I know some of you may be finishing up your e-portfolios very soon. I am grading comps now for my group of e-portfolio students. So nice to see work from #hyperlib as evidence.
Just want to give any of you who are finishing this big task a hearty CONGRATS! It’s a HUGE DEAL!
If you are on the way to finishing, let us know in the comments if you’d like. Also, you may have some words of wisdom for those who will do it next. Please share.
Image: My tenure dossier, 2016
So relieved to be done, and at the same time it still hasn’t quite sunken in yet. To those of you who have yet to complete this process, a few things that helped me out:
1. I saved not just assignments, but assignment spec sheets, too. Having descriptions from your teachers of the assignment and their learning objectives is extremely helpful.
2. Plan out the evidence you will use for all competencies before you start writing. You’ll have more evidence for some than others, and planning out what you will use in advance allows you to shift evidence around to those that you might not have as many items for without having to rewrite sections.
3. If possible, make yourself a schedule based on your advisor’s submission dates. I’ve been known to be a bit of procrastinator in the past, but this is not the project for that. Setting a gradual pace removes some of the stress from the process–not all, but some.
4. Once you’ve done your global planning, do NOT think about the project in its entirety. I did this in the beginning, and it made me overwhelmed to the point where it inhibited me from starting for a week. Take it one comp at a time. If you look at it as several mini-essays, it’s much more manageable. Also, if your advisor gives you a breakdown of the comps, take advantage of it. Mine did not, but I know from talking to other students that some–including @michael–have very detailed ones that are EXTREMELY helpful.
5. Have someone peer-review your work before you turn it in for approval. I had my sister review my comps, and it was a big help.
And finally, believe in yourself! You can do it! It is a lot of work, but you know the material and everything you’ve done so far in this program has prepared you for it.
@literarydevotee This is great – thank you for sharing. I hope everyone with the portfolio in front of them reads it.
@michael Thank you! I was lucky to have a classmate share some of her insights with me about the process before I started, and I’m glad to be able to do the same. 🙂
@literarydevotee 🙂
Thank you for sharing @literarydevotee
You are most welcome!