The Catalyst Portfolio Tool allows students to collect, annotate, arrange, and display on the Web a variety of digital artifacts that illustrate their accomplishments throughout their University Careers. Students can create online portfolios for courses, for prospective graduate schools, to help them choose a career, as part of a job search, or to reflect on their time at UW.

The Catalyst Portfolio Project Builder enables instructors, advisors, and mentors to create Portfolio projects that guide students through the process of building a portfolio.

Common Goals

This guide describes different types of portfolios and how to use them in your teaching. It also includes planning considerations and practical tips derived from PETTT's research about the Portfolio Tool at the UW.

Here are some common learning goals that can be met with portfolios:

• Demonstrate student achievement of knowledge or skills.
• Show growth or improvement.
• Document the process of creating a product.
• Reflect on significant work or experiences.
• Showcase one's best work.

Planning Considerations

• Portfolios for different purposes - Not all portfolios are the same. Here you will find descriptions and examples of six different types of portfolios you might use. Each one serves a unique purpose in teaching and learning.
• Designing a portfolio assignment - To use portfolios effectively, you will want to define the purpose and plan how the portfolio is structured. You might also consider how the portfolio links to your instructional goals and objectives.
• Helping students create successful portfolios - Students will need your guidance in order to achieve their best with online portfolios. Read tips that will help you and provide guidance with specific tasks and building particular skills.
• Using Portfolio: Practical tips for teaching - Here are practical tips for setting up a Portfolio Project to use with your students. Catalyst and PETTT bring you these suggestions from real classrooms around the UW.

Campus Resources

• Catalyst Workshops - Catalyst offers workshops about building course Web sites and using the other tools you might need for teaching. Participation to Catalyst workshops is free for all UW instructors, and teaching assistants, employees, and staff. Advance registration is required for some workshops.
• Center for Instructional Development and Research (CIDR) - CIDR offers a variety of resources and services designed to promote effective teaching and learning. The center is open to all UW faculty and TAs.
• UW Department of Geography Career Portfolio Basics - The Department of Geography Web site offers an excellent guide for creating a career portfolio, which explains how portfolios can help students with their careers.

Further Reading

• Penn State University's e-Portfolio site Available: http://portfolio.psu.edu/index.shtml
• Arter, J. A., & Spandel, V. (1992). NCME instructional model: Using portfolios of student work in instruction and assessment. Educational Measurement: Issues & Practice, 11 (1), 36-44.
• Klenowski, V. (2002). Developing portfolios for learning and assessment: Processes and principles. New York, NY: Routledge.
• Goldsby, D. & Fazal, M. (2001). Now that your students have created web-based digital portfolios, how do you evaluate them? Journal of technology and teacher education, 9 (4), 607- 616.
• Skawinski, S. F & Thibodeau, S. J. (2002). A journey into portfolio assessment. The Educational Forum. 67 (4), 81- 88