Undergraduate Environmental Science Portfolio by University of Phoenix

Jacquelyn Kelly, PhD, Susan Hadley, PhD, Eve Krahe, PhD, Mary Elizabeth Smith

Overview

The program portfolio is a student project that spans across the core coursework in the undergraduate Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science (BS/EVS). Deliverables from multiple core courses contribute toward portfolio creation. The completed portfolio is assessed in the final portfolio course of the program. Students will be able to use their portfolios to demonstrate career-readiness to potential employers and as a personal model and process for professional growth.Back to Program Overview »

Design Philosophy

We have adopted a multi-faceted framework for knowledge that includes humanistic, meta-, and foundational knowledge. Based on this framework, we assert that learning cannot take place without each of these components present. For this reason, the portfolio will not treat each component of knowledge separately. Instead, each portfolio learning experience will rely on all three being addressed simultaneously to create synthesized knowledge and understanding.

The guiding principles used to develop the structure of the portfolio are defined by Paulson, Paulson, and Meyer (1991, p.60) who note a portfolio is "a purposeful collection of student work that exhibits the student's efforts, progress, and achievements in one or more areas. The collection must include student participation in selecting contents, the criteria for selection, the criteria for judging merit, and evidence of student reflection."

The portfolio in Environmental Science includes the following:

1. Deliverables of learning completed by the student in core, upper-division program coursework
2. Deliverables providing evidence of portfolio learning outcomes, which demonstrate graduates' ability to

• synthesize humanistic, meta-, and foundational knowledge in the context of Environmental Science.
• generate deliverables that demonstrate competencies required for careers in Environmental Science.
• align professional goals to Environmental Science career paths.
• align personal legacy within their communities to the context of Environmental Science.
• iterate and add to a professional portfolio throughout career to support advancement and growth in the field.

Context for Portfolio Implementation

The BS in Environmental Science requires completion of courses in the broad categories listed below. Categories marked with an asterisk (*) and in boldface include courses containing assignments that contribute to the Environmental Science portfolio.

• Introduction to Environmental Science
• General Chemistry
• General Biology
• Environmental Policy*
• Environmental Management*
• Environmental Risk*

Portfolio Components

The collection of assignments that contribute to the portfolio will represent the following 6 components:

1. Statement of purpose – Students will create a cover letter that accompanies the portfolio and is refined during the portfolio process. Students will include a complementary video (approx. 2 minutes) that provides their statement of purpose/professional objective.
2. Personal learner legacy – Students will develop a personal legacy statement to address the following question: How will your professional choices affect others in the local, social, and global communities? To facilitate development of and context for these statements, students will have options to interview industry professionals, read an industry case study, volunteer in the community in an industry-related capacity, observe a panel discussion of industry contributors, or suggest another way of engaging with the field.
3. Identification of the humanistic component of EVS content – Students will read literary works (from the field of humanities) and draw connections between the EVS content they are learning and the lived experiences others convey through the selected literary works. Examples might include historical works about the scientists, non-fiction works about environmental challenges, or poetry/art/fiction related to the concepts being taught.
4. Identification of course texts – For one week in a course, students will identify their own texts/resources (the assigned book will not be used). Students will be provided the learning outcomes and minimal guidance. They will present their choice, assess others' choices, and synthesize the important content. Students build their functional understanding of the content and document the process and learning through this assignment.
5. Student self-selected deliverable - Students will select one deliverable from their program core coursework to include in the portfolio. They will identify the criteria for selecting the deliverable as well as an assessment of the deliverable and how it compliments other components in the portfolio.
6. Reflection and synthesis - Students will complete a reflection of their completed portfolio. The reflection will identify which skills and competencies are exhibited in the portfolio and how these align to relevant career opportunities in environmental science. Students will also develop a rationale for how they will maintain their portfolio throughout their career, including criteria for maintenance and component inclusion.

Portfolio Building

Because learning outcomes associated with the portfolio are related to students possessing metacognitive skills as they move into careers, we view the portfolio as an iterative discovery process through which students learn to identify evidence that demonstrates their proficiency. The goal is for students and graduates to continue to use this process as they move into and through their careers.

During each portfolio course, a component of the portfolio will be added via an assignment within the course. Building the portfolio begins in the first course the student takes as a part of the core requirements and continues through completion of the degree. The final portfolio will represent each of the 6 components listed above.  Students will develop and refine these components through the 9 core courses as noted in the table below.

• Component 1 (Statement of Purpose) will be created in the first portfolio course taken and refined in the final portfolio course taken.
• Component 6 (Reflection and Synthesis) will be completed, revised, and iterated upon in each course containing a portfolio component.
• Components 2, 3, and 4 (see above) will be created and refined by the student as they move through coursework, as shown in the table below.

This iterative approach to Components 2, 3, and 4 ensures students are reflecting, evaluating, and synthesizing knowledge as they move through the program and increase their depth of understanding.

Assessment

Portfolio components are integrated as course assignments. The context of each portfolio assignment is determined by the course learning outcomes. Faculty will be provided training and guidelines for assessing each portfolio assignment using the associated rubric.

To assess achievement of the learning outcomes of the portfolio, individual portfolio assignment deliverables will be assessed with a rubric in the course that the assignment is completed. Each portfolio assignment will also include a reflective component that addresses how that assignment contributes to the portfolio, as a whole. Each portfolio assignment and reflection will be assessed on the five outcomes identified above.

Resources

Paulson, F.L., Paulson, P.R, & Meyer, C.A. (1991). What Makes a Portfolio? Educational Leadership, 48(5), 60-63.Back to Program Overview »