By Neeti Prasad
Portfolios bring
excitement, challenge, fun, and tears. Whether it is a PowerPoint presentation
or a website, everyone at DRSS has gotten the feel of what a portfolio entails.
When you think about what’s special about the Dayton Regional STEM
School, portfolios come to mind. Portfolios give students the opportunity to
express their Five Qualities. The way they design their website to the way they
write their reflections shows their talent.
Students put a lot of work into portfolios but they often ask, what’s
the point? Portfolios give students a chance to reflect back on projects that they
have completed over the school year. They let students ponder about how they
have grown since the year before. But portfolios are not limited to just this.
 |
| Maryam Boumahchad, 7th grader, working on her portfolio. |
Students participate in various extracurricular activities. They achieve
so much in extracurricular activities. At competitions, students' achievements
get recognized through awards. Every extracurricular activity involves students working hard and developing new skills in order to check off a new goal. You can grow and
learn so many skills in all extracurricular activities. After all these achievements,
students are proud and often want to share their success. Students can share their
experience in extracurricular activities through their portfolios.
Portfolios may seem like just another tool to show off a student’s
resume, but in fact they are actually way more than that. Portfolios have
integrated the ideas that make our school unique. The Five Qualities and
critiques are helpful when shaping the portfolio. Whether you are starting your
portfolio or adding finishing touches, you will and would have used all of the Five Qualities. Here's how:
Persistence. Whenever you run into a challenge in your portfolio,
whenever you just didn’t know where to start, persistence was your friend.
Persistence teaches us that you can’t give up and you just have to keep going
to solve the problem. This is the motto that should be used for all portfolio
makers.
Collaboration was used when you helped someone with their portfolio, or
received help from someone else. Collaboration allows students to help each
other out even on individual projects. This quality allows students to learn
how to cooperate with each other.
Communication wraps the whole project up. At the end, when you present
your portfolio to the class or to business partners, you are sharing your
growth and accomplishments with them. Without communication, the effort you put
into your portfolio would not be shared with others.
Inquiry? Of course! Inquiry encourages us to ask questions, and there
are many to be asked when constructing a portfolio. Is this a professional
design? Have I met all of the
requirements? Using collaboration and communication, we can get these questions
answered.
Creativity is the fun part. Creativity allows you to pick designs,
express yourself, and make your portfolio special to you. When you get
creative, you are turning on the artistic switch to make your portfolio stylish
as well as professional. But creativity doesn’t just have to do with designing
your portfolio. When you write your reflections and write about you, you are
crafting a story.
Feedback is necessary. If a student thinks he or she can make a good portfolio without feedback, that student is dreaming.
Critiques are useful because they give you another perspective of your work. They
show you the sections that need to be worked on and sections that are
absolutely marvelous. Though not all critiques are ‘pretty,' critiques are
important to consider. The feedback you get could save you from making poor
decisions about your portfolio.
In the process of making a portfolio, there are so many skills you can
learn. You can improve your presentation skills, artistic skills, writing
skills, and that’s not even half the list. Portfolios can get you an A in class
in the short run and a job of your dream in the future. It’s a project worth respecting!
