The Selection phase is where students begin to make choices about their portfolio. It is at the beginning of this phase that the criteria for the class portfolios should be clarified. Depending on the age-group, this may take the form of a discussion and a handout, or a large chart on the wall with easy to remember words that reflect the criteria agreed upon. In general, expectations, deadlines and evaluation criteria should be established and communicated in writing.

An iterative cycle with student involvement

As stated elsewhere, it is our view that the portfolio process is iterative and the phases are overlapping and cyclical. Some teachers prefer to set criteria for excellence (what makes a good ________ ) before beginning to do any work, some like to revisit and keep adding to the criteria all through the collection phase, and some prefer to wait until the collection phase for a given term is almost complete before articulating criteria. What is most important is that students:

• participate in establishing the criteria
• are made aware of the criteria in writing
• are reminded to use the criteria for goal setting and self-evaluation and self-monitoring