Quote: "When less motivated students listen to their classmates talk about their work and how they have grown as readers and writers, they often decide to work harder the next year"
This is a great reason to have students share their portfolios at the end of the year. I agree with Tompkins that having students share their portfolios with classmates provides a great opportunity for students to celebrate their accomplishments with others while it creates a community of learning. I always love to talk to others about what I have learned. I believe that this is also a great way for students to feel excited about their accomplishments and share what they have learned with other students. It is always wonderful to see that everyone learns different things throughout the year based on their strengths and weaknesses. As a student, I love hearing about my peers growing in different areas than me. It then motivates me to progress in those area as well.
Question: When students share their work, how can a teacher prevent other students from feeling embarrassed with their own work, if it is not as good as other students' work?
I think you brought up an excellent question. I think that when the teacher has students share with each other the teacher should preface the activity by saying something like "remember that we all write at different levels and in different ways so dont compare to each other but as you share, think about how much you have improved since the beginning of the year...." that way they are focusing on how they have improved instead of how their work is better or worse than someone elses.
ReplyDeleteI agree that portfolios are a great idea and help students to see their progress. yay for portfolios! :)