Content provided in partnership with
The Power of Portfolios: What Children Can Teach Us About Learning & Assessment - Book Review
Arts & Activities, Sept, 2002
(2001; $19.95), by Elizabeth A. Hebert. Jossey-Bass, 989 Market St., San Francisco, CA 94103.
Artists and art teachers have long made use of portfolios for reviewing and evaluating work done. Hence, there was a sense of "we've been there, done that" when portfolios gained notoriety and popularity in educational circles. This book has put still another "spin" on the idea of portfolios. Interestingly enough, Hebert's approach is much in keeping with post-modern perspectives and directions in contemporary art. After all, how do you place performance art or conceptual art in a portfolio? What is needed is an approach that is open-ended and admitting of change. As Hebert put it: "We now know that there is no single, correct portfolio. We have come to understand that the determination of purpose, ownership and selection of the content of the portfolio is an evolving process shared by child and teacher" (p. 48).
- Most Popular Articles in Arts
- Art since 1900: Modernism, Antimodernism, Postmodernism
- Free-standing cardboard sculpture
- What makes a successful business person? Business people who are tops in ...
- Take advantage of local advertising: TV, newspaper or magazines? If your ...
- Tino Sehgal at the ICA
- More »
Yet, there is something "solid" and "commonsensical" about the approach. Hebert reminds us that "portfolios have been with us for a very long time." Think of the many ways that we have collected things that then served as a means for remembering, interpreting, reconstructing, reflecting and evaluating activities and events in our lives. She observed that "memory boxes" can serve as a means for reflecting upon a child's education.
The book is organized as a portfolio, containing lessons and "reflection tags" describing why the lesson was chosen for the portfolio. What we have are the insights of an experienced elementary school principal as she worked with teachers, students and parents. Chapter headings give a sense for the author's orientation: (1) Children can assess their own learning; (2) Children learn all the time; (3) Teachers learn all the time, too; (4) Getting clear on portfolio purpose, ownership and content; (5) Portfolios encourage children to think about their learning; (6) Portfolios respond to the individual needs of students; and (7) Designating a place and space for gathering memories.
Overall, The Power of Portfolios is an excellent book. It opens wider the possibilities for centering teaching, learning and assessment in the dynamics of life's experiences.--J.J.H. For information about this publication, circle No. 392 on the Reader Service Card.
COPYRIGHT 2002 Publishers' Development Corporation
COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group
