What is Folio Thinking?
Folio thinking involves collecting, organizing, reflecting on, and drawing connects between learning experiences. It helps students look back at their learning, show progress, consider the personal meaning of experiences, look forward to future learning, and share their learning story with others clearly and succinctly.
Here are examples of folio thinking in PebblePad, the platform hosting Michigan Tech's portfolio program:
- ENG 1102 Project Portfolio
- Professional Portfolio
- Reflection Portfolios in Arts Education
- Opportunity Research Report Workbook
Why Does Folio Thinking Matter at Michigan Tech?
As part of the Essential Education curriculum, students will use folio thinking to build ePortfolios through Michigan Tech's Husky Folio program.
The use of ePortfolios is the culmination of folio thinking efforts. It is one of 11 high-impact practices recognized by the American Association of Colleges and Universities for their proven ability to improve academic performance and retention—especially for students at high risk of dropping out of school.
Research shows that folio thinking and preparing ePortfolios supports students accomplishment in the following areas:
- Developing the ability to articulate learning experiences clearly.
- Showing progress over time.
- Considering the personal meaning of experiences.
- Looking forward to future learning.
- Communicating their learning story to others effectively.
The act of curating an ePortfolio page directly engages students in reflective learning and serves as a mechanism to help them construct knowledge. It has also been shown to support student learning and engagement. See Reflecting, Integrating, and Communicating Knowledge Through ePortfolios to Increase Civic and Scientific Literacy for an excellent overview of the effectiveness of ePortfolio-based education in general and specifically applied to science courses.
The use of ePortfolios at Michigan Tech not only helps students reach their full potential, but also helps them articulate their Tech experiences, both in and out of the classroom, to future employers, graduate schools, and others.
The Husky Folio Requirement
In each Essential Education course, students will add to their ePortfolio by creating pages that include an assignment and reflection from the course.
At key points in the Essential Education program, students will curate a broader ePortfolio to showcase their learning:
- In the Michigan Tech Seminar, they will map out personal and academic plans using the University student learning goals as inspiration, encouraging student ownership of learning from the start of their Michigan Tech career.
- As part of their Essential Education Experience or Essential Education Minor, students will document and demonstrate integration of learning across the Essential Education curriculum, and reflect on the connections between the Essential Abilities, their major courses, and their future career plans.
Types of Husky Folios
Digital Portfolios
Example: In a computer science course, students can create a digital portfolio that includes code samples, project reports, debugging processes, and reflections on what they learned from each project. They can also include screenshots or videos of their software in action.
Lab Reports and Experiment Documentation
Example: In a chemistry or biology lab course, students can maintain a portfolio of lab reports. Each report can be accompanied by a reflection where students discuss what they learned, the challenges they faced, how they overcame them, and how the experiment related to broader scientific principles.
Project-Based Learning Portfolios
Example: In an engineering course, students can document their design process for a semester-long project. This can include initial sketches, design iterations, prototype development, testing results, and final product. Reflections can focus on problem-solving strategies, teamwork, and application of theoretical knowledge.
Mathematical Problem-Solving Logs
Example: In a mathematics course, students can keep a portfolio where they solve complex problems. For each problem, they can document their problem-solving process, including initial thoughts, different approaches tried, and the final solution. Reflections can include insights gained, errors made and corrected, and connections to other mathematical concepts.
Research Journals
Example: In a physics course with a research component, students can maintain a research journal within their portfolio. This can include literature reviews, hypotheses, experimental setups, data collected, analysis, and conclusions. Reflections can discuss the research process, unexpected findings, and future research questions.
Skill Development Tracking
Example: In a data science course, students can document their progress in learning different tools and techniques (e.g., Python programming, machine learning algorithms, data visualization tools). They can include examples of their work, challenges they encountered, and how they applied feedback to improve.
Integration of Interdisciplinary Projects
Example: In an environmental science course, students can create portfolios that integrate knowledge from biology, chemistry, and physics to address environmental issues. Projects could involve fieldwork, data collection, analysis, and policy recommendations, with reflections on the interdisciplinary nature of the work.
Peer and Self-Assessment
Example: In any course, part of the portfolio can involve peer and self-assessments. Students can review each other's work and provide constructive feedback, which then becomes part of their own reflective process. Self-assessment can help students identify their strengths and areas for improvement.
Showcasing Professional Skills
Example: In a team-based robotics course, students can document not only their technical contributions, but also their roles in team dynamics, leadership, communication strategies, and project management. Reflections can include lessons learned about working in a team and how they applied these lessons to improve collaboration.
Public Presentations
Example: At the end of the semester, students can present their portfolios to the class or at a departmental symposium. This can include a summary of their projects, key learnings, and future goals. The act of presenting can itself be a valuable learning and reflective experience.
The Husky Folio Platform
Our ePortfolio platform, PebblePad, is integrated into Canvas and will allow degree programs to leverage the tool for their own department purposes in addition to the Essential Education curriculum. Support will be provided for faculty, including models and templates for a variety of reflection prompts, technical support for faculty (and students) with the ePortfolio platform, and professional development opportunities related to incorporating reflection and folio thinking into the classroom.
Ongoing training and workshops will be offered to support faculty and staff use of the ePortfolio technology platform, particularly during the implementation period. Michigan Tech faculty and staff with PebblePad experience and training will also be available to offer peer support. Training will allow faculty and staff to integrate folio thinking assignments into their courses and use PebblePad most effectively to engage students in their own learning and assess their progress on course learning outcomes. To find out about scheduled training, visit the Essential Ed NewsBlog or contact Nancy Barr at nbbarr@mtu.edu to get the next assigned date and location.