Stacia Emerson, an adjunct professor at Columbia International University in South Carolina, has a PhD in early childhood education.
Creating scrapbooks or memory books is a popular hobby today, and I love it! I enjoy looking back at the pages of photos and reliving a time in my child’s development. Many of the pages have short descriptions and stories that make the pictures come alive and help me to remember what he or she was like at that time. These books have become precious albums documenting each child’s growth and development, and are a history of family events.
Early childhood teachers do the same thing when they put together portfolios that document each child’s development. Teachers and parents would agree that children, who change rapidly, are constant reminders of how quickly time passes. They are frequently demonstrating new talents and skills, and the fact that shoes and clothes seem to be shrinking is evidence of the physical changes they are experiencing.
Children are developing holistically, which means that physical, cognitive, emotional, social, and aesthetic developments happen simultaneously. These changes present a challenge for early childhood teachers trying to assess growth in all these areas—especially since growth seems to be taking place at supersonic speed! Portfolios can be one of the most effective means to assess growth in all these areas.
Because portfolios are records of children’s ongoing development, they can have a more positive effect than traditional assessments. Portfolio records show what a child can do rather than what he cannot do. Thus, teachers and parents can focus on the progress that has been made rather than the deficiencies that show up from traditional tests. And highlighting growth and progress can boost a child’s confidence and thus motivate learning.
Although they may look different, portfolios can be an efficient assessment tool for each developmental stage from infants through preschoolers. The following chart gives suggestions for what to include in a portfolio with some explanation and management tips following. Because portfolios are records of children’s ongoing development, they can have a more positive effect than traditional assessments.
Anecdotes written from observations are important components of early childhood portfolios, but they can be time consuming to include. There are several ways to make the process more efficient, but it is important to decide which one works for you and be consistent. Try using labels printed with the activity or center name. Write your notes and stick the label to the child’s page in a notebook. Later you can compile and add to the portfolio. Other useful techniques include using self-adhesive notes, or index cards color-coded for each center. Since anecdotes and all other children’s work samples should be dated, it is very helpful to purchase one or two date stamps and show the children how to use them.
As you can determine from the chart, the infant and toddler years are dominated by teacher- and parent-generated material, whereas the preschoolers have more to contribute to their portfolios. It is important to allow children to have as much in put as possible about what products to include in the portfolio. To encourage participation, begin by explaining what a portfolio is and showing examples. If possible, have a professional who uses a portfolio (photographer) to come in and demonstrate. This will underscore the real purpose behind using portfolios. Allowing children to participate teaches responsibility, increases self-esteem, and allows them to evaluate their own work. Ask children questions about their work such as, Which one do you like best? What is your favorite part of this? What would you do differently? Thinking through these responses will give children the opportunity to make decisions regarding their work and to notice the accomplishments they have made.
After explaining the purpose of the portfolios and allowing children to participate in the process, begin planning a time that preschoolers can share their work with others. This can be done in an open house setting when the child gets to explain and highlight some of the pieces in the portfolio. Spend some time with each child beforehand to discuss which pieces the child will highlight and what information will be shared. Encourage preschoolers to tell how they completed a project, what they like about this work, and why they think it is an example of their best work. When it is time to share the portfolios, allow the children to do most of the talking. Schedule other times for conferences if you need to speak to the parents about specific issues. Sharing portfolios should be a fun time to celebrate each child’s accomplishments!
There are other practical considerations when planning to use portfolios, such as how and where to store them. Pizza boxes, cereal boxes with the tops cut off, crates, folders, and expandable files are a few of the many ways to store work samples. When choosing a container, remember it will need to accommodate many sizes of artwork. Also, consider storing the portfolios in different areas of the classroom so that children do not have to crowd around the same area when retrieving their files.
Make sure the products you choose show creative thinking and problem solving, are child initiated, and address all developmental domains.
After explaining the purpose of the portfolios and allowing children to participate in the process, begin planning a time that preschoolers can share their work with others. Finally, I offer a word of caution. You have read a list of what could be included in a portfolio; now consider what portfolios should not be.
Early childhood portfolios are not a collection of worksheets that a child has completed and you have saved. Math worksheets, coloring sheets, tracing letters or numbers, and circling or underlining the “correct” answer are not good choices for portfolios. These worksheets are not developmentally appropriate and are not good indicators of growth. Most likely, preschoolers can do much more than what they are limited to on worksheets. Instead, make sure the products you choose show creative thinking and problem solving, are child initiated, and address all developmental domains. A menu the child designed for the dramatic play center with food names and prices shows how well the child produces letters and numbers (fine motor development). But more than that, it demonstrates that the child has a knowledge of how print is used in our daily lives (print awareness, cognitive domain), and it shows creative thought (cognitive and aesthetic domains). It also indicates that the child can contribute some thing to the play theme (social domain). Using portfolios successfully takes organization and planning, but the results are worth it. Portfolios can be powerful assessment tools for teachers and hold precious memories for parents.
References
Cohen, Lynn. “The Power of Portfolios.” Early Childhood Today 13, no. 5 (2001): 23–26.
Van Hoorn, J., B. Scales, P. M. Nourot, and K. R. Alward. Play at the Center of the Curriculum (2nd ed.). NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc. (1999).
Tracking Footsteps of Development 2.2