Portfolios

Students seeking 1902 licensure either as an initial or add-on license will be required to create a library media capstone portfolio at the conclusion of the program. This will focus on the library media program competencies and can include artifacts from courses, student teaching or practicum, or from professional practice.

Capstone portfolios will be evaluated once a semester, within one month after the end of the semester. By the end of the practicum or student teaching experience, the student will submit a capstone portfolio to the library media faculty. 

The portfolio should be arranged by these categories and should include both practicum projects and artifacts from library coursework to demonstrate the 1902 competencies.

• Collection Development, Organization and Access
  • Finding and Using Information  / Virtual Libraries
  • Organizing Information 
• Information Literacy and Teaching
  • Information Literacy / Design of Curriculum for Inquiry
• Technology
  •  Digital Tools
• Literature and Reading
  • Children's Literature
  • Young Adult Literature
• Administration 
  • Library Administration
  • Librarians as Leaders

The library media faculty will evaluate the capstone portfolio:

• All projects in the portfolio must be rated at proficient level or higher with none at the basic, minimal or undocumented level by the university supervisor.
• Artifacts demonstrating proficient performance in all program competencies
• Achieve a grade of S on all practicum experiences
• Capstone Portfolio Rubric

Other portfolios will be part of the Capstone Portfolio. These may be included as a page or pages of the Capstone Portfolio. Or they may be on their own site and linked to the Capstone Portfolio.

The practicum portfolio should be arranged in the following categories with possible additional sections.

• Practicum agreement (for elementary, middle school and high school practicum, for combined practicum, for public library practicum, for student teaching)
• Time log
• Reflection on meeting the practicum goals and addressing identified weaknesses
• Philosophy statement that answers these questions:
  • How do you see yourself as a library information specialist benefiting students and teachers?
  • How have you demonstrated forward thinking in your work with children and colleagues?
  • How have you helped facilitate curiosity and learning beyond the curriculum?
  • Out of what you have learned in this program, what new things have you done for individual children in your classroom, outside your classroom or in your library?
• Cooperating library media specialist evaluation
• University supervisor evaluation
• For those seeking initial 1902 license: passing score on school library edTPA

For students working toward their initial teaching license, each will create a portfolio demonstrating achievement of the ten Wisconsin Teacher Standards. This portfolio will be assessed after

• Foundations block
• Methods block (before student teaching)

Each student will select artifacts and reflect on their achievement of the core knowledge, skills and dispositions. These first two assessments will be completed by teacher education faculty. 

As the student goes on to add materials from their library media courses, this portfolio will become the Capstone Portfolio.

Many of our add-on and initial license students begin the program with prior coursework and experiences that cover program competencies. To acknowledge this prior knowledge, students may submit a competency review demonstrating how prior coursework and/or experiences meet the competencies of courses in the program.  This can be done for three of the courses:

• Children’s Literature:  This course covers traditional children’s literature up to the present for Pre-K to grades 8. Topics include criticism, evaluation, contemporary trends and issues, appropriate technologies, and techniques of reading guidance in school or public library in relation to developmental interests, needs and skills of children.
• Young Adult Literature: This course incorporates extensive reading of YA literature and covers criteria for evaluation and aids for selection of materials for young adults aged thirteen to eighteen. Reading, listening and viewing guidance techniques appropriate for the classroom, school and public library are detailed.
• Digital Tools: This course is an introduction to technologies for the library media center and the classroom. Basic skills are developed in the operation of equipment and software, independently solving technology problems, learning new technologies, production of print, graphic, and interactive digital media, and the creation of learning environments that take full advantage of the new technologies for critical thinking and problem solving; analysis, organization and management of information; collaboration; and communication.

More information about completing an evidence of prior learning portfolio can be found on the UWSSLEC website.