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Project One
By
Halima Scurry
EDU 729
Portfolio Design and Plan
Nova Southeastern University
February 14, 2016
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RATIONALE:
According to the Glossary of Education Reform (2014), a portfolio is a compilation of student
work assembled for the purpose of (1) evaluating coursework quality and academic achievement,
(2) creating a lasting archive of academic work products, and (3) determining whether students
have met
learning standards
or academic requirements for courses, grade-level promotion, and
graduation.
Portfolios can be a physical collection of student work that includes materials such as
written assignments, journal entries, completed tests, artwork, lab reports, physical projects, and
other material evidence of student learning progress. Portfolios are
utilized at the elementary,
middle, and secondary school levels, they are used in day-to-day instruction to help students
reflect on their own work products and academic progress. By closely monitoring learning
progress over time using portfolios, both teachers and students can highlight academic strengths,
identify learning weaknesses, and recognize accomplishments and growth (edglossary.org). A
portfolio can be a very effective tool as it relates to what students are doing and learning in the
classroom.
Therefore, the purpose of this project is to provide a portfolio design for elementary
students. Reading will be the subject evaluated by giving examples of reading activities and
breaking down those activities as evidence of the student’s progress.
PURPOSE:
The fundamental reason for establishing a reading portfolio is so the stakeholders (i.e., teacher,
student & parent) will have an actual product, tool, framework or collection of sources to
reference for best practices, solutions or criteria to determine a standard of performance in
comprehension, vocabulary, sight words and phonics.
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COLLABORATIVE LEARNING GOALS:
Collaborative learning is a technique teacher’s use to group students together to impact learning
in a positive way. Proponents of collaborative learning believe it helps students in many ways.
Collaborative learning theorizes that working together increases learning outcomes.
Collaborative learning can occur one-on-one or in small groups between just two students; it may
also occur within a larger group in a variety of forms. Children learn most by being active. One
primary goal for collaborative learning focuses on active participation, which encompasses
moving around, drawing, creating, and performing. Another goal is for learning to be student
focused and not content focused. This means that when planning for instruction, the teacher
should consider how a student learns and what methods to use to enhance learning
(). In summary, collaborative learning is a processwhere student’s support and
rely on each other to achieve an agreed-upon goal.
