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.
| |
Teacher-generated Materials |
Parent-generated Materials |
Child-generated Materials |
| Infants |
Physical growth: height, weight, etc., as a baby book would include
Anecdotes: what made the child smile, how he discovered his toes, what objects are of particular interest, how she responds to singing/music
Photographs: include photos at three, six, and nine months to show development over time; also include photos of milestones such as smiling, sitting up, crawling; include notes that give greater insight into development, such as “always smiles and coos when she sees this puppet” |
Medical & health survey: information that would relate to development such as illnesses, immunizations, medical treatments
Family background: family structure, important events, interests, and hobbies |
|
| Toddlers |
Checklists: quick way to document growth in several domains, can be used with whole class
Individual objectives: a list of goals for each child
Anecdotes: include the time, date, and setting of the event. Write down the most important details to help you remember aspects of development: “Sam began sorting the bits of paper by color before he glued them on his collage.”
Summaries of parent interviews and conferences.
Photographs: in their favorite
play area (climber, blocks, sand) |
Surveys: about child’s development, health, preferences
Important events: new baby, parent changes job, death of a loved one, new house
Summaries of teacher conferences
Anecdotes: stories about life outside school that demonstrate an aspect of development |
Creative products: drawings, scribbles, collages
Audiotape of talking, singing |
| Preschoolers |
Continue to use checklists
(zips, buttons, ties, uses scissors, takes turns, etc.), anecdotes, summaries of parent conferences and interviews, individual objectives, photographs
Weekly activity sheets: these charts will list all of your center areas and can easily be marked to show which centers children choose each day. This will allow you to see where a child spends most of his or her time. If a child has not entered the library center all week, consider how you can encourage interest in that area
Interview the child: about favorite activities, pets, friends, books, etc.
List of favorite books or books the child can read or retell |
Continue to use surveys, anecdotes, summaries of conferences |
Creative products: paintings, drawings, collages, etc.; include a self-portrait at the beginning and end of the year; use family portraits
Attempts at writing: signs from the block center that the child drew or wrote, labels and notes the child wrote (photocopy anything you can’t keep)
Dictated stories with illustrations
Writing folder: collection of drawings and writing, shows progression of writing development from scribbling to spelling words, also indicates a child’s interests when the child decides what to write about. Realize that this is not a collection of handwriting worksheets
Photographs of block structures, clay sculptures, anything that can’t be put into portfolio
Audiotape of conversations in centers, retelling stories, singing, etc.
Videotape of dramatic play, block building, dramatizing stories, outdoor play, etc.
Journals of scientific observations (which ones sink or float, what happened to the seeds in the baggie) |
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