"As a new teacher, I am always looking for ideas that will make me feel more confident. Using a portfolio will help me show evidence that the students are making progress toward meeting state standards."-Stephanie Jones, TeacherForrest City High School, AR"A good overview of the entire portfolio process, from its philosophical foundations to the celebration of student achievement."-Michael F. Dwyer, English Department ChairOtter Valley Union High School, Brandon, VTEncourage student creativity and academic growth through portfolios and authentic assessment!Research and practice show that portfolios are powerful tools for assessing students authentically, communicating with parents about the learning process, and helping learners across all grade levels and content areas record their successes and take ownership of their learning. The third edition of The Portfolio Connection offers practical advice and reader-friendly strategies for implementing student portfolios in the classroom. Through step-by-step procedures, the authors help teachers incorporate standards into the portfolio process by providing expanded checklists and rubrics to monitor student progress. The updated edition also includes:Additional information on e-portfolios and integrating technologySteps for conducting student-led conferencesPortfolio examples for children with special needsGuidance on increasing parent involvement Information on the impact of NCLB on student assessmentDiscover how you can use portfolios to heighten students' self-reflection while expanding their critical and creative thinking skills.

What is the best way to assess a person's vocabulary level? A multiple-choice exam? A fill-in-the-blank exercise? Or perhaps a performance activity that allows the person to "show" the contextual meaning of a word? As the new reforms in education emphasize alternative forms of evaluation and testing, creative educators are now implementing assessment strategies which no longer measure an individual's ability to memorize and reiterate, but focus instead on one's capacity to create, discover, and become a lifelong learner. The portfolio has emerged as one of the most powerful tools for assessment and evaluation in education. Just as the artist chooses from an array of watercolors to paint her picture, the creative educator chooses from a repertoire of assessment tools to paint her picture of a student as a lifelong learner. This easy-to-use resource explores a multitude of options for purposes and types of portfolios as well as practical ideas for implementing them in the classroom. Ten steps in developing portfolios are presented, along with lesson options, examples, and suggestions for encouraging creative and critical thinking in an easy-to-follow format. Educators, administrators, curriculum planners, and parents. A Skylight Professional Book."

"As a new teacher, I am always looking for ideas that will make me feel more confident. Using a portfolio will help me show evidence that the students are making progress toward meeting state standards." —Stephanie Jones, Teacher Forrest City High School, AR "A good overview of the entire portfolio process, from its philosophical foundations to the celebration of student achievement." —Michael F. Dwyer, English Department Chair Otter Valley Union High School, Brandon, VT Encourage student creativity and academic growth through portfolios and authentic assessment! Research and practice show that portfolios are powerful tools for assessing students authentically, communicating with parents about the learning process, and helping learners across all grade levels and content areas record their successes and take ownership of their learning. The third edition of The Portfolio Connection offers practical advice and reader-friendly strategies for implementing student portfolios in the classroom. Through step-by-step procedures, the authors help teachers incorporate standards into the portfolio process by providing expanded checklists and rubrics to monitor student progress. The updated edition also includes: Additional information on e-portfolios and integrating technology Steps for conducting student-led conferences Portfolio examples for children with special needs Guidance on increasing parent involvement Information on the impact of NCLB on student assessment Discover how you can use portfolios to heighten students′ self-reflection while expanding their critical and creative thinking skills.

Project purposes - Collect and organize - Select key artifacts - Interject personality - Reflect metacognitively - Inspect to self-assess - Perfect and evaluate - Connect and conference - Inject/eject to update - Respect accomplishments.

Digital Portfolio Construction: A Guide for Showcasing Social Work Skills guides students through the process of compiling a digital portfolio--a collection of artifacts that demonstrates the knowledge, skills, and competencies they have mastered and articulates all they have learned throughout their social work program. The first part of the text focuses on constructing a digital portfolio, which includes the processes of gathering, selecting, reflecting, and sharing assignments and artifacts. In the later chapters, readers gain a greater understanding of the connection between what they learn within their courses and the social work competencies that are the hallmark of the profession. Recognizing that the construction and presentation of a digital portfolio requires active engagement and collaboration between students, faculty, and administration, two valuable appendices provide teaching suggestions for social work instructors and describe the programmatic and administrative contexts necessary to support the successful compilation of a digital portfolio and its use as a program outcome measure. Developed to help future practitioners increase their competence and confidence in presenting their knowledge and skills, Digital Portfolio Construction is a guide that can be integrated within social work curriculum and programs, or leveraged as a tool for independent study. Watch author Dale K. Fitch introduce Digital Portfolio Construction and speak to the how the text can help students recognize and reflect upon the competencies they acquire as they progress through their social work program. Watch Samantha Brown, M.S.W. speak to the importance of social work portfolios and how building a portfolio has been instrumental in her job search and professional networking.