1. The Portfolio
1.Monday, 28 January 2013

2. Its uses.
• Tracking student progress.
• Helps in continuous, cumulative and
summative assessment.
• Tracking teacher progress.
• Improving both teacher’s and student’s
work.

3. The context
• Works best initially, ideally, in a small
class where the teacher student ratio is
kept to the minimum.

4. Definition
• It is something like a course file kept over the
semester by the student, but flexible as to
context.
• It is monitored by the teacher, structurally.
• It is an exhibition of samples of work done, not
necessarily the best work but aiming to ensure
that the student is able to track his or her own
progress. Can also include handouts serving a
dual purpose if need be.

5. Example:
• Poetry portfolio of ………… Semester 1,
level 5
• Would sontain syllabus distribution, bare
syllabus, handouts like glossary of literary
terms.
• Work done – samples. This is the main
• component.

6. Example continued –specific to
Poetry.
• I Sample of write up or brief bio on an
author and his works and time –
Tennyson.
• Teacher’s correction and remarks (if need
be.)
• Second sample, corrected.

7. Sample of summary of a poem:
• First draft of “There is no frigate like a
book” paraphrased.
• Corrected version
• Final draft

8. Sample of analysis of a poem
• First draft of “Mind’s” (Richard Wilbur)
analysis.
• Corrected draft
• Final draft

9. Essay sample: (optional)
• Must include author note, summary and analysis
• Corrected version – question to be given by
teacher.
• Final draft
• This can also deal with plagiarism, research
elements etc. Example, giving bibliography and
footnotes, indexing –so that research skills is
built as a component right through every subject.

10. Quizzes 1
• Choose the correct answer - MCQs

11. Quizzes 2
• Match the following

12. Quizzes 3
• Definitions with examples so it is
application oriented and leads to learning
analysis.

13. Quiz four
• True or False or Yes or No questions

14. Quiz five
• Complete or fill in the blanks. Both types,
direct and indirect, where answer is given
and not given.

15. Presentations:
• The summary, analysis or essay can be
done as powerpoint presentations too.
This could be given some extra
weightage. This whole process is vaid only
if the five marks of internal assessment is
raised to 25 maybe and the I Mid Term
becomes 25 marks and the final 50 marks
including 10 marks for attendance.

16. Answering short questions in
written form.
• These can be taken from the text book
itself, and act as a step towards analysis
of the poem – provided some are direct
and some indirect.

17. Other ideas.
• The student also files copies of question
paper models of previous semester and
tries to answer them.
• The student also tries to keep his or her
own attendance. (Both these suggestions
are controversial and not to be adopted as
of now. )

18. Other ideas
• The student can gather resources from the
net or libraries for help, as notes, over and
above what is found in the textbook.
• This will help towards self sufficiency.

19. Minimum
• 10 to 15 pieces in portfolio
• First drafts, corrections, final drafts for
subjective exercises plus model questions
• To keep the work light for the teacher
which is very important the whole exercise
is to be seen as student driven.

20. Advantages
• For assessment the teacher can choose
from the student’s work the best on offer
or assign a mark regarding the overall
quality of the portfolio. The latter is
preferable but a completion rubric may be
helpful in case portfolio has t be assessed
not y course teacher. This means one
assesses completion and not quality
except in one instance.

21. Advantages
• It is a way of covering the portion and
equipping the student for the exam
simultaneously plus going beyond this to
some skills for the next level and the
outside world of employment.

22. Advantages
• It can help shift them partially to digital
awareness and literacy by asking them to
give some things in typed, some gathering
of resources from the net, some little
research to be done, a presentation to be
made by pairs or groups etc. One can
have even field trips, data collection,
analysis and write ups.

23. The portfolio as future tool
• Many places now ask for portfolios of
students and employees and not CVs.
They even ask for audio, text and video
portfolios.

24. The portfolio as future tool
• Thus if students getting high marks are
allowed to exhibit their answer scripts, for
instance ( and even teachers’ of such
students) it becomes evidence of their
ability to reach learning goals or outcomes
matching learning objectives. I know this
idea is controversial but it is practised in
some places.

25. The End
• Workshop is try and define the items you
think would be essential in a portfolio for
your subject – one that you are teaching.
List them out as clearly and completely as
possible and try and make it of maximum
benefit and use for you and the student.
Thank you.
• © Dr A.V. Koshy 2013 January 28