REFLECTING: Teacher Reflection – June 2001, one year later

The eighth graders all graduated this month with great pride. I talked to most of them after they had finished their presentations. They felt as though they had done something

Related Resources: Davide's Reflection Staff Review of Portfolio Process

really special. It was really interesting talking to and thinking about Davide, the boy who in the film kept asking me what I wanted him to do, and how long things had to be. He said he loved doing portfolio work this year, working independently, planning his time. When I asked him why, he said it was fun! I wouldn’t have believed him except that he worked so intently and with such concentration all year when we were working on portfolios – and he is usually a high energy, somewhat difficult to manage kid. I was also interested in one student, who was
clearly not ready for his presentation and repeated seventh grade. Even though he knew he would be repeating seventh grade, in his reflection in the film he says that he really "stepped up". We were worried that keeping him in seventh would make him feel like a failure again, but he came back this year a very different student. He had really stepped up – he worked hard all
year and did well on his presentation this year. I think he was honest in his reflection – he knew he had learned a lot from the process and the presentation he did when this film was made, even though he was not ready to pass.