A portfolio is used by someone to demonstrate what they view as most important. The items in the portfolio are put in by their own choosing to show specific skills and knowledge. A folio on the other hand is more open and involves an accumulation of all the student’s work. These can be used for a specific course, project, or position they are applying for. Portfolio and folios are used to demonstrate a student’s growth and development in their chosen profession. These allow a student to measure their own learning and take the attention off of the professor and onto the student themselves. Portfolios contain four elements: the introduction, demonstration, reflection, and conclusion. The introduction is a statement about how they met their goals and the growth that they experiences. This is followed by demonstration which consists of what they actually did. Reflection goes into depth about how they learned and were able to complete the portfolio as well as how it has helped improve themselves. Conclusion is then the final statement describing their learning experience and how it developed throughout creating the portfolio.
Application:For an introductory university course, a folio would be very useful. I would have students complete one with their future learning in mind. I would require that students put any relevant assignments from the course in the folio, but then continue to use it throughout their education for more than just coursework. They can have their plan of study they discuss with their advisor, a sheet of required classes for their major and minor, general education requirements, their transcripts, scholarship information, any awards they receive, and then any relevant learning experiences. This would allow students to be able to reference back on their experiences throughout their education and know what they have accomplished. The folio would also be useful when going to advising appointments because they will have all their information right there. The folio would also have the introductory statement, documentation, and reflection relevant to the introductory course, but they could always add to it for future courses.
Assessment: Muddiest Point (Angelo & Cross, 1993, pp. 154-158)For my formative assessment, I would frequently do the muddiest point with the students to make sure the folio project was working for them. I would do it every few weeks before or after class with the open-ended question “What is the muddiest point about the folio at this point? that they could turn into me on a sheet of paper. I would collect the paper and spend more time analyzing it because I want the students to be clear on the assignment and feel free to ask questions. I could also meet with any students who seem to be struggling more in order to be more approachable to students.