Susan Templeton

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Susan Templeton
Center for Career Services
University of Washington, Seattle Campus

Portfolios for Career Planning

Susan Templeton, Senior Career Counselor, was involved in the early planning and development of electronic portfolios at the University of Washington. In this presentation, she outlined her experience of using the Portfolio tool in her course "Navigating Career Options." The course always required that students create portfolios, but in the past portfolios were created as paper binders. Templeton explained here the differences between career and learning portfolios, and how using the Portfolio Tool afforded her ongoing interaction with her students as they developed their portfolios. She connected classroom activities with portfolio exercises to develop and reinforce students' understanding of themselves and how to present themselves to specialized audiences, such as employers.

Student Experience with the Assignment

Templeton demonstrated the in-progress portfolio of one of her students, Johannah Blue. Through portfolio and related course assignments, the student refined emergent themes and skills she saw in her past experiences. She then connected them to artifacts representing real-world applications of those ideas and to academic resources that could help her in selection of her major course of study. Reflection through portfolio exercises aided Blue in clarifying her career options, how those options connect with her past experiences, and what next steps she might take in following various career paths.

Presentation Video

Templeton talked about her experience and the experience of one of her students 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.