Purpose
The purpose of this requirement is two-fold: to help prepare students for careers by allowing them an opportunity to organize, articulate, and exhibit the skills they have acquired and assemble them in the form of a CV, and to allow them an opportunity for self reflection as they grow and develop as scientists and adults.
Organization
The portfolio will be initiated at the beginning of the sophomore year during Genetics class. There will be required assignments for the portfolio during both Genetics and Systematic Biology. The junior and senior years will be spent working independently on the portfolio, with a final portfolio to be presented during Senior Seminar during the spring of the senior year. The portfolios may also be discussed with advisors during meetings throughout the student’s career.
The general layout and requirements for the portfolio will be covered in Genetics class. In addition to faculty resources, upperclassmen will also be trained and work as Portfolio Advisors. All students are taught in Using Computers to make a Web page, and all students have space on the server. Students will have the option of having their portfolios online and available to share with others, or storing them on disc or H drive to be viewed only by themselves and their advisors.
Portfolio Requirements
Career Readiness
The most extensive section of the portfolio is the Career Readiness section. There are six areas to this section. For each area you will be required to provide both a narrative section describing your abilities or accomplishments, and also some evidence of this skill. For example, evidence of Written Communication skills could be links to a paper that you have written. Evidence of Laboratory Skills could be a scan of a gel that you have run. For other areas, you might have to think harder about your skills, and how you can demonstrate them.
The six areas would be
Written Communication Skills
Oral Communication Skills
Quantitative Skills
Laboratory Skills
Experience (internships, independent research)
Leadership and Teamwork
Self Reflection
A second and smaller section of the portfolio is the Self Reflection section. For this section, you will be asked to reflect on your biology experience in a broader context. Questions that you might ask yourself could include:
What skills and abilities do successful scientists have?
Which of these skills do I have and which do I need to develop?
What are my plans to develop the skills I lack?
What classes do I most enjoy? What do these courses have in common, and what implications does this have for me in terms of career choices?
What are my career goals? Why am I interested in this career? What abilities do I have which make this an appropriate career goal for me?
CV.
The final section of the portfolio, to be completed during senior seminar, is the CV. You should think of the Career Readiness section as a storage trunk from which you can pull out artifacts which will enable you to prepare a CV. These CVs will be tailored for your immediate career goals, including graduate school, jobs, professional school, etc.