Developing Portfolios in Education: A Guide to Reflection, Inquiry, and Assessment

"This is an excellent text for all individuals about to or actually engaged in the portfolio development process. It guides candidates step-by-step through the initial decision making, process development, and presentation stages, and it answers questions that newcomers may not even know to ask."
―Kimberly Kinsler, Hunter College of the City University of New York  

"The information on creating an electronic portfolio is clear, concise, and complete. Even a novice will be successful!"
―Patricia A. Parrish, Saint Leo University  

Developing Portfolios in Education: A Guide to Reflection, Inquiry, and Assessment is a far-reaching and engaging text on portfolio development. Within a conceptual and research framework about the usefulness of portfolios, this book suggests practical methods to organize the process, and provides tools that will be used not only during preparation programs but also for professional and academic advancement.  

Key Features:

• Provides a conceptual framework for portfolio development: Readers are given clear descriptions about how portfolios are designed and used, and are guided through the process of selecting, organizing, evaluating, and presenting portfolio artifacts. An entire chapter is devoted to developing an electronic portfolio.
• Emphasizes institutional processes: Careful attention is given to the role of standards in the development of portfolio rubrics and evaluation.
• Offers real-life scenarios: Real world examples genuinely connect the reader to the portfolio process and make the experience of developing the portfolio more relevant to practice. In addition, visuals help create a concrete representation of the material for the learner and templates provide hands-on tools.  

Accompanied by High Quality Ancillaries!
Additional resources on the CD that accompanies the text include PowerPoint® slides, video clips, templates, sample documents, and electronic links for creating a portfolio. An icon appears in the pages of the text wherever related or additional material is available on the enclosed CD.

Intended Audience:
This is an excellent supplementary text for virtually any advanced undergraduate or graduate teacher preparation course including Introduction to the Teaching Profession, Introduction to Classroom Management, Instruction and Assessment, Reflection and Evaluation, and Field-Based Experience. It is also a valuable resource for in-service teachers, administrators, and counselors.

Ruth S. Johnson is a professor emeritus at California State University, Los Angeles. She has served in a variety of educational settings in New Jersey and California. Ruth received her Ed.D. in 1985 from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. Her dissertation was titled An Exploratory Study of Academic Labeling, Student Achievement and Student Ethnographic Characteristics. At the K–12 level, she served as a classroom teacher, an instructional consultant, a director of elementary education, an analyst, an assistant superintendent of schools in the areas of curriculum and business, and as a superintendent of schools. She initiated efforts that resulted in raising academic standards and student achievement in low performing school districts. She served as an education consultant for the New Jersey Department of Education and as a director for two non-profit organizations in California which focused on raising student achievement in underserved student populations. Her major scholarly interests and publications focus on processes related to changing the academic culture of urban schools, with an emphasis on access and equity. In addition to her four published books, she has written numerous book chapters, articles, editorials, research reports, and manuscript reviews. As a recognized speaker, she has presented nationally to scholarly and professional audiences and serves as a consultant to schools and districts.