Portolios, Rubrics, and Peer Review

Why do educational organizations choose to employ portfolios? What value does the use of rubrics in evaluating activities and portfolios bring? How can peer review affect learning progress and growth?

I think employing portfolios gives students an excellent opportunity to demonstrate their accomplishments and abilities in a format that is organized and easy to access. Instructors can monitor and track progress. Students can use it to showcase and reference work. The websites we have been maintaining for OMET are portfolios of sorts. It has been of great use to me to be able to quickly go back to a previous project if needed. I have also found that it gives me the opportunity to easily share what I have been working on with my peers at work. So I believe the ability to package and demonstrate accomplishments in such an efficient manner is a big reason why educational organizations utilize them.

Much of what I stated above assumes the portfolio itself is designed well, helping the viewer to easily navigate and gain understanding of the portfolio owner’s accomplishments. The use of rubrics is valuable in evaluating whether the portfolio accomplishes this. Rubrics define the desired outcomes for an activity or project and provide a guideline for assessing a student’s grasp and achievement level. So an instructor can employ a rubric to assess whether a project or task meets or exceeds defined requirements, whether we are talking about a portfolio or any other activity.

I have found that the peer review process can be one of the most valuable learning tools instructors utilize. It is an acknowledgment by instructors that they are not the "end all" when it comes to subject matter expertise. The collective knowledge of a group of students can be powerful and students can learn much from one another. Tapping into this knowledge through peer review takes advantage of the diversity of backgrounds and experiences the group has for the benefit and growth of all.