Personal Philosophy 1
Personal Philosophy Paper Assignment
Brooke Sigman
School of Education, Liberty University
Learning Activity: Student Portfolio Assignment
Grade level and subject:
The Life Skills Class at Capital High School is a self-contained special education program
situated within a general education classroom. Students from ninth to twelfth grade. In
addition to participating in Vocational Special Needs (VSN) and Community-Based
Instruction (CBI) projects, students complete their whole education in a classroom specifically
allocated for Life Skills. This portfolio seeks to evaluate a student's VSN/CBI experience and
preparation for post-secondary objectives.
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Educational purpose of portfolio:
Similar to their counterparts in general education participating in Work Based Learning (WBL),
students in Life Skills partake in VSN and CBI to acquire community experience and practical
skills. The VSN/CBI portfolio provides students the opportunity to document and reflect on
their learning experiences while evaluating the essential employability skills and knowledge
they have gained through VSN/CBI activities (USDE, 2018). The portfolio seeks to empower
students to:
•Utilize as an instrument to assess students' employability skills; also, promote the
imperative for enhanced VSN/CBI training to achieve specific student goals (WVSDE,
2019).
•Establish individualized connections to their VSN/CBI educational prospects,
•Augment comprehension derived from the VSN/CBI interactions to further elevate the
learning experience.
•Assist students in utilizing their academic talents in practical circumstances and in
generalizing them.
Students undertaking the VSN/CBI Portfolio want to assemble a compilation that illustrates
their progress and achievements over the four-year program. Students may capture a digital
photograph of their three-dimensional project for inclusion in the final portfolio submission.
This portfolio will act as a visual record of the progress achieved throughout the student's
VSN/CBI curriculum.
Written directions provided for your students:
In the Life Skills program, the VSN/CBI Portfolio signifies your continuous evaluations. Each
semester, we will revise your portfolio, culminating in a final update during the spring
semester of your senior year, which will include supplementary graduation materials. I
implemented modifications each semester, provided comments, and evaluated your portfolio
during the last semester of your senior year in my capacity as the VSN coordinator or Life
Skills teacher. During the development of the VSN/CBI Portfolio, you have considered different
elements. The elements are elucidated in the chart below.
Categories and specific items students are to include in their portfolio:
WVDE, 2017; WVDE, 2018): Contents for the portfolio should include the following:
Table of Contents
•Individual Plan of Study Materials
•CBI/VSN Individual Learning Plan
•Strengths Finder
•Career Interest Inventory
•Student Goals and Interests
•Post-Secondary Plan
•Career Development Materials
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•Resume/Cover Letter
•Letter of Recommendation
•CBI/VSN Experience Samples
•Artifacts supporting employable skills in each of the following areas:
Effective relationships
Work place skills
Applied knowledge
•Writing Samples
•Interviews
•Description of required skills in career industry
•Research Project
•Presentation of CBI/VSN Experiences (Senior Year)
•Assessments and Training Certifications
•Job Coach/Mentor Evaluations
•Work Keys Assessment
•Training Certificates
•VSN/Teacher Evaluations
Rubric for assessing portfolio:
CBI/VSN Portfolio Evaluation Criteria
A score ranging from 0 to 4 is allocated for each category based on completeness, relevance,
and presentation. Compute subtotals for each column and an aggregate score.
Criteria: Competence Relevance Presentation Subtotals:
Individual Plan
of Study
Materials
Career
Development
Materials
CBI/VSN
Experience
Samples
Writing Samples
Projects
Assessments
and Training
Certificate
TOTAL SCORE = /72
Score of greater than 43 to pass anything less is a revise and resubmit
Scoring key: 0 = Not present. There is limited or no evidence in this category.
1 = Inadequate; unreasonable. The evidence presented is of substandard quality. Items
lack complete execution and professionalism, displaying uneven quality. Supplementary effort
is required.
2 = Meets basic objectives; adequate The evidence presented indicates a moderately
acceptable level of skill. Demonstrates specific skills, yet reveals inconsistent quality and/or
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noticeable shortcomings in the student's understanding, experiences, and/or abilities.
3 = Surpasses expectations; commendable. The information provided indicates that the
student's proficiency significantly exceeds basic standards. Generates output that regularly
adheres to elevated quality requirements.
4 = Significantly beyond expectations; outstanding. Items are ordered, precise,
complete, and presented with professionalism. The portfolio demonstrates exceptional
excellence.
Rating form:
This section to be completed by the student:
Semester
_____ Fall _____ Spring
Grade Level _____ Freshman _____ Sophomore ______ Junior ______ Senior
1) Date Submitted: _______________________________
2) Briefly explain what your post-secondary goals are: ____________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
3) Explain how your portfolio demonstrates your preparedness for these post-secondary goals?
________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
4) What do you like best about your personal portfolio? ___________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
5) What areas do you think you can improve on? ________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________ This
section to be completed by the Life Skills teacher or VSN coordinator:
Rating: Description:
4 Indicates the student's favored components of the portfolio in a clear and
concise manner. Offers a comprehensive examination of prospective portfolio
improvements.
3 Indicates the student's favored components of the portfolio in a clear and
concise manner. Discusses the prospective improvements to their portfolio in
great detail.
2 The audience is comprehended by the student. The content is coherent, and the
planning is readily apparent.
1 The student's preferences are not clearly defined. Offers inadequate details
regarding potential areas for improvement.
0 The pupil exhibits a deficiency in preparation and comprehension.
Quality of Revision (2nd and subsequent drafts):
Rating Description
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4 The student is diligent in implementing all recommendations, and there are
evident enhancements.
3 The student implements the majority of the recommendations, which leads to
improvements.
2 The student implements numerous recommendations, which lead to minor
improvements.
1 The student implements a restricted number of recommendations, which
leads to minimal modifications.
0 No indication of progress or correction is manifested by the student.
Sum of ratings: _______________________________________________________________ Average
of ratings: ____________________________________________________________ Comments:
__________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
Grading Scale: A: 65-72
B: 59-64
C: 51-58
D: 43-50
Fail- 42 and below
References
West Virginia State Department of Education. (2018), West Virginia Competency Framework.
https://sites.google.com/wvccframework/
West Virginia Department of Education. (2019) Measuring and Reflecting Student Learning.
https://wvde.edu/portals/0/csas
West Virginia Department of Education. (2017). The Professional Learning Experience Toolkit.
https://www.wvde.edu/portals/learning/experience/toolkit
United States Department of Education. Office of Career, Technical and Adult Education. Division of
Academic and Technical Education. (2018). Employability Skills Framework.
Https://cte.ed.gov/employabilityskills
