For universities and colleges that:
Plan to attract students who already have experience in the area of study provided by the university
Value the process of students pursuing their passion and interest consistently
Want to assess and provide feedback to nurture all six Deeper Learning competencies
Master academic content
Think critically and solve complex problems
Work collaboratively
Communicate effectively
Learn how to learn
Develop academic mindsets
Rationale for Use
This portfolio style is for universities who would like to attract applicants who have been showing consistent passion in the area of their interest in prior to college. Both the admission office and the professor can develop relationships with applicants who are interested in pursuing a specified field in the future. These applicants will be able to showcase how they have developed academic mindsets, learned how to learn and think critically, through high quality academic content. If admission office also plans to assess applicants' ability to communicate effectively or work collaboratively, these criteria should be included in the portfolio or a follow-up interview can be executed.
Design
The design of the process is very flexible and can be customized to the specific area of study that the university pursues. The process can also be combined with other processes introduced on this website, or with academic tests.
Timeline
Examples
J. F. Oberlin University (Tokyo, Japan) offers an inquiry-based college application process called "Spiral" from 2022. Students can apply by selecting one from three different methods: submission of external awards, participation in an inquiry-based event by the university, or presenting their inquiry-based learning portfolio.
When presenting their inquiry-based portfolio, the achievements could be extracted from any contest both in and out of school. Students will go through submission of materials in a specified format and an interview. The assessment points are published online.
Possible Prompts
This is a prompt used at J. F. Oberlin University.
Write a description of what you did in your inquiry-based learning activities. Please show how much you have acquired the skills in the evaluation guide through your past inquiry-based learning activities, including evidence such as what you have actually worked on and the achievements you have obtained.
1. Describe how you selected the topic of your inquiry-based learning
When describing the background, please describe it in a way that shows the process of setting the theme.
Evaluates: Ability to set issues
2. Describe the activities, results, and learning from your inquiry-based learning
What kind of activities were conducted, and what kind of results and learning were obtained?
Evaluates: Ability to work independently, ability to work collaboratively
3. Describe how you will apply what you have learned through your inquiry-based learning to your studies at the university and to your future plans?
Evaluates: Ability to work beyond the framework of "inquiry learning" course in high school, ability to self-analyze and transform oneself
Evaluation Guide
J. F. Oberlin University has their ten evaluation competencies public to the applicants.
Ability to work beyond the framework of "inquiry learning" course in high school
Ability to set issues
Ability to collect necessary information
Ability to organize and analyze information
Content of the presentation material
Expression of the presentation material
Ability to work independently
Ability to work collaboratively
Ability to think and be creative
Ability to self-analyze and transform oneself
FAQs
Does the admission office ask applicants to submit portfolio in an uniform format or in different styles?
To make the selection process simple, it is recommended to ask applicants submit an uniform summary of their achievements and have separate attachments of their past work with limitations such as the number of pages.
Do applicants need to be awarded externally in the work they submit?
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