher.
Competency portfolios are typically organized by the competency, the cross-curricular examples of the competency with the learner's description of why the sample work is good evidence.

Progression Portfolio

The focus of this portfolio type is to share the current level a student is at in their learning progression.
It engages the learner to reflect on his/her level of success by self-assessing their own work against a continuum of exemplars... This is where I am. Where next?
The purpose of this type of portfolio is to show what the learner can do at this point in time in comparison to a continuum or progression of samples.
Progression portfolios are typically organized by dated student samples attached to the progression continuum with the learner's reflection and goal for next steps.

Growth Portfolio

The focus of this portfolio type is to highlight a student's personal growth in learning.
It engages the learner to reflect on his/her learning from the beginning of the journey... Look where I was and see where I am now.
The purpose of this type of portfolio is to show progress over time - what students know, understand, are able to do and articulate now in comparison to what they initially knew, understood, could do and articulate.
Growth portfolios are typically organized by dated student samples from the beginning of the learning time along with different periods along the way as perscribed by teachers.

Pathway Portfolio

The focus of this portfolio type is to highlight a learner's best work as they show they are ready for the next transition in their learning journey.
It engages the learner to reflect on his/her level of ability by showcasing their past success... I am ready. I have the proof. Here is my very best evidence.
The purpose of this type of portfolio is to highlight learner accomplishments and prove that he/she is ready to transition to whatever may come next (new term, grade, school, job, post-secondary institution).
Pathway portfolios are typically organized to show the student in the best light based on a vision of what the intended audience needs to know about the learner.

It is also important to note, that while choosing a particular type of portfolio helps create a clear vision tor learners, it is sometimes tricky to distinguish between reflecting on learning and showcasing the best stuff.
There are considerable benefits to both learning portfolios and showcase portfolios, so quite often portfolios end up being a combination of both.

Establish a Plan

Successfully implementing digital portfolios involves identifying your purpose, understanding which type of portfolio type you might consider (as we just explored), and developing a roadmap for success. These ideas on developing a yearlong plan are adapted from from Elizabeth Moore (2015) and Matt Renwick's 'Digital Portfolios in the Classroom' book.

Step #1: Develop a yearlong plan for instruction with digital portfolios.

The easiest way to begin drafting a yearlong plan is to focus on a single area or discipline. As you will see throughout this course, we take a 'less is more' / 'start small' approach that is purposeful. For instance, starting with Literacy, which has many great opportunities for students to demonstrate growth over time, is a place where most find success with digital portfolios. This isn't to say you can't start with other subjects, we just advise thinking critically about your entry point and not taking on too much. If we try to assess everything with digital portfolios, then these tools can become unwieldy and we run the risk of the initiative being unsuccessful.
It is valuable to document those special 'aha' moments that happen on the fly but if we bring intentionality into our approach we have a better chance of gathering evidence that supports growth. See how a teacher at NGE developed a documentation plan for herself HERE.

Step #2: Bring in assessment data, including samples of student work, to identify strength and areas for growth within the discipline of focus.

Understanding students strengths and areas for growth early in a school year and in an ongoing basis are crucial to student success and for the stability of the classroom's learning culture. When we develop instruction that is differentiated to each student's needs and interests, the likelihood of a digital portfolios success is increased.
Moore advocates triangulating data points that include but go beyond quantitative data points (ELP, school-wide write, etc.):
- Classroom Formative Assessment: - anecdotal records, our professional observations, exit tickets, etc. all provide valuable information that support our next steps as educators as we design learning
- Sample of Student Work: Though it is time intensive to look at student wok versus quantitative data, it often provides the most authentic snapshot of where I child is at
- Student Surveys: It is often done at the end of the year, or in some cases, despite our best intentions, we never get to it. We know that how students view their learning experiences in the classroom can have a positive impact on future instruction. Click HERE for more information on how to create a survey for students and/or families using Google Forms.

Step #3: Determine a digital portfolio tool with which to post student work

This will be explored in depth in our final section of this course. In our experience, we've found that every digital portfolio tool has its limitations. But if we are solid in our purpose for digital portfolios, what we want them to do for our student learning, and how it fits in with our assessment process we are more likely to reach that destination. So for now...press pause on the tool question you may have!

Learning & Culture

A digital portfolio's goal is to help enhance student learning. It is also worth reflecting that school is much more than just curriculum and learning standards. We as educators know the importance of creating a community of learners that are invested in one another and have strong relationships. When students feel connected to each other, their teacher, and their school community they are more likely to value their experience and are motivated to succeed. As a result, we encourage educators to include both learning and culture in a digital portfolio process, but consider how you might separate them and celebrate them uniquely.

Reflecting on your potential design

As you consider the learning you just did and the design of your digital portfolio, choose 3 words to describe what you want your digital portfolios to be focused on.

Page updated

Report abuse