PBLA Portfolios – Key Elements
A Summary of Expectations for Portfolio Entries
| Item that must be included | Features |
| Portfolio Section: About Me | |
| Autobiography | The autobiography is no longer a required component. |
| CLB Levels | Learners record their CLB levels from their CLB placement assessment or from their previous class |
| Needs Assessment | Language/presentation is appropriate for CLB level (e.g., at lower levels may include pictorial needs assessments).
The needs assessment identifies social contexts for language needs, and when possible (depending on the CLB or ESL Literacy level), the language tasks of importance to learners. There is evidence that learners have prioritized needs from a range of options |
| Goal Setting | The learner identifies a language-related goal(s) that he/she wants to be able to do for work, school and/or the community that are specific and achievable within the duration of the term or course.
There should be evidence that the goal(s) were reviewed during the course. Goals may be revised, or new ones developed. |
| Learning Reflections | Learning reflections consider the process of learning: what helps the learner learn.
This activity is a regular aspect of the learning cycle (not done as a one-off). |
| Portfolio Sections: SKILL-USING and ASSESSMENT TASKS in Four Skill Areas | |
| Skills Inventory | A skills inventory precedes each skill area and includes:
Competency area(s) that the task addresses. |
| Skill-using and Assessment Tasks | Portfolios contain sufficient evidence. Teachers should be aiming towards 8 to 10 artefacts for each skill that the class addresses (Listening, Speaking, Reading, Writing) as a basis for assigning benchmarks.
Artefacts should include a balance of skill-using and assessment tasks. There should be a range of tasks across competency areas. There should be evidence of self-assessment associated with some of the tasks. |
Adapted from Table 2 in Davison and Leung (2009, pp. 402-403).
