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A Guide to Creating

Your Loras Portfolio


Table of Contents

Contents
General Information ..................................................................................................................................... 3
Growth in the Dispositions ........................................................................................................................... 4
Making Connections ..................................................................................................................................... 5
Loras and Your Future ................................................................................................................................... 6
Putting It All Together ................................................................................................................................... 7
Using Artifacts Effectively ............................................................................................................................. 8
Publishing Your Portfolio .............................................................................................................................. 9
Dispositions of a Loras-Educated Person .................................................................................................... 10
Exploring the Dispositions of a Loras-Educated Person.............................................................................. 11
Active learners ........................................................................................................................................ 11
Reflective thinkers .................................................................................................................................. 12
Ethical decision makers........................................................................................................................... 13
Responsible contributors ........................................................................................................................ 14
Portfolio Rubric ........................................................................................................................................... 15
General Information

Your Loras Portfolio is your reflection on your work at Loras. In your reflection, you will be
prompted to address three key aspects.
1. Your growth in the two Loras Dispositions in which you feel you made the most
significant progress.
2. The connections you see among the various components of your Loras experience.
3. How you see your Loras education has positioned you for your future.
Each of these elements is addressed in one of the sections that follow in this guide.
Additionally, you will find information on the effective use of artifacts, good practice in
publishing your portfolio, as well as some suggestions on how to make a cohesively interrelated
portfolio.
In reflecting on each of these aspects of your Loras education, you will be asked to make
specific statements about your Loras experiences and how each of these three aspects
contributes to where you see yourself at this point in your life.
You will use artifacts as evidence to corroborate the statements you make in your reflections.
More information about choosing and using artifacts follows in another section of this guide.
The audience for your portfolio is an important consideration. Create a portfolio that will
contain the information and perspectives that are appropriate for that group. You might
consider crafting your work for prospective employers, as a preparation for graduate school, for
yourself as a reflection tool or possibly another audience.
One of the audiences for your work will be the Loras community. Your portfolio will be used to
assess various aspects of how successful different components of a Loras education are in
meeting the outcomes the college has set for them.
There is a portfolio rubric that outlines requirements on which you will be assessed. Each
sections of this guide provides guidance on one of the elements of the rubric. Be sure to
consult the rubric often as a guide to creating a successful portfolio. The rubric is included at
the end of this guide.

Loras designates itself as a Liberal Arts college. As you craft your portfolio, you will be writing
about elements of your Loras education that are aligned with this designation as a liberal arts
institution. Throughout your reflection process, keep in mind questions like:
 What does being a student at a liberal arts college mean?
 How is a liberal arts college different from one that does not make that claim?
 How has your liberal arts education set you apart from other students who have not had
a similar experience?
Growth in the Dispositions
Articulates growth and competency in at least two of the college mission dispositions.
Elements to consider might include:
1. Depth of analysis of growth and competency.
2. Interconnectedness of elements within the narrative.
3. Connecting the dispositions across general education, major and other
experiences.

Loras has identified four dispositions, which are traits or tendencies we value and have chosen
to try to instill in our students. They are:

 Active Learning
 Reflective Thinking
 Ethical Decision Making
 Responsible Contributing
As you have progressed through your time at Loras, you should have encountered many
situations that prompted you to grow in these dispositions. These may have been in courses in
your major or general education or activities in which you participated.
The portfolio asks you to identify two of the dispositions in which you feel you have made the
most progress and to articulate your growth in those, supported by evidence (artifacts) to
support your claims of growth.
Describing growth means that you specifically identify the ways in which you feel you have
developed in that disposition and give examples that support that claim of growth, using
artifacts to substantiate your claims.
So, do not just list some places that you have encountered the dispositions you choose to
concentrate on, but deliberately map a path you see as defining how you grew in that
disposition.
For example, if you chose Ethical Decision Making, you might reflect on what you brought with
you as you entered Loras, what factors were formative in defining your ethical decision making
framework to that point and then what experiences at Loras helped you grow in that regard.
You might, for example, cite opportunities that reinforced, challenged or expanded your
perspectives or some that opened new points of view. Detail those specifically and provide
supporting evidence in the form of artifacts to support your claims.
Remember, your task is to describe your growth – starting at some point and ending at some
point, with well-articulated steps in the middle.
Use the disposition definitions and expanded disposition definitions (attached at the end of this
guide) to help you.
Making Connections
Synthesizes knowledge and ideas across disciplines. Elements to consider might include:
1. Strength of capturing the essence of the ideas and disciplines.
2. Breadth and depth of the interconnectedness.
3. Brings discussion to a conclusion that includes relevance and/or application to self
and/or society.

Your Loras education has been comprised of a variety of courses and other experiences. Your
coursework has resided in your major, the general education program and other electives you
have chosen along the way. This task in your portfolio asks you to make connections among
those separate pieces to position your entire experience in a holistic view that seeks to find the
interrelationships among those separate elements. You are being asked to step back and see
the big, connected picture of your Loras experience, rather than individual, unrelated elements.

In order to successfully complete this task, you will need to think deeply about the courses you
took and other experiences you have had and describe where you see connections. Maybe a
general education course provided some insights into something in your major or vice versa.
Possibly, something you encountered in your major connected to other courses or experiences
that gave you a new or better perspective than you would have had without that.

Other types of connections might include:


 themes that you see throughout your different courses and experiences,
 how your different learning experiences have combined to produce the current “you”
and what each element has contributed,
 times when ideas from different courses synced or even clashed to expand your
perspectives,
 an issue that you have become passionate about that has been informed through a
number of different situations and experiences, or
 your perspective on themes or ideas that unify your Loras experience.

Again, you will select artifacts that provide evidence of the claims you are making regarding the
unifying aspects of your Loras experience. Choose artifacts that support the claims you are
making and describe how each is evidence of those claims.
Loras and Your Future
Examines the role of their Loras education in relation to their future career, leadership and/or
graduate school goals. Elements to consider might include:
1. The breadth of educational and experiential coverage.
2. The extent to which the writer synthesizes the connection of past experiences
to future goals.

Your Loras experience has produced the current version of you that is about to
embark on a life beyond Loras. You have had many experiences through your
courses, your co-curricular activities and other elements that have combined to
produce what you are at this point in your life. This part of your reflection prompts
you to assess your current status as you set out on your way into the future.

Where do you see yourself in the future? What has happened to you while at Loras
that has prepared you for that future?

The following questions, adapted from the portfolios of the University of Michigan,
may be helpful in forming a deep and thoughtful response.
 What have been your most valuable learning experiences in relation to the
Loras dispositions, discipline specific skills and your future goals?
 What values, principles, and strengths underlie your learning experiences?
 What gaps or challenges have you experienced in your learning?
 Where do you know you still need to learn more or have more extended
experiences for the future you envision?
 How do/will you apply what you have learned, (your knowledge and skills) to
the real world?
 How will what you have learned help you to make a difference in the world?

You will again use carefully selected artifacts as evidence for the claims you make
about your growth to become the person you are today as you head to your future.
Putting It All Together

As you reflect on the facets of your Loras education, as the preceding sections of this guide
have prompted you to do, you do not have to address each element in a separate reflection. In
fact, making connections and finding common themes is central to the reflection components
to which you have been introduced in the preceding sections. With that in mind, you could
choose to address each of the three elements separately or to interleave them where you find
opportunities to do so.
For example, the theme of future would seem to be strongly connected to your growth in the
dispositions you choose to discuss. Dispositions are tendencies to act in certain ways. So, how
do you see those dispositions in your future?
Additionally, when discussing the connections you see among various aspects of your Loras
experience, you might find it important to include the ways in which you see those connections
reflected through the dispositions and/or how you see those connections as having positioned
you for the future you envision.
The dispositions may well be a part of the interconnectedness you see in various places in your
Loras experience. They are intentionally woven into many of the courses you will have had,
both in your major are of study, as well as the general education program and co-curricular
activities.
So, the implication here is that you might find many ways in which the three tasks you have
been given for your portfolio interconnect and form a more complete picture than if you
treated them separately. It may involve deeper reflection on your part, but you may find a
more complete and potentially rewarding picture of your experiences and future direction at its
end.
So, choose the reflective path that best fits your view of the entirety and complexity of your
Loras experience.
Using Artifacts Effectively
Artifacts referenced in the narrative link to and support the claims made in items 1-3 above.
Elements to consider:
1. Artifacts are explicitly linked to claims made in the narrative.
2. The artifacts strongly support the claims made in the narrative.
3. The connection of the artifact to the claim is explicitly described in the narrative.

As you reflect on your Loras experience, you will be making claims about your growth in the
dispositions, the connections you see among the various classes and experiences, the future
you envision and what your experiences have contributed to that vision. As you make claims,
you will need to supply evidence that supports them.

Artifacts are that evidence. They are the evidence that represents the experiences you are
describing, in order to support your reflection. They may be papers you have written,
presentations you have given, co-curricular experiences you have had, or any other item that
you believe represents and corroborates the claim you are making.

Artifacts may take any of a variety of formats (documents, presentations or outlines,


graphics, relevant pictures, videos, etc.). You either need to have the actual artifact to
include in or link to from your portfolio, or you will need to produce a description of the
artifact, explaining in specific detail those elements of the artifact that you are referencing in
your reflection, so the reader can see clearly how the artifact supports the claims you make in
your narrative.

As you present your artifacts, don’t just list them and expect the reader to understand their
significance to your narrative or to connect one artifact to another to see growth,
interrelatedness or significance to your future. It is your narrative. You need to tell the story,
make the connections, and tie things together.

When you are using artifacts to substantiate the claims you make, you can strengthen your
evidence by selecting them from a broad variety of places. Look across the courses you took
for your major, your general education courses, electives you have taken and co-curricular
activities in which you have participated for artifacts to use as evidence in your reflections.
Publishing Your Portfolio
The online presentation of the portfolio presents the student’s work in an effective manner.
1. Appropriate for the identified intended audience.
2. Organized in an effective manner.

As you publish your portfolio, be sure it is well organized and easy to navigate. There should
be easy access to all components and the layout of your work should be clear, concise and
visually represent the structure you have created for your reflections. Avoid making your
reader search for information or for specific parts of your portfolio.

When you link to something, whether it is an artifact or another web site, be sure your link
identifies what it is that is being linked to, rather than having a link that says “click here” or
is a web URL (http://somewebsite.com). If, for example, you are linking to the Loras College
website, make the link be “Loras College.”

Never use “click here” as a link to something. Use the same method as described in the
preceding paragraph and make the name of the think you are linking to as the link text.

You will likely want to use some images in your portfolio. However, remember that this is a
professional representation of yourself and your work at Loras. Therefore, pictures of a
personal nature will probably not be appropriate for your portfolio. While you may elect to
use a picture as an artifact, as described in the preceding section, this is not a photo album
or a Facebook page. Choose carefully the images you wish to use in your portfolio to
present yourself in an appropriate manner for the purpose of your portfolio.
Dispositions of a Loras-Educated Person

Active learners want to learn. They are curious about the world and seek to make sense of their
experiences.
 Value opportunities to learn through diverse experiences.
 Act in ways that reveal broad areas of interest; they discuss, use respected resources to
research issues or problems, collaborate as scholars with instructors and peers, and
communicate effectively what they have learned.
 Test and develop their knowledge continually with new information and differing viewpoints.
 Take joy in the search for truth and commit to the intellectual rigor necessary to learn.
 Appreciate the beauty of creation.
 Value the artistic dimensions of human experience.

Reflective thinkers display insight. They take into account their own dispositions and biases as they
think creatively and critically. Loras students demonstrate their ability to think in a reflective manner.

 Think creatively when they interpret information in new ways, formulate fresh hypotheses, and
pose original questions.
 Think critically when they use various approaches to evaluate relationships between claims and
evidence.
 Express with confidence their own sense of identity and values based on their reasoned
understanding of what it means to be human.
 Connect discrete information within and across disciplines into a worldview.

Ethical decision makers discern religious, cultural, and personal values in order to act with
justice and compassion. Loras students demonstrate their ability to decide matters ethically.
 Understand and value the Catholic Christian tradition
 Act in ways that are honest, courageous, and consistent with their beliefs.
 Work to build a community of faith.
 Reason about ethical dilemmas and moral problems.
 Understand the heritage of democracy and act as responsible citizens.
 Know when and how to be leaders.

Responsible contributors to professions, societies, and religious communities develop their talents and
share them with others in ways that respect a global environment and are sensitive to cultural
differences. Loras students demonstrate that they contribute in responsible ways.

 Serve communities both inside and outside the College.


 Remain active alumnae and alumni in professional, social, and religious organizations.
 Deepen their understanding of the human family by pursuing knowledge of global, and domestic
diversity.
 Collaborate to solve problems.
 Apply ideas and values in the greater community and thereby continue to learn in active ways.
 Cultivate a playful spirit and a joyful approach to life and a life-long attention, to wellness in
pursuit of total development as a person.
Exploring the Dispositions of a Loras-Educated Person

Active learners want to learn. They are curious about the world and seek to make sense of their
experiences. They will:

 Value opportunities to learn through diverse experiences.


o What learning activities have you encountered that go beyond traditional classroom or
research techniques?
o Have you, for example, conducted interviews, performed your own research, job
shadowed, written a play, prepared and performed a musical piece…?
 Act in ways that reveal broad areas of interest; they discuss, use respected resources to
research issues or problems, collaborate as scholars with instructors and peers, and
communicate effectively what they have learned.
o Have you discovered a topic that interested and excited you that you never realized you
were interested in before?
o If you did research on an issue or problem, how did you decide which sources were
credible and respected?
o How have you worked with your teachers and/or peers in a way that demonstrate
learning at high levels?
o In instances when you presented the results of your work in some format, what were
the characteristics that demonstrated the effective communication of your ideas? How
did you determine your effectiveness?
 Test and develop their knowledge continually with new information and differing viewpoints.
o When and how did you persistently seek to expand the information you required for
your work? How did you determine what new information you needed as you
progressed in your work?
o In what ways did you encounter views that differed from your own? How did they
affect your efforts? How did you incorporate alternative views into your final product?
 Take joy in the search for truth and commit to the intellectual rigor necessary to learn.
o When and how have you taken control of a learning situation and made decisions that
affected its outcome?
o When have you found something to be mentally or academically challenging? How did
you persevere to learn, despite the obstacles or challenges involved?
o When has your curiosity driven you to learn about something? How did you plan and
complete the learning process?
 Appreciate the beauty of creation.
o While learning, have you had an experience that has caused you to marvel at the ways
of the universe? How did you go about learning expanding your understanding of the
phenomenon?
 Value the artistic dimensions of human experience.
o Have you experienced a sense of awe and wonder upon encountering a human artistic
creation? Describe that experience.
o How has an encounter driven you to learn more about human artistic creation? What
were the driving forces and how did you expand your understanding of such work?
Reflective thinkers display insight. They take into account their own dispositions and biases as they
think creatively and critically. Loras students demonstrate their ability to think in a reflective manner.
They will:

 Think creatively when they interpret information in new ways, formulate fresh hypotheses,
and pose original questions.
o Describe a new perspective that you brought to a learning project. Why was your
understanding and explanation different than previous views?
o When have you proposed a new theory of understanding something? Explain how your
new hypothesis arose and how you determined its merit.
o Describe a situation when you asked questions that hadn’t been asked before. What
prompted you to ask your new questions? How did you seek answers?
o Have you conducted an original research project of your own design? What were the
reflective processes you used to design and carry out the research?
 Think critically when they use various approaches to evaluate relationships between claims
and evidence.
o Explain how you went about determining that the statements made in an argumentative
work were valid. How did you go about verifying the validity of the evidence used in
support of the claims?
o When have you been in a situation where you made claims and provided evidence for
those claims? How did you go about verifying the validity of the evidence used in
support of your claims?
 Express with confidence their own sense of identity and values based on their reasoned
understanding of what it means to be human.
o When have your own personal values influenced the views you expressed on a
particular topic? How were these views based not on personal agendas, but on an
understanding of the values that would prove to be most beneficial to society?
o What are the driving values for your life? Describe a situation in which you have acted
on these values and how that action was for the betterment of some situation.
 Connect discrete information within and across disciplines into a worldview.
o Describe how you connected ideas and information from two or more separate subject
areas into a “bigger picture.” What new ideas did you discover in doing this?
o Explain how you took two or more ideas that were not obviously related and built
connections among those ideas.
Ethical decision makers discern religious, cultural, and personal values in order to act with
justice and compassion. Loras students demonstrate their ability to decide matters ethically.
They will:

 Understand and value the Catholic Christian tradition


o How has an understanding of Catholic Christian beliefs and values influenced your
thinking on a topic? In what ways did you demonstrate your understanding of those
traditions?
o How have you acted in ways that demonstrate your understanding of the Catholic
Christian tradition?
 Act in ways that are honest, courageous, and consistent with their beliefs.
o Describe a time when your actions revealed your honesty and courage. How were your
actions based on your beliefs?
o What are the consistent beliefs that drive your life? How have you demonstrated your
convictions through action?
 Work to build a community of faith.
o In what ways have you worked to help faith develop in the world?
o How have you assisted in spreading faith in a community to which you belong?
o What characteristics are essential to building faith communities? How have you used
these characteristics in your faith-building work?
 Reason about ethical dilemmas and moral problems.
o Describe examples of ethical problems you have had to reason about. How did you
determine your position on the issue? On what did you base your reasoning?
o What moral questions have you encountered in your learning? Describe your solution
to or position on an issue and from what moral reasoning foundation you arrived at
your conclusions.
 Understand the heritage of democracy and act as responsible citizens.
o Explain how you have taken the opportunity to act in accordance with democratic
principles in some activity in which you have participated.
o What are the characteristics of responsible citizens in a democratic society? How have
your actions shown your commitment to these ideals?
 Know when and how to be leaders.
o Relate a situation when you either decided to assume a leadership role or determined
that it was best to provide support, instead of lead. Explain how you made your
decision and the role you played. What qualities did you bring to the situation either as
leader or follower? Analyze the success of your role.
Responsible contributors to professions, societies, and religious communities develop their talents
and share them with others in ways that respect a global environment and are sensitive to cultural
differences. Loras students demonstrate that they contribute in responsible ways. They will:

 Serve communities both inside and outside the College.


o Describe an instance when you helped an individual or group either on or off campus.
How did the recipient(s) of your service benefit from it? What benefits did you derive
from providing the service?
 Remain active alumnae and alumni in professional, social, and religious organizations.
o How might you continue to contribute service beyond your years at Loras? Are there
organizations or communities with which you are involved that would provide ways to
remain in service after you graduate from Loras? What are they and how will they help
you remain a responsible contributor?
 Deepen their understanding of the human family by pursuing knowledge of global, and
domestic diversity.
o Where and when have you encountered diversity as you served in the role of a
responsible contributor? How did your encounters with diversity develop your
awareness of and insight into the problems associated with diverse populations in
societies?
 Collaborate to solve problems.
o Describe a situation when you worked with others as to solve a problem. What were
the advantages of your collaboration over working individually?
 Apply ideas and values in the greater community and thereby continue to learn in active ways.
o Describe a situation when you drew upon your values to provide service to an individual
or group. How did your values come into play in this situation? In what ways did your
activity align with the characteristics of an active learner?
 Cultivate a playful spirit and a joyful approach to life and a life-long attention to wellness in
pursuit of total development as a person.
o How will your learning continue beyond your time at Loras? What have you found that
will drive your life-long learning? What are your passions in life that you have
developed at Loras? How do you envision yourself continuing to develop as a learner
and a person?
Portfolio Rubric

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