Essay Instructions: The Learning Assessment
The learning assessment is the most important part of the portfolio. It is more than a brief report or summary of your learning. It is a self-assessment of your own learning. It is where you describe and defend what it is that you know.
A learning assessment is submitted for each learning area in which you are requesting credit (i.e. there is one learning assessment per portfolio). In this workshop, we will work on one of your learning assessments.
Each assessment consists of the following components:
1. Setting(s), roles, and responsibilities: The setting refers to the learning environment(s) within which learning occurred. Include all settings in which learning took place, such as schools, training programs, on-the-job experience, independent learning, volunteer work, etc. Describe in detail as well what you actually did within each of the settings. That is, describe your role, the level and nature of your participation, and your responsibilities. This gives you a chance to explain how your roles changed, because often your roles shift as you build your skills. This section of the assessment should not be more than 3-5 pages. This just gives the context in which you learned. It is a chance for the evaluator to be able to more fully grasp the sites and roles in which your learning took place; it is your chance to flesh out the brief details that you offered in your narrative essay.
2. Summary of skills and knowledge: This is the most important section of the assessment. In it you should articulate, as clearly and analytically as possible, what you learned. You should demonstrate to the evaluator that you understand the conceptual basis of your learning and that you can generalize your skills and knowledge beyond the specific setting in which they were learned. Although you may support this section with documentation, it should be capable of standing on its own; that is, it should be clear to the evaluator what was learned without having to refer to material products.
Students often find that it is useful to break this section into subsections with subheadings (almost like the kind that you would find on a course syllabus). This way, you can address distinct areas of your knowledge and the specific ways in which you came to that level of understanding. Within each of the subsections, be sure not only to illustrate your general knowledge (i.e. the kind of knowledge that you could learn in a classroom), but also to give examples that illustrate you in action (i.e. how you implemented those ideas, skills, practices, etc.).
Remember what we discussed a few weeks ago on the type of prior learning that is appropriate for these portfolios. The most critical one for this essay is that it must be "college-level learning," and so when you write this section, think very much about demonstrating this level of understanding.
3. Significance of the learning (optional): This section, if appropriate, should address how this learning relates to the rest of your educational program. Most of you will have already addressed this in your Narrative Essays, so there's no need for this type of discussion. For some of you, your experiences might not relate at all to your current studies if you're in the midst of a career change. That's why this is optional. If you do decide to include a section on this, keep it very short. The goal of the Learning Assessment is to describe and defend what you know, so you don't want to waste valuable space in this essay on this type of discussion.
A few important things to keep in mind: These learning assessments vary greatly, depending on the subject area, but it is not a resume. That is, it should not be a laundry list of duties (that is what you should describe in the the first few pages), but rather an analysis of what those duties entailed and what you learned through them.
It probably is best to start off writing this learning assessment with your subheadings developed first. It may seem awkward but it will provide a structure for you to think about what it is you know and how you know it. Although we will discuss the use of documentation in a couple of weeks, you should be thinking about how you will use documentation in the learning assessment (e.g. ad campaigns that you developed, for example.)
Your learning assessments should be between 15 and 20 pages in length (double-spaced). If it is longer than that, you might need to step back and make sure that you are thinking conceptually about what it is you know rather than giving a detail-by-detail description.
Below, ask any questions that you have about the Learning Assessment. We will talk through the one that you will be writing in our individual meetings, so ask any general questions that come to mind here.
The Learning Assessment of Fashion: design to production
I learned how to turn my simple sketches into a full garment on my own, without any formal training, when I decided to create my business called FRANZISKA FOX. Since in the beginning we were only a two man team, we all had many shoes to fill. I also learned how to run and manage my own business which I will explain in another portfolio.
The learning took place at factories, in our office and with the help of friends who knew the importance of photo shop and illustrator.
In the business, I was formally named the designer. So it was my job to gather information on upcoming trends through thorough investigation and reading trend reports. I would quickly draw an idea on a napkin or whatever was closest to me before heading straight to the office and turning my sketch into a technical flat. After it became a flat and had all the correct measurements, I turned that flat into a pattern. After it was a pattern I cut the fabric around the pattern and then hired someone to sew the fabric into the garment itself. After choosing an appropriate fabric, of course. The garment was then fitted on a fit model and necessary alterations were made. Whether there was an issue with the way it fit, a zipper or button placement, a pocket adjustment, etc. essentially, I am responsible for our line to remain relevant.
2. Summary of skills and knowledge
-gaining inspiration from day to day life. Architecture, art, a silhouette, a shadow etc
-making sketch
-turning sketch into technical flat using illustrator
-turning flat into a patter which is then used as a reference to cut the fabric around.
- First we make a muslin sample so we can make any alterations before using the designated fabric for the garment
-fitting the final sample of garment to exact measurements of standard model
- when the final sample is made , we wait until the collection is complete and then shoot the look book which we show case when the time is right
