If I had to choose one memory from my graduate school experience, it would be the day I discovered the power of student portfolios. I gleaned this insight while taking a course with Professor Eleanor Duckworth, who had studied with Jean Piaget at the Sorbonne and was renowned for her own research on child cognitive development. The course was designed to help doctoral students explore how students think, learn, and grow.
Toward the end of the semester, Dr. Duckworth invited the principal of a private K-12 school to speak to our class. The principal, a former student of Eleanor’s, began by sharing that every student at her school creates a personalized portfolio that includes evidence of their academic work and photos and writing reflections that capture what they are learning about themselves and the world around them.
Throughout her presentation, I assumed the principal would eventually tell us that students take home their portfolios at the end of the school year. But to my surprise, she told us that all student portfolios stay at school.
The principal also explained that when the next school year begins, each teacher sits down one-on-one with their new students, and together, they talk about the student’s portfolio from the previous year. Teachers are encouraged to use this opportunity to learn about the “whole child.”
But the drumroll moment for me occurred when the principal shared with us that on graduation day, the 12th-grade students walked out of school with all their portfolios (in a crate that matched the school colors). Like it was yesterday, I still envision in my mind students going home and opening up their portfolios with family members, soaking in the experiences, images, and reflections they haven’t seen since elementary and middle school years.
I know that most students in the United States do not attend the same school for 12+ years. But since becoming the president of Character.org, the idea of creating a Character e-portfolio has been one of my most passionate and heartfelt ideas. While Aristotle once wrote that “we are what we repeatedly do,” I really believe that “we are also what we reflect on and care about.” To me, that’s the power of encouraging students to create and regularly use their own Character e-portfolio.
So, imagine my surprise when I recently learned that dreams come true.
Kloodle is a new digital platform designed for teachers and administrators who want to use a “portfolio-inspired” approach that aligns with their school’s comprehensive character development initiative.
The platform includes features such as self-assessment tools and self-directed goal-setting exercises that encourage students to reflect on their character development.
Kloodle aligns with the future of character education. For years, the field primarily focused on strategies and curricula aligned with the belief that character is taught and caught. As parents, coaches, and teachers, we needed to be intentional about teaching our children a range of core values and be sure we were modeling those values.
More recently, the Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtue has been championing that character is not only taught and caught…it also needs to be sought. Kloodle is designed for students to reflect on the core values that serve as the beating heart of their school.
The platform is also a godsend for school leaders. Not only does Kloodle make it easy for stakeholders to share resources, feedback, and ideas, but it also provides an opportunity for school leaders to gather data to assess the effectiveness of their school’s character development goals and outcomes.
Want to learn more about Kloodle? Check out this short video.
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