portfolio assignment university

The Portfolio – Culminating Activity (Your Final)

Portfolio assignment.

EN 111 Final Portfolio

The portfolio is a selection of work that demonstrates your writing abilities and knowledge about writing and critical thinking at the close of EN 111. For the purposes of this class, this assignment will be considered the final.

What goes in the Portfolio?

• Title page (title + optional picture and/or quote)
• Reflective Essay (~2 pages)
• A final (2nd) draft copy of all essays completed during the semester (Experience, Compare/Contrast, Issues) and the prior drafts for all essays.
• Selected Artifacts (2-3)

You should title the portfolio in a way that captures your sense of yourself as a writer and critical thinker at this point in your educational journey. You can include a picture and/or quote on the title page as well. A quote can come from anywhere (any text, movie, lyrics, etc.) but should illustrate your perspective about writing and/or critical thinking. You will discuss the significance of your title (picture and quote too if you included them) in your Reflective Essay.

Reflective Essay for Portfolio

The Reflective Essay is a self-assessment that examines the entire body of your work (all of your writing up to this point) rather than a single subject and/or inquiry thread. Your task is to examine, or reflect on , your own writing and situate your observations and interpretations within the context of our discussions about writing and critical thinking skills. The portfolio, in essence, is a presentation—a somewhat persuasive demonstration illustrating how you approached writing and critical thinking before EN 111, and how you see yourself, as a writer and thinker, now, in relation to these same abilities/skills at the close of the course.

What goes in the Reflective Essay?

This essay should be a fairly polished and focused piece of writing that supports its claims and reflections with specific evidence (i.e. cite yourself). It will run ~2 pages in length. All reflective essays should take into account the following, but not necessarily in the order presented here:

• The significance of your title (and picture and quote, if included).
• What you now understand about effective writing and how it is achieved and what the portfolio reveals about your writing and your abilities to think on paper. (Refer to your included essays and selected artifacts).
• What you now understand about writing and critical inquiry that this portfolio might not reveal. (You may understand more than your portfolio reveals).
• What the portfolio reveals about you as a writer and critical thinker at this point in your educational journey (Refer to your included essays and selected artifacts).
• What challenges you continue to face as writer and critical thinker. (What is hard for you? In what areas have you gotten stronger and more confident? What immediate goals have you set for yourself as you continue to develop as a writer and critical thinker?)
• (Optional) Discuss, document, and evaluate the extent to which you were actively engaged in this class (i.e. determine how much time/effort you put into this course and whether your writing reflects that same time/effort).

You are to include final (2nd) draft copies (at minimum) of all the essays you have written in this course. In including your essays, you will be expected to discuss why you have included them in your Reflective Essay, and explain specifically what they illustrate about you as a writer and critical thinker. As such, I recommend that you discuss how the essays reveal your analytical skills at work—your abilities to develop, examine, and communicate an informed perspective.

Selected Artifacts

I am asking you to include 2-3 artifacts from the course (or outside of EN 111) that are significant to, and reflective of, you in terms of yourself as a writer and critical thinker. You may select anything from your Informal Writing Collection (freewrites, peer exchanges, etc.), your formal writing (part of your essay(s), or parts of them as a sequence from the first draft to the final draft stage) or other texts (a particular paper or assignment from another class you found pertinent to your overall growth).

How Do I Submit It?

You should submit the portfolio, in the dropbox on the preceding page,  as a Word document or a PDF so that I may open it in Microsoft Word or Adobe Acrobat Reader.

• Portfolio Assignment. Authored by : Jason Brown. Provided by : Herkimer College. Project : AtD OER Course. License : CC BY: Attribution

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What is a Portfolio?

A “portfolio” is a selection of student work that they have chosen and evaluated as their best work, or as representative of their development over time. By making students responsible for collecting, organizing, drafting, revising, proofreading, and/or reflecting on their work, portfolio assignments engage them in the learning process and afford them an opportunity to share with the instructor their own reasons for investing in the project of the course.

Portfolios are especially common in the arts and for courses in which students conduct a range of writing assignments. (“ Exam wrappers ,” increasingly common in STEM fields, might also be considered a form of portfolio.) Portfolios can be assigned for semester-long courses, or for longer term capstones like certificate programs, across a range of fields.

Why use Portfolios?

Portfolios can be assigned as an alternative to a traditional final exam or paper, and can be especially effective at meeting some or all of the following goals:

• encouraging student agency;
• generating insights into each student’s engagement in their own learning;
• prompting students to reflect on and understand understand their own development over the course;
• inspiring students to identify future goals for continued learning beyond the course;
• providing students the opportunity to select and develop work that they can use beyond the classroom, such as samples for graduate school applications or future employers.

“Portfolio culture” honors both processes and products, and encourages students to prepare materials for the job market / interviews, by encouraging a mindset of professionalism, rather than an “assignment mindset.” Portfolios encourage students to reflect on the amount of work they’ve accomplished over the course of a semester, and ideally, to learn about themselves and their own learning strategies as much as they’re learning new content/skills.

What does a Portfolio contain?

A portfolio typically includes three key components:

• Samples of student work distributed across the term
• Reflections on the work samples
• A professional re-presentation of the work samples
• Samples of Work
• Reflections
• Re-presentation

Work samples can be chosen to:

• represent the students’ best work (potentially incorporating revisions of previous work)
• display an array and/or mastery of skills, such as drawing, digital media, music, language fluency, coding, etc.
• Demonstrate growth over the course of the semester

Depending on the needs of the course, the selection might include essays, interviews, charts, inventories, diaries, tests, or artwork. These samples can vary based on content, format, length, or style of writing or research. The instructor may give specific requirements for the type of work, or it may be selected entirely by the student. For instance, for a writing class, the instructor might stipulate that the portfolio ought to include at least one persuasive piece (in which the main purpose is to agree or disagree with a public concern), and one source-based piece (in which the main purpose is to respond to a primary source).

Some portfolio assignments incorporate the requirement or opportunity to revise prior work. In some circumstances, the opportunity to incorporate instructor feedback can help reinforce learning goals and allow students to take their own work to the next level. In other circumstances, including rough drafts or early-semester work can provide the student with the opportunity to reflect on their early work from the position of greater mastery, and allow them to see their own growth over the semester.

The key self-reflexive element of a portfolio is that it contains a reflection on the work by the student: without the reflection it is just a collection of assignments. The reflection is an opportunity to convey a philosophy, methods, and goals, and identify strengths as a writer or learner.

Each piece might be accompanied by a reflection, or they can be summarized in a “Dear Reader”-style cover letter, with the artifacts as more of an appendix. This letter might contain:

• What readers can expect to encounter in the portfolio
• A rationale for the documents included
• A description of the variety of strategies / methods / theories / skills utilized in the works included
• Connections drawn between the assignments
• Connections drawn between the assignments and the content/skills of the class
• A reflection on what the student is most proud of, and why: did they experiment with new theories? Did they push themselves to try new styles or methods?
• What the student was thinking when they created the artifact, and what impact did it have on their learning? (Questions here might include: What would you do the same or differently next time? How did specific moments in the assignment help you recognize that you were making improvement or on the right track?) This kind of reflective action involves an examination of their past work and the impact that it had in order to synthesize how it might be refined for a better outcome in the future
• Evidence for how it aligns with assignment objectives or class goals
• Moments of surprise or moments corroborating earlier intuitions

Finally, portfolios usually incorporate some sort of professional presentation—what would in another context be a physical portfolio. In other words, it is not merely the resubmission of the components in their original form, but rather an intentional re-presentation of them so as to make an argument about their relationship to each other. Tangible portfolios might take the form of a binder or book; digital portfolios might be collated into a website or slideshow. There could be a visual/graphic design component that could “package,” or “brand” the material to tie it all together, and/or a table of contents, to show how the components fit together. Giving students the opportunity to create a professional package with visual / non-textual material can encourage them to connect with it on a more personal level, and which might allow them to understand their own work in new ways. The act of “publishing” their work can also give it value.

What is an Exam Wrapper?

An exam wrapper (or paper wrapper) is an activity or document that “wraps around” an exam. Similar to portfolios, they are used to enhance student metacognition and self-awareness of their own strategies for study and performance. Common questions that might be asked in an exam wrapper include:

• How did you study for this exam? What strategies did you use to prepare, and which seemed most effective?
• Did these study strategies differ from your preparation for the last exam? Did these changes effect your performance?
• On which aspects of this exam did you perform well?
• Are there patterns to your errors that you can address in future preparation?
• Name at least three things you plan to do differently in your preparation for the next exam. (For example, will you spend more time, change a study habit, or add a new skill?)

How are Portfolios Assessed?

Because of the open-ended nature of work that could be produced across portfolios, it is important to provide clarity about what is expected. Explicit instructions are necessary to avoid student uncertainty about what to include in their own portfolios. Periodic check-ins between student and instructor could alleviate student uncertainty. Students could be organized into pairs or groups, and could thought partners for students working on assembling and explaining their work.

Because of the potential variability between portfolios, a clear grading rubric is key to students understanding how their own work will be assessed. While the precise assessment scheme will depend on the course learning objectives, a rubric might include:

Selection of work

• Shows a variety of work (for example, in different genres or at different stages of drafting)
• Shows development / growth / moving up Bloom’s taxonomy
• Shows clarity / concision of writing

Reflection: demonstrates understanding of course skills

• Shows awareness of and ability to communicate development / growth

Professionalization: has an organizational structure, which is carried out consistently over the project

• Shows engagement with presentation style: includes visual or graphic components that convey a polished professional finish, an overall “brand”
• Is adapted to audience

Portfolios by definition contain individual parts that are organized into a whole, and these parts are themselves coming together at different stages of the assignment. As a result, assessment itself might take place at different stages—including lower-stakes formative feedback—with rubrics that are tailored to the individual parts and/or the final submission.

For more information...

University of Hawai’i at Mānoa: Using Portfolios in Program Assessment

The University of Arizona, Tucson: The Use of Portfolio Assessment in Evaluation

Carnegie Mellon Eberly Center, Teaching Excellence & Educational Innovation: Exam Wrappers

Indiana University Bloomington, Center for Innovative Teaching & Learning: Help Students Learn to Take Exams with Exam Wrappers

J.E. Sharp, “ Using Portfolios in the Classroom .” Proceedings Frontiers in Education 27th Annual Conference. 1997.

Crystal Kwan and Camilla Kin Ming Lo, “ Evaluating the Portfolio as a Social Work Capstone Project A Case Study in Hong Kong .” Social Work Education 42, no. 1. April 2023: 145-160.

Betty McDonald, “ Portfolio Assessment: Direct from the Classroom .” Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education 37, no 3, May 2012, 335-347.

J. L. Ray, “ Industry-Academic Partnerships for Successful Capstone Projects .” 33rd Annual Frontiers in Education, 2003.

David R. Schachter and Deena Schwartz. “ The Value of Capstone Projects to Participating Client Agencies .” Journal of Public Affairs Education, 15:4 (2009), 445-462.

John Zubizarreta, The Learning Portfolio: Reflective Practice for Improving Student Learning . Jossey-Bass, 2009.

Elana Michelson, Alan Mandell, eds., Portfolio Development and the Assessment of Prior Learning: Perspectives, Models, and Practices . Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing, 2004.

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DartWrite Digital Portfolio Project

Dartmouth's home for digital writing portfolios

Course Portfolio & Reflection (Assignment Example)

Nick Van Kley asks his writing 2/3 and 5 students to complete a holistic reflection on the term as their last meaningful engagement with the course. This reflections draw on and cite the material that students curate in their digital portfolio throughout the term. Here, the portfolio is an inward-looking space for reflection on learning.

Nick shares his portfolio assignment:

In this course, you will develop new strategies, explored new contexts, and created new knowledge. You will also re-used and adapt old knowledge and familiar strategies. All of this work will take place within multiple collaborative environments. You will work with your peers, with librarians, with RWIT tutors, and with me. And you will be encouraged to write about those experiences in informal reflective assignments throughout the term.

The end of the term affords you the chance to synthesize work and to gain a clearer perspective on your learning and your development as a writer. To this end, you'll assemble a course portfolio and reflect on that portfolio in writing.

You'll create a portfolio website early in the term, add to it it periodically during the term, and finalize it during finals period. 

Creating Your Portfolio

You will build your portfolio using WordPress, an open-source Content Management System (in other words, a system you can use to build your own website). In fact, you already have a site; Dartmouth's DartWrite project created one for you before you arrived on campus. To access it and explore, visit journeys.dartmouth.edu and login.

You can also find information about the DartWrite project, as well as guidance on using WordPress: https://writing-speech.dartmouth.edu/dartwrite.

Organizing Your Portfolio

Your portfolio will come pre-loaded with several sections; I'll ask you to interact with four of them. 

Homepage:  About Me.  Your homepage should be a short, informational page that explains who you are as a student/writer. It should also explain the purpose of your site. Include images or media if you choose, and ensure your homepage includes working menus that direct visitors to the rest of your site.

Pre-College: If you haven't already, please upload a piece of writing you created before you came to Dartmouth. I'd love to read it and have a brief conversation about it with you at the start of term. My colleagues and I believe that it's crucial you build on the skills and knowledge you developed before you arrived. And recording evidence of that is an important step in that process.

First Course . This section will include your Portfolio Reflection. Note: You should write this piece last. Find directions for writing it below. Under this menu item, you should also link to Projects 1, 2, and 3.

Second Course : You can leave this section alone this term. You'll have a chance to take it up in your First-Year Seminar.

Reflection:  You will use this page frequently this term during in-class reflection activities.

Drafting the Reflection - Writing Knowledge and Strategies

Review the feedback you received in this course; read what your peers said about your work and  the feedback you received from me on Projects 1 and 2 and on the early draft of Project 3. Take a moment to think about what they say about your learning this term.  Then, make a list of the writing knowledge and strategies your work in the term helped you create, revise, or formalize . This list might cover drafting processes that you plan to use in the future, definitions of written genres, theories of communication, or a host of other topics.

Then, choose a  piece of writing knowledge or a strategy from that list, and  examine the projects in your portfolio and the reflective posts you’ve completed during the term for evidence that you made use of it.

In a single area of the Portfolio website, record your list and, below that, write a ~900 word essay making the case that your chosen idea or strategy productively informed at least one piece of work in the course, citing evidence from the projects, feedback, or reflective posts. Think of these as your archive, the place you would find evidence to support claims about your learning process.

Sharing the Portfolio 

I'll ask you to upload your portfolio URL to this assignment page at any time before the end of the class. If you adopt password protection to make some parts of your site more private, please submit that password as a comment to this assignment once you've submitted your URL. [note that you have to be viewing your site rather than editing it to get a clean URL.]

Cumulative Portfolios in the Writing Program

Program-wide assignment (wr 111-wr 153).

Since Fall 2023, all WR students create a portfolio in their first WR course and continue to add to it throughout subsequent WR courses. This cumulative portfolio assignment will create a shared experience for WR students, offering them a space to reflect on their growth and their developing identities as college writers and communicators over several semesters.

Instructor Guide

The WR Portfolio Instructor Guide contains everything you need to incorporate the WR cumulative portfolio in your class. It includes information about why we use portfolios and an overview of the cumulative portfolio assignment, including information about videos that guide students through creating portfolios for the first time, how to access your students’ portfolios, and who to contact if you or your students need help.

The cumulative portfolio assignment includes a literacy narrative and a final reflective essay. In addition to this pair of reflection assignments, common across all 100-level WR courses, instructors should integrate reflective writing throughout the semester and in a variety of ways.

Students should be referred to this set of videos and the student-facing FAQ in order to receive guidance on how to create and update their portfolios. Periodically, the Writing Center may also offer portfolio workshops for students.

Cumulative Portfolio Assignments

Portfolio Assignment for WR 111, 112, & 120

Literacy Narrative Assignment

Portfolio Assignment for WR 151, 152, & 153

Final Reflective Essay

Reflective Writing

While the assignments above should be assigned as written and shared across sections, there is plenty of opportunity for instructors to be creative as they tailor the other reflections they ask students to do to their own course content, course level, and/or teaching style. See Reflective Writing Activities for ideas and adaptable examples, as well as our guide to teaching the literacy narrative . Remember that you should not specify which reflective writings students will post in their portfolio, and you should be assigning enough reflective work for students to have a meaningful choice in the matter when they choose three reflections.

Portfolio Reminders for Instructors

• Discuss the portfolios in class at several points in the semester. Near the beginning of the semester, you’ll need to make sure students new to WR are setting up their Digication portfolios and writing and posting their literacy narratives. Throughout the semester, you may want to remind students that they can be posting their reflective writing to their portfolios; building in a few short portions of class to encourage students to work with Digication might be helpful. At the end of the semester in WR 15x, be sure you are assigning the final reflective essay, and for all classes, that you remind students to post their featured assignment and reflective writings.
• Advise students to paste text right into the Digication modules, or to post a Word or .pdf document. Students should  not  post links to Google docs or embed a Google doc, as there are too many permissions issues that arise.

Center for Teaching

Teaching portfolios.

Print Version

What Is a Teaching Portfolio?

Why assemble a teaching portfolio, general guidelines, components of a teaching portfolio, sample teaching portfolios, electronic teaching portfolios, what role do teaching portfolios play on the job market, other resources.

• Portfolios provide documented evidence of teaching from a variety of sources—not just student ratings—and provide context for that evidence.
• The process of selecting and organizing material for a portfolio can help one reflect on and improve one’s teaching.
• Portfolios are a step toward a more public, professional view of teaching as a scholarly activity.
• Portfolios can offer a look at development over time, helping one see teaching as on ongoing process of inquiry, experimentation, and reflection.
• Teaching portfolios capture evidence of one’s entire teaching career, in contrast to what are called course portfolios that capture evidence related to a single course.

Portfolios can serve any of the following purposes.

• Job applicants for faculty positions can use teaching portfolios to document their teaching effectiveness.
• Faculty members up for promotion or tenure can also use teaching portfolios to document their teaching effectiveness.
• Faculty members and teaching assistants can use teaching portfolios to reflect on and refine their teaching skills and philosophies.
• Faculty members and teaching assistants can use teaching portfolios, particularly ones shared online, to “go public” with their teaching to invite comments from their peers and to share teaching successes so that their peers can build on them. For more on going public with one’s teaching, see the CFT’s Teaching Guide on the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning .
• Start now! Many of the possible components of a teaching portfolio (see list below) are difficult, if not impossible, to obtain after you have finished teaching a course. Collecting these components as you go will make assembling your final portfolio much easier.
• Give a fair and accurate presentation of yourself. Don’t try to present yourself as the absolutely perfect teacher. Highlight the positive, of course, but don’t completely omit the negative.
• Be selective in which materials you choose to include , though be sure to represent a cross-section of your teaching and not just one aspect of it. A relatively small set of well-chosen documents is more effective than a large, unfiltered collection of all your teaching documents.
• Make your organization explicit to the reader. Use a table of contents at the beginning and tabs to separate the various components of your portfolio.
• Make sure every piece of evidence in your portfolio is accompanied by some sort of context and explanation. For instance, if you include a sample lesson plan, make sure to describe the course, the students, and, if you have actually used the lesson plan, a reflection on how well it worked.
• A reflective “teaching statement” describing your personal teaching philosophy, strategies, and objectives (see Teaching Philosophy ).
• A personal statement describing your teaching goals for the next few years
• A list of courses taught and/or TAed, with enrollments and a description of your responsibilities
• Number of advisees, graduate and undergraduate
• Course descriptions with details of content, objectives, methods, and procedures for evaluating student learning
• Reading lists
• Assignments
• Exams and quizzes, graded and ungraded
• Handouts, problem sets, lecture outlines
• Descriptions and examples of visual materials used
• Descriptions of uses of computers and other technology in teaching
• Videotapes of your teaching
• Summarized student evaluations of teaching, including response rate and relationship to departmental average
• Written comments from students on class evaluations
• Comments from a peer observer or a colleague teaching the same course
• Statements from colleagues in the department or elsewhere, regarding the preparation of students for advanced work
• Letters from students, preferably unsolicited
• Letters from course head, division head or chairperson
• Statements from alumni
• Scores on standardized or other tests, before and after instruction
• Students’ lab books or other workbooks
• Students’ papers, essays, or creative works
• Graded work from the best and poorest students, with teacher’s feedback to students
• Instructor’s written feedback on student work
• Participation in seminars or professional meetings on teaching
• Design of new courses
• Design of interdisciplinary or collaborative courses or teaching projects
• Use of new methods of teaching, assessing learning, grading
• Preparation of a textbook, lab manual, courseware, etc.
• Description of instructional improvement projects developed or carried out
• Publications in teaching journals
• Papers delivered on teaching
• Reviews of forthcoming textbooks
• Service on teaching committees
• Assistance to colleagues on teaching matters
• Work on curriculum revision or development
• Teaching awards from department, college, or university
• Teaching awards from profession
• Invitations based on teaching reputation to consult, give workshops, write articles, etc.
• Requests for advice on teaching by committees or other organized groups

The website from University of Virginia provides sample teaching portfolios from a variety of disciplines. As you look at these portfolios, ask yourself,

• “What components did the author choose to include and which ones are most effective at describing their teaching?” and
• “What structural and organizational decisions did the author make as they assembled their portfolio?”

Sample Portfolios from the University of Virginia Teaching Resource Center

How do electronic portfolios differ from print portfolios?

• Increased Accessibility: Teaching portfolios are intended, in part, to make teaching public. Distributing a portfolio on the web makes it even more accessible to peers and others.
• Multimedia Documents: Technology allows for inclusion of more than just printed documents. For example, you can include video footage of yourself teaching, an audio voiceover providing context and reflection on the portfolio, or instructional computer programs or code you have written.
• Nonlinear Thinking: The web facilitates nonlinear relationships between the components of your teaching portfolio. The process of creating a portfolio in this nonlinear environment can help you think about your teaching in new ways. For example, since readers can explore an e-portfolio in many different ways, constructing an e-portfolio gives you an opportunity to consider how different audiences might encounter and understand your work.
• Copyright and Privacy Issues: While examples of student work can be compelling evidence of your teaching effectiveness, publishing these examples online presents legal copyright and privacy issues. Talk to someone at the VU Compliance Program before doing so.
• 585 include the words “teaching philosophy,”
• 27 include the words “teaching statement,” and
• 28 include the words “teaching portfolio.”
• 388 include the words “teaching philosophy,”
• 5 include the words “teaching statement,” and
• 8 include the words “teaching portfolio.”
• write a meaningful teaching philosophy statement and
• to discuss your teaching more effectively during interviews.

The following books on teaching portfolios are available for check-out in the Center for Teaching’s library.

• Seldin, Peter, The Teaching Portfolio: A Practical Guide to Improved Performance and Promotion/Tenure Decisions , 3rd edition, Anker, 2004.
• Cambridge, Barbara, Electronic Portfolios: Emerging Practices in Student, Faculty, and Institutional Learning , American Association for Higher Education, 2001.
• Hutchings, Pat, ed., The Course Portfolio: How Faculty Can Examine Their Teaching to Advance Practice and Improve Student Learning , American Association for Higher Education, 1998.
• Murray, John P., Successful Faculty Development and Evaluation: The Complete Teaching Portfolio , ERIC Clearinghouse on Higher Education, 1997.
• Anderson, Erin, ed., Campus Use of the Teaching Portfolio: Twenty-Five Profiles , American Association for Higher Education, 1993.

The following web sites offer additional resources and strategies for creating effective teaching portfolios:

• Developing a Teaching Portfolio , from the Center for Instructional Development and Research at the University of Washington
• Developing a Teaching Portfolio , from the Office of Faculty and TA Development, The Ohio State University
• The Teaching Portfolio , an Occasional Paper from the University of Michigan’s Center for Research on Learning and Teaching
• What is a Teaching Portfolio?, from the Office of Instructional Consultation, UCSB.
• Curating A Teaching Portfolio , from the Center for Teaching Effectiveness at the University of Texas-Austin
• The Teaching Portfolio , from the Center for Teaching Excellence at Duquesne University
• “The Teaching Portfolio,” an article published by the Professional and Organizational Development (POD) Network in Higher Education

Teaching Guides

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Digital Literacy for Teaching

• Digital Literacy at CSU
• Listicle Assignment
• Multimodal Assignment
• Portfolio Assignment
• Teaching Multimodal Composition
• Integrating Blogs Into Your Teaching
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Digital Portfolio Assignment: An Overview

Portfolios have been shown to help students transfer skills from one project to the next and/or from one learning context to another. Further, digital public-facing portfolios have been shown to motivate and engage students (Vetter et al., 2019).  

A Personal Portfolio Website is a great way to teach students the importance of presenting themselves and their work professionally in a digital environment. The website also functions as a class portfolio, which provides students with the opportunity to reflect upon growth, and showcase texts that they are most proud of. It might also include non-coursework such as resumes/CVs, visuals, audio productions, etc. 

Additionally, the personal portfolio website gives students the following opportunities:

Learn about and practice multiple literacies

Practice “real-world” and transferable skills

Express creativity and professionalism 

Showcase various texts of your choice

Reflect upon growth and learning

Students can create a website using freeware such as Weebly, Wix, or Google Sites or an instructor can increase their technical literacy skills by asking them to code their website from scratch. 

Instructors should consider the following when implementing a personal digital portfolio into their classes: 

Do you want students to collect all of their work over the course of the semester or just a few exemplarily pieces?

Do you want students to revise their work before adding it to the portfolio? If so, how would you like students to demonstrate their revision?

Do you want students to reflect on their growth and/or learning over the course of the semester? If so, what type of format should be used (e.g., an essay, an audio blog, a vlog, etc.)?

Do you have standards for how the website should look or do students have creative freedom?

Do you want students to include any other professional items? If so, what are they?

Student Examples (used with the student's permission): 

• Electrical Engineering Student from Auburn University

Technologies and Resources

Website creator (Weebly, Wix, Google Sites, Wordpress)

Coding Program (Bootstrap)

Open Access images

Outside Resources

• Teaching with ePortfolios by Sweetland Center for Writing
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• Last Updated: Aug 18, 2022 12:41 PM
• URL: https://researchguides.csuohio.edu/digital-literacy

What are Student Portfolios? | The Ultimate Guide to Student Portfolios (2024)

At Unrulr, we’re interested in the future of education. We believe authentic learning is much more than tests and grades— it’s about experiences, human connections, and individual passions. One of the best ways to gain a nuanced picture of the whole learner is through a curated and living student portfolio.

In this guide, we’ll introduce you to student portfolios, explore why student portfolios are important by looking at some benefits for both learners and educators, and share some tips for implementing and assessing student portfolios in your learning community.

Already know all about portfolios?   Jump to our pro-tips

Trying to decide what kind of portfolio to use jump to the different portfolio options.

Read on to learn about student portfolios and how to get started.

What are Student Portfolios?

Student portfolio definition.

A student portfolio is a collection of student work compiled over time to showcase a learner’s progress, skills, and achievements. This can include project work samples, finished assignments, case studies, and self-reflections. Student portfolios can be digital or physical and tailored to specific subjects or projects. In this guide, we will mostly be talking about digital student portfolios.

Student portfolios are commonly used for:

Tracking student progress over time Student portfolios can document a learner's progress and understanding of a particular subject or skill. Educators can use the portfolio to gauge how a student has grown and changed over the course of a school year and identify areas where additional support may be needed.

Assessing student work Educators can use the portfolio as a summative assessment tool to evaluate a student's mastery of a particular concept or skill and provide constructive feedback on how to improve. Additionally, portfolios can be used as a formative assessment tool to regularly check for understanding and get instant feedback to quickly determine what your students need more help with.

Communicating with parents and other stakeholders Student portfolios can be used to communicate a student's progress to parents and other stakeholders, such as school administrators or mentors. This can provide a more holistic and textured picture of a learner's abilities and potential than a traditional report card or test score.

Self-reflection and self-assessment Student portfolios can serve as a metacognition tool when learners reflect on their progress and understanding and identify areas where they need to improve. This can help students take ownership of their learning and set goals for their future growth. Reflection is a core feature of posting progress updates on Unrulr.

Documenting learning for college and career readiness Student portfolios can showcase a student's knowledge and achievements to external stakeholders, such as college admissions or potential employers.

What to Include in a Student Portfolio

Many types of works can be included in a student portfolio, depending on the subject or project and the portfolio medium. Some common examples include:

• Writing samples : essays, journals, research papers, and creative writing pieces
• Artwork and designs : drawings, paintings, graphic designs, and 3D renderings
• Photography and videos : photo essays and short films
• Music and audio recordings : compositions and performances
• Applications and design artifacts: coding assignments and UX/UI design case studies

Traditionally, portfolios primarily focus on polished final products with less emphasis on the journey that led to those products. Modern portfolios should aim to focus on process as much as final products, giving educators and other viewers insight into the learner’s thought process and learning journey.

Why are Student Portfolios Important?

Student portfolios are an important tool for presenting and assessing student work that is hands-on or project-based. They help organize individual materials that are relevant to a specific project or experience, providing a more complete representation of a learner’s progress and accomplishments. Portfolios can also be used to tie together separate projects within a given subject or class, providing a longitudinal look at a student's learning journey.

The creation and evaluation of student portfolios should be a collaborative process that benefits both students and teachers.

Why are Portfolios Important for Students?

Of course, when considering the benefits of student portfolios, we should start with the students themselves! One of the main benefits of student portfolios is that they are curated by the learner, giving them ownership of how their learning is represented. 

Other student benefits include:

• providing a visual representation of their progress
• improving self-reflection and metacognition skills
• fostering organization and presentation skills
• encouraging a sense of agency and ownership over their learning
• serving as a valuable tool for college and job applications

By regularly updating their portfolio and presenting their work effectively, students are equipped with crucial skills for college and career readiness, and are empowered to become active participants in their education. This kind of learner agency is essential for deeper learning.

Why are Portfolios Important for Teachers?

Educators can also reap the rewards of student portfolios! Student portfolios can help educators to:

• gain a visual representation of student understanding and growth
• evaluate student work and provide actionable feedback
• track student progress over time
• reflect on their teaching practices and identify areas for improvement
• engage in differentiated instruction and individualized learning

Incorporating student portfolios into teaching styles like project-based and experiential learning can enhance student opportunities to demonstrate their knowledge and skills. Reviewing student portfolios can also help teachers reflect on their teaching practices, allowing them to identify areas for improvement and use student work as evidence of their own growth and development as educators. It's a win-win situation!

How to Create a Student Portfolio

When it comes to putting together portfolios in the classroom, it's all about letting the students take the lead! They should be the ones creating their portfolios and choosing what pieces of work to showcase. That being said, as an educator, it’s your job to coach your students on how to best represent their work.

Creating an effective student portfolio requires some planning and attention to detail. Here are a few steps students should follow when creating a portfolio:

• Define the purpose and goals of the portfolio
• Select the type of portfolio that best suits their needs
• Gather and organize work and materials
• Reflect on their work and self-assess their progress
• Present their work in a professional and organized manner

Defining the Purpose and Goals of the Portfolio

It is essential to define the purpose and goals of the portfolio. Students should consider what they want to accomplish with the portfolio and what they want their audience to see. Ask your students to consider the questions:

• What course, project, or subject matter are they creating the portfolio for?
• What types of work will they be sharing?
• Who will be the main audience they will present their work to?

This will help them select the best type of portfolio and determine what work and materials to include.

Selecting the Type of Portfolio

There are several types of portfolios, including traditional portfolios, electronic portfolios, and online portfolios. Have your learners consider their goals and the kind of work they want to showcase when selecting the right type of portfolio for their needs.

There are a few different options for setting up student portfolios, including:

• Digital portfolio platforms like Unrulr, bulb, or SpacesEDU make it easy to share evidence of learning through multimedia, such as photos, videos, documents, and written reflections.
• Class blogs or websites give students their own page to post their work and show off their skills. This is an excellent option for younger students who may not be ready to set up their own website.
• Individual blogs or websites allow students to get creative with how they house their portfolios. Many drag-and-drop website editors simplify the web design process, such as Wix, Squarespace, and WordPress, to name a few.
• Cloud-based storage platforms like Google Drive or Microsoft OneDrive allow students to store and share their work with their teachers and classmates. While this option is easy to implement, it offers the least customization of the other options and may be difficult to navigate.
• Physical portfolios like folders or binders, are an old-school way to store and showcase student work.

Gathering and Organizing Relevant Work and Materials

Once your students have selected the type of portfolio they want to create, it is time for them to gather and organize their work and materials. This includes choosing the work samples, organizing them logically, and including descriptions and reflections for each item.

Reflection and Self-Assessment

Self-reflection and assessment of progress are integral to creating an effective student portfolio. Students should be encouraged to evaluate their strengths and weaknesses, set goals for future growth, and identify areas for improvement. This type of higher-level thinking and metacognition is essential for deeper learning .

Presenting Work in a Professional and Organized Manner

Finally, when it comes time to present their work, coach students on how to showcase their portfolio in a professional and organized manner. Ensure students use proper presentation tools and prepare adequately ahead of time. This will help them effectively demonstrate their skills, knowledge, and progress to others, including college admissions officers or potential employers.

5 Tips for Getting Started with Student Portfolios

Getting started with student portfolios in your classroom can seem daunting, but it doesn't have to be— here are our tips to help you get started:

• “MVP it": Don't try to do too much too soon. Instead, create a minimum viable product by starting with a smaller cohort and a single project or experience. This will allow you to get your feet wet with student portfolios and get actionable data and feedback.
• Build a culture of documentation: Making documentation a regular part of the learning process will ensure that it feels authentic and students can see the growth in their portfolios.
• Use a variety of multimedia: To make portfolios as diverse and well-rounded as possible, encourage students to document their portfolios using videos, photos, PDFs, and other multimedia to capture their process and growth.
• Encourage self-reflection: Encourage your students to reflect on their process, identity, and the ups and downs of their learning journey.
• Find a tool that will actually be used: Look for a tool that allows students to see each other's work, document in a way that feels authentic, and share their portfolios with others.

Student portfolios present the opportunity for learners to showcase their skills, knowledge, and growth in a fun and engaging way (don't forget the fun part!).

Assessing Student Portfolios

When assessing student portfolios, it's important to remember that the goal is to gain a holistic view of student progress and understanding. Some questions you should ask yourself are:

• Are the students demonstrating progress and growth over time?
• Have they effectively applied the skills and knowledge they have learned in a real-world context?
• Are they effectively engaging in reflection and self-assessment?

Providing actionable feedback is essential to help students continue developing and improving their skills. Keep in mind the learning objectives or core competencies of your learning community— using a rubric or criteria to guide your assessment may be helpful.

Make the most of portfolios by incorporating peer assessment into the mix. It's a win-win: students get a fresh perspective on their work, and their peers get valuable practice evaluating and critiquing. Additionally, crowdsourcing assessment might just save you some time 😉.

Unleash the Power of Student Portfolios

Student portfolios are a powerful tool for enhancing student learning and engagement and assessing student progress and understanding. Whether you're a teacher looking to track student progress over time or a student eager to demonstrate your skills in a real-world context, portfolios can benefit all parties involved.

So why not give it a try? Start small with a single project or assignment, and see its impact on student learning and engagement. The results might surprise you!

Book a demo or create an Unrulr account today.

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All students in a First-year Writing course at UGA produce a polished portfolio of their semester's work in the class.

Portfolio support documents

Guidelines for writing the Introductory Reflective Essay   (RTF)

Portfolio Grading Rubric (RTF)

The Portfolio

The Portfolio Project helps you develop into a proficient writer by offering you multiple opportunities to practice and demonstrate to others your mastery of writing as an art. In this class, students will write a minimum of three graded papers plus other pieces of writing assigned by the teacher. Part of each student’s course grade will also be determined by a portfolio of written work. The portfolio will count as 30% of your final grade and will replace the Final Examination as the culminating measure of your achievement in ENGL 1101 or ENGL 1102 this semester.

For both students and teachers, portfolios offer many advantages over other forms of assessment. First-and probably most important, from the student’s point of view-writers gain more control over their writing and therefore over their grades. Instead of demonstrating your skill in a single essay, the final examination, you will create, select, revise and polish different pieces for the portfolio throughout the semester. Within boundaries established by the First-year Writing Program, you select the pieces to include in your portfolio; you will have opportunities to consult with your teacher and peers about the portfolio’s contents and to revise those pieces you choose to include; finally, you will have an opportunity to explain the merits of your portfolio as part of the assessment process. For the same reasons, teachers also like this method of evaluation: including portfolios in writing assessment allows them to focus on revision, on improvement, and on a process of collaboration among student, teacher, and peers.

When you have completed this course, your portfolio   will provide you with a readily accessible collection of your writing that can continually grow and change shape, reflecting your achievements in your academic major and, eventually, forming the basis of a professional portfolio that can accompany you as you leave the University of Georgia for a further world of work or study.

What is in the portfolio?

 As stated in the  FYW Handbook , students in the First-year Writing Program write a minimum of three graded papers. For your final assessment, you will compose and submit for evaluation an electronic portfolio that includes the following seven components: 

A biography of the portfolio author and, if you like, a picture of yourself or other image.  The biography should provide a short introduction to you, the author of the portfolio. You may include a photo of yourself or an image that relates to ideas discussed in your portfolio. The goal of your biography should be to introduce yourself as a writer .

The Introductory Reflective Essay. The most important element in your portfolio, the Introductory Reflective Essay (IRE) (usually 750-1500 words) ties together all the exhibits in your portfolio; it helps you describe and reflect on your writing processes, with your exhibits providing the supporting evidence .

Two revised essays from the course. These pieces provide evidence of your best critical thinking, argumentative strategies, prose style, and editing skills. They represent your most “finished” pieces of writing.

One revision exhibit that demonstrates your composing process and revision skills.  For this exhibit, students typically present a portion of a paper (e.g., a paragraph or the thesis statement); and demonstrate the development of this piece of writing through several drafts. Your task is to clearly show how your writing changed between drafts and to include explaining commentary on your revision process to readers.

One peer review exhibit that demonstrates your work in reviewing or responding to the work of other writers. Again, your task is to demonstrate the quality of your work and to explain your peer review process. 

One wild card submission. In the past, students have submitted journals, photos with captions, short stories, poems, letters, song lyrics, slideshow presentations, scans of drawings with comments, podcasts, and music files. Some students create new exhibits especially to fit with their portfolio theme. In thinking about selecting or creating a wild card, consider how it fits into your overall portfolio rationale.

While your instructor may have you turn in artifacts to eLW for workshopping and peer review, you will turn in your final portfolio to eLC under "Assignments."  There are resources describing the process of submitting a portfolio in eLC:  a video and a text document.   Students can find these resources in their eLC course under "Content" --> "FYW Resources and Info"

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Using portfolios in program assessment.

On this page:

• What is a portfolio?
• Portfolios as a data-collection method for assessment
• Advantages and disadvantages
• Creating and designing portfolios
• Questions to ask before adopting portfolios
• E-Portfolios
• Links: universities implementing portfolios; online portfolios
• E-portfolio software and review

1. What is a portfolio?

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A portfolio is a systematic collection of student work that represents student activities, accomplishments, and achievements over a specific period of time in one or more areas of the curriculum. There are two main types of portfolios:

Showcase Portfolios:  Students select and submit their best work. The showcase portfolio emphasizes the products of learning. Developmental Portfolios : Students select and submit pieces of work that can show evidence of growth or change over time. The growth portfolio emphasizes the process of learning.

STUDENTS’ REFLECTIVE ESSAY: In both types of portfolios, students write reflective essays or introductory memos to the faculty/assessment committee to explain the work and reflect on how the collection demonstrates their accomplishments, explains why they selected the particular examples, and/or describes changes in their knowledge/ability/attitude.

2. Portfolios as a data-collection method for assessment

Portfolios can be created for course assessment as well as program assessment. Although the content may be similar, the assessment process is different.

3. Advantages and disadvantages

Advantages of a portfolio

• Enables faculty to assess a set of complex tasks, including interdisciplinary learning and capabilities, with examples of different types of student work.
• Helps faculty identify curriculum gaps, a lack of alignment with outcomes.
• Promotes faculty discussions on student learning, curriculum, pedagogy, and student support services.
• Encourages student reflection on their learning. Students may come to understand what they have and have not learned.
• Provides students with documentation for job applications or applications to graduate school.

Disadvantages of a portfolio

• Faculty time required to prepare the portfolio assignment and assist students as they prepare them. Logistics are challenging.
• Students must retain and compile their own work, usually outside of class. Motivating students to take the portfolio seriously may be difficult.
• Transfer students may have difficulties meeting program-portfolio requirements.
• Storage demands can overwhelm (which is one reason why e-portfolios are chosen).

4. Using portfolios in assessment

TIP: START SMALL. Showcase portfolio : Consider starting with one assignment plus a reflective essay from a senior-level course as a pilot project. A faculty group evaluates the “mini-portfolios” using a rubric. Use the results from the pilot project to guide faculty decisions on adding to or modifying the portfolio process. Developmental portfolio : Consider starting by giving a similar assignment in two sequential courses: e.g., students write a case study in a 300-level course and again in a 400-level course. In the 400-level course, students also write a reflection based on their comparison of the two case studies. A faculty group evaluates the “mini-portfolios” using a rubric. Use the results to guide the faculty members as they modify the portfolio process.

Suggested steps:

• Determine the purpose of the portfolio. Decide how the results of a portfolio evaluation will be used to inform the program.
• Identify the learning outcomes the portfolio will address.Tip: Identify at least 6 course assignments that are aligned with the outcomes the portfolio will address. Note: When planning to implement a portfolio requirement, the program may need to modify activities or outcomes in courses, the program, or the institution.
• Decide what students will include in their portfolio. Portfolios can contain a range of items–plans, reports, essays, resume, checklists, self-assessments, references from employers or supervisors, audio and video clips. In a showcase portfolio, students include work completed near the end of their program. In a developmental portfolio, students include work completed early and late in the program so that development can be judged.Tip: Limit the portfolio to 3-4 pieces of student work and one reflective essay/memo.
• Identify or develop the scoring criteria (e.g., a rubric) to judge the quality of the portfolio.Tip: Include the scoring rubric with the instructions given to students (#6 below).
• Establish standards of performance and examples (e.g., examples of a high, medium, and low scoring portfolio).
• Create student instructions that specify how students collect, select, reflect, format, and submit.Tip: Emphasize to students the purpose of the portfolio and that it is their responsibility to select items that clearly demonstrate mastery of the learning outcomes. Emphasize to faculty that it is their responsibility to help students by explicitly tying course assignments to portfolio requirements.

Collect – Tell students where in the curriculum or co-curricular activities they will produce evidence related to the outcomes being assessed. Select – Ask students to select the evidence. Instruct students to label each piece of evidence according to the learning outcome being demonstrated. Reflect – Give students directions on how to write a one or two-page reflective essay/memo that explains why they selected the particular examples, how the pieces demonstrate their achievement of the program outcomes, and/or how their knowledge/ability/attitude changed. Format –Tell students the format requirements (e.g., type of binder, font and style guide requirements, online submission requirements). Submit – Give submission (and pickup) dates and instructions.

• A faculty group scores the portfolios using the scoring criteria. Use examples of the standards of performance to ensure consistency across scoring sessions and readers.Tip: In large programs, select a random sample of portfolios to score (i.e., do not score every portfolio).
• Share the results and use them to improve the program.

5. Questions to consider before adopting a portfolio requirement

• What is the purpose of the portfolio requirement? To document student learning? Demonstrate student development? Learn about students’ reflections on their learning? Create a document useful to students? Help students grow through personal reflection on their personal goals?
• Will portfolios be showcase or developmental?
• When and how will students be told about the requirement, including what materials they need to collect or to produce for it?
• What are the minimum and maximum lengths or sizes for portfolios?
• Who will decide which materials will be included in portfolios- -faculty or students?
• What elements will be required in the portfolio- -evidence only from courses in the discipline, other types of evidence, evidence directly tied to learning outcomes, previously graded products or clean copies?
• Will students be graded on the portfolios? If so, how and by whom?
• How will the portfolios be assessed to evaluate and improve the program?
• What can be done for students who have inadequate evidence through no fault of their own? (E.g., transfer students)
• What will motivate students to take the portfolio requirement seriously?
• How will the portfolio be submitted–hard copy or electronic copy?
• Who “owns” the portfolios–students or the program/university? If the program/university owns them, how long will the portfolios be retained after the students graduate?
• Who has access to the portfolios and for what purposes?
• How will student privacy and confidentiality be protected?

6. E-portfolios (electronic portfolios)

Traditional portfolios consist of papers in a folder. Electronic or “e-portfolios” consist of documents stored electronically. Electronic portfolios offer rich possibilities for learning and assessment, with the added dimension of technology.

• What about an electronic portfolio is central to the assessment?
• Who is the audience for the portfolio? Will that audience have the hardware, software, skills, time, and inclination to access the portfolio electronically?
• Does the institution have the hardware and software in place to create portfolios electronically? If not, what will it cost and who will install it? Does the institution have the IT/technical staff to support e-portfolios?
• What is the current level of computer skills of the students and faculty members involved in this project? Who will teach them how to use the technology necessary to create and view electronic portfolios?
• Easy to share with multiple readers simultaneously.
• Allows for asynchronous use for both students and faculty.
• Allows for multi-media product submissions.
• Offers search strategies for easy access to materials.
• Makes updating entries easier.
• Creating navigational links may help students see how their experiences interrelate.
• Provides students the opportunity to improve as well as demonstrate their technology skills.
• Allows faculty to remain in touch with students after graduation if the portfolio can become students’ professional portfolio.
• Time is needed to master the software. Students may not have sufficient computer skills to showcase their work properly.
• Faculty and students may be reluctant to learn a new software program.
• Requires IT expertise and support for both students and faculty.
• Cost associated with developing an in-house platform or the purchase of a commercial product may be expensive.
• Cost associated with maintaining portfolio software. Ongoing support and training are necessary.
• An external audience may not have access to proprietary software. Proprietary software may hinder portability.
• Requires large amounts of computer space.
• Privacy and security. Who will have access to the portfolio?

7. Links to universities implementing portfolios

Truman State University:  http://assessment.truman.edu/components/portfolio/

Penn State:  http://portfolio.psu.edu/

University of Denver:  https://portfolio.du.edu/pc/index

8. Electronic portfolio software

Laulima Open Source Portfolio . Laulima has an Open Source Portfolio (OSP) tool option. Contact UH ITS for information about turning on this tool.

List of E-Portfolio Software & Tools .  ePortfolio-related Tools and Technologies  wiki.

Sources Consulted:

• Skidmore College, Assessment at Skidmore College, http://cms.skidmore.edu/assessment/Handbook/portfolio.cfm
• Mary Allen – University of Hawaii at Manoa Spring 2008 Assessment Workshops
• ERIC Digest, Assessment Portfolios (ED447725),  http://www.users.muohio.edu/shermalw/eric_digests/ed447725.pdf
• Portfolio Assessment: Instructional Guide (2nd Ed.),  http://libdr1.ied.edu.hk/pubdata/img00/arch00/link/archive/1/instarh/1921_image.pdf
• Cambridge, B.L., Kahn, S., Tompkins, D.P., Yancey, K.B. (Eds.). (2001).  Electronic portfolios: Emerging practices in student, faculty, and institutional learning . Washington, DC: American Association for Higher Education.

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Portfolios: Grading, Samples, and Resources

2018 portfolio norming session materials: .

Hi all! Here are the links to the two portfolios we will norm together at the January 19th workshop. Please read both portfolios carefully , and use the rubric posted below to assign each a tentative grade. 

Portfolio 1

Portfolio 2

Sample Portfolio 1 

• Critical Reflection
• Showcase Pieces:  SA 1a , SA 1b , SA 4 , MP 1 , SA 3
• Compendium (with instructor feedback):  MP 1 , MP 2 , SA 1a , SA1b ,   SA 2 , SA 3 , SA4
• Grading Notes (from January 2017 UWHS Norming Session)

Sample Portfolio 2:

• Showcase Pieces:  SA 1 ,  SA 4 ,  MP 2
• Compendium (with instructor feedback)  MP 1 ,  MP 2 ,  SA 1 ,  SA 2 ,  SA 3 ,  SA 4
• Grading Notes  (from EWP norming session)

Resources: 

Portfolio Planning Worksheet (Barnett)

Portfolio Reflection Worksheet (Barnett)

Draft of UWHS Portfolio Rubric 

Advice on Managing the Portfolio Workload (Notes from January 2017 Teacher Panel)

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• Undergraduate study
• Your university application

How to make a university portfolio

Your university portfolio is an opportunity to exhibit your best work and show us exactly why you're right for your chosen course. We know that your work is unique, and nobody will know it better than you, but here’s some advice on what to consider, and what we're looking for in your submission.

Your digital portfolio will be a key part of your application to a practice-based undergraduate course in the Nottingham School of Art & Design or the School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment.

How to build the best portfolio

Top tips for creating your portfolio of work for university interviews.

Nottingham School of Art & Design

Find portfolio advice for your chosen course

Animation portfolio advice

Costume design and construction portfolio advice, design for film and television portfolio advice, design for theatre and live performance portfolio advice, fashion design and fashion pattern cutting portfolio advice, fashion knitwear design and knitted textiles portfolio advice, filmmaking portfolio advice, fine art portfolio advice, graphic design and motion graphics portfolio advice, illustration portfolio advice, photography portfolio advice, textile design digital portfolio advice, international fashion business (one-year top-up), school of architecture, design and the built environment, architecture digital portfolio advice, furniture and product design digital portfolio advice, interior architecture and design digital portfolio advice, product design interview and portfolio advice, march architecture digital portfolio advice, get in touch.

If you have any questions about your university art portfolio or applying to NTU , call us on  +44 (0)115 848 4200 or use our  enquiry form and we’ll be in touch.

California State University Fullerton

Canvas resource center.

Welcome to the Canvas Resource Center where you may find self-help guides on a wide range of topics regarding teaching and learning using Canvas. Begin by typing in a keyword and clicking on Search.

How do I create a Portfolio Assignment?

You will learn about creating Canvas assignments for students to post URLs of their portfolio.

Portfolio Platforms

Many options are available for online Portfolios. LinkedIn and Portfolium are a couple of popular options. However, in a broad sense, any sharing platform can act as a portfolio (for example, YouTube, Facebook etc).

CSUF does not currently have a license for Portfolium, but students can still use the free Portfolium option and share links to their portfolios. Guides on Portfolium are available at Canvas Portfolium Guide Hub .

Privacy Options

There are often options within portfolio platforms for students to share resources without making their account publicly visible. Common options are an unlisted URL or invitation methods, where users approve who can view their online work.

Using a Canvas Web URL Assignment

Canvas assignments can be used for graded portfolio submissions. Details on creating "online submission" assignments in Canvas are available in the Canvas Online Assignment Guide .

The "Text Entry" or "Website URL" submission types are great choices for portfolios.

Using a Graded Canvas Discussion

A more interactive option may be a graded discussion. Details on setting up a graded discussion are available at Graded Discussion Guide .

Article Summary

You have learned about options for setting up assignments for student portfolio submissions.

• Prev: How do I attach a file to my Assignment?
• Next: How do I make the Announcements link visible to students?

Last Updated

Apr 06, 2022

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Portfolios in Psychology Classes

In this Teaching Tips article, our goal is to share our experience using portfolios in psychology courses and dispel some of the “myths” we encountered along the way. Our hope is that our experience can help others considering the use of portfolios who may be hesitant to implement them due to concerns such as: They are a haphazard collection of student work, are too time-intensive to incorporate into a large course, are independent and non-collaborative projects, or are technologically impossible to implement. The article that follows describes our collective experience implementing portfolios in a course taught by one of the authors (MB). ~Melissa, Linda, and Sue

“By doing this portfolio, I want to continue to learn more about {the topic}, even after the class is over.” Student comment, Fall 2009

What instructor wouldn’t like to see a comment like the one above at the end of the semester?  As an instructor of a sophomore-level Introduction to Neuroscience survey course several semesters ago, I found this comment especially rewarding. That semester, I  decided to implement portfolios for the first time in the course, a decision that I made after much deliberation. Along the way, I encountered a number of portfolio “myths” that could have stopped me in my tracks. Looking back, I’m glad that I did not believe the myths, and that my students and I were able to learn and grow from that first portfolio experience. Now, after using portfolios in the course for nearly three years, I would like to share what I have learned, and help to both dispel some of the more prevalent myths and offer some practical examples and suggestions for other instructors considering a portfolio project for their classes.

Why consider a portfolio project in the first place? In reflecting on my experiences in the survey class, I found myself thinking about some of my conversations with students in the course. Some students were passionate about topics in psychology that related to our course but that were not going to be covered that semester. As I thought more about these students, I realized that all of their topics could not be covered in the course and was disappointed  that these innate interests could not be cultivated and engaged. I wanted a way to allow students to explore a topic of their choice, particularly something they personally connected with or had an interest in as part of the survey course. I decided to try a portfolio project to allow students to pursue these topics in a more focused way than our in-class lectures and activities allowed.

In my course, students developed a working “personal interest” portfolio based on written assignments completed throughout the semester. There was an assignment approximately every two weeks, which involved researching causes, symptoms, and treatments for diseases of the nervous system and how the disease affects various parts of the nervous system. For each assignment, students were provided with a prompt about which aspect of the topic to research, ideas for locating primary or secondary research materials, and expectations about the use of American Psychological Association (APA) style format. Each assignment included a grading rubric available to students as they completed the assignment. Accompanying each assignment, students included a two- to three-paragraph reflection. Students selected three assignments as the focal points of their final portfolios at the end of the semester and wrote a one-page self-assessment of the entire project. This general approach could be used for other areas of psychology as well: for example, stages of development in developmental psychology, disorders in abnormal psychology, statistical techniques in a research methods class, or development of theories in social psychology.

As I designed and implemented the personal interest portfolio in the Introduction to Neuroscience survey course, I grappled with several portfolio myths:

Myth 1: A portfolio is a scrapbook.

Many professors’ understanding of a portfolio is that it is a collection of assignments put together to display student work. Admittedly, when I first thought about using a portfolio for my undergraduate psychology survey course, I, too, thought that it was just a collection of assignments, perhaps loosely woven together with a common research theme. As I discovered, however, portfolios are much more. The lesson artifacts gathered in a portfolio have a specific purpose, and that purpose includes “exhibiting to the student and others the student’s efforts, progress, or achievement” (Johnson & Rose, 1997, p. 6). By engaging in the portfolio process, students and/or professors carefully collect, select, and reflect on their work. While professor feedback is part of the process, student reflection is the key to “promoting student engagement and learning” (Birkett, Neff, Pieper, 2012, p. 49) and allowing students to get a full view of their own learning.

In designing my first portfolio project, I wanted to move beyond a scrapbook approach and guide students in creating an organized and professional presentation of their work, showcasing their reflection, learning, and progress over a semester. Efforts to produce a high-quality, professional product that students could be proud of took a big leap forward this past semester with the help of a teaching assistant. The teaching assistant organized and led APA-format writing workshops for students outside of class and provided additional feedback on APA-formatting on all assignments throughout the semester. She also helped select examples of “professional” work from past semesters to share with students and explained to students the importance of a professional writing style. Together, we implemented more thorough and descriptive rubric categories for “professionalism” for each assignment. These changes resulted in a notable increase in the quality of portfolios this past semester. Taking time to explain the importance of professional presentation and to make expectations explicit helped avoid a scattered scrapbook approach to our portfolios.

Myth 2: The amount of time it takes to provide quality feedback makes it impossible to implement portfolios in a large course.

When I first thought about using portfolios in my classroom, I was a little overwhelmed with the thought of grading 70 written assignments each week, but I was determined to create an environment that promoted student learning and engagement. As a result, I decided to spend a little more time in the planning stages and found that careful planning is one of the first steps to ensuring a successful portfolio project. As a part of this first step, I defined a purpose for the portfolio and then aligned the portfolio project to the course learning objectives. Next, I designed assignments and rubrics with these learning objectives in mind. I had to allocate an appropriate amount of time for each assignment, break assignments into smaller components, and find or build links between what students were learning in class and their port folio assignments.

Once I understood the connections between the assignments and course content, it was much easier to explicitly communicate to students the purpose of the portfolio in a clear, organized, and concise manner. During each class, I demonstrated the connections between the course content and the portfolio assignments. One way I did this was to model the reflection process by showing student assignments and reflection examples. In doing so, I set high expectations where students made connections between portfolio assignments, course/class concepts, student backgrounds, and the real world. As a result, students better understood that the portfolio was not just about organization and presentation, but also about reflection and making connections.

There were six graded portfolio assignments throughout the semester, which made the final portfolio submission easier to grade at the end of the semester. In fact, the total amount of time I spent on grading was equivalent to the time I would typically spend grading homework or disconnected written assignments (Birkett, Neff, & Pieper, 2012, p. 60). One other modification that helped facilitate written feedback while using time efficiently was to allow students to omit one assignment or drop one low writing assignment grade during the semester. This not only reduced the total number of assignments that were graded throughout the semester, but it also allowed students some control over the directions of their portfolios and provided them with the flexibility to modify their schedules/work loads over the course of the semester.

Finally, because individual assignments had already been graded once and students had received feedback to incorporate, with the help of a rubric, grading of the final portfolios was relatively efficient. The final portfolio rubric included weighted components for: the inclusion of required elements, the quality of those elements, and how well the student demonstrated basic principles of neuroscience as determined by the course outcomes. Overall, I provided very few comments on the final portfolios. A copy of the rubric used in past semesters was recently published in the Journal on Excellence in College Teaching (Birkett, Neff & Pieper, 2012). While it does take longer to grade a portfolio than a multiple-choice exam, I believe the benefits of using an authentic, in-depth learning activity far outweigh the loss of time spent grading each assignment. With careful planning and deliberate decisions about where you would like to spend time providing feedback to students, the grading process can be made manageable.

Myth 3: Portfolios are a self-contained course project for students to work on independently.

This myth might only be half-myth. In my experience, it is important for students to work on developing their research and writing for a portfolio independently. However, the portfolio is not a self-contained course project. Creating a successful portfolio experience has involved students collaborating with assessment and technology experts, librarians, and classmates.

Before beginning a portfolio assignment for the first time, I sought advice from campus experts on assessment and technology about the best ways to implement this type of project. These individuals became instrumental in informing decisions about how to structure assignments, how best to use features of the learning management system (LMS) on our campus (e.g., Blackboard Learn or similar systems), and how to develop rubrics and efficiently provide feedback to students. Key questions I asked these experts included:

• What are the advantages and disadvantages of using portfolios as opposed to other assignment options?
• What potential portfolio assignment delivery and grading options are available through the LMS at our school?
• What grading rubric options are available and which will best suit the needs of the assignments?
• What types of assessments best align the portfolio project with the learning outcomes for the class?

Next, because this portfolio project involved student use of research resources to investigate self-selected topics, I sought the assistance of librarians. Who better to teach students about the research resources available at your school than the people who specialize in the process? Our university has a librarian dedicated to helping students and faculty in the Social and Behavioral Sciences, from whom I learned that the Association of College and Research Librarians (ACRL) has outlined a set of information literacy standards for undergraduate psychology students, which align closely with the APA’s Guidelines for the Undergraduate Psychology Major (see Hughes and Birkett, 2011). The overlapping nature of these guidelines helped us discuss the relevance of a portfolio project involving research in both of our disciplines. As a result, we were able to set goals for the project that could benefit students in a more comprehensive way than I had initially envisioned. Near the beginning of the semester, the librarian visited the class to discuss research strategies and processes with the students. Over the past several semesters, this librarian-led instruction has evolved to include visiting a computer lab during class, leading students step-by-step through the process of selecting keywords and search terms, refining search results, and evaluating the quality of research resources.

Finally, I wanted to give students a personal responsibility over the portfolio projects. I wanted students to see that their work mattered, and to engage them in an authentic effort to create a professional piece of work that could be read by colleagues.  I’ve tried several different approaches over the semesters but most recently found that in order to strive to make a portfolio worthy of being read by colleagues, it must actually be read by them. I did this by organizing small groups of informal student “review panels” at the end of the semester and asked students in each panel to bring their completed portfolios to class and share them with their peers. To facilitate the process, I provided students with short prompts about what aspects of the portfolio to share. In the future, it might be beneficial to establish these reviews periodically throughout the semester so that students can receive peer feedback and suggestions during the portfolio creation process.

Myth 4: E(lectronic)-portfolios are the best solution.

Working with our e-Learning Center, I considered using an e-portfolio, or an online storage system for the course portfolio assignments, but upon further assessment, I decided against it. I was more interested in students learning how to engage in the research process and reflect on their learning than being technically savvy presenters of information. On the other hand, should your portfolio purpose include “learning that involves reflection, community, and making connections” in an online environment (Hyland & Kranzow, 2012, p. 70), then you may want to carefully consider both the challenges and benefits involved in building an e-portfolio.

Introducing an online e-portfolio system takes time. You will need to ensure that either you have the technical competency to answer students’ questions about the system or that you can partner with an instructional technology expert who has the time and expertise to answer these inevitable questions. Another obstacle to consider is the need to provide students “with clear guidance on confidentiality and the use of digital media” (Moores & Parks, 2010, p. 47). Students need to understand how to cite electronic sources and when to acquire consent to avoid plagiarizing or breaching individual confidentiality. E-portfolios may have many benefits in your learning context; however, you need to clearly evaluate “what added value the electronic portfolio can bring to the group of students” (Moores & Parks, 2010, p. 47).

If e-portfolios fit your needs, they offer a number of benefits over paper portfolios. E-portfolios allow students to incorporate multimedia products or research elements into their final portfolios and make it easy for students to link to additional sources or non-traditional resources, such as videos, interviews, animations, or artwork. E-portfolios can facilitate sharing student work outside the classroom, for instance, by posting them on websites to or setting up on-line collaborations with peers to receive feedback. Finally, e-portfolios provide a unique opportunity for students in online or hybrid courses to partake in the benefits of the portfolio process. For those considering e-portfolios, Vigorito (2011) provides a wealth of ideas for beginning to implement them in psychology classes.

My current plans do not include implementing e-portfolios because I still find value in having students bring a physical copy of their work to class on the final day. Anecdotally, students also report that they like to have a final hard copy to share with classmates and a physical representation of what they have learned over the course. However, if I were to develop a fully online section of this course, I would consider many of the unique e-portfolio options available from education companies and new tools or modules being added by learning management systems.

Altogether, my experience with portfolios has been overwhelmingly positive. This brief description of the process illustrates only one form that a portfolio project may take and addresses only a few of the portfolio myths and benefits. Other educators have tailored portfolios to suit the needs of their individual courses and written at greater length about their experiences (see References and Recommended Reading section). Although research about implementing portfolios has been slow to develop (Herman & Winter, 1994), empirical studies are slowly accumulating to help inform this evidence-based practice (see References and Recommended Reading section).

I have now been using this portfolio project in the survey class for nearly three years.

Each semester brings more refinement of the process and new ideas to evaluate. Implementing portfolios and dispelling myths has proven to be a rewarding and engaging process. Our hope is that in thinking about the ideas, examples, and myths raised in this article, you may find an opportunity to consider a portfolio project for your class and realize the benefits too.

Do you have any materials for teachers wanting to implement a portfolio assignment in their classroom that you would be willing to share?

I would be happy to share materials! Please email me directly at Melissa dot Birkett at NAU dot EDU.

Would you still be willing to share examples and rubrics? Thanks

Melissa do you still have materials regarding student portfolios? I would appreciate any help you can provide. Both examples & rubrics would be GREAT! Thanks.

I would appreciate receiving rubrics and handouts on instructions. I am implementing this for a large (over 100) lecture course. Thanks!

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Digital portfolio for students – tips and examples

In the context of blended learning and digital classrooms, there’s a growing number of schools that encourage students to build a digital portfolio . There are many ways to do that and various tools that can be used to build a great digital portfolio for students.

Student portfolio definition

A student portfolio is a collection of academic assignments, projects, revisions, and work samples that stretch over a designated period of time, belonging to one student. It may also contain student self-assessments and reflections on their own work.

Why make a student portfolio

There are 4 different reasons why you might be required to make a student portfolio: (1) the teacher needs it to evaluate your learning progress by comparing early work to later work; (2) the teacher may use it to review your work in order to determine whether you have met the established learning standards set for your grade level or for graduation; (3) to help you reflect on your academic goals and progress; (4) to create an archive that compiles your most important school projects and academic work.

A teacher might require students to make portfolios for any or for all of the reasons above. In addition to meeting teachers’ requirements, older students might want to build a portfolio for themselves to help them later in their careers. There are many arguments for making a portfolio because it can help a student greatly.

Importance of portfolio for students

Now let’s talk about the importance of portfolios for students. Even though making a portfolio might seem tedious, the process is very rewarding. You’ll thank yourself later for making it. It will help you pick up some important skills and you will feel proud when you will look back on all your hard work.

• Opportunity to track and chart growth
• Increased motivation
• Deeper learning and quality work
• Habits of lifelong learning – a portfolio requires planning and keeping records which are great habits
• Promotes reflection on what to learn and how to learn
• Showcase around a set of learning outcomes – an achievement documentation system
• Opportunity to demonstrate particular competencies
• Ownership, responsibility, involvement in own learning
• Improves communication between parents and teachers
• Learn to auto-evaluate and critique

How should a portfolio be organized

There are many ways you can make a digital portfolio and each format is structured differently. Some of the most used formats for student portfolios are blogs, online journals, digital archives, websites, and notebooks. We advise you to think about all the benefits and limitations for each portfolio type and choose the one that works best for you and for your needs. For instance, a digital portfolio is more suitable if you want to showcase your online certifications like the OSHA international certification .

Regardless of the support that you’ve chosen for your portfolio, there are some guidelines on how it should be organized. Usually, the teacher will tell you what should be included in the portfolio, how it should be organized, and how it will be evaluated. Pay attention to these requirements and specifications because you need to meet these standards to get a good grade.

Here are some of the criteria that will surely be taken into consideration during the evaluation:

• Organization – Your portfolio should be comprised of an intro/ summary, a table of contents, work samples (organized into chapters) and a conclusion. You must have a logical explanation for the order in which your portfolio work is presented. Typically you may want to stick with a chronological order, but sometimes other criteria is more important.
• Completeness – Make a checklist with all the items that have to be included in your portfolio. Check and double check your list to avoid omitting important required elements
• Neatness – Pay attention to typos, spelling and formatting, because a neat, organized-looking portfolio will impress your teacher. Being organized and neat will help you in future projects beyond high school, or college.
• Visual appeal – Include images, charts and other interesting materials. For added visual appeal, make your portfolio with Flipsnack.
• Evidence of growth – Your teacher may compare some of your early work to later work, so make sure you devote more time in the very last projects and show off the information that you picked up
• Variety of artifacts and supporting materials – An ambitious student will always go above and beyond the minimum requirements for a portfolio. Show interest in the assignment by adding all sorts of relevant support materials to your portfolio.

Student portfolio websites

There are many website portfolio builders online, so you’ll have plenty of options if you want to present your portfolio in a website format. Some of the most known website builders are Wix , Squarespace , Weebly , IMcreator or Pixpa which offers lots of student portfolio website templates that can easily be customized to anyone’s needs. Portfoliogen is another online tool developed specifically for student portfolio websites. Another popular option is Bulbapp , which can be used to curate and create, share and showcase materials for school projects. Google Drive – If you need an online platform that can be used to keep your work private, organized into folders, you might consider using Google Drive and all the other Google apps made for collaboration. Another similar option (but less popular) would be Dropbox or Evernote . Google Sites – Many teachers use Google Sites to create a class-oriented site where students can collaborate and share files. To start a blog -style portfolio, try Blogger , WordPress , or some other blogging platform. If you want your student portfolio to look truly striking, try Flipsnack !

Student portfolio examples and samples

If you want to make a portfolio but don’t know where to start, perhaps you should take a look at these student portfolio examples in various formats: PDFs, websites, Google Sites, and magazines.

College portfolio examples

Take a look at this single-topic college portfolio in PDF format, made by 2 students. The portfolio compiles 3 studies on stereotype threats.

This student portfolio is made up of different projects made by Madelaine, a university undergraduate who specializes in landscape architecture .

High school portfolio

The following portfolio is presented as a Google Site . You can switch between projects by checking the menu on the left.

This student is building a high school portfolio that features all the most notable projects for each class, year by year.

How about a student’s art portfolio? We like this one created by Elizabeth Yuan .

Even young students can make portfolios. Here’s an example of a 4th grade writing portfolio.

Elementary student portfolio examples

Student portfolio samples.

And here are 2 more student portfolio samples. The first one is made in Bulbapp , while the second one was created with Flipsnack .

Also, here’s a video that you can check out to see how a girl designed her art school portfolio and maybe get some inspiration.

Flipsnack for student portfolios

Earlier we mentioned Flipsnack, but we didn’t fully explain why it would be such a great fit for your student portfolio. Let’s start by saying that the format is just perfect for portfolios because it looks like a digital magazine/ notebook, so it’s very easy to browse through. The navigation is very intuitive, making it easy for anyone to find a particular chapter or project from within the portfolio. Flipsnack supports internal linking, so you can link to certain pages from the table of contents.

The tool is so easy to use that anyone can easily create, edit and update his portfolio. You can make your portfolio by uploading PDFs or you can make your project page by page in our editor. You can make unlimited updates!

By using Flipsnack you will make your projects look polished and professional.

[…] (2017, October, 24). Digital portfolio for students – tips and examples. FLIPSNACKBLOG. Retrieved from https://blog.flipsnack.com/digital-portfolio-students/ […]

it is very good and useful thank you

Thank you nick!

Love this im a student and we are learning how to make a portfolio this helps a lot

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