Portfolios help students collect and reflect on their achievements.
A portfolio is a collection of artefacts, or evidence, accompanied by self-reflection. They encapsulate a student's development, growth and progress.
While they're often used in art and design education, portfolios also have applications in other disciplines.
Paulson, Paulson, & Meyer (1991) define a portfolio as “A purposeful collection of student work that exhibits the student’s efforts, progress and achievements in one or more areas. The collection must include student participation in selecting contents, the criteria for selection, the criteria for judging merit and evidence of self-reflection.”
Davis, & Ponnamperuma, (2005) in their article titled “Portfolio assessment” elaborate on the six questions (why, what, how, when, where, and by whom) that need to be answered when considering portfolio assessments.
A portfolio is effective as:
When developing portfolio assessments: