Portfolio Development and the Assessment of Prior Learning

Elana Michelson is a mentor and professor of Cultural Studies at Empire State College and the Chair of the Master of Arts in Liberal Studies program. She has consulted extensively in the field of adult and experiential learning, most recently in opening opportunities for adult learners in post-apartheid South Africa. She is the author of numerous articles and book chapters on issues of multiculturalism, feminism, epistemology, and adult learning. Alan Mandell is a mentor and professor in the social sciences and Director of the Mentoring Institute of Empire State College, where he has worked for almost thirty years. He has regularly written and guided workshops on adult and experiential learning. With his colleague Lee Herman he is the author of From Teaching to Mentoring: Principle and Practice, Dialogue and Life in Adult Education (Routledge, 2003).

“Michelson and Mandell introduce the portfolio method of assessing prior learning with a brief history and then a summary of approaches. Part 2 may be the most useful to readers of this journal. In it, the authors offer twenty-two practical activities to orient students to self-reflection, academic writing, and distinguishing between their common life knowledge and the learning that can translate into college credits. This volume is recommended to guide planners who want to initiate or revise a process of assessment of incoming students through portfolio.”Teaching Theology & Religion"In the current edition, Michelson and Mandell broaden their treatment of the use of portfolios in order to bring readers up to date on the 'moving target' that is today's prior learning assessment (PLA)…Readers are likely to find the twelve models of portfolio development in practice to be the most useful part of the book…taken in toto, the twelve models described in this section provide ample evidence that--even as the practice of PLA is being recast in light of tightening budgets, new student populations, redefined institutional goals, and changing relationships between working and schooling--the philosophical underpinnings have remained constant. In every case, the reader finds evidence of the values inherent in PLA as teachers and students use portfolios to mediate the ways in which individual lives and learning are affected by gender, race, class, politics, and economics."The National Teaching and Learning Forum“Michelson and Mandell provide and insightful discussion of the historical context of portfolio development and the variety of the diverse approaches available to demonstrate knowledge of today’s students within our campus learning environments. This comprehensive volume focuses on the changing context of portfolio development in the academic environment. Instead of concentrating on traditional issues of assessing prior learning, this volume take a broad view of portfolio development as it encompasses issues ranging from multicultural inclusive strategies, fostering partnerships with industry and corporate communities, to computer-mediated technological strategies for demonstrating proficiency. The authors’ unique focus on portfolios provides faculty and student development professionals with a holistic framework to examine assessment in terms of growth, achievement, and the demonstration of prior learning. They recognize that the challenge of appropriately assessing prior knowledge has system-wide implications that can impact students’ perceptions of the campus learning environment.A major strength of the text by Michelson and Mandell is its utilization of case studies, real life examples of portfolio development, and campus leaders’ responses that illustrate the necessity for additional thought and planning. The text provides practical advice on implementing services and programs to better meet students’ needs. It is a helpful resource to facilitate discussion with students regarding assessment and the importance of measuring previous learning experiences. Faculty and student affairs professionals especially can appreciate students’ perceptions of their academic performance and how these perceptions impact every aspect of their educational experiences. Faculty members, administrators, and student development professionals will find the case studies and responses particularly helpful to evaluate the effectiveness of the current assessment strategies, collaborations, and testing programs in existence on their own campuses. The thought provoking chapters will provide a valuable resource to facilitate an important discussion of assessment of student learning for those working in a wide variety of campus communities.”Journal of College Student Development

• 1. Introduction 2. Approaches to Portfolio Development 3. Resources for Portfolio Development 4. Case Studies in Portfolio Development 5. The Offspring of Doing. Performance Assessment at Alverno College by James Roth, Georgine Loacker, Bernardin Deutsch, Suzann Gardner, and Barbara Nevers 6. All of Who We Are. Foundations of Learning at the School for New Learning, DePaul University, by Marixsa Alicea, Deborah Holton, and Derise Tolliver 7. Love Talk. Educational Planning at Empire State College by Lee Herman 8. I Am a Writer. Writing from Life at the Evergreen State College by Kate Crowe 9. The Wholeness of Life. A Native North American Approach to Portfolio Development at First Nations Technical Institute by Diane Hill 10. Cracking the Code. The Assessment of Prior Experiential Learning at London Metropolitan University by Helen Peters, Helen Pokorny and Linda Johnson 11. Building on the Past, Moving toward the Future. Prior Learning Assessment in a Changing Institution at Metropolitan State University by Susan T. Rydell 12. Learning from our Experience. Portfolio Development at Sinclair Community College by Carolyn M. Mann 13. Delineations on the Web. Computer-Mediated Portfolio Development at the University of Maryland-University College by Theresa A. Hoffmann 14. Corporatising Knowledge. Work-Based Learning at the University of Technology, Sydney, by Nicky Solomon and Julie Gustavs 15. After Apartheid. The Recognition of Prior Learning at the College of Education, University of the Witwatersrand, Ruksana Osman 16. The Components of Learning. Statewide Assessment of Prior Learning at The Vermont State Colleges by Judith Fitch Notes on Contributors