Defining Portfolios
Definitions of "portfolio" | Definition of "electronic portfolio" | Types of portfolios
Definitions of "portfolio"
There are different definitions of what a portfolio is. What do these six definitions share in common?
|
"A collection of work that evidences mastery of a set of skills, applied knowledge, and attitudes. The individual works in a portfolio are often referred to as 'artifacts.'" (Morris, 2004) |
"A purposeful collection of student [or teacher] work that illustrates efforts, progress, and achievement in one or more areas over time." (Barett, 2003) |
| "A portfolio is a purposeful collection of student work that exhibits the student's efforts, progress and achievements in one or more areas. The collection must include student participation in selecting contents, the criteria for selection; the criteria for judging merit, and evidence of student self-reflection." (Northwest Evaluation Association, 1990) | "A representative collection of one's work. As the word's roots suggest (and as is still the case in the arts), the sample of work is fashioned for a particular objective and carried from place to place for inspection or exhibition." (Wiggins, 2000) |
| "A goal-driven, organized collection of artifacts that demonstrates a person's expansion of knowledge and skills over time." (Kilbane & Milman, 2003) | "A portable case for holding material, such as loose papers, photographs, or drawings. The materials collected in such a case, especially when representative of a person's work: a photographer's portfolio; an artist's portfolio of drawings." (Dictionary.com) |
Definition of "electronic portfolio"
Most of the definitions above include the word collection; collections of work can be folders, or scrapbooks or portfolios. What differentiates an electronic portfolio from a digital scrapbook or an online resume is the organization of the portfolio around a set of standards or learning goals, plus the learner's reflections, both on their achievement of the standards, and the rationale for selecting specific artifacts, as well as an overall reflection on the portfolio as a whole.
An
electronic portfolio uses electronic technologies, allowing the portfolio
developer to collect and organize portfolio artifacts in many media types
(audio, video, graphics, text). A standards-based portfolio uses a database
or hypertext links to clearly show the relationship between the standards
or goals, artifacts and reflections. The learner's reflections are the
rationale that specific artifacts are evidence of achieving the stated
standards or goals.
An electronic portfolio is not a haphazard collection of artifacts (i.e., a digital scrapbook or a multimedia presentation) but rather a reflective tool that demonstrates growth over time. (Barrett, 2000)
Types of portfolios
Typically portfolios can be categorized as working (focus on process) or presentation (focus on product). Review the table below. It is important to know what type of portfolio you want to create, because it will help you focus on what to include and how to reflect. The portfolio you create will probably be some combination of all of these.
| WORKING (PROCESS) |
Descriptive |
Fosters reflection and self-assessment, focus is on describing steps of learning |
| Learning | Fosters reflection and self-assessment, emphasis is on individual's work and learning in progress | |
| PRESENTATION (PRODUCT) |
Assessment | Presents information about an individual's mastery of specific objectives and skills |
| Class | Illustrates group efforts, progress, and accomplishments | |
| Employment | Provides employers with information | |
| Showcase | Demonstrates an individual's best work (samples) | |
| Teaching | Demonstrates the professional competence of a teacher |
(Kilbane & Milman, 2004)