Your portfolio is your summary of your learning in this program. It should include all your required  work this quarter, organized and annotated in a way that is easy to read.   It should include thoughtful self-reflection on the process and content of your learning.  You should be able to refer to your portfolio years from now and get a clear recollection of the most important aspects of your learning this quarter. A stranger (for example, a grad school admissions officer or a potential employer) should be able to browse your portfolio and, from your presentation of your material, get a clear picture of the most important aspects of your learning. You can show it to friends trying to figure out how to do their portfolios next year, or show it to your kids when they're in college.  Look at peers' portfolios for ideas about your own, and have your triad partners review yours.  It should be CLEAR and MEANINGFUL.  Use concrete examples - don't just claim you know something - show that you know it.

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1.  Prep sheets: Click here to preview a set of questions designed to get you in the mode of self-evaluation.  Fill this out, and also fill out the assignment checklists for Astronomy and Seminar. Fill out one Presentation Questionnaire for each minilecture or research presentation you gave. Turn all these in to your prof by week 10. You may also want to take a look in advance at the Exam Questionnaire that you will be asked to fill out at the start of your final exam.

Print out and use this PORTFOLIO CHECKLIST belowto assure that your portfolio is complete.

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Portfolio strategies:
You have probably already gotten a start on assembling your portfolio, in the process of reviewing your work  to answer the questions in Part 1 above. Two common approaches are developmental and representational portfolios. In a representational portfolio, you emphasize select pieces of work that fairly represent the overall quality of your work this quarter. Tab these pieces independently, and explicitly reference them  in your cover paragraph for that section. Make clear to the reader their significance in the context of that section and of the overall program.

In a developmental portfolio, you contrast weaker earlier work with stronger later work to show how your understanding has grown. For example, you could show how your early difficulites with algebra developed into increased fluency in the powerful language of mathematics. Or you might contrast an early essay with a later one to show how you have learned to eliminate technical errors, synthesize complex thoughts clearly, and support your understanding with arguments and evidence from texts.

Concreteness strengthens your portfolio and helps your reader focus. If you SAY you have an especially good understanding of  the use of myths for maintenance of sociopolitical power, or of the existence and nature of dark matter, for example, then SHOW IT: illustrate your conceptual understanding with a concrete case from your own work, and explain it in your own words.

Whatever form you choose for your portfolio, include ALL your work. Make copies of teamwork.

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2.  Assembling your portfolio:
Your portfolio should include all your required work this quarter. Ordinarily that does not include rough notes.  Put your work in a 3-ring binder in a logical order:
• Make a table of contents and a cover page summarizing what's included, and why.
• Tab and label each section of your portfolio.
• Include two copies of your self-evaluation (at the end of the quarter) - one to leave in your portfolio, and one to give your prof at the eval conference.
• Include  the evals you wrote for your triad partners and  the evals they wrote for you.


CHECKLIST: Your portfolio should include these sections and others as appropriate.

Evaluations of self, teammates, and faculty. (include extra copies for your prof to keep) Completed prep sheets and checklists Program description and schedule  Seminar preparation, essays, and responses Workshops (Kepler's laws, spectra, etc.)

Web-X postings Homewok, quizzes, exams observing journal and field trip notebook Research project

If you have a better idea about an electronic format for your portfolio, for programs with extensive online assignments, ask your professor about it.  Perhaps you'd like to make a web page portfolio!


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3. Cover paragraphs:
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    OK, now that you have assembled all your material in an orderly way, go back and review each section.
Write a  paragraph to introduce each section, summarizing the important work in the section and how it represents your learning.
Reflect on what you did, how it contributed to your learning, and how it integrates with the program themes.
What should your reader focus on? Tell us, and help us find the most important parts.
Each cover paragraph (say, for the Seminar Paragraphs section) should call attention to at least one specific assignment that clearly illustrates your good work. Use labeled tabs so you and your readers can easily find your most  important pieces of work.

    Once you have completed these steps, it will be easier to write your self-evaluation. 


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4.  Then draft your SELF-EVALUATION: (turn this in with your portfolio)
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You can probably use some of the material from your cover paragraphs (part 3 above) directly in your self eval.  Go back and look over your cover paragraphs, and underline the sentences that you'd like to include or revise for your self eval.

This quarter is an important chapter of your intellectual history at Evergreen.  Your self-evaluation should synthesize your learning experiences in this program, and show your progress with one or two concrete examples. Edit your self-eval to focus on concise insights about your growth and learning. Instead of merely claiming to understand a topic, choose a concrete example to demonstrate your understanding concisely and vividly.

If you need help getting started, use the cover paragraph that introduces each section of your portfolio, since you've already summarized your work there.
Then edit your self-eval down to one page.
Keep one copy of your self-eval in your portfolio, and give one to your prof.
Spell-check and proofread carefully! You want your self eval to represent you fairly and well.  Have peers and APEL proofread your self-eval.  After you have discussed your eval with your class teammates, edit it appropriately.

Don't hesitate to rewrite your self-eval even after you have turned in a draft with your portfolio.  Bring an extra copy of the polished redraft to your eval conference for your prof.

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5. Evaluations of your class teammates:  (turn these in with your portfolio)

Did they come to every prep meeting?
Did they come prepared, having read everything and taken notes?
Were they reliable contributors to your group work, for example, articulating and posting key points and significant questions about each week's readings, and doing their share in workshops and team presentations?
Did they give you thoughtful feedback on your seminar essays?
Did you all work together effectively to prepare for seminar, improve your writing, do workshops, and deepen your understanding of the program material?



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6.  Also write an eval of each FACULTY member in your program.

Faculty members can contribute to your learning experience in lectures, workshops, conversations, seminars, and more.  How did your profs contribute to your learning?  Comment on your own personal experiences with each faculty member, not on your perceptions of your classmates' perceptions. How did they help you in workshops, in seminar, with observing? Refer to the expectations in the program covenant.
Give your faculty evals to a program secretary (Jill or Ruth, Lab II Rm 2250) on the day of your eval conference.  Write an evaluation of your seminar faculty member every quarter.  Write an evaluation of any faculty members that will not be in the program next quarter.  Write evals of all your faculty if you are leaving the program.   All faculty members welcome your evals, even if you were never in their seminar group. 
Faculty members will not read your faculty evals until all their evals of students are turned in to the secretaries, unless you ask them to.
Constructive suggestions about what works better or less well will help us decide how to structure future programs.
Anonymous evals carry little weight. 

You are encouraged to visit Academic Advising to get their guidelines on writing evals, or attend their excellent workshops on evals and portfolios.


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What happens in eval conferences?

    If you turned in your portfolio and evals on time, Dr. Zita will have read them and used them, together with her records, to write a draft evaluation of your work.   In your conference, tell Zita about your best learning in the program, and discuss your academic plans and goals.  (Do not dwell on incomplete work or excuses.) Zita will read your self-eval and give you feedback on it.  She will never require you change your self-eval, nor will she sign it - this is your formal representation of your learning.  You will give Zita a brief tour of your portfolio, using your cover paragraphs and tabs to hit the high points.  Zita will give you a copy of  the eval she drafted of your work, and you will have an opportunity to discuss it.  She may or may not make changes based on the conference, and will then take some time after you leave to finish it up.  She'll give the eval to the program secretaries by the end of the week, and they could take months to return it to Zita on the official form for her signature, depending on how busy they are. (So if you're anxiously waiting for your formal eval, ask Ruth or Pat about its status.  Their phone number is 360-867-6102.)


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