Individual pieces of writing do not offer an overall, holistic,
or critical lens into a students’ competencies with writing or the
greater social, linguistic context in which writing always occurs.
The first year writing program, thus, values a portfolio approach
for evaluating student writing.
As faculty, we can structure our courses around two, basic
approaches for portfolio/assessment and the teaching of writing in
our 1000c courses. The first option highlights a student’s
sequential writing projects over the course of a semester. The
second option highlights one, sustained inquiry project over the
duration of an entire semester. Either of these two models should
result in a final portfolio of at least 18-20 pages of writing for
all students in 1000c that represent writing over the course of an
entire semester.
At the end of each semester, we will come together for a 2-day
portfolio seminar where we will look at student work for a
collective, qualitative assessment of student writing.
Implementation Timeline: 2008-2010
The following timeline gives an overview for our portfolio
discussions in IWS over the next two years.
Fall 2008 Assessment Seminar
* Introduction to Fall 2009 Portfolio
Plan
* Begin work on collective report: Struggling, Excelling, and
Emerging Writers in the First Year at St. John’s
Spring 2009 Assessment
Seminar
* Complete work on collective report:
Struggling, Excelling, and Emerging Writers in the First Year
at St. John’s
* Compare the year’s data from Writing Inventory with qualitative
analyses of student work
* Discuss and design new questions for Writing Inventory
Summer 2009
* Work on syllabi incorporating
portfolio assessment into current courses (in the context of new
2-day schedules and hybrid courses)
Fall 2009 Colloquium
* Discuss and share with one another
dilemmas and insights concerning portfolios and new syllabus
design
* Discuss and share methods for communal assessment of portfolios
in classrooms
Fall 2009 Assessment Seminar
* Share struggles and successes with
portfolios and new syllabus design
Spring 2010 Assessment
Seminar
* Share struggles and successes with
portfolios and new syllabus design
* Compare the year’s data from Writing Inventory with qualitative
analyses of student work
* Begin discussion of eportfolios and/or other changes to portfolio
assessment
The Basic Requirements for the FYW
Portfolio
As individual faculty members, we can add and build on to the
basic portfolio skeleton described below in whatever ways best
match the vision and focus of our courses. Both skeletons place a
value on: 1) students examining their positionality and the larger
world in which they live and act; and 2) students engaging research
as a way to enlarge their thinking. In the ideal, these two
skeletons will offer a general level of coherence to our program
while also honoring individual, unique approaches to the teaching
of writing. Each faculty member will explain how and why portfolio
are used in their own course syllabi.
I. The Basic Skeleton of a Portfolio for Sequential Writing
Projects
Reflective Opening
This is an opening letter to the
portfolio that describes the contents of the portfolio and reflects
on student writing throughout the semester. The letter should show
how and why students have included the writings that they have
chosen and how these writings are all related. Students should also
address their own processes and learning in the semester as well as
the program learning objectives.
A “Self and Society” Project
This is a piece of writing that
consciously and explicitly addresses the student’s positionality in
terms of race, class, gender, etc. It should be a critical,
personal conversation that looks at self, world, and society.
Any Choice Project
This is any writing project that
students or faculty want included that represents students as
writers and thinkers.
Research/Multimedia Project
This is a research and/or multimedia
project (with research conceived in the broadest sense possible to
include texts like oral histories, ethnographies, reports of survey
data, etc.). This piece uses multiple outside references.
1-2 Weekly Writings
This consists of 1 or 2 of the weekly
writings students do to fulfill the 3-5 page writing requirement
per week that the program requires.
OR
II. The Basic Skeleton of a Portfolio for
Sustained Inquiry Projects
Reflective Letter
This is an opening letter to the
portfolio that describes the contents of the portfolio and reflects
on student writing in the semester. Students should also address
their own processes and learning in the semester as well as the
program learning objectives.
Foreword and/or Afterward
This is a reflection piece that shows
how and why students “found” the topic/issue that they have chosen
to think about.
Early Draft
This is the earliest draft of the
inquiry project.
Annotated Bibliography with
Rationale
This is an annotated bibliography
with at least five sources. The rationale is where students
describe how and why they incorporated the bibliographic references
that they have chosen (i.e., do they use traditional MLA citations
or other alternative ways and why?) In other words, the rationale
explains how the research was figured into the project.
Final Draft
This should be the last and final
version of the inquiry project.
1-2 Weekly Writings
This consists of 1 or 2 of the weekly
writings students do to fulfill the 3-5 page writing requirement
per week that the program requires.
Faculty can add to these requirements and organize the portfolio
as best fits their classes. A sample has been provided from a fall
2008 semester that will be re-developed to include roundtables for
fall 2009.