Creating
Math Portfolios
Sarah Picard
Many
teachers in the early childhood grades struggle to quantify all
that a child has learned mathematically in a year. Portfolios
are one way to show student progress from month to month and unit
to unit. They are also often used as a tool to communicate with
parents and other staff members. But how do you set up and maintain
portfolios? How do use them as a tool to communicate with your
fellow teachers, your students, and their parents?
Setting
up a System
Setting up portfolios can seem like a large task, but if teachers
set up a structure with their children, it can feel like just
another part of your classroom routine.
At the beginning
of the year, set up a large file folder or envelope with each
child’s name. Keep the folders or envelopes in a place that
is accessible to you and your students. Keep the files or envelopes
in an order (alphabetical, by table number or color). You can
contain the files in a hanging file folder or a large plastic
stage bin.
What
goes in the folders?
Teachers and students will contribute to the portfolio. A few
times each year, students can write about themselves as mathematicians
(See Teaching Our Youngest Mathematicians
to Think About Their Thinking). These interviews will be a
valuable assessment tool, providing insight into what the students
know about themselves as mathematicians.
Most importantly,
teachers and students will want to save pieces of work (project
drafts, sample word problems, formal assessments) that represent
a child’s progress. It works best to save a piece of work
from the first week of a unit of study and a piece of work from
the final week in the unit. These pieces usually show growth over
time, and/or places where the student has struggled. Set aside
time at the end of a unit of study to look through pieces of work
and select pieces to save in the portfolio. Students and teachers
can work together on the selection process.
Students should
be reminded to look for pieces where they:
- did their
best thinking
- tried a
new strategy to solve a problem
- ran into
a tricky part, or
- worked
their way through a tricky part.
Some teachers
create little slips of paper that can be attached to a piece of
work so the reader will know why the piece is in the portfolio.
| I
chose this piece for my portfolio because it shows a time
when I did my best thinking. |
I
chose this piece for my portfolio because it shows a time
when I tried a new strategy to solve the problem. |
| I
chose this piece for my portfolio because it shows a time
when I ran into a tricky part. |
I
chose this piece for my portfolio because it shows a time
when I tried hard to work my way through a tricky part.
|
Using
the Portfolios
The portfolios will provide clear evidence of a child’s
thinking. As the school year continues and units of study are
completed, the collection of work samples with the students’
notes attached will show what is still difficult for the student
and how much the student has progressed.
Many teachers
use the portfolios to explain student progress to parents at conferences.
The actual samples of work can point to places where students
will need continued support and pinpoint the places where students
may need intervention. The portfolios can also be a useful tool
for support staff at a school. The authentic assessments can provide
information to all adults that work with a student to provide
support. They can open the portfolio and begin to understand the
mathematical thinking the child has mastered and the areas that
require practice. Instead of colleagues explaining a child’s
progress in broad terms, teachers will now be able to plan for
instruction that meets the unique needs of the learner. And that’s
no small thing.
|
