Tonya’s Tutorial
5 Steps
to Success & Perfection
The SwS Algebra II Portfolio
Template Page
This page was designed with the
intent of assisting Mr. Young’s students through the rigorous portfolio-assembly
process. This page will not alleviate
students who have not done the work/assignments that will act as fodder for the portfolio.
A brief explanation of some things to
keep in mind:
Mr. Young utilizes a 4 (exemplary), 3 (competent), 2 (minimal), 1 (inadequate) grading system. This means that a 4 is worth 100% of the total possible points (in a particular portfolio category), a 3 is worth 90% of the total possible points, a 2 is worth 60% of the total possible points, and a 1 is worth 30%. With that said, the SwS Algebra II portfolio categories are worth 10 pts, 20 pts, and 30 pts. Below is a list of possible scores using this grading system.
| 10 | 20 | 30 | |
| 4 | 10 | 20 | 30 |
| 3 | 9 | 18 | 27 |
| 2 | 6 | 12 | 18 |
| 1 | 3 | 6 | 9 |
A histogram depicting
the point values of categories
*Remember to date all of your
assignments. This will save you the trouble
of forgetting dates for Cover Instruments.
Step 1:
Assuming that you have completed the
assignments that will act as fodder, the first logical step in portfolio assembly is to
fully understand the 7 portfolio categories.
*Pay close attention to point values.
Overarching
Processes: This item will come from the 4
Overarching Processes (Reasoning and Problem Solving; Communication;
Connecting or linking knowledge, skills and other understanding within and across
disciplines to “real-life” situations; and Internalization
or acting on the learning to make it meaningful and worthwhile.). It should be an item
that reflects the student’s involvement in that process. {10 points}
7 Systemic Parts of SwS Algebra 2: This item will come from the 7
Systemic Parts of SwS Algebra 2 (FUNCTIONAL MODELS, APPLICATIONS, MEASUREMENT, DATA
ANALYSIS AND STATISTICS, ANALYTICAL GEOMETRY, NUMBER SENSE, MATHEMATICAL SYSTEMS).
This should be an item that reflects the student’s involvement in one of these parts.
{10 points }
Evidence of Your Ability to Test : An examination taken during the
nine weeks that includes the original work as well as corrections with reflections on the
mistakes that were made (why the questions were missed). Your Cover Instrument reflection
should address the issue of showing what you know on an examination. {30 points}
Image of You Working with Technology: Products, or other items that show
your involvement in using technology. The level and context of your involvement should be
addressed in your Cover Instrument reflection. {10
points}
Growth
Example: Some indicator of your growth as a person learning SwS Algebra 2. This could be an example of your best learning
experience, some written communication relating to a particular investigation, in the
context of growth, or other work. An explanation of how this item reflects growth should
be included in your Cover Instrument reflection. {10
points}
Web
Page/Free Choice: At least one time during
the school year you will need to create an SwS Algebra 2 web page, following the
guidelines to be provided at a later date. This page should represent your understanding
of the concepts in the course and also be a resources for others as they learn in the
course. Other times in the year, you may do additional web pages for this Portfolio item,
or you may select a piece of work, Quiz, or some Homework from the current nine-weeks that
you feel is grade worthy and that does not seem to fit in the other categories may be
provided. Your CI should explain why this work is of value. {20 points }
Journal: Responses to prompts given by me, and
additional reflections or thoughts you have as we progress through the term. You are
required to write in your Journal at least once per week and you must address all prompts
from me. Journal entries must be dated, and the restatement of prompts is required with
your response. This item also requires a Cover Instrument, and the Journal should always
contain all the writings from the start of the year. {10 points}
Once you have a fairly good idea of what
is expected of the work in each category, begin by evaluating the selection of assignments
before you.
Some key points to remember:
· The Web Page/Free Choice and Ability to Test categories are worth more points than the other categories, and combined, comprise half of the total possible points. A lower score in these areas combined with perfect scores in the other categories can result in a poor overall grade.
· While most of the assignments given in SwS Algebra II can logically fit under any or all of the portfolio categories (excluding the Ability to Test and Journal categories) there tends to be work that is more appropriate for specific categories. Pay close attention to the placement of each piece of fodder, as I am certain your grade will reflect your effort in category selection.
· Incomplete or lacking work/assignments can reduce your chances of scoring a 4 or a 3, even with a nice Cover Instrument.
· Choosing a portfolio category for a piece of work without having all of your 7 items takes away from category selection. You may wind up having an item that would better fit under a different category.
Remember to write down why
you chose an item for a specific category, you’ll need it later. After you have placed each assignment under an
appropriate category, move on to Step 2.
Step 2:
On
paper, reflect why you chose this piece of work to fit under a given category. Does it fit the criteria of the category? Explain how it fits the criteria of a
category and be specific.
*Ex: If the category is the Overarching
Process, did you use “Reasoning and Problem Solving?” In what way and to what degree?
Write these things down, as you move on,
because you can use this for your reflection. Repeat
this step for all of the assignments you intend to use for your portfolio.
Step 3:
Brainstorm on why you feel that each
piece of work is worthy of your portfolio. Write
this down. If you are having trouble in this
area, try to think of why it will be of value to you in the
future, or perhaps, why it would have been of value to you two or three years ago. Write these ideas down as you progress to step
four, for each of the portfolio categories.
Step 4:
This is where you begin compiling all
that you have done, or written down, in steps 1, 2, and 3.
It is time now to create a Cover Instrument. On
a piece of paper, answer all of the questions, as detailed and specific as possible, using
the information you compiled in steps 1, 2, and 3 to complete your reflection.
*Remember to complete all of the
requirements of the Cover Instrument and do not leave anything out. I have highlighted
some commonly forgotten elements of the CI. Save
the parts of the CI that will be duplicated on different categories so that you can simply
fill in the blank.
Portfolio Cover Instrument (CI)
Each item in the Portfolio will include
a Cover Instrument (CI). The CI will contain:
· Identification: (Which of the 7 items from the list of
required Portfolio Items is this?)
· Name: (Your name.)
· Grade Level: (10th, 11th or
12th)
· Class and Period: (The class you have and the period
that you have it.)
· Date: (The date that the attached item was
completed.)
· Time: (Approximate amount of time spent on the task attached, including time to
prepare the Cover Instrument.)
· Assistance:
(Outside assistance information, who helped you on the attached item, in what way, and to what degree.)
· Documentation:
(What is the actual
piece of work used and where is it physically located?)
· Reflection: (Why did you choose to use the
attached work for this part of the Portfolio? What does it show that makes it
Portfolio-worthy?)
*Save all of your work if you are
working on computer in case of technological failure.
Once you have completed your Cover
Instruments, for each of the 7 Items, move on to Step 5.
Step 5:
Now that you have completed the portfolio
process, and saved all of your work, it would be wise to look back over all of the tiny
details of your Cover Instrument to make sure that you have answered all questions,
and haven’t left anything out. Place
your portfolio in Mr. Young’s hand when you are finished, as this is also a part of
the criteria for your portfolio. If you have
followed these 5 Steps carefully, I am sure that you will have an awesome grade.
About the
author:
My name
is Tonya Lisle and I have created this page as criteria for a portfolio, in hopes that the
portfolio assembly process can be made easier for students of SwS Algebra II, and other
courses taught by David A. Young. If you have
any questions or comments feel free to e-mail me:
Links
http://www.fayar.net/east/Teacher.web/Math/young/
http://www.ti.com/calc/docs/8283tutorial.htm.
http://forum.swarthmore.edu/dr.math/
Mr. Young
