Week 3

 This week we learned about the different ways to dynamically track a child's progress.  One of the main forms of documentation that stuck out to me were portfolios.  I love the idea of a child having some sort of folder or electronic portfolio of their work over time.  It is a great way to visually see the progress overtime.  My parents had something similar for my brother and I growing up.  Because my brother and I went to the same elementary school, a lot of our projects were either the same or similar.  We each had a notebook that would document our grade, favorite color, favorite food, friends, our teacher, our signature, etc.  For each grade there was also a corresponding pocket for us to store our work from that year.  It is nice to flip through now and see how different my handwriting changed over the years, the different assignments, my hobbies, etc.  We did notice, however, as we got older the portfolio became less full and less detailed.  Keeping track of both my brother and I's works was quite difficult.  This is where the struggle comes into play.  Although I can see myself formulating some kind of portfolio for each student throughout the year, I can also see the downfall and disadvantages to utilizing this form of documentation.  

We also discussed the differences between the conventional way of documentation and the Reggio Emilia way of documenting.  The conventional way incorporates summative assessments, whereas Reggio Emilia's way uses formative assessments.  As we learned in previous class sessions, summative assessments are high stakes.  They are used to decide whether the child has grasped the understanding of the learning standards.  These types of assessments are typically done at the end of a term period, a semester final, or as a benchmark assessment.  Formative assessments are not as high stakes as summative assessments are.  Formative is used to provide students and teachers with the information that will help both parties improve the learning process.  These assessments are more worried about the feedback and less worried about the grade.  These types of assessments can be used in the form of a brief written summary, a quiz, or a student/teacher conference.

When we discussed assessments, I was very intrigued by the idea of incorporating the students in their assessments to build upon their self reflection skills.  I think using portfolios is another way to facilitate self assessment skills.  I plan to brainstorm different forms of portfolios and different ways the students themselves can help create these year long folders.  I think this will be a fun way for them to show off their work, their progress, and subconsciously self monitor their progress and achievements throughout the school year.