Student Portfolios in O&M: A window into the child’s learning experience

A Case for Student-Created Portfolios in O&M

“…Since O&M instruction takes place in natural environments and involves functional tasks, O&M work samples (photos, videos, maps, and the like) are a treasury of authentic work and ideal artifacts for student-created portfolios (Lynch & Struewing, 2001). These portfolios can become windows into the students' experience with O&M and can provide families and professionals involved in the students' education the opportunities to appreciate the effort, progress, and meaning each child derives from this learning process (Perla & Maffit, 2015).…”

“…Since school transitions typically require familiarizing new teachers and administrators with the student's O&M history, portfolios can save time, effort, and potential frustration by providing relevant background information and a "starting place" for future instruction. Making the transition from one O&M specialist to another can also be facilitated if the student has an O&M portfolio, which can be used to share key concepts and skills that have been previously addressed and to set the stage for a meaningful dialogue about future goals (Perla & Maffit, 2015). For example, Figure 7 demonstrates one student's understanding of actuated intersections and if shared with her next O&M instructor, provides documentation of her current learning to support appropriate goal development.…”

“…Furthermore, unlike other instructional areas, O&M content is typically not captured or documented for families and other professionals to see. Sharing student-created portfolios can assist in making O&M instruction more concrete and help others gain a better understanding of the depth and breadth involved in this instructional area (Perla & Maffit, 2015).…”

“…Literature and anecdotal records suggest that families are generally positive about the use of portfolios (Juniewicz, 2003; Thompson & Baumgartner, 2008) and are interested in making contributions (see Figure 5). O&M specialists in itinerant settings or with very large caseloads may find portfolios helpful to enhance communication with families and share students’ learning (Carothers & Taylor, 2003; Davis, 2009; Englund, 2009; Perla & Maffit, 2015). They can also be used to assist students articulate what they are learning and share their progress at IEP meetings (Fazzi & Petersmeyer, 2001; Juniewicz, 2003; Thompson & Baumgartner, 2008; Zatta & Pullin, 2004).…”

“…Portfolios provide great opportunities for children to express their own individuality. Figure 6 illustrates how the task of comparing a variety of cane tips was approached by two different students (Perla & Maffit, 2015). O&M portfolios can also be used as a resource for students, since they contain information relevant to them such as cane ordering information, useful maps, routes to various destinations, telephone numbers or websites related to public transportation, and the like (Fazzi & Petersmeyer, 2001).…”