Teacher Role

A methods course teacher, as part of a newly developed 12-hour integrated block that combines reading, social studies and science methods courses with clinical field experience, used student-negotiated assessment in one section and teacher-directed assignments and assessment in another section. In the portfolio section, the instructor could see the connections between what was taught and what students learned through the evidence in the portfolios. The other section ended with a traditional final exam. Many students struggled with the effort, and connections between what was taught and what students wrote sometimes were not obvious. In the portfolio section, the instructor began introducing portfolios to the students the first day of class. The second day of class they began to co-construct a framework for guiding the portfolio process. The students collectively decided how much to weigh the portfolio as a part of their overall final grade and were given the option of deciding individually how much a of a role the instructor had in evaluating the portfolio. Overall, the instructor and the students agreed on the general grade for the learning documented in the portfolio. While most students effectively documented the acquisition of new knowledge, fewer were effective at documenting how they applied that knowledge. The use of student-negotiated evaluation through the portfolio process provided the instructor opportunities to model effective strategies for alternative assessment. The portfolio helped students to see connections between the methods class and their clinical experience. (Contains 8 references.) (RS