β3 Portfolios and Course Binders

Philosophy
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Introduction

In PLTW courses, students may use a single Engineering Notebook to document design work for multiple projects. However, it is recommended that each project have a separate designated section within the notebook that includes pertinent information for that project only.

  1. The course binder is used to store all course materials not included in the engineering notebook such as activities, research, reference materials, and handouts.
  2. A Portfolio is a collection of documents selected by the student for a particular purpose. Portfolios include student reflection. There are various types of portfolios used for various purposes and the teacher may decide which format is appropriate for use in his or her classroom.
    1. A Project Portfolio is a collection of artifacts assembled to document the design process of a single project. This may contain a duplication of some content from the engineering notebook and course binder and is used to showcase a student’s application of the design process. An example is the Puzzle Cube Project in IED.
    2. A Course Portfolio is a collection of selected work which demonstrates the range and depth of experience and skills gained from an entire course.
    3. A Longitudinal or Growth Portfolio shows growth from early to later work in regard to specific skills and extent of mastery. Entries in a Longitudinal Portfolio can span several years and courses.
    4. A Showcase Portfolio shows best work targeting specific skills.
    5. An Electronic Portfolio is a portfolio of work captures in digital media, usually web based.

Students should be advised to keep all of their course work. Design work related to the design process of projects should be kept in an engineering notebook; all other documents and work should be kept in a course binder. When a portfolio is required, each student can then select work from their notebook and binder to place in their portfolio.