SMART Goals for Portfolio

I’m back in the classroom tomorrow!

This term marks 2 years since I shifted my instructional focus from web design to student portfolio development. When I started this journey, I had no idea how hard (or rewarding) it would be.

One of the hallmarks of my current curriculum is goal setting. Students are coached in outlining SMART goals to structure their autonomous time in the course. Through this process, students set their own expectations in regard to the time and effort they are willing to dedicate to the things THEY deem important.

At the end of the course, as a bookend to this exercise, students give a presentation to self-reflect on their progress and what they were able to achieve.

Rather than walk me through a checklist of their accomplishments, I ask students to tell me a story.

Working with students on their portfolios, while it does include elements of my former curriculum, is a very personalized experience. The task at hand is not just to help students build a website to showcase their skills. Rather, I’m invited to walk beside them through a process of self-exploration and help them articulate what they discover about themselves and who they want to be in the media communications industry.