Some Thoughts About Portfolios

"Portfolios" is a word that is widely used but widely misunderstood in education today. Many teachers view portfolios as simply being a collection of loosely related artifacts that end up in the landfill by year's end. Other teachers may more systematically organize the portfolio but do not use it purposely for assessment. Even more troublesome is that most students do not understand why they are even maintaining a portfolio. Though I've experienced these challenges first hand, I truly see the benefit of teaching students how to collect their work over time to illumninate their learning and growth as a writer. I plan to have two folders available for my students next year: a. one for writing in progress and b. one for selecting and organizing their best work. I will intentionally--through conferencing, questioning and class discussion--draw their attention to the purpose of their portfolio (as a means to think about their growth as a writer) and to develop a way of sharing their writing with others outside the school setting. In other words, their work will not end up in the landfill.