ABSTRACT

Building up portfolios of evidence of achievement is becoming much more common, following on from the use of Records of Achievement at school. Typically, portfolios are compilations of evidence of students’ achievements, including major pieces of their work, feedback comments from tutors, and reflective analyses by the students themselves. It seems probable that, in due course, degree classifications will no longer be regarded as sufficient evidence of students’ knowledge, skills and competences, and that profiles will be used increasingly to augment the indicators of students achievements, with portfolios to provide in-depth evidence. Probably the most effective way of leading students to generate portfolios is to build them in as an assessed part of a course. Here the intention is to alert you to some of the more general features to take into account when assessing student portfolios. You may, however, also be thinking about building your own portfolio as evidence concerning your teaching practice, and can build on some of the suggestions given here to make this process more effective and efficient.