What is a student Portfolio?

The student portfolio is a series of work samples in each field of study, which are collected over a period of time. It can include work samples from each field of study, assessment assignments, photos, student self-reflection, learning goals, etc.

The student portfolio does not necessarily need to be perfect. When constructing a student portfolio, authenticity is everything. Student portfolios are only useful if they reflect their abilities or skills. Learners develop the skills needed for lifelong learning to achieve continuous growth and development.

Reasons to make student portfolio

Student portfolios can:

• provide students with opportunities for self-reflection
• make students proud of their achievements
• provide a good starting point for setting students’ goals and objectives
• improve communication between family and school
• Briefly describe students’ abilities to do the task. 
• Report information 
• Provides information for parent/teacher meetings and provides valuable information for student transfer

Benefits of student self-reflection 

There are many benefits to students' self-reflection. Reflection encourages students: 

• Students can recognize the importance of their own learning
• they can determine what they have done well and what needs to be  improved
• Students feel motivated 
• students can set goals and targets
• through portfolios, they think critically.

Student portfolio or assessment portfolio is a collection of student work designed to measure personal progress and influence future learning. They can be in physical or digital form. Electronic portfolios are becoming more andmore popular. , Can be used for design revision and modification. Creating productive student portfolios starts with choosing the right items to include.

What to Include in a Student Portfolio

The parts of a good student portfolio vary depending on the class and subject. The bottom line, however, is that it should showcase an accurate and detailed picture of a student's skills and abilities. It's important to remember that a student portfolio is a focused collection of work samples that celebrates a person's achievements, strengths, and opportunities for improvement.

Here’s a list of things to be included  in a student’s portfolio:

• A collection of personal annual goals selected and updated by the students either monthly or quarterly. 
• Charts (diagrams, concept diagrams, timelines, photos, etc) with important data like test results and reading records can be added 
• Work samples from each subject area separately
• Writing work done by student Including plans and drafts etc. 
• Open-ended assignments such as math assignments, grades or test records. 
• Self-reflection photos of students to record positive learning experiences such as group work goals and objectives. 
• Certificate and awards 
• Summative evaluation pieces (if available)
• Video recordings, readings or presentations (for ePortfolios) 
• An example of a writing paragraph with some important writing techniques Sample essays of various types: narrative, meaningful, descriptive, explanatory, convincing, cause and effect as well as comparison and contrast are good choices. 
• Technical writing as a process analysis essay with student-drawn diagrams 
• Creative writing samples like songs, stories, poems or drama scripts etc. 
• A collection of graded math tests that show performance trends. 
• Any art or music work samples

What is the Purpose of developing a Portfolio?

Portfolio evaluation is often regarded as a true form of evaluation because it contains real examples of student work. Many proponents of portfolio valuation believe that this is an excellent valuation tool because it can demonstrate its learning and growth inthe long term. 

They found that this is more indicative of a student’s true ability, especially when compared to a standard test, which gives students an idea of ​​what the student can do on a particular day. 

The final portfolio can be used to demonstrate growth over time, improve students’ skills, or evaluate students’ learning in a particular course. It can also target the combination of these three areas. 

Pros and Cons of using a Portfolio assessment

Pros

The portfolio assessment shows that learning occurs over time, not what the student knows in a day. 

A portfolio evaluationoffers a possibility for a student to mirror on their learning process, to self assess, and to formulate a deeper know-how of the principles they may be mastering hence, Learning goes beyond simple superficial explanation. 

Portfolio assessment requires a high degree of personal interaction between students and teachers. In this case, they always work together according to the requirements and components of the portfolio.

Cons

Creating and evaluating a portfolio is a time-taking process. It takes numerous attempt from both the student and the teacher, and is a stressful undertaking wherein you could fall behind quickly.

Portfolio ratings are very subjective even when the teacher uses a rubric.Due to the individualization of the investment portfolio, itis difficult to maintain objectivity and compliance with the rules. Two students who are engaged in the same teaching standard may use two completely different methods, so the teaching may not be the same.

Organization of Portfolio Content

The portfolio is not just random student work collected over time. Therefore, when designing a development portfolio, it is important to define its "purpose", the evidence that constitutes the investment portfolio and its evaluation criteria. There are three closely related aspects that directly influence each other. Let’s see what should be considered when organizing the portfolio:

1. The purpose of the portfolio
2. The evidence including in portfolio
3. The assessment criteria

The purpose of the portfolio

The first and most important step in creating a portfolio is to define the objectives of the portfolio. The purpose of the project portfolio directly affects the creation process. In addition, the objectives of the investment portfolio determine which elements should be included. Goals can prevent the portfolio from becoming a busy job. The portfolio can be used for a variety of educational purposes. The purpose of the portfolio can be customized according to the needs of users. The purpose of the portfolio used by the teacher is to assess the progress of the student. For a period of time. Determine the teaching effect within a period of time, keep in touch with the parents of the students, evaluate the education plan, let the school contact the main products, help students conduct self-assessment and find out the students’ weaknesses in the learning process. As a result, the purpose of the portfolio must first be defined so that it directly affects the rating and frame set of the elements of the portfolio. When determining the purpose of the portfolio, it is very important for teachers to consult with colleagues, students, parents, and school administration. In this regard, it helps to adjust and implement the product portfolio.

The evidence including in portfolio

Given the purpose of the project portfolio, determine what evidence will be collected, who will collect the documents, how often the documents will be collected, and how they will be evaluated. Provide students with suggestions for selecting research to be completed in Portfolio. This is important because students can develop a sense of responsibility and ownership. Each piece of evidence in the portfolio should be accompanied by a title. The statement describes its meaning, the reason for the proof, and its purpose. It helps students realize their learning situation by sharing the knowledge that can be displayed. There are no strict rules on what the investment portfolio should contain, because investment portfolios have different purposes in terms of their evidence. However, the quality of the portfolio depends on whether it is organized by teachers or students. This means that the content of the portfolio can vary according to users or goals. For example, a portfolio organized by students may contain a large number of Images or practice materials, such as individual or group research, your best research results, tests, projects, presentations, checklists, problem solutions, quiz questions, teacher comments, reading and review lists, checklists for self-assessment/evaluation Yes, interview record, course description, CD and hard drive. However, instead of randomly selecting evidence from the student's portfolio, it is better to select evidence that reflects the performance and product of the student in the learning process, which plays an important role in learning.

Ideally, the portfolio should be student-centered as much as possible, and teachers should provide help, guidance and advice instead of prior notification, guidance and priority. When creating a portfolio, keep in mind that every student has different cognitive, emotional, and psychomotor skills. , Different experiences, social environment and socio-economic level. Therefore, the items to be included in the project portfolio should be designed to reflect the performance of each student or group and fully reflect their cognitive and emotional abilities and skills.In addition, portfolio assessment must be multi-dimensional, and data must be collected from various sources (such as students, teachers, students’ friends, and parents) in order to obtain reliable assessments. It is also important to give students the opportunity to choose work samples for their studies.

The assessment criteria

First, clearly state the purpose of the investment portfolio, and then must explain the evaluation criteria of each investment portfolio project. Defining the criteria for the assessment portfolio is very important, because the assessment criteria allow students to identify and select jobs, which also allows teachers, students and others to discuss results . The evaluation criteria used to determine the quality of student performance should be clear and easy to understand. This is very important so that students can evaluate their work and eliminate their weaknesses. Determine the quality of the evidence in the portfolio and conduct a valid and reliable assessment.

For more detailed information on following points, Subscribe to the “College and Career Readiness Course”

• Important Points in Portfolio Developing Process 
• Types of Portfolio 
• Advantages Of Using Portfolio Assessment Methods 
• Benefits of Portfolio assessment method