2. What is a portfolio?  An ongoing collection of a child’s work and documentation of learning  Includes a wide range of materials.  Portfolio pieces may include drawings and artwork, writing samples, photographs, notes from teachers and friends, assessments.  Includes classroom and studio work

3. What is the portfolio’s purpose?  Demonstrating learning  Communicating experiences and learning  Capturing the learning process  Demonstrating thinking and problem solving  Assessment: paper/pencil and authentic  Evidence of experiences of the child  Expression  Developing self awareness and self esteem  Offering children, teachers, parents opportunity to wonder  Reflecting  Demonstrating quality

4. Portfolio Guidelines What goes into the portfolio?  Work the child is proud of and wants to include  Work that shows uniqueness  Demonstration of learning: success or a failure  Could be an end product or process  Always has intention, a reason for going in portfolio  Include core curriculum areas  Include real life experiences  Include awards and performances  Work showing a pattern of growth and improvement  Benchmarks or milestones

5. How are portfolios organized?  Organized to exemplify who a child is and how a child learns  Two descriptions to choose from when filling out the “section” portfolio label. Who I am How I learn

6. Who I Am Evidence of a child’s…  Relating and connecting to the world  Growing and changing (Physically, emotionally, mentally)  Building relationships and making friends  Communicating and expressing  Habits and traits  Values  Hopes and dreams  A philosophy of life (how does a child approach life, learning, relating to others)

7. How I Learn Evidence of a child’s …  Wondering  Exploring  Discovering  Achieving (not standard grades, but how a child succeeds)  Mastering a concept  Theories  Learning style  Problem solving  Facing challenges  Using Languages (visual arts, speaking and writing)  Metacognition (one’s perception of their own learning)

8. Teachers prepare environment with long white paper and 4 portfolios for review

9. Children and parents sort the portfolio work

10. Suggested Session Format  5 Minutes – Meet and share agenda  20 Minutes – Lay out or sort work from portfolio onto white paper  20 Minutes – Walk around and reflect on the learning of others; leave notes  15 Minutes – Children put away work while parents write messages; snacks are served in the dining room for those who are interested.

11. Teachers set up a space for parents to write letters to their children.

12. Questions to Help Prepare Portfolios  Older children often have too much work to sort through. Should work ever be removed?  What guidelines can we create for removing work?

13. Our Thoughts on 3.31.11  Focus on the current year to keep fresh?  K-1 has pressure to create body of work  Children in older grades have too much work to look through in the given time  Plan to have children pick work ahead of time; helps facilitate digging through too much work;  Uphold criteria; have benchmark work Writing, self portrait, who I am, how I learn What else?  Talk about sorting out work at plus/delta