Why am I writing this personal entry? Well, it is not an attempt to gain any sympathy. It attempts to show what is possible if a clear intention and goal serve the learner's needs. In May of 2022 just near the end of another fantastic school year, I do not remember what happened. But, I was unable to finish the school year and was unable to teach the following year. Why? On May 21st, 2022, I fell down a flight of 16 stairs (luckily carpeted) from the 2nd to 1st story of our home. I was found at the bottom of the stairs. I was found foaming at the mouth. This would lead to a 2-month hospital stay which included an induced coma because my seizures would not stop, several rounds of lumbar punctures, and relearning basic physical movements like something as simple as being able to roll in the hospital bed. Simply put, when I was admitted to the hospital, I was diagnosed as being “critically ill.” Please take a moment and read those words: critically ill. They are not terms...
I had earlier talked about my new design for student portfolios in my class. After finishing out first unit I had students finish up the first unit entry. For this first unit I pulled back a bit on my full outline I planned for each unit. It is my hope that this first unit page will serve as a toe dipping and in our second unit I can add more elements that I had intended to add originally. I felt that getting students comfortable in the Google Sites environment the first go around and giving them some feedback was more important than having them start out with my full blown vision.
So, this go around our unit page was divided into 3 sections.
Objectives
For our first go around, I simply had students add the unit objectives to this section. In our next unit, I plan to have them write them in their own words as well.Narrative
The intention of this section is for students to reflect of their performance on formative quizzes. In the first unit we had 2 quizzes. I dropped the ball on this one. We were pressed for time on the day of the 2nd quiz and I failed to tell students to do their reflection. By the time I realized it, enough time had passed that it wouldn't be nearly as meaningful or relevant. I want this section to be an immediate reaction to how they did, what helped them learn, and possible next steps. I still struggling at how formal this should be or if it should be. Should I make it a less rigid prompt and make it more of a free reflection.
Artifact
The artifact section differs a little for those students who took the test vs those who completed the alternative assessment. Those who took the test were asked to reflect on their performance and look at their goal for the next unit. If students would like to earn test correction points, this is where they would embed their correction document. For students who completed the alternative assessment, they are asked to reflect on the process of the creation including successes, struggles, and if they were to do it again what they would change. In addition, they are to embed their alternative assessment.
Looking at the student pages, they are all over the spectrum. They key will be in providing in depth feedback on what is working and what students could expand/improve on.
I've included some screenshots below. This portfolio is ultimately intended for a general audience. I'd love some constructive feedback on how you think the format could be improved to communicate with an audience and to allow for learner relevance.
Also if you're doing portfolios, what are your students putting in them? I desperately want to know regardless of grade level.
Comments
Post a Comment