The Portfolio

How to build A Professional PortfolioHarry H. Holdorf

What is a professional portfolio?Like other professionals, Medical students/graduates need to show evidence of their growth and achievement over time. The professional portfolio is a mechanism that allows for students to collect and present that evidence. In reality, a professional portfolio is just the collection of what students already do. Characteristics of an Effective PortfolioStructuredRepresentativeA structured portfolio should be organized, complete, and creative in its presentation. Questions to ask:Is my portfolio neat? Are the contents displayed in an organized fashion? Are the contents representative for the purpose that it is intended?A portfolio should also be comprehensive. The documentation should represent the scope of your work. It should be representative across courses and time. Questions to ask:Does my portfolio portray the types and levels of my professional experience?Does my portfolio display a crosssection of my Medical Education?Characteristics of an Effective PortfolioSelectiveThe natural tendency for anyone preparing a portfolio is wanting to document everything. However, if a portfolio is being used either for summative or formative purposes, careful attention should be given to conciseness and selectivity in order to appropriately document ones work. Students/Graduates should consider limiting the contents of a portfolio to ten pages.

What are some specific purposes of a portfolio?Job applicants for Sonography positions can use portfolios to document their professional effectiveness.

Students/Graduates can use portfolios to:document their effectiveness for hiring or promotional purposesreflect on and refine their professional skills and philosophies.to invite comments from their peers and to share learning successes so that their peers can build on them. Portfolios have much to offer the medical professional. When students carefully examine their own practices, they are likely to improve. The examples of accomplished practices that portfolios provide also can be studied and adapted for use within the clinical setting. HoldorfNOTE: Protocols

Portfolios: The Historical Perspective Fine ArtsHistorically, portfolios were utilized by those in the Fine Arts; artists and musicians would collect their best "samples and examples" into a professional portfolio for when they attended exhibitions.

These days, artists tend to use the web to showcase their work.

ArchitectureArchitects also used portfolios to showcase their best work. The Yale School of Architecture encourages their students to post portfolios on online sites such as Pinterest and Tumbler .

Education

Education majors have used portfolios to show that they have mastered specific state requirements. For instance, Florida has the FEAPS, Florida Education Accomplished Practices, a list of twelve core practices and expectations specifically geared to those in the teaching profession and teacher education programs. Teacher Education colleges and universities may require portfolios in their programs. An illustration would be the University of Central Florida's Teaching and Learning Center's web site that devotes a web page for portfolio development.

NursingColleges and universities all over the nation have implemented portfolios in their undergraduate and/or graduate nursing programs. These portfolios provide "a means of documenting skills, professional development, and goal achievement." A portfolio enables registered nurses returning to school to describe their achievements and earn credits for their experiences. Currently, many colleges use an online program to help their students develop professional portfolios.

EngineeringGraduates of engineering programs, especially in the computer programming areas, are encouraged to create portfolios as best practices for their own future job search. Portfolios help them "stand out" when they are in completion for specific jobs. Recommendations are made for what should be considered in building a portfolio.

Creating a Student PortfolioGuidelinesStart now!Many of the possible components of a student portfolio are difficult, if not impossible, to obtain after the educational program finished. Collecting these components during the term will make assembling the final portfolio much easier.

Give a fair and accurate presentation.No one is the perfect student. Be sure to highlight the positive, bur show the reflective process whenever a skill set does go AND doesnt go quite as planned. The reflective process is essential to good learning.

Be selective in which materials you choose to include; be sure to represent a cross-section of your educational skills and not just one aspect of it. A relatively small set of well-chosen documents is more effective than a large, unfiltered collection of all your educational documents.

Make your organization explicit to the reader.Use a table of contents at the beginning and tabs to separate the various components of your portfolio.

Essentials to Include in a Professional Student PortfolioBackground InformationResume Background information on student and learning context (why learn ultrasound?)educational philosophy statement and professional goals

Professional Informationlist of professional activities2-4 letters of recommendationformal evaluations

Students Artifacts and Reflections: Documenting an Extended Learning Activityoverview of unit goals and instructional planlist of resources used in your learning processtwo consecutive learned goalsvideotape of skills lab scanningstudent work examplesevaluation of student work reflective commentary by the instructoradditional units/lessons/student work as appropriate

Background InformationResume Students should take care with their resume that important "first impression" to those viewing your portfolio is as good as it can be.

Background information on student and objective/competency context which may includeA list of courses taken SyllabiCourse descriptions with details of content, objectives, methods, and procedures for evaluating student learningAssignmentsExams and quizzes, graded and ungraded Handouts, problem sets, lecture outlinesDescriptions and examples of visual materials usedDescriptions of uses of computers and other technology in teachingVideotapes of your skills laboratory experience

Your Educational philosophy statement and what your outcomes should be (Student goals)

Educational Philosophy StatementAn Educational Philosophy Statement clarifiesWhy do you learn?

What do you learn?

How do you learn?

How do you measure your effectiveness?What is Your learning Orientation/Philosophy?There are questions to ask before a learning experience, such as: How do you decide what you need to learn? And question to ask after: Was it worth learning? How do you know? If you were to learn it again, would you approach learning it in a different way? Why? In the process of learning this, did you discover anything about yourself as a learner? Consider These QuestionsWhat are the specific subjects and courses taught?

What are the objectives for student learning?

Why are these objectives important? Do the objectives differ depending on the type of course or the background of students taught? If so, how?

What should students gain from taking your courses? Examples include an understanding of foundational concepts in the fieldsophistication as critical thinkersthe ability to write concise and well-supported arguments.

PracticeTake inventory and practice writing your educational philosophy statement.Professional InformationProfessional InformationList of professional activitiesStudents may have responsibilities in addition to their Student duties. Some Students are involved in college-wide, discipline, and/or campus based committees; advisory committees; and community-based organizations.. 1-3 letters of recommendationStudents may include recommendations from other faculty, students, and/or administratorsFormal Evaluations

ArtifactsCollections and ReflectionsAlthough portfolios vary in form and content, depending upon their purpose, most contain some combination of artifacts and written reflections. These are the heart of the portfolio.

Further, the artifacts, whether Objectives, Competencies, or sample student work samples must be accompanied with written explanations. For example, what is the purpose of a students project? What did the class learn from the class debate? Be specific and be reflective. It's the intent and thoughtful evaluation that the artifacts should reveal. Each artifact be accompanied by a brief, identifying caption. Include, for example:

title of the artifactdate produceddescription of the contextpurpose, evaluation, or other types of comments

Keep records of everything.

Use a jump drive to save documents. Copy emails to a MS Word document and save them to a jump drive.

Its better to have and not need than to need and not have.

Contemplate your ArtifactsArtifactsDirectPerformance assessmentsProjects or work based assignmentsCopies of minutes of discipline meetings, action plans, progress reportsInternal and external correspondenceProduct evidence (e.g. examples, & samples as appropriate)

IndirectAchievement in related areasAttendance on courses/training activities relevant to the learning outcomes Membership of related committees or outside organizations

Suitability of evidenceThose who review a professional portfolio will need to be satisfied that the evidence is:

sufficientauthenticrelevantcurrent

Sufficient EvidenceEvidence must cover all aspects of the assessment criteria for each segment you are seeking to achieve. Some qualifications require specific evidence and students should check the guidelines to ensure you have whats needed. Sufficient does not equate mass. It simply means collecting enough evidence to demonstrate competence.Authentic EvidenceAs you work your way through the portfolio, the evidence that you include must substantiatethat you have met the objectives. It is important, therefore, to ensure you only submit evidence relating to your own performance. Relevant EvidenceAny evidence must relate clearly to the qualifications you are seeking to achieve. Assessors are only interested in evidence directly related to the requirements set out in the units. You should avoid the inclusion of reference documents and other evidence that does not demonstrate competence.

Current EvidenceYou must only include evidence that demonstrates your compliance with the requirements that has occurred since your program start dateIncluding evidence that does not fit the time frame will disqualify your portfolio.

NOTE: Any evidence prior to your professional learning can be listed on your Resume and or cover letter.The final wordDo you want to knock their socks off when interviewing foryour dream job? If so, stand out from the crowd by creating a portfolio of your professional work and experiences.You can show your future boss or clients that you are perfect for the position. A portfolio with real examples of your professional work communicates more than just the quality of your work. It demonstrates your passion and commitment to your profession.

Will you ever get a chance to show your Portfolio?Maybe not!!!If you offer to show someone your Portfolio, they may passits too time-consuming to look at.BUT, you have now organized your career in your mind.You can present your Portfolio through conversation

IF NOTHING ELSE, CREATING A PORTFOLIO GIVES YOU THE CONFIDENCE BOOST THAT YOU NEED TO GET THAT JOB.CONSIDER IT AN EXERCISE IN MAPPING OUT AND UNDERSTAINDING WHO YOU ARE AND WHERE YOU ARE GOING. YOU CAN NOW EASILY AND CONFIDENTLY EXPRESS THIS TO OTHERS.