Introduction
Lynn Meade
“Portfolio collections, with their emphasis on planning, self-assessment, and goal setting,
are an ideal vehicle for showcasing hard-to-measure abilities.
Portfolios have a most magical way
of transforming the ordinary and the mundane
into the elegant and eye-catching.
It is the nature of portfolios to capture growth and change.
They demonstrate a student’s readiness to perform
at a new level or take on a new challenge.”
Vicki Spandel
Foreword
C. Edward Watson, Ph.D.
Associate Vice President for Curricular and Pedagogical Innovation
Executive Director for Open Educational Resources and Digital Innovation
American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U)
Being able to accurately demonstrate your knowledge and abilities is one of the most valuable skills you can develop. Doing this well will help you as you enter the job market, compete for promotions, and represent yourself in a range of contexts. As someone who has led hiring processes for decades, in almost every candidate search that I’ve been a part of, there has been at least one applicant who appeared strong, but their organization or presentation of their experiences and expertise limited their competitiveness. Being able to clearly articulate ideas, connect with audiences, and organize and craft your professional identity will benefit you tremendously now and later in life, regardless of your major or career aspirations. In truth, the ability to communicate effectively is not just a skill, it’s a necessity.
There are a variety of attributes that make Building a Professional Portfolio particularly exciting. First, your favorite thing about this book may already be that it is free and open access. You do not need a login to read the book. You don’t need to pay for codes to access it, and your access will not end at the end of the semester. You are encouraged to bookmark this text and see it as a resource that stays with you throughout your time in college and can serve as a reference later in life. This approach, often referred to as an Open Educational Resource or an OER, has been found to have a variety of benefits for students. In addition to saving you money and granting you access forever, it also makes sure all students have equal access to course materials on the first day of class. It’s simply the most fair and equitable approach available to textbooks there is. No one in class with you is at a disadvantage because they were not able to buy this textbook.
In addition to being free, this book is specifically about an evidence-based approach that maximizes learning and will help you develop the skills mentioned in the first paragraph above. Portfolios, in essence, are collections of your work, reflections, and achievements and often leverage online tools to make sharing the portfolio easier, but in educational settings, the notion of portfolio actually refers to a couple of things: both the product as well as the process. You can think of the notion of portfolio as having two identities and two purposes. While portfolios do indeed serve to provide an end product that can be shared with a range of audiences, including your instructor, parents, friends, and potential employers, research has shown that the process of creating a portfolio is incredibly important and powerful for learning.
From a learning perspective, learning ultimately results from the thinking and working that we all do. If we write an essay, orally defend an argument, or complete a set of problems, we are actively engaging in the process of learning. It is sometimes said that the one who does the work is the one who does the learning, and I can imagine there have been classes in the past where maybe you weren’t necessarily brought forward to actively engage in the learning process. For instance, listening to a lecture can be a fairly passive experience, and sometimes those listening don’t learn that much through that strategy. That’s one reason why we take notes during lectures. We are trying to actively process what we’re hearing so that we’re more likely to make sense of and remember what we’re hearing.
Portfolios function as a deep learning strategy, meaning that the process of creating and refining a portfolio has greater learning benefits than other, more traditional approaches that an instructor might use. The process of creating a portfolio requires a lot of reflection, decision-making, organization, editing, and writing. In short, there is a lot of thinking and active engagement that occurs as part of portfolio development. As a result, a lot of learning takes place as well. In fact, the research on portfolios as a learning strategy is so compelling that it was recently added to a list of high-impact educational practices that the American Association of Colleges and Universities promotes to higher education.
Unlike studying lecture notes or cramming for an exam, when you’re creating a portfolio, you don’t really have to think about learning or remembering. It just happens. As the title suggests, you can focus on the guidance the book provides in regard to building a professional portfolio, and by following that guidance to create a portfolio, you will develop skills to more accurately demonstrate your knowledge and abilities, a key life skill.
Within this book, you will find real-life examples, practical tips, and actionable advice, making the process of creating an impactful portfolio both achievable and enjoyable. The guidance and prompts are thoughtfully designed to not only help you compile your achievements but also to understand the story they tell. The book encourages you to think beyond the conventional, urging you to consider how your unique experiences and perspectives can be woven into a compelling portfolio narrative and a personal brand.
Building a Professional Portfolio is more than just a guide; it is a companion in your professional journey. It empowers you to take control of your narrative, showcase your talents, and open doors to new possibilities. Let this book be your guide as you craft a portfolio that truly represents who you are and what you have and can achieve.
C. Edward Watson, Ph.D.
Associate Vice President for Curricular and Pedagogical Innovation
Executive Director for Open Educational Resources and Digital Innovation
American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U)
A Word from the Author, Lynn Meade
Written with You, the Student, in Mind
As I was writing this book, I was teaching a class, Professional ePortfolios. I was helping students write their portfolios and I was redesigning my portfolio. This book came out of that lived experience and was tested by the needs and experiences of my students. I wrote this book as if you were my student and I were mentoring you through the process. I tried to imagine you and what you will need to do your best work.
Practical
While this book is deeply bound in research, it is at its heart a very practical resource. Because there is not one right way to build a portfolio, I used examples from a variety of sources to help you “see” what each concept looks like in a variety of applications. Don’t think of these as the limits of ways to “do” portfolios, but rather as a springboard to use to launch your ideas.
Focused on Helping You Write for Professional Audiences
This book is geared to help you write a portfolio for professional audiences. For some, this will be writing for future employers, and for others, it will be writing for graduate schools. At the center of every chapter are the fundamental questions, “What is your purpose” and “Who is your audience?”
Centered Around Critical Reflection
Portfolios done right should lead to deep reflection and personal growth. As you engage in critical reflection and write about the experiences and what they mean to you, you will be transformed. The portfolio process is as much about growing and learning as it is a process of crafting your identity for others to see you as a professional.
Four Stylistic Choices
- I dropped the e. I attended a conference where Tia Brown McNair, of The American Association of Colleges and Universities spoke. She said that the use of the “e” in ePortfolio was slowly becoming obsolete so I decided to drop the “e” in this book and just refer to them as “portfolios”.
- I opted for an informal, comfortable tone. I am capable of impressing you with my vocabulary, but that didn’t seem necessary here. I wanted to talk with you like a friend. The choice to say “you” instead of the generic sounding “students” was one way I attempted to make the materials approachable.
- I included references at the end of the chapters instead of the end of the book. I thought that you might download only one chapter and I felt it was important that you have easy access to those references in case you wanted to know more about an idea.
- I embedded the teacher’s manual into the chapters. I decided to put suggestions for teachers at the end of each chapter instead of putting them in a teacher’s guide. I believe the information should be for everyone to access. That means that you, the student, have the same access to information and ideas that your teacher has.
References
Carter, S. (2021). ePortfolios as a platform for evidencing employability and building professional identity: A literature review. International Journal of Work – Integrated Learning, 22(4), 463–474. https://www.ijwil.org/files/IJWIL_22_4_463_474.pdf
ChatGPT. Overview of business portfolio.
Spandel, V. (1997). Reflections on Portfolios. Handbook of Academic Learning, pg 578-591. Academic Press.
Are you using this textbook in your class? Let me know!
