When I started
taking assessment class I did not think that it would be one of the subjects in
which I would learn too much about my career. For many teachers assessment is
not an important issue, especially for those that are a little bit older. For
then assessment and evaluation are the same and both are related to testing. Now
I can say that I have a lot of tools or at list I know a lot of information about
assessment and in this text I would like to discuss about the use of portfolios
in the classroom.
Using portfolios
give as a big picture about what are the students are doing. A portfolio is an organized collection
of student work designed to represent students' efforts and academic
achievements over a period of time. Portfolios are a powerful assessment tool
that provide a record of accomplishments and encourage students to reflect on
their progress. Students typically take responsibility for organizing their
portfolio and selecting the most appropriate content, depending on the purpose
of the portfolio assessment task.
There are some things that we as teachers need to take
into account, for instance establishing the purpose of the portfolio, it is
very important otherwise the learner can fell lost doing something that does
not have sense.
Another important thing that we cannot leave out is the stage in which
the teacher gives feedback; of course it is time consuming bur learners need to
know about their process, as it is a new way to assess some of them need scaffolding
and guidance.
Students may not engage with portfolios if they are not formally
assessed. You may need to consider creative ways of integrating these
assessment activities into your curriculum so that students know that they are
valued.
So now we have a clear view about the use of
portfolios in the classroom, the idea is to put into practice all this knowledge and start using authentic way to assess our students.
