THE PORTFOLIO: BUILDING UP A PORTFOLIO

Employers require evidence that key skills have been acquired or are possessed by the student, trainee or job seeker. This requirement often creates problems for the individual job seeker, namely - 'How is evidence accumulated and where is it to be kept?' The answer is to be found in a 'portfolio'.

(a) The conceptual context

· Philosophy and rationale

The concept of a 'portfolio' is rooted in the approach adopted in Wales and England to the delivery of key skills, that is, through a student or trainee's main courses of study or training programme. Since this takes place over a period of time there is a need to 'store' evidence in some way (usually within a folder), and build it up into a coherent record. This can then be presented to an employer, when needed. Students/trainees need to be given guidance in the best way to approach the compilation of a portfolio. This is especially important in terms of the older unemployed person. In this case, the lack of relevant or up-to-date qualifications often act as a barrier to progress; training in portfolio building allows the individual to highlight her/his strengths rather than weaknesses.

 

Objectives

A portfolio is designed to allow the individual to:

     (a) keep a record of a range of evidence.
     (b) accumulate only positive evidence of achievement.
     (c) amend material, as necessary.
     (d) use it as a starting point at interviews, etc.

 

Target Group

Can be developed by all students/trainers/individual job seekers.

 

Players involved

     (a) The individual undergoing key skills training.
     (b) The trainer.
     (c) Potential user - employer.

The value of the portfolio is enhanced if all the players in an area, e.g. a Territorial Employment Pact (TEP) area, adopt the same rationale and requirements. This will result in a portfolio that virtually becomes a 'passport' for the student/trainee. However, in order to be effective, the players need to be appropriately trained in the aims and rationale of portfolio construction and use.

 

(b) Design of the Portfolio

Trainers and future employers get an idea of a person's key skills' achievements from the 'portfolio' or record. The portfolio should tell other people:

what key skills have been acquired;
at what level; and
about the nature of the evidence which proves they have been achieved.

In other words (being addressed to the student/trainee/job seeker), it shows how the individual has moved through the following process:

1. How you have acquired and practised the various key skills (This could be a short paragraph or two in which you describe how you learned/acquired the key skills you claim. Suggest how effective you think your training was.)c 2. Demonstration/production of evidence (Your record must include examples of appropriate written evidence, while evidence of practical skills, e.g. oral presentation, should be recorded in a signed 'witness statement' or assessment check list.) 3. Assessment of evidence (It is not enough for you to claim you have produced key skill evidence. You must show that a formal assessment has taken place, e.g. by a teacher, trainer, employer. You should keep in your portfolio assessed work or, where necessary, photocopies of relevant work. This work may well be needed by a qualification awarding organisation.) 4. Building a portfolio of assessed evidence (This is a folder in which you organise your evidence. You may find it useful to have a separate section for each key skill area, e.g. Communication, Application of Number, IT and Working With Others, etc. You may also wish to 'cross-reference' from one section of the portfolio to another.) 5. Recording and logging location of the LOGBOOK evidence (It is important that trainers and others are able to confirm that you have achieved the key skills claimed. It is important, therefore, for them to be able to locate exactly where each piece of evidence can be found. This is done through a log or summary sheet for each key skill completed.)

An example of part of a Portfolio Summary Sheet

KEY SKILL	DETAILS OF ASSESSMENT	ACTIVITY EVIDENCE PRESENTED IN PORTFOLIO
COMMUNICATION LEVEL 3	C3.1b: Presentation to Science Group, using OHTs and hand-outs       C3.2: Reading preparation for writing an essay for GCE A Geography. C3.3: Written reports in Science on: The influence of location on plant growth; Field Course.	Teacher's witness observation statements. Preparation notes, copies of OHTS. Page 3. Date: 8 January.   Photocopy of completed essay. Page 8: Date 10 October. Teacher's signature.   Draft and final reports.Photocopy of originals.Page 10: 12 November. Teacher's signature.
APPLICATION OF NUMBER LEVEL 3	N3.1 Planning and distribution of two different types of questionnaires for a Geography study of 'Quality of life in the local area'.       N3.2: Calculations based on the large data set produced by the Geography questionnaire. N3.3: Interpretation and presentation of results from the Geography questionnaires.	Planning, rationale and actual questionnaires. Production of plan for distribution. Sample of completed questionnaires. Justification and evaluation of design. Page 15: 5 October. Calculations and methods of checking. Page 17: 8 October. Written report with tables, graphs, etc. Justification of presentation and methods. Page 20: 12 October.
IT LEVEL 3	IT2.2: Work for School's Curriculum Enrichment Programme and work in the community.         IT2.3: Combined information, with text, images and use of numbers, for two different purposes.	Science investigation and 'write-up' of results. Annotated drafts of report. Development sheets for presentation, illustrated with diagrams, clip art. Page 24: 19 November. Charity Shop witness statement. Copy of final draft of report.Page 28: 3 January.

 

HOW DO YOU COMPLETE YOUR LOGBOOK?

The example below is taken from Communication Level 3.2. The column headed 'Portfolio reference' is taken from the Key Unit Specification and will appear in all Logbooks for Communication Level 3.2. The column headed 'Evidence' will contain statements by you, the student, about the nature of the evidence and where it is to be found in your portfolio. The final column, 'Date & Assessor's Initials', is to be completed by your teacher/tutor. The example shows a typical set of entries.

Portfolio reference	Evidence	Date & Assessor's Initials
Select and read material that contains the information you need.	Reading preparation for writing an essay for GCE A Geography on 'The relationship between economic development and sustainable growth in LEDCs'. Reading involved articles, newspaper references and text book. Checked by Mr Jones, teacher. His witness statement in Portfolio: Communication, page 2, date - 3 March.	10 January PJ
Identify accurately, and compare, the lines of reasoning and main points from texts and images.	Essay in History on 'The importance of using different types of evidence in evaluating the causes of unemployment levels in the Inter-War years'. Essay and its assessment/comments in Portfolio:Communication Section, page 6, date - 4 November.	9 January RC
Synthesise the key information in a form that is relevant to your purpose.	Classwork article - newspaper format - in Economics, entitled - 'Why the Government should do something about the strength of the £'. Article and the associated assessment and comments in Portfolio:Communication Section, page 8, date - 10 January.	2 February IH
One document to include at least one image.	Essay in Geography - 'With the aid of sketch maps and diagrams, describe and explain the development of a depression over the UK during the winter'. Essay and assessment in Portfolio:Communication Section, page 15, date - 3 July.	14 March PJ

These are pieces of evidence for Communication and are taken from a range of subjects. But not all your key skills evidence will be obtained in this way. Sometimes, you will be able to complete a 'project' which shows a large number of your key skills in one piece of work. So, your Logbook entry will be different. For example, can any of the four pieces of evidence above be used for two or more 'Portfolio references'?

 

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