Just a Hoping Machine Woody Guthrie once said "the note of hope is the only note that can help us or save us from falling to the bottom of the heap of evolution, because, largely, about all a human being is, anyway, is just a hoping machine." This project began as an exercise in hope, continued as an experience in empowerment, and will result in a leap of faith. Initially, I was interested in pursuing work on the use of portfolio assessment as an interdisciplinary strategy for student empowerment and student ownership of the processes and product of education. My central focus was on how ongoing portfolio assessment, at the course and program level, could be most effectively envisioned not only as an external evaluation tool, but as an internal and self reflexive learning strategy. I believed whole-heartedly that portfolio assessment was one of the most responsible method of interpreting student learning, and that unlike knowledge-based and performance-based models, portfolio assessment promised a meaning- and experience-based approach to undergraduate education that could ultimately displace the classroom power relationship and place the act of valuing in the hands of the students. My investigation began at the Hutchins School of Liberal Studies where portfolio assessment had been a central feature since 1990. Current and former students provided feedback on the Hutchins Portfolio and its effectiveness as a tool for self-assessment and reflection. A special course was established to help current majors create new ways of thinking about the Hutchins Portfolio. Focus groups evaluated the innovations suggested by their peers. Throughout the process it was my hope that students would be the source of inspiration, the font of innovation, and the filter for determining value. At every turn I tried to make this a student-centered and student-determined project.

Roll On Columbia Initially I wanted to encourage students to use an existing structure, rhetoric, process, intention to its best advantage; to reminding students of the reasons for the program and its methods; to open a door that had been reserved for faculty and to change the focus from top-down to bottom-up. The first stage of the work involved data gathering. Student surveys were conducted by mail for alumni and in class for graduating seniors. The second stage of the work involved student idea generation. This was accomplished through a directed studies course focusing on portfolio revision. The third stage of the work involved focus group review of the student-generated ideas and artifacts. This was accomplished through open-call and in-class sessions. The fourth stage of the work involved review of the results of the focus group and distillation of both the comments and the additional suggestions. The fifth stage of the work involved the actual revision of the Hutchins Portfolio and its presentation to the Hutchins faculty for review and approval. The sixth stage of the work involved the implementation of student suggestions in existing classes and the creation of an additional class devoted to ongoing Hutchins Portfolio revision (in process).

This Land is Your Land ... Evidence Stage 1 The first stage involved collecting student surveys by mail and in-class during the Fall of 2000. These suggested making work with and in the Portfolio more integral to the Hutchins experience. Some suggested using the Portfolio for reflection at the end of every course, while others looked to using it throughout every course. Few responses were specific but the general feeling of "more is better" prevailed. Issues of ownership did appear, indicating that there was some sense division between theory and practice. Throughout there was a discrepancy between what the Portfolio was and what it could be. Most prevalent was the sense that the Portfolio was something that you "do" rather than something you use. In other words, because what has been guided the process, there was little sense of what could be. I interpreted this response as indicating that there were few opportunities for democratic action in using the Portfolio, for it was hard for respondents to imagine an alternative to something presented as a finished product. The student surveys were of great help in determining the clarity with which the respondents saw the problem. Perhaps the most important aspect of this early effort was in convincing my colleagues and the administration of the importance of the project and instigating support from those who have the power to implement the suggestions and ideas generated. Here was a clear case of data gathering as ally rallying. Student Survey Sample

This Land is Your Land ... Evidence Stage 2 In the second stage of the project I solicited the help of students interested in revising the Portfolio and having a greater voice in the future of the program (yes, I put it that way). Solicitation was of two types: open call to all students (in class and on a listserv), and direct appeal to my Spring 2000 LIBS 302 class. Twelve students enrolled in my directed studies course in the Fall of 2000 with the explicit purpose of reviewing the existing Portfolio and suggesting changes to the document and the curriculum. They were all informed of the nature of this project beforehand and enrolled because they had an interest in the process and the product. There was a sense from the students when they met that the portfolio should be a place for clarifying directions and desires with respect to the educational journey. Students suggested a series of forms and questionnaires (see below). Throughout, the focus was on providing a wide variety of resources for a wide variety of students, a spectrum of aides from which to choose, all stressing self-evaluations and personally-directed guidance. There was also the call for faculty to make better use of what we came up with. Specifically, student suggestions fell into two broad categories: Introduction to Liberal Studies (LIBS 302) suggestions and ongoing suggestions. The former included much more explicit use of the Portfolio in all sections, increased emphasis on advising and revised advising documents, and reference guides to a variety of aspects of the program. The latter category included use of the Portfolio in all classes (something that has always been suggested and never implemented), the creation of a course log within the Portfolio to track completion and aid in coherence, mid-semester opportunities for reflection and review built into all Hutchins classes as an aide to clarity and future direction determination. Seminar Criteria Sample Personal Growth Log Personal Education Plan Seminar Response Form Tips for Success Is Hutchins Right for You? Are Your Right for Hutchins?

This Land is Your Land - Evidence Stage 3 In the third stage I convened a series of focus groups to review the work of the directed studies class. Two other groups were used, a LIBS 302 class and a LIBS 402 class. Most respondents had favorable reactions to the artifacts, although some disapproved of the redundancy. Response to the idea of making the Portfolio a more integral part of the curriculum was positive. The idea of a special class devote to the Portfolio was less well received. Perhaps the most important areas of ongoing analysis involve examination of the focus group results, comparison with the initial surveys, and interpretation of the "slopes and spikes" of the correlation. Initial examination suggests that there will be correlation, and that there will be cause for both revision of the Portfolio and ongoing attention to student empowerment. All of this will be vital to the ultimate acceptance of this change in the program. Focus Group Feedback Form

Pastures of Plenty It's important to remember that I work within an unusual environment: the Hutchins School of Liberal Studies at Sonoma State University. Founded in 1969 as one of three experimental "cluster schools" devoted to educational innovation, Hutchins is completely interdisciplinary and seminar based. All faculty teach across the intellectual spectrum. All classes in the lower division and most classes in the upper division are limited to a maximum of fourteen students. The lower division curriculum provides a two-year, forty-eight unit alternative to traditional general education classes and students who complete the entire sequence fulfill all of their university requirements except mathematics. The upper division curriculum provides two forty-unit tracks leading to the bachelor's degree in Liberal Studies. Just as the lower division provides coherence through its seminars and small-scale community orientation (students remain with the same sixty to seventy students throughout their freshman and sophomore years), the upper division makes use of program-wide portfolio assessment that is designed to remain consistent from the initial gateway course (LIBS 302, Introduction to Liberal Studies) through the final culminating course (LIBS 402, Senior Synthesis). Students are taught about the Hutchins Portfolio in LIBS 302 and are expected to make use of it as an instructional tool throughout their upper division experience. The Hutchins Portfolio is presented to an instructor, along with an intellectual autobiography, during LIBS 402 and is assessed to determine whether the student has fulfilled all expectations, completed all courses, and taken initiative in terms of their own educational journey. The Hutchins School of Liberal Studies The Hutchins Upper-Division Portfolio 2000 Hutchins Catalogue Copy

Blowing Down that Old Dusty Road Initially, I believed the investigation was to center on the Hutchins Portfolio itself, and that issues of student use would be secondary to issues of revising the document. But as work began and students took charges of the investigation I came to realize that this was not a project about a thing, but about a process. Thus the focus changed from assessment and revision of an assessment vehicle, to the revision of that vehicle and its use in one class, to the revision of its use throughout the program. Perhaps the most striking aspect of this investigation was the realization that students were initially quite happy to use whatever tools and artifacts they were given, and trusted completely that the assessment vehicle was valid and valuable - until they were given the opportunity to imagine something else. That something else soon became the focus of my investigation.

Do-Re-Mi What has become apparent is that the larger social and political implications of this project are much less clear and their success much less certain. At the end of this year I still find students believe that power should flow from the top down and that we the faculty should require and coerce our students into thinking for themselves and working for their best interests. While much of this project does encourage "students taking charge of their own education" I am still uncomfortable with the level of teacher-driven instruction. I will continue to work toward implementation of these changes, and continue to canvass for more ideas, but the question remains of how best to indicate to students that while the Portfolio is indeed created, compiled, administered, and assessed by faculty, it can still be a student-centered artifact that promotes student-generated activity. Until more student-centered mechanisms are in place, I fear that real change will never come. Most of the aforementioned ideas regarding curricular change involve increased faculty commitment on several levels (portfolio revision, course revision, institutional putting your money where your mouth is). There is fear about "what will this mean for me and my courses" than there was before. Several faculty have agreed to make better use of the portfolio on their own, and I am confident that this will occur, but there is still great resistance from some. Nevertheless, I have hopes. What makes the case in the strongest possible way is that the revision suggestions are coming from the students, who perceive a need and a desire to make change. And this is a powerful motivating factor. But even this has proven threatening to some colleagues who are less inclined to put into practice the prevailing rhetoric of student-centered and student-directed education. Also of interest is that those students who participated in this project, especially those in the directed study course, have made significant changes in their own approach to course selection and personal commitment, and that gives me great faith in the value of the work and hope for the future.

Hard Travelin' I have learned two important lessons in this process. First that the vehicle is never the driver and the manual is never the action. Focusing on artifacts and rubrics only takes you so far, and eventually you need to work for change on the ground and in person. Furthermore, when working with students (at least our students) the path of least resistance is paved without intentions - in other words the natural tendency to do what is required rather than what is desired may be the default for many students, but when prompted to make change and assisted along the way (in person and with text), students will indeed take control of their education. But taking control requires opportunity and assistance and acceptance, and sooner in the process is always better. The other important lesson has to do with my colleagues and their "buying into" this work. To continue the metaphor, I learned that old vehicles make for comfortable drivers (for new rules are harder to learn than old habits), and that driving in the ruts is easier than heading for the hills. In other words, inertia is perhaps the single most daunting obstacle to this work. But as with students, change requires opportunity and assistance and acceptance, and often more so than might otherwise be expected. I also learned that the key is to do the work first (as oppose to asking for help or support to do the work), then seek out allies to do it again. Allies are the key. Ultimately, I believe that much of my work was successful. But along the way I encountered unexpected resistance from various individuals and support from unlikely quarters. I learned a great deal about what students think and want, and even more about what faculty think and need. In the end, I have experienced the joy of success (for the students did, indeed produce amazing ideas and artifacts), but remain skeptical about the possibilities for real and lasting and especially ongoing change. So this snapshot is a report of the lands from whence I came, the long and dusty road I and my students followed, what friends and wonders we encountered along the way, and what can be expected and perhaps feared over the next hill. It has been "some hard travelin'" and one of the most valuable experiences of my life.

This is Your World I want to close with one more Woody Guthrie quote, because I think that while my work doesn't even come close to the beauty and brilliance of his songs, it does draw on similar hopes and aspirations. I am out to sing songs that will prove to you that this is your world and that if it has hit you pretty hard and knocked you for a dozen loops, no matter how hard it's run you down, and rolled over you, no matter what color, what size you are, how you are built; I am out to sing the songs that will make you take pride in yourself and in your work. Now I don't think that any single thing, like a program portfolio or even a program, can do all that all by itself. Nor do I believe that any one teacher, me or you or anyone else, can do all that all my her/himself ( I almost typed "his-self"). But if "fifty people a day, I say fifty people a day" start working towards this kind of empowerment, for themselves and their students, then someone just my think it's a movement - and that's what it is. Woody Guthrie Foundation and Archive A great site for more information about Woody Guthrie, including teachers' curriculum, projects, biography, and more. Portfolio Projects On the AAHE website there are links to portfolio projects as well as other teaching initiatives.