In creating a portfolio culture in your school, it is important to understand each person involved with the student’s education’s role in the development, use, assessment and reflection of the portfolio.
Simply put, the digital portfolio is the student’s property, with the culture of the school and the teacher guiding its use, and all players – students, faculty, administrators, and parents – benefiting from their individual access to the portfolio’s contents. The discussions and decisions made during Richer Picture™ Professional Development workshops and coaching sessions will determine exactly how each school will involve each player in the digital portfolio program.
Students’ Role:
The digital portfolio helps students show that they are meeting standards -- while showing who they are as individual learners. Students can show their best work, their growth over time. From elementary students taking video of their problem solving abilities, to middle school students demonstrating technological competency, to high schoolers reflecting on their work as a whole, students use the portfolios to generate a richer picture of themselves than traditional transcripts could ever allow.
Faculty’s Role:
In most situations, students are expected to bulid their own portfolios. The faculty act as guides, helping students decide what work can go into the portfolio, and providing reflection on the work. Teachers can enter assignments, and link them to the school's or state's expectations; in this way, teachers help create their own curriculum maps. Most importantly, teachers provide feedback to students -- using online rubrics, adding reflections, teachers can help students review their progress in new ways.
Parents’ Role:
The portfolio is a tool parents can access in order to view their child’s work and progress. Schools have engaged parents during studnet-led conferences so that the parent, student, and teacher can -- together -- identify ways to help the student move further.
Administrator’s Role:
Administrators use the digital portfolio system as a major tool in reflecting upon current teaching and learning happening within their school(s), and to inform school improvement decisions. With customized reports, administrators can engage in a new kind of "data-driven" decision making; rather than relying solely on disaggregated test scores, building and district leaders can review, in real time, the progress that is happening in the classroom.
