Reflection 3

The article, Electronic Portfolios as Digital Stories of Deep Learning, was a very interesting read, that opened my mind to looking at how I assess my own students in the classroom and different methods I could apply. The article listed 10 principles of assessment for learning. The principle that resonated with me the most was: AFL should be regarded as a key professional skill for teachers. This one jumped out at me because as I read through the article, I realized how little I am involved in the assessment of my students. I am handed district benchmarks and told to give them to the students, then scan the answer sheets that go off to be analyzed by someone else. I follow a set of guidelines to prepare them for the high stakes testing and I assign numerical grades to papers. If AFL is going occur at the deep levels the article discussed, then districts are going to have to train teachers and require teachers to assess students for learning and not just of learning.  Before this article I had not spent much time thinking about how I assess, and usually just defer to whatever the district requires.

            I can see quite a few positive advantages of using portfolios for assessment. The main word that comes to mind is ownership. Students would have more ownership over the creation of their portfolios which may lead to more engaged students which in turn leads to lifelong learners. Portfolios could provide a way for students to use multiple learning styles to reflect their past learning and prepare them for future learning. The traditional assessment of testing alone stifles creativity and I have seen many students that have no motivation to be assessed by this method. I definitely appreciated the author’s idea of creating interconnected portfolios that archive past learning, assess learning and allows for authoring as well. This type of portfolio has the potential to engage students at a new, deeper level of learning.

            I believe the creation of my own portfolio will serve many purposes in my learning. One way that it will be advantageous is because it will serve as a place to store past learning to work with new learning. We are often bombarded with many new ideas and concepts, being able to refer back to my portfolio will help me to reflect on past learning and assimilate new learning. Another way that my own portfolio would be beneficial is in the area of collaboration. Being able to share portfolios with other professionals would only assist in my growth as a teacher. I am sure there are many other ways that I am not yet aware of that this portfolio will be helpful and I excited to watch that unfold. I believe that it will be a positive push as I strive to become a better educator for my students. The best way to be a better educator is to always to be a learner.