Discuss using portfolios as authentic performance-based assessments with your ELL students. (The suggested length is 4-6 pages, double-spaced, including references.)
Part A: How can portfolios be used? *Be sure to address how both content and language learning can be addressed. Here are some questions you might ask yourself:
- How can portfolios be used in the daily routine?
- How can they be used over the course of time within a class?
- Can portfolios be electronic?
- How can checklists or tables of content help?
- How can portfolios be used for assessment?
- How can portfolios be used to assess written and speaking/listening skills?
- Are there any affective (i.e., emotional/confidence/self-esteem) advantages over other forms of assessment?
Part B: Develop a set of guidelines for using portfolios with English Learners to share with other teachers. You can bullet or number these, if you like, or write them in paragraph form. In addition to any other guidelines, be sure to address the following:
Elements
- How will the portfolio be assessed? Will the score come from grades, rubric(s), checklist(s), and/or written narrative feedback comments?
- Who will be involved in assessing the portfolio?
- What are the criteria for portfolio assessment? (for example, a growth goal, completion skills, etc.)
- How many samples of work will be required?
Time and Space
- How should portfolios be stored, accessed and organized?
- Should students use a Table of Contents and/or checklists to keep their work organized within their portfolio?
- If electronic portfolios are used, how should students learn how to store and manage their portfolios using Google docs (or another system)?
- How can portfolios be used across time?
Then, select in Table of Contents, (or scroll down to) Management: How will time and materials be managed in the development of the portfolio?
How can portfolios help connect parents and guardians to their child’s learning?
- How will the portfolio plan be communicated to parents at the start of the year?
- Can parents be involved in helping their child select portfolio items?
- How can portfolios be utilized at student/parent/teacher conferences?
- Can conferences be student led?
- Can parents view the portfolio to stay informed about their child’s learning?
- Do rubrics, checklists, and other forms need to be translated into the parents’ language?
- Will assessment include student presentation of the portfolio to parents and teachers?
Part C: Design a set of four original checklists / rubrics to integrate & assess portfolio use.
- The checklist/rubric can be intended for use by the teacher, student, peers, or parents.
- The checklist/rubric can pertain to the portfolio as a whole, or to an individual assignment within the portfolio (such as a writing, research, speaking, or other assignment).
- You can refer to examples from courses, texts, or websites for inspiration. You will need to adapt them in order to create your own checklists/rubrics.
- You can attach your checklists as separate documents when submitting, OR you can include them in the same WORD doc along with the rest of Task 2, inserting a text box or table box to create each form.
- Each checklist/rubric needs to look like an actual form a person would use.
For example (content):
- One checklist might assess portfolio organization:
- Is the portfolio divided into appropriate sections if necessary?
- Are all entries dated?
- Is there a table of contents?
- Another checklist might assess student writing:
- Are there examples of different types of writing the class has done?
- Are there examples that show the writing process?
- A rubric for a specific writing assignment/project is also acceptable.
- A student self-assessment or self-reflection checklist that allows the student to reflect on his/her portfolio:
- What is the student pleased with or the most proud of, and why?
- Why did the student choose this work for their portfolio?
- What did the student learn while putting this together?
- What would the student do differently/ideas this has given them for future portfolios?
