Benefits of Reflections on Learning

The short narratives below tell stories of learning and highlight the type of learning that took place through the process of the reflection.  The accomplishments of each of the four dimensions of reflection –  thinking back, thinking forward, thinking inward and thinking outward -  are described at the end of the narrative. 

          Thinking Back

Corey, a recent College Graduate, decided to spend a year traveling before she settled into her career.  After spending time in three foreign countries, she returned home with an impressive collection of photos and artifacts for her ePortfolio.   She knew that her knowledge about herself and the world had increased immensely, but she found it difficult to describe to people the insights that she had gained. It wasn’t until she spent time thinking back to specific moments of her journey, and purposefully reflected on her keepsakes and blog posts that she could finally describe what she had actually learned.  Being able to adequately put the learning into words added value to the time and money she had spent on her travels.

Thinking back to experiences may lead to the following upgrades in learning:

• The learning is clarified.
• Memories turn into nuggets of learning. 
• Past learning becomes meaningful to present circumstances.

 

Thinking Forward

 Theresa was enjoying her graduate studies in Education immensely but she knew that her theoretical studies were not impacting her daily routines in her classroom as much as they should.  Old routines are hard to change.  As she reflected on a recent course she had taken on assessment for learning, she kept returning to the question, “if I had known this before, how would I have done this with my students? Theresa knew that many of her former teaching methods were tried and true and she didn’t want to ‘throw out the baby with the bath water’ but she did want to incorporate some new strategies. The new theories made a lot of sense and it seemed that certain students could really benefit from them. Focusing her teaching portfolio reflections on specific students’ needs, she was able to pinpoint theories of assessment that could be put into practice for certain lessons without completely redoing her course.  One step at a time she implemented new and improved assessment for learning ideas within her existing curriculums. 

Thinking forward may lead to these implications of learning:

• The learning is solidified through practice.
• Gaps in learning are identified.
• The learning changes behaviors.
• New goals for learning are created.

 Thinking Inward

     Studying literature was Luke’s passion so every novel, story, or poem he was   required to read for his English course was an enjoyable part of the learning process.   He found it easy to identify the “aha” moments in the literature when he could completely empathize with a character, or could totally relate to the author’s key   point.  By the end of the term, however, the list of key ideas had grown so long that the learning he’d gained from each piece of literature was fading.  A requirement of his Professor was to revisit key ideas of each literature selection and complete reflective writing on the top five ideas that are most relevant to life circumstances. Luke was annoyed with the assignment, at first, since it seemed that he had already done this in his original reflections.  However, after reflecting on the emotional highsand lows from his original reactions to the main ideas, Luke gained new insights.  He was able to describe how the author’s ideas related to his personal beliefs and values.   Afer this second round of literature analysis, Luke knew that he had now personalized the concepts and would not forget them.

 Thinking inward about prior learning may open up the following new levels of learning:

• The learning is connected to personal core beliefs.
• The learning becomes more relevant and meaningful.
• The learning creates new perspectives.

  Thinking Outward

    Stress was an undeniable element of Jill’s work life as soon as she entered the door of her workplace.  It was difficult to understand, since the atmosphere was usually pleasant, the daily work was fine, and even her relationship with colleagues was comfortable.  Jill reflected daily about the tensions she was feeling for her personal development portfolio. It wasn’t until she reflected on the points of view of co-workers, the manager and the owner of the business, that Jill was able to uncover the source of the stress. Looking at her job from other points of view led Jill to consider how the owner and the manager of her company might view her and her role within the company.  She realized just how differently the two men viewed work projects and how contrasting their perspectives were to the goals of the company.  Understanding that the source of the stress she feels every day was stemming from this internal conflict actually brought Jill some relief.  She was not the cause of the stress, nor could she do anything about it. Reminding herself daily of this truth helps Jill deal with the stress she feels more effectively.

Thinking outward may allow for these expansions of learning:

• The learning creates a greater self – awareness.
• The learning generates understanding of others.
• New or different concepts can be understood.

41 Benefits of an ePortfolio

Benefits  of an  ePortfolio . . . 

               . . . for Students,  Educators, Employers or Corporate Companies

 1.  Students that develop an  ePortfolio will see BENEFITS . . .  from the PROCESS.

• They will discover a valuable exercise in self assessment through the reflection process
• Learning will take on a new depth through the reflection process
• Their self esteem and self-confidence will be enhanced as they take control of their learning. 
• They may develop their own goals for their learning. 
• Assessment of their learning may become more student centered;  the learner is involved and authorized to make decisions about will be evaluated. 
• They will receive more recognition for individual learning abilities and preferences.
• They will learn and begin to practice  a process that will be used in life long and life wide learning pursuits.

    . . . . from the PRODUCT

• They will have a tool for personal development.
• They will have a personal learning record.
• They may receive credit for informal and non-formal learning as well as formal learning.
• They will have direction for career planning.
• They will have a tool for feedback from teachers and peers; feedback in the form of comments, as opposed to marks.
• They will have a concrete way of showcasing strengths to teachers or  future employers.
• They may have needed documentation for prior learning assessment  or program credits.
• They may receive credit towards a course completion or towards  graduation
• They will have an extremely portable tool to use no matter where they are in the world.

2.  Educators that develop their own Portfolio will see BENEFITS . . . from  the PROCESS.

• They will understand the important aspect of the process fully and see that the process is just as important as the product.
• They will be able to empathize with students as they create, find or request their own evidence.
• They will develop an appreciation for the challenges that are experienced while writing a reflective statement that identifies learning.
• They will have the opportunity to explore more fully who they are and what they know and can do.
• They will assess strengths and interests which allows for exploration of career options.
• They will refresh their skills in documenting lifelong learning experiences

. . . from the PRODUCT.

• They will have a record of personal learning with documents that prove formal and informal learning.
• They will be able to demonstrate professional growth and show a commitment to continued learning.
• They will have an organized collection of evidence that can be used as a job search tool if needed.
• They will have a tool to showcase skills and knowledge to their employers when seeking a new position or a promotion.
• They will be able to identify strengths and/or weaknesses to help with future professional development decisions.
• They will be able to assess strengths and make more informed decisions on career options.
• They will have clear documentation to assist with Prior Learning Assessment and be able to link learning to learning outcomes.
• They may even have the evidence needed for PLA credits when pursuing continued education.

3.  BENEFITS to Employers or Corporate Companies that establish a Portfolio Community for their employees . . .  from  the PROCESS.

• Employees will have the opportunity to explore more fully who they are and what they know and can do.
• They will refresh their skills in documenting lifelong learning experiences.  This allows them to bring all of their learning to their daily job challenges.
• They will assess their strengths and interests which will assist them in seeking new opportunities within the company that they are suited for.  This allows a company to retain the most talented staff members.
• A Portfolio initiative would create a “buzz” of interest and excitement resulting in increased staff morale.

  . .  . from the PRODUCT.

• Employees will have a record of personal learning with documents that prove formal and informal learning.  This results in a definite boost of confidence.  
•  A staff with increased confidence will be a more productive staff.
• Employees will be able to demonstrate professional growth and show a commitment to continued learning.  They will have evidence for a requested transfer or promotion.
• Employees will be able to “showcase” their best work and share examples easily and comfortably with each other.  A community of sharing ideas and best practices will be developed within the company.
• Human Resource specialists will have an effective tool to match employees to job position.  They will be able to identify strengths and/or weaknesses to help the staff with future professional development decisions.

My goal is to reach 101 benefits.  Can you add to the lists?

22 Questions for Reflection

Four Dimensions of Reflective Learning

I.  Thinking Back

 Returning to a learning experience or recapturing a learning event some time after it has taken place may allow the learner to revisit the entire experience from a fresh and different perspective.  Learners may uncover previous knowledge that had been learned but was now buried or simply forgotten. 

 Questions that may help uncover learning from the past are:  

• What was the original purpose of this project/experience?
• What was my motive for completion of this project/experience?
• What were the critical factors helping or hindering completion of this project?
•  What specific skills/knowledge/attributes were necessary for completion of this project?
• What did I actually learn from this project/experience?
• When did the most learning occur? How do I know this?

II. Thinking Forward

     As learners reflect on how they would do things differently in the future, it is possible that an “upgrade” of learning could occur.  This deeper level of learning has been referred to as transformative learning (King 2002).

    Questions that may help the learner to understand future implications about learning are:

• If I had chosen to do “x” or not to do “x”, what might have happened?
• How significant are the outcomes of either direction?
• If I had the chance to do this again, what changes would I make?
• How might this project or experience shape the goals that I set for my future?
• How might what I have learned affect my future learning decisions?

III. Thinking Inward

     Introspective reflections also bring the learner closer to emotions. According to James Zull (2002), reflecting on a previous experience will be meaningless unless it engages our emotions. A deeper understanding of one’s own feelings and emotions leads to a higher level of learning as described by several taxonomies of learning.

Questions that may lead to an intrinsic connection are:

• Why was this project or experience meaningful to me?
• What are my personal beliefs regarding this learning experience?
• Do I agree or disagree with the way I learned this?  Why or why not?
• What differences has the learning made in my intellectual, personal or ethical development?
• What were the highest and lowest emotional moments in my learning experience?

IV. Thinking Outward

      Reflecting on the world around us requires an extended point of view.   Identifying the attitudes and opinions of another person, such as an author, a coworker, or a person from another culture leads learners to further consideration of their own belief system. The value in these contrasts and comparisons of beliefs is that it causes the learner to either expand their personal point of view or perhaps becoming more affirmed in their reasons for believing the way they do.

    Reflecting outwardly may lead to new ideas or theories that are used to explain or make sense of something.

    Questions that allow learners to think in an extrinsic way:

• How am I looking at this topic?  Can I identify another point of view?
• How might a person from another culture or religion look at this?
• Which of these viewpoints makes the most sense?
• Is my current concept about a topic causing problems for others?
• Does the problem or question in my mind have historical, ethical, scientific,

      political or economic considerations?

It is my hope that the four dimensions of reflection will add to your body of knowledge about a learning experience and contribute to your general understanding of yourself as a learner and a uniquely gifted person (Max Lucado 2005).

What to put into a Career Transition Portfolio

Portfolios are as unique as the individuals who prepare them. While there are no rules about what goes into a portfolio, it should represent the best of you.   It should also  demonstrate that you have thought through your experiences and gained a clear picture of what you have to offer.   Include meaningful, relevant items from all your learning to create a clear picture of ‘who you are’ and ‘what you know you can do’.

The following list contains ideas for the general ‘working’ portfolio.  You will want to select specific items from this larger collection for the ‘tailored’ portfolio that you would use in a job interview.

• Career and professional development goals
• Your work philosophy or description of your beliefs about yourself
• A  current resume or curriculum vitae
• Copies of cover letters
• Letters of recommendation and references
• Work and learning samples
• A skills inventory
• Evidence of knowledge and abilities
• Learning narratives and reflections
• Certificates, diplomas, degrees and awards (use photographs)
• Records of community service/volunteer work (brochures, letters of recognition, etc.)
• Transcripts
• Professional memberships and service
• Work term reports
• Self-assessment records
• Works in progress (activities and projects)
• Newspaper clippings featuring you
• Letters of appreciation
• Photographs or other relevant media

The order of these items will depend on the categories or organizational system that you select. You may want to keep an ongoing Table of Contents to remind yourself of all that you have to choose from. Use a revised table of contents for the tailored portfolio that you show to future employers.

Portfolios for Career Transition: Step 4 – Presentation

Step 4 – Selection for Presentation

The final step in deciding what to put into your Portfolio involves selecting items that will be appropriate for your audience.  Some questions to consider are:

1. Who are the key people that will be viewing my Portfolio?
2. What exactly will they want to see?
3.  What is their familiarity with Portfolios? 
4.  Will they need assistance in navigating through this item of evidence or through the organizational format used?
5. How might they evaluate my skills?
6. What questions might they ask?

 Preparing for the Presentation

 The best advice that can be given regarding the portfolio presentation is to follow the lead of the interviewer.   Some employers may be truly interested and actually ask you to show your portfolio.  This is not an open invitation to walk through every item in your collection.  Be respectful of time limitations and be ready with the top three items that say the most about you.  Then, pause and see if they are wanting to see and hear more.  Chances are they will have to move forward with the interview. 

If the employer does not invite you to show your portfolio, be ready with items that help you answer an interview question.  For example, you might say, “ I can explain that job experience more fully by showing you this. . . “  Keep your explanation short and simple.  Hopefully they will ask questions that will allow you to tell more about specific skills or accomplishments.

                          Final Portfolio Tips

 It takes time to develop a good Portfolio but the result                  will be  worth the effort!

             Think QUALITY not QUANTITY and keep your                  Portfolio simple.

       Make sure you can defend each item in your                        Portfolio.  Why have you included it?  What strength or skill does it demonstrate?

      Don’t skimp on your Portfolio budget.  Remember your Portfolio is a reflection of you.  Keep your Portfolio current; review it on a weekly basis and update as appropriate.

 You can customize your Portfolio for a specific job application.   Keep copies of everything in a general portfolio, then select specific items for a “tailored” portfolio.  

There is no law that says you can’t have more than one Portfolio!

Portfolios for Career Transition- Step 3

Step 3:    Organization

The Portfolio tool that you choose may determine the organizational system that you use for presenting your evidence.  If you have a choice in the organizational framework, there are several approaches to consider.

1. Chronological

The chronological approach is an effective way of demonstrating career progression by clearly showing years or time periods. Just like a chronological resume, it is easy to follow and shows career steps by positions, job titles, companies or organizations that you worked for. Evidence of skills used or developed in each time period can be displayed.

 2.  Thematic

The thematic approach is more commonly used for Portfolio organization.  Common categories that can be used are:

Skills/Competencies

Education and Training

Professional Development

Accomplishments

Projects

Community/Volunteer

Leisure/Hobbies/Travel

 3. STAR

The simple STAR format is great way to organize your documents if you don’t have a lot of evidence to display.

Skills

Training

Accomplishments

References 

4.   S.T.O.R.Y

If you haven’t been able to find or request any documents (refer  back to step 1) and  you have to resort to creating everything, you may need to do more reflective writing.  I recommend the STORY format (Max Lucado 2005)  to guide you.

S – Strengths: What are your natural strengths and abilities?  Refer back to childhood times and previous work experiences when you were complimented on doing something well.  List the verbs. 

T –  Topics:  What are you interested in? What objects do you enjoy working with?  List the nouns. 

O –  Optimal conditions:  In what type of environments do you find yourself being most productive?

R – Relationships:  Recall moments of satisfaction and success; how were you relating to people in those situations? 

Y- Yes!  Identify moments in life when you felt you were in the “sweet spot” of life.  Describe them.

For the complete Sweet Spot Discovery Guide refer to Cure for the Common Life;  Living in Your Sweet Spot by Max Lucado published by Thomas Nelson 2005.

Portfolios for Career Transition – Step 2

 

Step 2:  Reflecting

If  you had some success with the first step of Collecting, you now have a “pile” of evidence, or a long list of documents that you will consider uploading into your Portfolio.  Chances are good that you have far too much material to work with and you now have to begin the process of elimination. To help you determine just how useful each item will be for your Portfolio, you may want to use reflective questions to help you decide. Here are some valuable reflective questions to assist you with this process:

     1.  What does this item mean to me?

     2.  What does this item say about me?

     3.  What specific skills/knowledge/attributes are reflected in this item?

     4.  How does this item relate to my short/long term goals?

     5.  In what ways does this item demonstrate my strengths? 

     6.  What is the importance of this item/activity in relation to my  

          personal or professional growth?

     7.  What barriers or challenges did I have to overcome to realize this

          achievement?

 Take your time with these questions. They might tell you a lot about yourself that hadn’t realized or that you had forgotten.  Record all thought and ideas that come to you.

The Four Dimensions of Reflecting

   The use of portfolios and critical reflections on the portfolio contents has become mainstream methodology in Education today.  Teachers of all grade levels and subjects and Professors in many faculties are asking students to reflect on their work. In many cases, the instructors are making this request of students without giving them instructions on how to begin. Many students do not naturally know how to reflect or why they should reflect.

To help students come up with meaningful reflections, I have developed the four dimensions of reflection.  It is an adaptation of the best ideas on reflection by Dr. Helen Barrett (2008) that I have found so far.  The four dimensions are:

 1.  Thinking back (connecting to past memories and experiences that relate to the topic)                                  eg. What prior learning or  previous life experiences come to my mind about this topic?

2. Thinking forward (considering future implications of the topic)                                                                              eg.  What aspect of this topic would I like to study further? How might this learning influence my future?

3.  Thinking inward (recognizing feelings and emotions about the topic)                                                               eg.  Do I have negative or positive associations with this topic?  Where might that be coming from?

4. Thinking outward (considering other’s point of view on the topic)                                                                       eg. How might a person from a different culture or religion view this topic? In what ways does that view differ from mine?

Why Use ePortfolios for Assessment?

The eportfolio has been used successfully for assessment in K- 12 education as well as many faculties of higher education.  In addition to Education, it is often used in the Arts, the Humanities and Social Sciences; it is now becoming more popular with the faculties of Computer Science and Engineering. 

The Burgess Report (2007) concluded that assembling a portfolio allows a student to showcase a much wider range of achievement for assessment than traditional forms of assessment.

The use of ePortfolios for assessment fits well with the constructivist framework that has been emerging in education as the most effective teaching and learning experience. (Clark & Adamson 2009)  It provides opportunities for the formative assessment valuable to the constructivist approach.

The ePortfolio provides a tool that allows for assessment for learning since it is:

• Student centered – The learner is involved and authorized to make decisions about their learning.
• Student directed – Students can be involved in development of learning goals and in the development of assessment criteria.
• Feedback from teachers and peers – Feedback in the form of comments, as opposed to marks, is the natural and appropriate manner to help students with self-assessment and ePortfolio decisions.
• Recognition of individual learning abilities and preferences- The learners have the freedom to bring in their own interests or competencies into the assessment situation. (Hilzensauer & Schaffert (2009)
• Demonstrates awareness of learning and  growth over time – Both student and teacher can note the changes or improvements in skills  from Sept. to June.

 The most valuable aspect of ‘ePortfolio thinking’ is that students are being encouraged to think about their learning and become more reflective thinkers in general. As students increase their metacognitive skills, they make progress towards the ultimate goal of becoming more skilled life-long learners. (Clark & Adamson 2009)

Personal Response

I have watched with great interest over the last decade as ePortfolio tools have advanced. The  efolio tool developed by Ray Tolley allows for users of all ages and purposes. I have noted that some of the issues around evaluation and assessment have disappeared, however, new and different challenges have continued to emerge. More efficient marking schemes for evaluating the product are currently being developed and tested. (Clark & Adamson 2009) Improvements and progress in innovative ways to use ePortfolios effectively are evident. (Barrett 2009) Dr. Helen Barrett is currently conducting an internet based action research project that examines the use of Google Applications for creation of ePortfolios.  Following the thread of blogs around this project indicate that many complications with developing the product still need to be worked out, but questions are being answered and progress is being made.

 It seems that similar to the ePortfolio always being a ‘work in progress’, so it is with the use of ePortfolios as an assessment tool.

ePortfolio Learning, Assessment & Employability – AAEEBL

I have just discovered an association (established in April 2009)  that is working towards new designs in learning and assessment and increasing connections in the portfolio community. 

ePortfolio Learning, Assessment & Employability – AAEEBL.

According to this association, ePortfolios are being used at nearly half of all american universties and colleges.  Since I am currently researching the ways in which reflecting on portfolio contents enhances learning, I was very pleased to find an informative thread of discussion on using ePortfolios for reflection.

I found some ‘golden nuggets’  regarding the elements of reflection in this thread. Key points or quotes that I have captured and want to remember  from this thread of discussion are:

1.  ”reflection can never really be just about introspection but about listening to other people’s views, of feedback from peers and mentors and making a balanced assessment of the totality of views” Ray Tolley     

2. “Doing the homework is allowing someone else to manage your learning; writing reflections about doing the work is managing your own learning.”  Trent Batson

3.  ” Reflection is that aspect of one’s learning, life or work that establishes personal context and value for the experience. It makes it stick! ”  Lynne Groves

Two Little Words that make a Huge Difference

     Have you noticed any changes taking place in your child’s education recently?  You may be thinking, by the title of this article, that I am referring to bullying and the importance of saying “I’m sorry!” in the hallways of our schools.   As important as that topic is, the two little words that I am referring to are: OF and FOR.  Surprisingly, these two words are changing the way things are done in many classrooms across the world today. 

     In the past, teachers have concentrated on assessment OF learning.  This means that

teachers give tests and  quizzes, or  assign reports and homework for the purpose of giving a mark at the end of a unit of study. They need to find out if students have learned the material, or not, and most importantly, they have to come up with a mark to put on a report card.

    The trend that teachers are moving towards is assessment FOR learning.  This means that the assessment is ongoing and takes place in every class.  It occurs as a regular part of all learning; the main purpose is to show students how well they are learning and how they can improve their learning. You are probably wondering how this can be done.

    Here are Five changes to regular classroom procedures that  the assessment FOR learning approach might bring:

1.  The specific goals of the lesson, the unit and the assignments are clearly described right at the start. Instead of the teacher deciding how everything will be marked, the students will brainstorm with the teacher what good quality work will look like, and what the critiria for the marking will be.   Students will participate in the developing the criteria of how they will be marked.  When students have some part in deciding goals and identifying criteria, they are more likely to understand what they are trying to achieve and will hopefully want to achieve it.

 2.  Teachers will provide examples of work, both weak and strong so that students can judge for themselves how they compare to the standards.  Learning can become more self directed.

3. Teachers will give descriptive feedback instead of marks in the early stages of learning. They will aim for specific comments that indicate how close the students have come to the target, what they did right, and what they need to improve.   Their comments will focus entirely on the work, not the person,and will aim to be constructive for  the learning and the motivation.

4.  Students will be taught how to set goals, how to track their own learnng and how to  assess themselves.

Students might use their collection self assessments to summarize their learning and set goals for their future learning.

5.  Students will engage in self-reflection and share what they know with the teacher as well as with their peers. They might be asked to do a “ticket out of the door” reflection at the end of class that asks them what they have learned and/or what they might need more help with. 

In summary, students become more aware of the process of learning.  They will be just  as aware of “how”  they are learning as they are of “what” they are learning.  This enables them to be more self-managing with their learning and creates independence in learning.  It provides the opportunity to seek out new skills, knowledge and new understandings.  This is the foundation of life-long, life-wide learning skills that are needed for effective adult learning.

Rate our new website: www.hi5living.org

Today was the official launch of our new website www.HI5Living.org.   This site was created for secondary students to get more information for their healthy living plans that they are required  to complete  for Transitions.  It can also be used by students and teachers in Planning 10.  Check out the website and rate the overall appearance and usefulness.  

On a scale of 1 – 5, how did you find it?  

1- not interesting or relevant to me

2- a bit interesting  

3- quite interesting and relevant to me

4 – very interesting and informative about my health

 5 – extremely interesting and  informative on health issues that concern me.     

We’d also  love to hear your comments on the different sections of the website.  Feel free to answer any or all of the questions below or just comment in general on the website overall – that  would be very appreciated!

1.  Which of the five quizzes did you find most interesting or relevant to you?  Why?

2.  Did you find any of the quizzes to be too difficult or too easy?  Explain.

3.  Did you learn anything from the quizzes?  What topic did you learn about?

4.  How useful do you think the assessment section is?  Do you think your score is a true picture of how well you are protecting yourself from cancer?

5. Which of the five young people in the Realities section did you find most realisitic?  least realistic?
Thank you in advance for checking out the website and giving us some feedback.

Creating a Service Learning Portfolio

What is a Learning Portfolio?

A purposeful collection of student learning that exhibits the student’s efforts and achievements in a specific course or project.

How can Learning Portfolios be used?

Portfolios are gaining popularity in College and University education as a means for students to demonstrate the knowledge and abilities they have acquired from a specific activity (e.g. participation in service).  Proof of this can be found at http://www.aaeebl.org 

What goes into a Service Learning Portfolio?

Documents pertaining to the processes involved in the project, as well as evidence of the project’s outcomes. For example:  
-      Service training 

 -     Journals or logs

-       Relevant academic work

-       Media coverage (including articles in the campus newspaper or website

-       Evaluations by community members and instructors

 -       Organizational brochures or other information

 -       Plan for action research or other future projects, etc.

-       Reflections that document the learning process. This could include an understanding of service learning and the student’s philosophy regarding the experience.

Benefits of a Service Learning Portfolio

• Allows the learner to demonstrate learning to the outside world; the Portfolio can become a life-long learning tool for the student’s own purpose or to showcase learning to future employers.
• The learner becomes more aware of learning in the real world as they reflect and document the learning experiences that take place in the organization or business involved.
• Learning in a social context is recognized; sharing with groups or doing collaborative projects is valued and documented.
• Students have an opportunity to reflect on who they are as a person, learning lessons from their own experiences and seeing changes and growth within themselves. 

For more information on service learning check out:  The Complete Guide to Service Learning
Catherine Berger Kaye (2004)  Free Spirit Publishing www.freespirit.com

Portfolios for Career Transition- Step 1

     The Portfolio Process 

A Portfolio will provide you with an organized electronic collection of materials, artifacts and evidence that summarizes, highlights and validates . .

-       who you are as a person 

-       what you know and can do

-       what you  hope to do.

It will be an evolving work in progress as you add or delete documents that demonstrate your most current skills.  With this in mind, you will want to follow a systematic process to help you identify what to put into your Portfolio.  The CROS (Collection, Reflection, Organization and Selection) system is a tested and tried system that has assisted many people with the development of their Portfolio. 

  Step 1:    C – Collection

Search through your file folders, boxes and computer documents for any evidence that says something about you and your skills.  Keep an ongoing list of what you have FOUND.  This will help you to keep track of what you have so that it is not forgotten later.   When you find something useful, it often reminds you of something else that you have somewhere that might also be useable.  Create another list entitled TO FIND.    This list will include those items that you know you have somewhere, but you will have to keep searching in other places (Mom’s basement?) to find it.

     Create another list of items under the heading:  REQUEST.   This list will include documents that you are not able to find, but you know that someone else may have this item.  This will save time when you begin writing letters or emails to employers or colleagues to request these documents.  You can do it all in one sitting, sending “copied” messages to several people, if necessary, to request the desired document.

     One more useful list will be entitled CREATE.  This list will include items that you know are lost or destroyed.  This may be a long list if you have experienced the misfortune of a computer crash.  The items destroyed may have to be recreated if you feel they will be a valuable addition to your Portfolio.

Reflecting on our lives in general allows us to gain a better sense of who we are, what we have done, what we know, and what our goals of the future are.  It may also help us to see patterns in our lives, and to evaluate professional and personal growth.  The reflection process is a necessary step in identifying what to put into an Portfolio.  Here are five key questions to assist you with the first step of the reflection process:

    1. What three words describe me best?

    2. What are my five top skills?

    3. What are my short and long term goals?

    4. What are my greatest strengths?

    5. What are my major accomplishments?

If you can find, create or request documents or artifacts that demonstrate the answers to these questions, you will have a great start on a useful portfolio.  
  Stay tuned for Step #2!

Basic Student Reflection Questions

Basic Student Reflection Questions

We all have different and unique ways to communicate ideas, concepts and memories. When we record them in a logical manner using words, sentences and pictures, our learning will becomce more clear in our minds.  We can use these reflections to increase the learning from our accomplishments as well as our failures. Quite often, we may rely upon these reflections to improve or change the way we will do something in the future.

Complete the following questions using words, sentences, pictures and stories. Be honest and record important and meaningful ideas to you. 

QUESTIONS FOR YOUR REFLECTIONS 

• What was your task, the ultimate goal or outcome for this activity?  (This relates to the challenge that you were given.)   
• What are some important concepts, factors and ideas that you discovered/learned?  (Remember – you may have heard or known about the concept before your challenge; try to jot down something new about it.) 
•   How did you solve the problem or task? Did you reach your goal? Explain.   
• Were your ideas good or bad?  Would you make revisions to changes if you had to do it again?  Explain.   
• How could your activity and the manner by which you approached or solved it be important to a real-life situation?  (Think about your home life, school experiences, sporting events or laces of employment for others.) 

Best and Worst Learning Moments of 2009

I was recently inspired by Larry Ferlazzo’s blog on the “10 Most Memorable Teaching Moments in 2009”. 

I decided to write about my best . . . and worst moments as an adult learner this year.   Thanks again Larry for inspiring some of the categories.

Most Confidence Boosting Moment:  It happened on the first day of class.  Our Instructor and Coordinator Dr. Carol Scarff asked us to introduce ourselves by answering three questions.  I wish I could actually remember the three questions, unfortunately I can’t .  What I do recall, vividly, is that Carol had a great sense of humor and an uncanny way of bringing out humor in us.  That first day of class, I felt  relaxed and comfortable in the role of student again.  Most importantly, I felt confident that I could be successful in this Master’s program – a confidence that is greatly needed when you are fearfully diving into graduate studies as a mature and ‘dated’ learner. 

   Most Inspiring Moment:  In our course with Dr. John Mitchell, we were given an impressive  list of  books to choose from and one option was to read ten books and complete  summaries of all ten. These books were on various topics from politics to food to religion.I created my personal short list of 10 and made room on my book shelf for the upcoming projects.  For some reason, I chose several books that had to do with the functions of the brain and I developed a fascination regarding what happens in our brains when we learn.  I am hoping to read many more books on the list and to continue researching the role of learning in the different sections of the brain for my thesis.  

Most Personally Rewarding Moment:  For an elective summer course I chose a class on social media and open learning.  The instructor Dr. Alec Couros had us learning at lightning speed with information on uses of technology in Education that amazed me.  It was during this course that I started to blog and use Twitter.  These two facets of learning have been richly rewarding for me and I will be forever grateful that I chose to take this one week course. 

Most Nostalgic Moment:  I knew I was going to get a lot out of the course on Curriculum Studies when our Instructor Dr. Philip Balcaen asked us to recall a visceral experience.   Reflecting on my past experiences has been a natural routine of mine due to my  portfolio thinking practices , so identifying life changing moments was an easy assignment for me.  Our text for the course, The Critically Reflective Teacher by Stephen Brookfield also struck many familiar chords with me and my beliefs on the benefits of reflection.  I thoroughly enjoyed the final assignment which allowed me the opportunity of revisiting my life as a teacher, analyzing the highs, the lows, and describing the overall metamorphosis of my career in Education. 

Most Pleasantly Surprising Moment:  Our  “Assessment for Learning” Instructor, Dr. Sharon McCoubrey asked us to include a “non-text” component in our final presentations.  This required some creativity and unique ways of involving fellow classmates.  Many students did role-plays, dramas, or even dance activities. Since music and singing is my forte, I decided to write a little song about portfolios.  I had sang in another class for a similar presentation requirement but I found that singing to classmates was incredibly nerve racking and just a bit odd.  So, I decided to teach the class the simple tune by asking them to sing one line at a time after me.  I really did not know if this was going to work.  Would anybody actually sing?  Well, to my surprise, they sang beautifully. They chimed together like a well -rehearsed choir!  Ch- ching!  The presentation overall was well-received by fellow classmates and I was pleasantly surprised at the affirmations that came my way regarding the topic and the entire presentation.

I just realized that I really don’t have any  ”Worst Moments” to describe.  Becoming a student again has added nothing but  positives to my life this year.  I look forward, with great anticipation, to the two classes that I have left to take in 2010 and I am already dreading the end of my Master’s studies.

44 Lessons that Life Teaches Us

Written By Regina Brett, 90 years old, of The Plain Dealer, Cleveland, Ohio

“To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most-requested column I’ve ever written.. My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more:”

1. Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don’t have to win every argument.  Agree to disagree.

7. Cry with someone. It’s more healing than crying alone.

8. It’s OK to get angry with God. He can take it.

 9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won’t screw up the present.
12. It’s OK to let your children see you cry.

13. Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn’t be in it.

15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don’t worry; God never blinks.

16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.

17. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.

18. Whatever doesn’t kill you really does make you stronger.

19. It’s never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.

20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don’t take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don’t save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don’t wait for old age to wear purple.

24. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.

25. Frame every so-called disaster with these words ”In five years, will this matter?”.
26. Always choose life.
27. Forgive everyone everything.
28. What other people think of you is none of your business.

29. Time heals almost everything. Give time, time.
30. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
31. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
32. Believe in miracles.
33. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn’t do.

34. Don’t audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
35. Growing old beats the alternative — dying young.
36. Your children get only one childhood.

37. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.

38. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.

39. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else’s, we’d
grab ours back.

40. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
41. The best is yet to come.
42. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
43. Yield.

44. Life isn’t tied with a bow, but it’s still a gift.

(sorry Regina, I don’t know what happened to #45)

  Which of these life lessons is the most meaningful to you?