Enhancing Students' Critical Thinking through Portfolios

Abstract

Portfolios can serve a crucial role in helping students develop their critical thinking in writing, thereby promoting write-to-learn philosophy in education. Still, not any portfolio's content and approach can guarantee the achievement of this goal. Teachers' concern in promoting students' critical thinking needs to be reflected in their decision that is related to the evidences of students' needs that helps to select their approaches of integrating and using them into class. Students' reflection needs to underpin all stages of portfolio assessment through providing opportunities for their decision-making, initiation and creativity. Therefore, this chapter puts forward a student portfolio model along with its content and process of use. This learning tool was integrated within the course of Written Expression and used by 33 students at the Department of English at Abdelhamid Ibn Badis University during the academic year 2013-2014. Recommendations are also provided in order to make it a vehicle for critical thinking.