HISPANIC STUDIES Portfolio Project

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HISPANIC STUDIES Portfolio Project

• New Requirement for Majors

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Portfolio Presentation

• Introduction
• I. Portfolio Implementation
• II. Portfolio Components
• III. Student Guide
• IV. Submitting the Portfolio
• V. Participants
• VI. Timeline
• VII. Assessment
• VIII. Responsibilities of Committee and Advisor

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IntroductionWhat is the Portfolio?

• The Portfolio consists of an organized collection
  of students intellectual work and activities
  that reflects knowledge, understanding, interest,
  and accomplishments over a period of two years in
  the Hispanic Studies major.
• The Portfolio provides a comprehensive view of
  students abilities and progress it helps to
  determine the students strengths and weaknesses
  in correlation with the goals and objectives of
  the Hispanic Studies major.
• The Portfolio intends to provide language majors
  with solid foundations and tools for their future
  careers. Portfolio creation is the
  responsibility of the student, with professor
  guidance and support.
• The Portfolios wide range of student-initiated
  and faculty-directed activities enables faculty
  to foster intellectual rigor among the majors,
  assess the quality of their work, and evaluate
  the major program in the Department of Hispanic
  Studies.
• The Portfolio helps students to articulate and
  make connections among different subjects, and
  enhance the learning experience through
  reflection on the students work, and the making
  of informed decisions.

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IntroductionPortfolio Assessment

• Portfolio assessment is the evaluation of a
  collected, organized, annotated body of work,
  produced over time by a student.
• Portfolio assessment is a superior indicator of
  students progress toward specific objectives.
• Portfolios give an integral understanding of the
  students progress and accomplishments through
  assessment of the collected work during a period
  of time.
• An assessment portfolio shows not only the best
  work of which the student is capable, but the
  progress the student has made to reach that level
  of achievement.
• An assessment portfolio is evaluated on specific
  criteria.

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IntroductionPortfolio Assessment

• The portfolio does not affect students
  eligibility for graduation unless the student
  fails to assemble the portfolio and comply with
  the Student Guidelines.
• The progress of the portfolio will be monitored
  in a coherent and timely manner through regular
  meetings with the advisor.
• The portfolio examines the entire evidence of
  achievement of goals and objectives collected
  during the last two years of the major beyond the
  regular evaluation from each particular course.
• A well kept portfolio is an assessment and
  diagnostic tool of students integrative learning
  in the major and a reflection of their progress,
  products and achievement.

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IntroductionPortfolio Assessment

• If the portfolio is unsatisfactory, the student
  needs to rework the areas lacking in proficiency
  or submit the required artifacts (products
  collected in the portfolio).
• The portfolio is granted a total of two credits,
  one during the junior year and one at graduation.
  These credits do not replace any class credit.
  The number of credits of the major will be
  increased from 36 to 38 credits.

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IntroductionWhy use Portfolio Assessment?

• It measures students progress over a period of
  time in various language learning contexts
• It is by nature incorporated fully into
  instruction
• It assists faculty in validating and improving
  the curriculum
• It identifies the majors learning goals and the
  evidence in meeting these goals
• It is more formative than summative, it shows
  final product, but focuses on student progress
• It reveals any weaknesses in instructional
  practices
• It offers the professor and student an in-depth
  knowledge of the student as a learner
• It offers a coherent picture of a students
  individual achievement and his/her academic
  development

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IntroductionPortfolio Effects on Students

• Enhance the students engagement in their work
  towards the major
• Foster students reflection on their work as they
  assemble the portfolio
• Help students explore potential areas of further
  study and research
• Create opportunities for a more interdisciplinary
  approach to the study of Hispanic literatures,
  cultures, and Spanish linguistics
• Provide a forum for further creative and
  analytical expression
• Create opportunities for students to make
  connections between disparate readings, projects,
  and course contents
• Encourage students self-assessment and
  monitoring of their progress
• Foster communication between student-faculty
  members and student-fellow students
• Enhance student learning through the process of
  revising and evaluating the final product
• Make students more conscious about their goals
  vis-à-vis the goals for the major
• The student becomes aware of the coherence of a
  particular learning experience behind his/her
  major
• The student acquires more responsibility for
  his/her own learning
• Expands students resume
• Provides a life long learning experience
• Promotes academic ethos

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I. Portfolio Implementation

• How long will it take majors to build the
  Portfolio?
• Under the guidance of an advisor, assembling the
  portfolios in the Pilot Program will take place
  over a period of FOUR semesters, upon the
  students declaration of his/her major in
  Hispanic Studies.
• When will the Portfolio become a requirement?
• Students will be required to use portfolios once
  the requirement is published in the Academic
  catalogue. Students under the current catalogue
  will decide voluntarily between the Senior
  Project paper and the Portfolio.
• How will the Portfolio Pilot be developed?
• Given the need to pilot the portfolio we are
  stimulating the participation with two extra
  credits in Spanish. The pilot program will be in
  effect for two years, fall 2006- fall 2008. We
  expect to evaluate the pilot portfolio by the end
  of fall 2008 and implement the portfolio as a
  requirement for all Spanish majors by spring
  2008. Participants will volunteer in the program
  until the portfolio becomes a requirement. Once a
  requirement for graduation the student
  participation is mandatory, but the piloting of
  the program will continue until the end of fall
  2008
• Who is ultimately responsible for the Portfolio?
• The Hispanic Studies faculty takes complete
  responsibility for the implementation and
  assessment of the portfolio.

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II. Portfolio Components

• Majors are required to comply with the following
  six academic endeavors
• Entrance and exit exams
• Senior-year reflective essay
• Academic writing samples
• General reflective essays
• Extracurricular writing
• Creative writing or personal choice of artifacts

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Portfolio Component 1 Entrance and Exit Exams
Students are expected to take an Exit exam before
they finish their major, which will provide them
with an opportunity to reflect on a. possible
reasons for low performance in specific language
skills b. strategies to improve c. areas of
difficulty Students are expected to take an
Exit exam before they finish their major,
which will provide them with an opportunity
to do a more holistic analysis of their
performance by comparing entrance and exit
scores
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Portfolio Component 2 Senior-Year Reflective
Essay (minimum 7 pages)

• Students will write a reflective essay, as an
  epilogue to the portfolio in the last semester of
  the senior year.
• This essay will be an oral presentation at the
  Portfolio ceremony students should synthesize
  their personal experience of the major in
  Hispanic Studies, including the following
• A. their academic strengths and weaknesses
• B. major advances in knowledge of specific
  content areas related directly or indirectly to
  their major,
• C. their rationale for the selection of portfolio
  documents, and a critique of the documents
  themselves
• D. students perception of the achievement of
  life long learning skills

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Portfolio Component 3 Academic Writing Samples

• Hispanic Studies Majors will write at least four
  papers at the 300 level, three of them from
  different courses, three different content areas
  (literature, culture, or linguistics) and three
  different professors.
• Diversity of content will provide students with
  ample opportunities to carry out analytical work
  on texts of different nature, themes and genre.
• Students could also write a reflective paper on
  their internships, World cultures experience,
  Experiential Learning, Service Learning or any
  other cultural experience related to the Hispanic
  world and culture.
• Students may include additional academic writing
  samples from Spanish 212.
• Each paper must include a one-page
  reflection/self assessment about the writing of
  the research project.

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Portfolio Component 4 General Reflective Essays

• Majors are expected to write a reflective essay
  for each artifact-product they choose to include
  in the portfolio collection. Periodically the
  students should examine their work based on
  established criteria (goals and objectives of the
  particular class).
• The reflection should be contextualized, making
  connections between a particular goal and the
  goals of the major, between academics, life, and
  their future projects. Students should
  critically reflect, process, and give meaning to
  their work.
• In their reflection papers students should
  identify the most important elements of what has
  been learned from that particular product (see
  guide for reflective essays in the appendix).
• The reflection essay should capture the students
  attitudes toward their learning experience and
  also the ability to synthesize important concepts
  and information from each artifact being
  reflected upon.
• After turning papers in for a grade in the
  corresponding course, students will re-read each
  paper at least once during the following term and
  will write at least one reflection/self-assessment
  on each one of them.
• Each item that the student includes should be
  accompanied by a statement of justification,
  indicating why it was chosen.

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Portfolio Component 5 Extracurricular Writing

• Hispanic Studies majors will keep a journal
  (minimum 7 pages) while involved in any of the
  following activities
• A. a study abroad program
• B. traveling in a Spanish-speaking country
• C. an experiential learning activity
• D. world cultures course or experience
• E. an advanced course outside CSBSJU,
  conferences related to the Hispanic world,
  community service, internship, or service
  learning experience.
• The journal should chronicle events, readings,
  insights, or any other activity that complements
  the Hispanic Studies curriculum

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Portfolio Component 6 Creative Writing or
Personal Choice of Artifacts (optional)

• Samples of work the student may have done related
  to or inspired by studies undertaken for the
  major or interdisciplinary in nature
• Examples include poetry, lyrics, creative
  writing, translation, fiction, art, history,
  environmental issues, political and social issues
  related to the Hispanic world, etc.

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III. Student Guide The final portfolio should
include the following itemsIntroduction
Academic writing samples All reflective
essays Extracurricular writing Senior-year
reflective essay Creative writing or personal
choice of artifactsEntrance and exit exams
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Student GuideIntroduction

• Includes letter explaining what goals the student
  is setting for himself/herself and how he/she
  plans to accomplish them.
• Reflects on the students academic strengths and
  weaknesses and how is the student planning to
  enhance the former and overcome the latter.

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Student GuidePortfolio Summary

• Includes page numbers and/or tabs to clearly
  indicate the portfolios content
• Arranges the portfolio sequentially, topically
  (Latin America, Spain) or according to artifacts
  (essays, research, journals, exams, etc.)

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Student GuideAcademic Writing Samples

• Each academic essay should be accompanied by a
  reflective essay
• Students may include as many essays as they
  choose. The minimum requirement is four essays.

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Student GuideAll Reflective Essays

• All reflections should clearly illustrate the
  ability to effectively critique work and provide
  suggestions for practical alternatives
• Self reflection should be evident

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Student GuideExtracurricular Writing

• Include all journals related to world cultures
  and experiential learning outside the classroom.

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Student GuideSenior Year Reflective Essay

• It should synthesize the student academic
  experience.
• It should show evidence of critical thinking and
  problem-solving ability.
• It should assess individual growth and
  improvement, and academic strengths and
  weaknesses.
• It should state future professional goals.

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Student GuideCreative Writing or Personal
Choice of Artifacts

• Students could choose to include any artifacts
  that are clearly and directly related to the
  purpose of the portfolio.

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Student GuideEntrance and Exit Exams

• Students should include
• the exams
• the scores of these exams
• their reaction to the results

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IV. Submitting the Portfolio

• The portfolio is due early in the semester the
  student intends to graduate. Exact due dates for
  portfolio entries, entrance and exit examinations
  will be posted each semester in the Hispanic
  Studies Web page.
• The semester preceding graduation and the
  semester of graduation, students should register
  for Span 399 in order to get one credit of
  portfolio for each of these semesters.
• It is the students responsibility to include all
  required entries in the portfolio. Missing
  entries will delay graduation. Incomplete or
  late portfolios will not be accepted after the
  final deadline for submission.

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V. Participants in the Portfolio Project

• Assessment Committee
• Hispanic Studies Chair
• Advisor
• An additional Faculty member
• Majors

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VI. Timeline of Portfolio Project

• September, 2006
• Selection of Assessment Committee, Advisors, and
  Majors for the PP.
• The process of assembling the portfolio begins as
  pilot project.
• Students take the Entrance Exam.
• Spring 2007
• Students planning to graduate spring 2008 or
  later meet with their respective Advisor at least
  twice per semester to discus the portfolio in
  process.
• The Assessment Committee meets with the Advisors
  near the end of each semester to assess the work
  done by majors and to provide a forum for
  discussion among the advisors.

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VII. Assessment of Pilot Portfolio Project

• The evaluation will consist of a written
  assessment report by The Assessment Committee and
  the Advisers based on a common guideline for
  portfolio assessment. This guideline is primarily
  focused on
• completeness of work (inclusion of the required
  items) and neat, professional presentation of
  portfolio
• appropriateness of selected artifacts
• evidence of sustained work on the portfolio
  over 4 semesters
• demonstration of academic and intellectual
  growth
• coherence (based on the reflections that
  accompany each piece and the introductory essay)
• evidence of critical thinking
• Upon receipt of the assessment report by the
  Assessment Committee and the Adviser, the major
  will, if needed
• A. write a response/reaction to the report by
  the Assessment Committee and the Adviser.
• B. review/edit some of the artifacts or the
  complete portfolio and present a revised version
  including a short introduction.

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Examples

• Sample reflective essays

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Questions
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Sources