Consider the following when designing a Portfolio assignment:
Define the Purpose
- Portfolios may be used to:
- Demonstrate achievement
- Show growth or improvement
- Document the process of creating a product or solving a problem
- Reflect on personally significant work
Objectives – what do you want students to know and be able to do at the end of the course? How could students use a portfolio to demonstrate what they have learned? What are the students constructing through the presentation of artifacts selected? How will commentary on those artifacts help to structure what is presented?
Other questions to consider:
- How will you integrate the portfolio into your curriculum and instruction?
- How will you provide students with feedback on their performance?
- How will you assess students’ portfolios? What criteria will you use?
Examples of possible criteria to evaluate portfolios:
- Completeness – Did the student provide evidence of the knowledge and skills targeted in the portfolio assignment?
- Rationale – Did the student adequately justify their selected artifacts as evidence of the knowledge and skill?
- Quality of evidence – What is the quality of the evidence students included in the portfolio?
- Overall quality of the portfolio