PORTFOLIO DEVELOPMENT FOR PRE-SERVICE COUNSELORS

SUNY Oneonta/School Counseling Program

I. What is a counseling portfolio?

A counseling portfolio is a collection of experiential artifacts and reflective

information, constructed in a way that demonstrates various dimensions of your work,

philosophy, methods, abilities, and attitudes.

Your final portfolio will be a means of providing evidence of your h aving

developed the knowledge and skills expected of a counseling professional at entry level

(per NCATE, CACREP and ASCA National Standards guidelines). The purpose of the

portfolio is to combine examples of experience and mastery with explanation and

eflection on their meaning or significance. The goal is to increase your self-reflection

about your professional development, as it occurs. The contextual nature of the

counseling port folio can more readily capture the complexity of counseling than do other

more traditional forms of self-presentation, such as resumes.

Process or development portfolio - one that is primarily developed and

maintained for your use as a means of tracking growth and reflecting on why certain

phenomena are occurring. It is a representation of personal growth, capturing the

formative process and revealing your learning over time as well as areas where

continued growth is needed. Your process portfolio will begin during your initial formal

academic training, and can be maintained throughout your professional career. It is a

means of reviewing this formative process and recording significant events and< o:p>

learning that occur throughout your academic program, and a method to assist you with

documenting essential life-long professional learning.

Product or interview portfolio - typically developed at the end of an academic or

employment experience. It can also be lifted out of the process portfolio and, as a

summative product, demonstrates proficiency and mastery. A more concisely edited

form, referred to as an executive summary and typically only two to three pages, can be

used as an employment tool for interviews and/or performance evaluations and

reviews. The product portfolio is typically a retrospective process rather than an in-

rocess activity.

II. What does a counseling portfolio include?

Entries in the portfolio can be clustered around themes or categories, such as

professional orientation and background information, skill/content mastery, organization

and management, and critic al incidents. Entries can include experiences and learning

that occur outside formal academic programs, such as participation in volunteer

activities or committee work. Two or three entries per section are recommended for

product portfolios, so that they are more likel y to be read. A process portfolio, being a

more personal tool, can contain as many entries as you wish. Some sample types of

entries are:

Critical incidents:

- during your training, volunteer experiences, related work experiences

- with clients

- with colleagues, supervisors, administrators

Professional orientation and background informa tion:

- professional resume

- statement of philosophy of counseling (and education for school counselors)

- statement of professional goals

- professional development activities (conferences attended, workshops given)

- participation in ser vice, committee, collaborative activities

- evaluations/feedback from supervisors, advisors, and mentors

Skill/content mas tery:

- reproductions or representation of activities such as:

- videotapes/audio tapes/transcripts (with conf identiality maintained)

- photographs

- journals/logs

- papers, projects, research (with accompanying reflective comments)

- program designs, publications, presentations

- evidence related to specific areas of focus in counseling (group, crisis team)

- critiqued exams (with reflection)

Organization and management:

- examples of problem-solving strategies used with real or simulated problems

- analysis of interpersonal professional relationships

- sample reports and plans (including lessons designed)

- programming and grant/funding proposals

Note:

A portfolio is not simply a scrapbook collection of everything you've don e. Each

entry should be labeled or captioned and accompanied by an explanation and

reflective statement. The quality of your reflection is more important than the

evidence you provide.

Reflective statements explain why each entry is included and why it illustrates

you as a counseling professional. In writing these statements, ask yourself:

- What did do?

- What does it mean?

- How did I come to be this way?

- How might I do things differently?

- What have I learned?

III. Portfolio Structure:

Counsel ing portfolio entries can be organized chronologically or around themes

or categories. You need to ask yourself, "How can the evidence be presented so that it

truly makes a compelling argument about my strengths and the process of my

development?" Often the organization evolves as your portfolio itself develops.

Note: For a product portfolio shown to others, length and quality are both

important. Th e accompanying reflective statement might be a paragraph. Ask

yourself, "What will be added to the description of my knowledge, skills, and

character by adding this entry?" and, "Have I selected the entries which most

accurately and completely demonstrate my message?"

Physically, a portfolio should be a well-organized, attractive presentation of

pro fessional materials. It might be organized in a large three-ring binder with tabs, title

page, table of contents or in a large folder with pockets for the sections. Some students

use a milk crate with hanging files, one for each thematic section, with the first section

containing the guide to the remainder of the contents. Construction and appearance are

left to your individual style and taste, but if used as an employment tool, a product

ortfolio should include something to help your reader understand how the portfolio is

organize d.

Computers are widely available, therefore you might choose to save your entire

portfolio on a disk or in CD ROM format to make storage and handling easier and

revising more efficient.

IV. How will the portfolio be used?

Your portfolio is a tool for reflections on learning and practice. It can be used in a

variety of ways with your academic and practicum advisors, but most broadly as a

eans of communication regarding your process of development as a counselor. It is not

just in field-based experiences where you are expected to reflect upon your practice of

counseling, but it is expected that this process will begin with your first introduction and

orientation to the counseling field. This process of self-reflection can be a means of

integrating the academic program with experience, and can become a template for

continued self-reflection when you graduate and are employed. You are expected to

eview your developing portfolio with your advisor by the middle of your Practicum

semester. You and your advisor must complete the Review of Portfolio form and

forward it to the Graduate Office by the end of that semester.

V. Summary: A step-by-step guide to developing your portfolio.

1. Save everything.

2. Describe, explain, reflect, write about everything asking yourself:

- How did I grow?

- Why did I do this?

- What did this experience mean to me?

- What have I learned?

- What might I do differently?

- What did I discover when applying theory to practice?

- What questions doe this experienc e raise?

3. Your final portfolio should provide evidence of your having developed the

knowledge and skills n ecessary to:

- establish and maintain productive counseling relationships

- select, administer, and in terpret assessment tools

- develop and facilitate counseling groups

- seek out appropriate resources to respond to client needs

- seek out activities to enhance skills/knowledge

- conduct consultations with colleagues/administrators/parents/agencies

- resourcefully m eet the needs of diverse clientele (special Ed, COA)

- initiate and design programs (workshops, classes, presentations)

- assist clients with academic, career, and personal development issues

- actively participate as a member of professional teams/organizations.

Prepared by: Emily Phillips, SUNY Oneonta, Ed Psych and Counseling (Fall 1998)

Adapted from material obtained from Bev Burnell, SUNY Plattsburgh