Task 15 -- Communicative approach

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Date Posted: 09:21:10 08/12/03 Tue
Author: J. Antonio A. Santos
Subject: Task 15

How can we use portfolios to evaluate our students� progress?

Portfolio is a collection of works (can be students tasks or activities developed by them) selected by the person aiming to show the ones development and performance in a specific area. I can be used for various purposes, and when applied to foreign language learning it plays an important role in evaluating students� progress. This is the main point to be discussed in the paragraphs that follows.

Portfolio can be used for evaluation in two different senses. The first one, concerning students self-evaluation where it is used for reflection in the way they are learning helping them to develop strategies to avoid mistakes and improving their knowledge by doing it for theirselves. It is also important for teachers to use portfolios as a way to provide results that will direct their decisions about the course content and objective, providing also, a different way to evaluate students� performances.

Then, students� progress can be evaluated comparing early works with different phases in their leaning process. These early works can be tests, compositions, and letters, taped oral performances, etc, and usually defined by the teacher or in accordance with students and teacher. The learning process phases can be flexible, so it can consider the very beginning of the students experience and contact with the second language in study, or, the beginning of the term with monthly or weekly tasks performed.

Once the contents of the portfolio is settled by the group involved in developing it, feedback should be provided by students x students in peer work or group work and teacher students to assure that everyone is aware of improving, or at least, aware of their individual necessities a the best way to push theirselves in their learning process. As stated by Andrea Silva in her task 15 about portfolio it provides
- A continuous, cumulative record of language development;
- A holistic view of student learning;
- Insights about progress of individual students;
- Opportunities for collaborative assessment and goal-setting with students;
- Tangible evidence of student learning to be shared with parents, other educators, and other students;
- Opportunities to use metalanguage to talk about language.

In conclusion, a portfolio is an important tool for evaluation of students� progress and course measurement as well as important for students self-evaluation; although, it can not be a substitute of traditional tests because of the different purposes of each one.

J. Antonio A. Santos

Webliography:
www.ed.gov/pubs/OR/ConsumerGuide/classuse.html
www.cal.org./ericcll/digest/hancoc01.html
www.stanford.edu/group/CFLP/research/portfolio1.html

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Replies:

Re: Task 15 -- Vera Menezes, 15:22:49 08/13/03 Wed