So for example kids learn fractions in second grade. If I took to heart
that a learning and hence portfolio should represent only the students
learning goals, and not those of the student-in-the-communit(ies), then the
kid may never learn fractions. Ask yourself this: why would a second
grader want to learn fractions, entirely motivated by his/her own divorced
interests? We have to recognize the child-in-communit(ies), accepting that
his/her parents and teachers expect him/her to learn fractions, and
interact in such as way so that the child becomes motivated? Part of what I
think is important in a zoped is the appropriation of more than pure
cognition, but of the much richer array of motivation, curiousity, affect,
interest, etc. and to blur several categories.
I don't see the problem with a portfolio having more than one use, meaning,
or meeting more than one need. Here is a more mundane example - a bus. To
the person who builds busses, or who drives them, or maintains them, the
bus meets the needs of making a living. To the person who rides the bus,
it meets the needs of getting from point a to point b, or maybe it is
freedom to travel. To the city planner, the bus meets the need of solving
public transportation problems, as well as indirectly making a living. To
the cigarette company, the bus is a way to advertise their products. To
the civil rights leader, the same bus may meet the need of mediating a
discussion on equality. Artifacts, being created in complex social
settings, are made complex by human activity. They often meet many needs.
As for portfolios or other assessements, so it goes...
I have to withdraw from this conversation - sorry to back out - but duties
and obligations summons.
Bill Barowy, Associate Professor
Technology in Education
Lesley College, 31 Everett Street, Cambridge, MA 02138-2790
Phone: 617-349-8168 / Fax: 617-349-8169
http://www.lesley.edu/faculty/wbarowy/Barowy.html
_______________________
"One of life's quiet excitements is to stand somewhat apart from yourself
and watch yourself softly become the author of something beautiful."
[Norman Maclean in "A river runs through it."]