After reading “Portfolio Keeping,” my understanding of what a portfolio is and how I would create one has changed. I originally thought that a portfolio was just a compilation of my old work. One that others would use to see how my final works have changed so that others can comment on my capabilities. However, after reading I realize I should focus on a portfolio that requires ongoing reflection so that I can see how I’ve improved/changed. Making a portfolio isn‘t meant to just show my best work. It is a process by which I can document all of my work, whether it’s the final piece or my first outline. It shows my progress and allows me to assess my journey, it reflects both my writing skills as well as my personal thinking growth. With a portfolio, I hope to be able to learn how to reflect better as well as help me to see my strengths and weaknesses.
Wesley’s points about the learning portfolio:
Nick G: https://blog.richmond.edu/storytelling2023/2023/09/04/prep-note-9-5-23-4/
journaling
Brice on memory: https://blog.richmond.edu/storytelling2023/2023/09/04/1870/
Ana on WOWO: https://blog.richmond.edu/storytelling2023/2023/09/04/prep-note-9-5-ana-michaelis/
After the general overview of the “Portfolio Keeping,” my comprehension of creating a portfolio has significantly deepened. I used to perceive a portfolio merely as a compilation of my past work, and a tool for others to assess my capabilities — which called “Portfolio for Presentation.” However, I should be more emphasize in “Portfolio for Learning,” which requires ongoing reflection to showcase my growth. Creating a portfolio isn‘t just about summarizing past achievements; it’s a dynamic process that allows me to document my journey of learning by doing. It embodies the consistency of my progress and self-assessment. In essence, a Portfolio serves as a mirror for me, reflecting not only my writing skills’ enhancement but also my personal growth. Through the Portfolio, I aim to become a more reflective learner. It helps me keep a watchful eye on myself—my preferences, strengths and weaknesses.
My biggest takeaway from reading “Portfolio Keeping” was the emphasis on self reflection. Before reading the book I initially thought of a portfolio as a collage of all the work done throughout the year and a few pictures attached for aesthetic purposes. Now, I realize that a portfolio isn’t just assignments crammed onto one website, but instead a blog in which a journey is told. Even when you’re finished with a piece of writing, a portfolio gives you the chance to analyze, revise, and reflect upon your assignments and the journey that you took to handing in the best work you could possibly present to others. Rather than presenting just assigned essays and projects in a portfolio, it’s important to ensure that you add personal reflections in your portfolio while self-reflecting throughout the entire process of building your portfolio. By reflecting through the step by step process of creating your portfolio, the project will become better organized, easier to manage, and constructed in a more well thought out manner. By reflecting on comments your classmate or instructor made on your portfolio or assignments, you will be better at understanding which strategies of building your portfolio are more successful. For example, if you don’t understand most of the comments left on your work, you might be better off having someone else to comment on your work. In some way, reflecting is a tool for revising.
Memory is the awareness of emotions, conflicts, and events that occurred in the past. Not only is memory just that, but it is a tool in which people develop self-reflection. As said in the articles, storytelling unlocks a space for intellectual and emotional growth for children. An example of this is when parents tell their children stories. As a result of this type of storytelling, children are able to connect with the feelings of their parents as well as practice the storing of information (memory). I can relate to the significance of storytelling in my life by the stories I heard from my grandma. When my family traveled to my grandparents house in New Jersey once a year, my grandma loved to share stories of her childhood in Ireland. I specifically remember her telling us stories about the frogs that lived in a pond near her house and the adventures her and her friends would have there. Although I can’t remember her stories to a tee, my grandmas stories helped me to reflect on the differences between our childhood lives while learning something completely new about her life.
When listening to stories, memory can be constructed and shaped earlier as a child. By listening to stories or telling stories ourselves, for example telling a story about your first day of school, children can gain a better sense of who they are, their experiences with others, and they’re connection to a storyteller (family, etc).
It’s the summer of 2022, my forehead is dripping of sweat and my teammates and I had just finished our 6 mile run. This entire summer we were focused on success going into the upcoming cross country season. This success consisted of winning our League championship. Last season, due to a combination of injuries and a small roster, we were unable to see our team on the school banner in the gymnasium. With similar goes in mind, we made it our goal to have not just better training, but training that consisted of consistency and focus. Six days a week we would meet at the track to run miles and get to bond with one another.
Fast forward to the day before the league championship, our team is sitting in a circle surrounding our coach. In our hands are packets with the exact positions we would need to place in order to beat our rivals Somers. This year, the league championship would be as competitive as it could possibly get. For half an hour our team was discussing all the in and outs as to how we could accomplish our goal. The veterans gave some motivation and everyone insisted that we would get good sleep the day prior to the race.
With all the hard days of practice, and essential focus our team won the league championship, and only by a point. Our top runners placed high as expected but it was the effort of the backend that brung us to victory. One of our veterans, had one of his best races of his career, and our last placing runner competed to the line to place ahead of an opponent by the smallest margin. With hard work and one goal in mind our team was able to place ourselves into a position for success.
Portfolio Keeping was definitely an interesting read. I was honestly unaware that there were other types of portfolios besides maybe art or financial portfolios before taking this class so I really went in not knowing anything. However, after reading the book, I have a solid understanding of writing portfolios. You can create a physical or digital portfolio and it generally is created with the intention of presenting the portfolio or using it as a tool to track your development. I also learned these portfolios can include a variety of things besides writing pieces such as pictures or music. Overall I think it will benefit my writing and I’m excited to start.
As I was scrolling through other people’s prep notes, I read Nicholas Javier’s note and he mentioned journaling and how he related that to a writing portfolio, which really struck me. I also have kept a journal for almost a year now and it has been super helpful to just get all my thoughts out there but it has indirectly tracked my growth as a person. I went back and reread some of my old entries and it is apparent how much I have matured since I first began the journal. In the same way that my journal demonstrates my personal progression, I know my writing portfolio will show my journey as a writer which I can reflect upon and see my growth.
I also found the articles interesting. I was surprised by the fact that we actually form some level of identity by age 2 and begin creating memories but we forget them completely by age 8. It was also interesting to see the correlation between a strong family and more resilience in the child. My favorite of the two articles was definitely the one about campfire stories. I didn’t expect there to be such a history behind campfires and how they resulted in more storytelling. The study conducted also surprised me. The fact that 81% of the conversations held at night were storytelling as opposed to I believe 6% during the day is a huge difference.
After reading the Portfolio, albeit falling asleep several times during my session due to Sleep Deprivation, it adds an additional depth into how I look at organizing my structures. It was also in a sense familiar, and it redefined my idea of what a portfolio is. When I thought of a portfolio, I thought of it simply as a collection of art works, or in the financial context– never before could I have imagined that the definition could extend to writing entries, short stories, and other variety of documents and materials- or that it could be used to gauge growth and development.
When reading it, I thought back to earlier this summer when I started journaling. I’d think and organize it in a rather structure that emphasized self-reflection, about how to make tomorrow better, self-criticism, and although I never had it peer reviewed like it mentioned some portfolios were- I began recognizing during my journaling that the tone and subjects had significantly developed and shifted. They were initially started as a coping mechanism for what was emotionally a difficult time, and I recall when I mentioned that when days would feel like “a 3… a 4…” several times in a row shifted towards “7… 8… 9” on various occasions. Although still different from the essence of the Portfolio book, the book itself woke me up to how writing can be used to demonstrate growth and change.
In terms of the articles, I found them also interesting. They were coupled with a few naps in the library, but as I read through them- the additional depth especially in terms of the fire and observing it calls back to this summer as well, where I had personal talks at the fire with my dad with bonding- but also to when I would sit at the camp fire with friends. It also raised interesting questions for me over technology uses.
It is easy to make a link to something in our blog or to something outside of it. Here’s how:
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