Week 3 Reflection

The article you were asked to review, Electronic Portfolios as Digital Stories of Deep Learning, focused on the difference between assessment for learning and assessment of learning and identified 10 research based principles related to AFL - assessment for learning. Which tenet did you most relate to and why? What potential if any, do you see for portfolio assessment? What do you think the creation and development of your portfolio will do for your learning?

I strongly relate to the sixth principle listed stating that assessment for learning should take account of the importance of (and foster) learner motivation.  After reading the ‘Electronic Portfolios as Digital Stories of Deep Learning’ article and the updated article titled ‘Researching electronic portfolios and learner engagement: The REFLECT Initiative’, I did not feel a desire or motivation to start thinking about creating my own portfolio.  Nor do I wish to set up and maintain portfolios for each of my future students.  I definitely would be among the students who after their high school graduation threw their portfolios into a bonfire.  I think most of my ambivalence and demotivation comes from my prior eleven years of working in the corporate IT world and being forced to create and maintain a half-hearted career portfolio.  My company thought it was imperative for each employee to create goals, have performance reviews, and show measured improvement of our career oriented skills and personal development.  Twice a year, they would require us to write/update our goals and assess our progress.  But in the end, our managers would end up adding many irrelevant company required goals that did not pertain to the work I contributed (and were often skipped over during review) and override any assessments we gave ourselves.  None of this seemed worthwhile or meaningful to me since it was contrived to look like it was for my benefit but was actually designed to provide justification for whether or not to reward bonuses and salary increases.

I suppose after rambling on about my utter dislike of my Corporate IT career portfolio and assessment, you might think that I am a mediocre co-worker or student.  That assumption, if made, would be far from the truth.  I was top of my class throughout school, always set high expectations for myself, enjoyed learning, and continued setting the bar high in my career as a QA Analyst.  At my last job before deciding to make a career change to become a teacher, I was repeatedly told by my peers that I was the best QA Analyst they had ever worked with.  I care about my skills, I want to continue learning and applying what I’ve learned to my life, and I encourage my peers to assess my abilities so I know and understand what I’ve done right and what I need to work on.  On the contrary, though, I do not like being forced by my superiors to create a portfolio which includes goals and points that are contrived and which in the end are manipulated and updated to meet their/the company’s needs.  This would definitely be an example of using portfolios for assessment of learning and not for learning.

I believe there is a fine line between portfolios used for assessment of learning and portfolios that support assessment for learning.  If we want students and teachers to utilize educational portfolios, then the portfolio must not be contrived or forced.  It must not be made to fit some mold or resemble other peer portfolios in any way.  Once students and teachers come to the belief that the portfolios are primarily for the benefit of their superiors and not themselves, the portfolio will lose its personal touch and purpose.  If the portfolio is not contrived or forced and is driven by its creator’s own motivation, then I can see the benefit to maintaining one’s own portfolio over time.  I can also see the benefit of a mentor or counselor sitting with the author of the portfolio and offering guidance or forms of assessment.  This would allow the author of the portfolio to discuss their thoughts about their portfolio and reflect on them with someone they deem as respectable and safe.  If this is accomplished, then the motivation to learn and grow is genuine and not contrived or forced.  I hope my past experiences with assessments and portfolios do not taint my future ones. I know I too could benefit from a portfolio which is not forced or contrived, and that promotes assessment for learning.