Jason Boyd and Kay Balston

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Jason Boyd and Kay Balston
Undergraduate Advising
University of Washington, Seattle Campus

Portfolios for Academic Planning

Building on an idea from a National Academic Advising Association Conference, Jason Boyd and Kay Balston used the Portfolio tool to develop structured portfolios that encourage their student advisees to reflect on dimensions of personal growth. In the past, the use of paper portfolios restricted students to taking notes, instead of engaging them in discussion with their advisors. Boyd and Balston decided to offer 50 pre-health-science students the opportunity to complete ungraded electronic portfolios that asked them to reflect on questions the advisors thought addressed what medical schools look for in a personal statement. Boyd and Balston also provided their students with links to service-learning opportunities and other community resources within the Portfolio tool.

Student Experience with the Assignment

Student Helen Weiss says that this portfolio assignment helped her think in advance about the questions her advisor wanted to discuss. According to Weiss, "when I actually get in and talk to Jason [Boyd] we can talk about something a little more substantial and more having to do with my situation than him having to run through the same list of questions over and over again." The student also notes that not only was it helpful to have the system available to her at the beginning of her preparation for advanced work, but also that she was able to use the tool to collect documents and records that are important to her in health care settings.

Presentation Video

Weiss and her advisors talked about their experiences at a forum entitled "Using Portfolios to Bridge Classroom, Community, and Career," held by the Program for Educational Transformation Through Technology.

You can watch a video of their presentation by selecting one of the connections below.