“I Learned What?” Reflections on an Arts Career Portfolio

Authors

  • Dana Kenny University of Prince Edward Island
  • Shannon Murray University of Prince Edward Island

Keywords:

Portfolio, Assessment, Senior year experience, Career, Capstone

Abstract

In a 400-level Arts Capstone course, students are asked to complete a career portfolio, one founded largely on the work they have done in their Arts degree. In order to complete the portfolio, students are asked to review all the assignments and activities they have completed for their degree and to extract from them their strongest skills, knowledge, and attitudes, ones that might make the best impression on a prospective employer. The activities that lead to the portfolio encourage thinking about the transferability of their learning but also help students identify their strengths and gain confidence in their abilities. In this paper, the instructor and a student explore, through an interview, the process of collecting, selecting, reflecting, and presenting an online career portfolio and what the student discovered through that process.

Author Biographies

Dana Kenny, University of Prince Edward Island

Dana Kenny is an undergraduate student pursuing a Bachelor of Arts degree with a double major in French and Spanish. He currently serves as president of the University of Prince Edward Island Student Union. In his free time he enjoys fencing, playing bass clarinet, and volunteering with Habitat for Humanity.

Shannon Murray, University of Prince Edward Island

Shannon Murray is a professor of Renaissance English literature and a 3M National Teaching Fellow (2001). A former director of faculty development, she is currently coordinator of the 3M National Teaching Fellows‘ program. Her publications include work on leadership in higher education, on John Bunyan, and on early children‘s literature.

References

Evers, F., Rush, J. C., & Berdow, I. (1998). The bases of competence: Skills for lifelong learning and employability. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Gardner, J. N., & Van der Veer, G. (1998). The senior year experience: Facilitating integration, reflection, closure, and transition. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Williams, A. G., & Hall, K. J. (2008). Creating your career portfolio: At-a-glance guide. Indianapolis: Learnovation.

Wolstenholme, J. Z., & Evers, F. (2009). Using skills portfolios in fourth-year university transition to work courses. Collected Essays on Learning and Teaching, 2, 170-175.

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Issue

Vol. 19 (2015)

Section

Articles

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