Student “Good Work” Portfolios
See Charlotte Danielson and Leslie Abrutyn, An Introduction to Using Portfolios in the Classroom (ASCD, 1997).
As a component of any program about “good work,” we recommend that educators direct their students to assemble portfolios, which will function as both working and assessment portfolios. Students will collect their materials and reflect upon them; educators will then use the materials to evaluate understandings and outcomes.
A portfolio is a deliberate collection of student work. Portfolios can take many forms according to their purpose and content. Major types of portfolios include:
Working portfolios, containing both ongoing and completed works, serving as a repository and reflective tool for students and a diagnostic tool for educators.
Display portfolios, curated to showcase students’ best or most exemplary work, serving as a demonstration of growth and/or excellence for students and educators.
Assessment portfolios, consisting of work related to learning goals, serving as a mode of determining whether students have achieved certain outcomes.
The Good Work student portfolio generated by participation in this program should include: 1. All journal entries and other written reflections; 2. All completed worksheets; 3. Any completed at-home or out-of-class assignments; 4. Notes from class activities; 5. A metacognitive artifact, in which students review their portfolio at the conclusion of the program and reflect on their personal learning journey (this can take the form of a written reflection, a concept map, a video, etc.); and 6. Any other material that a student may feel is tied to or is a representation of their understanding of “good work” (e.g., images, objects, etc.).
The Good Work portfolio can be a folder, notebook, digital repository, or any form that is convenient for the educator and participants.
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Some potential electronic portfolio sites:
Padlet: https://padlet.com/dashboard
Google Jamboard: https://jamboard.google.com/
Collaboard: https://www.collaboard.app/use-cases/creativity
Microsoft Whiteboard: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/microsoft-whiteboard/digital-whiteboard-app
Bulb: https://my.bulbapp.com/pricing/
Google Sites: https://sites.google.com
Trello: https://trello.com/en
Miro: https://miro.com
Looking holistically at the documentation that a portfolio provides for each student’s trajectory, educators will then use the provided rubrics to assess whether students achieved the learning goals of the program. This type of assessment of the portfolio materials should be completed at periodic checkpoints throughout a program so that students can react to and learn from commentary. We would suggest checking in with students after each unit or at least after a set of lessons.
Feedback should be offered about areas where advanced comprehension is displayed and areas where students still have room for improvement. Feedback can be offered by teachers and/or peers.
The Good Work portfolio is therefore constantly in flux. It is at once a method for recording progress, for reinforcement of learning, and for evaluation and encouragement of feedback loops.
Using the Good Work portfolio for Assessment
In order to further understanding of the Good Work portfolio and its use, we offer the following example of how educators might use the Good Work portfolio as a way of assessing student learning:
The Good Work curriculum includes four learning units. Each lesson includes various exercises and assignments that are recorded in students’ Good Work portfolios. A checklist of assignments for the portfolio can be found in the navigation menu.
At the end of each unit, students should complete a self-assessment of their learning from the unit by reviewing their work in their Good Work portfolio. Self-assessment templates are available in the final lesson of each of the four units. Consider asking students to complete the thinking routine “I used to think _____, now I think _____.” regarding their learning from the unit. Alternatively, consider drawing on some of the resources available here or here to help guide students’ self-assessments. Students’ reflections should describe how they have met the lesson goals.
After students have completed their self-assessments for a unit, teachers may then use the provided single-point rubrics to assess whether students have met or exceeded the unit’s learning goal. Each rubric includes four criteria that students should aim to meet or exceed in order to demonstrate that they have understood or achieved the learning goal for that unit. More information regarding the use of single-point rubrics can be found here. (On the right side of the rubric, teachers write how students have exceeded the criteria, if at all. On the left side of the rubric, teachers write what the student still needs to improve in order to achieve these criteria.)
We don’t promote a formal “grading” of these capabilities as we don’t believe that they are easily reduced to numbers.