ADE Unconference: Portfolio Panacea

The planned programming at the Apple Distinguished Educator Institute is always worthwhile, but I tend to gravitate more toward the informal sidebar conversations with other attendees.

Unlike other conferences, ADEs all stay at the same host hotel and take all our meals together.

If that sounds overwhelming... it is!

But in a good way. It's both invigorating and intimidating being around so many passionate professionals.

This year's agenda has included an unconference track where attendees propose topics for discussion. This informal and flexible schedule allows ADEs to suggest topics of interest and choose sessions accordingly. This kind of format provides a unique opportunity for educators from diverse disciplines/environments to work collaboratively to solve common problems.

Student portfolio development and support has been the focus of my professional practice for the past few years. While it is accurate to define a portfolio as a curated collection of assets that offer an applied demonstration of one's knowledge or skillset, there’s so much more!

My work with students and their portfolios has led me to ponder some interesting questions that I am hoping the ADE community will help me answer during my unconference session tomorrow.

• What is the purpose of a portfolio?

• What makes a portfolio meaningful?

• What is the process vs. product of portfolio?

• What are the component parts?

• Which are required?

• How do you support personalization?

• How do you scale mentorship?

• How do you encourage reflection?

• Is there an associated curriculum?

• If so, what should it include?

I am hoping these questions can lead to a rich discussion about the possibilities of a portfolio panacea and spark potential collaborations with other ADEs.