Ask students to compile every essay draft into a portfolio over the course of the class. Assign them a reflective essay on which aspects of writing, whether research or syntax, they found most challenging at the beginning of the semester. They should cite specific sections in which they overcame these difficulties. Have them focus on one assignment in particular that either improved significantly with each revision or proved troublesome to the end. Their responses should help them to map their own progress and help you determine what changes, if any, you need to make to your teaching style.
Give your students a head start if you know they plan to become educators. Download state standards and requirements (be sure to check where your students may want to teach as different states have different requirements) for teaching portfolios and ask students to compile all relevant essays, performance reviews, lesson plans, curriculum vitae and any other required documents. Form a workshop in which students pair up with their classmates and give constructive criticism on their portfolios. Offer your own feedback and ask students to write an essay detailing what they hope to accomplish before their portfolio is finalized.
Ask students to keep a portfolio that includes an annotated bibliography and a meta-commentary on their research on a particular assignment. Hold several research skill activities in the school library and tell students to discuss how the activity relates to their research topic. Stress the importance of verifying their sources and encourage them to find ways to streamline the research process in terms of source selection and data acquisition.
Ask students to post three representative samples of creative work (five or more if students are working on poetry) to the class forum (most schools provide this service; otherwise a number of websites offer it for free) throughout the semester for their classmates to comment on and contribute to. Stress that students will be graded on their comments as well as their original work. Assign an essay where students define their stylistic and thematic goals with each assignment and whether they feel they met those goals based on the comments they receive. Ask students to post revised drafts about one week prior to the semester's end for additional feedback. Their portfolio should include previous work, final drafts, feedback and an essay examining the impact their classmates had on their final version.
Encourage students to post their portfolios online rather than printing out each assignment. More schools are going paper-free to reduce paper costs and reduce their carbon footprint. Most word processing programs allow for comments and footnotes, so writing comments by hand is no longer necessary. Making an online portfolio will allow students to incorporate new media skills and allow them to control who sees their work. Employers and graduate school recruitment centers will appreciate the accessibility of an online portfolio.