Demonstration of learning: growth folders, learning journals and portfolios

Daycare centres have already used growth folders for a long time. These magnificent works tell when a child has learned how to pronounce the letter R and what kind of scribbles they used when they tried to write their own name. These folders typically contain a drawing of the child’s family and their first crafts, photos of the daycare centre’s trip to the forest and descriptions of the most memorable playtimes.

Children continue growing in comprehensive school, but growth folders are only rarely used at this point. Growth during comprehensive school can usually be only monitored with school reports, visual arts works and some notebooks brought home. The focus is typically on end results, while the learning and growth path remains hidden.

Qridi’s most popular feature is likely the learning journal feature, which is specifically designed for describing the learning process. Many students use the learning journal to document work phases related to visual arts and crafts, keeping a log of books they have read and describing their pronunciation of foreign languages, for instance. Browsing these journals makes it easy to see how the child has developed and grown.

Portfolio-based learning

Portfolio-based learning is a pedagogical method that takes journal-based documentation to the extreme. Students set goals for themselves in the portfolio and reflect on their accomplishments regularly. Instead of a notebook or textbook, students do most of their daily work with the portfolio and highlight special moments. Portfolio-based learning can typically replace some exams as portfolios provide demonstration of skills.

There are a variety of different types of portfolios. For example, a popular solution in vocational education is a demonstration portfolio where students can document the development of their practical skills related to e.g. cooking or welding. A reflection portfolio is ideal for less concrete learning goals, where students can think about their attitudes towards maths, for instance, reflect on their values and find ways to mitigate climate change in their daily life. The portfolio can also act as a study journal in physics or the notebook of an innovator.

Portfolios can be structured in the format of a ready-made task package. Many Qridi customers collect portfolios about reading habits or the development of ICT skills with task lists. With Qridi, ICT skill levels, reading and exercise diplomas, New literacy skills, grade-independent study content lists and other incremental paths come alive in a motivational way.

At their best, portfolios help students build their own identity: what do I know, what am I doing, who am I? What are my strengths? What are my goals? With Qridi’s journal feature, teachers can reinforce the student’s active role as a learner and builder of their own balanced identity.