Learning portfolio
Learning Portfolio to support the transfer from integration-/language training to Vocational education
Building an online portfolio is a great idea for you who want to transfer from migrant/language education to vocational education (VET) to show your skills, experiences, strengths and areas that still need further development to educational providers such as VET. It can also be used when applying for work or attending work interviews with your potential employer. The aim of a learning portfolio is to help you identify strengths and weaknesses and see how you can use them in your career path. This portfolio-manual is one way for you to get knowledge about how to create and what to include in your portfolio.
TIP: When designing your online portfolio, it’s important to keep in mind the audience you are trying to attract. Make sure that your portfolio is well-organized, easy to navigate, and visually appealing. You may also want to consider including multimedia elements, such as videos or images where you show your skills and experience in a more dynamic way. Make sure to update your portfolio regularly.
In this portfolio you will concentrate on showing specific skills that are connected to key competences. Key competences are a set of important skills, knowledge and attitudes that helps you adapt and succeed in various situations. Developing and improving key competences such as communication, critical thinking, problem solving, digital literacy, teamwork and cultural awareness will support your personal development and social integration. It will also help you succeed in education, work, and life. Taking advantage of this portfolio will allow you to focus and develop the following 5 key competences:
- Literacy competence
- Personal, social and learning to learn competence
- Mathematical competence and competence in science, technology, and engineering
- Digital competence
- Cultural competence
The layout of the portfolio
This portfolio is divided into three parts
Paths to your professional choice
Documentation
Certifications, proofs and CV
Paths to your professional choice
Focusing on these aspects in your learning portfolio will help you become aware of important aspects that will help your professional and personal development in a new environment/country.
Motivation: Motivation will help you understand and document the reasons why you want to apply for a certain vocational education field or a job. Setting goals that helps you stay motivated will help you stay focused and reach your goals despite the challenges you might face.
Personal, Social, and Learning-to-Learn Competence: As a migrant learner, you are likely to face unique challenges related to adapting to a new culture, language, and educational system. Analyzing your personal, social, and learning-to-learn competencies helps you understand these challenges and this way also grow personally and as a student.
Self-evaluation: Reflecting on your strengths, weaknesses, achievements, and areas for improvement allows you to track your progress and make better decisions about your learning path. It will make you more aware of areas where you need to focus more to develop the skills that might prevent you from reaching your goals.
Personal Goals: Setting clear goals that you can reach helps you stay focused and motivated. Writing down these goals in your learning portfolio will allow you to see your progress, how well you have managed to reach your goals and celebrate your successes along the way.
Cultural Understanding: It is normal that you have a different learning experience and learning culture than those who are natives. Documenting your culture’s view on learning and education and comparing this with the view on learning and education in your country will help you understand and respect the education systems in the country where you are studying. This will support you in your learning and improve your chances of succeeding in education.
Documentation
This part of the learning portfolio focuses on the parts of your past learning journey and experience that shows not just your motivation and adaptability to study, it also shows your previous achievements, and potential contributions that will help you succeed in your studies. By collecting your experiences and accomplishments in this learning portfolio you show your readiness to start your studies at the school you have applied for. You can also use this part or parts of it when you apply for work and want to show your potential future employer your past achievements and certificates that you have collected.
Certifications, proofs and CV
Here you will attach all the certificates and documents that show your skills.
Materials to collect for your learning portfolio
In this part of the portfolio, you are given specific tasks that you can add to your learning portfolio. This learning portfolio can be an online folder that you create for example on Google Drive. When collecting the material remember to name the folder with a descriptive name. You can also create folders for each of the 5 key competences included in your portfolio.
The KEYS! portfolio will help you to:
The portfolio will help you to clarify your goals when it comes to either your future studies or work. It also allows you to get an overview of your skills, competences, and experiences. The portfolio is also a tool that will help you reflect over these skills, competences and experiences and lift up your strengths and areas where you need further development. It will also support you in your transfer from language-/integration training to vocational education.
The portfolio will help you to get a better understanding of your skills and the way you learn as it gives you an overview of your skills and experiences. It can also help you evaluate and put words to what you are good at and what you need to put more effort in. The portfolio can, so to say, follow and support your learning and career path while it gives you a better understanding of your development.
PART 1: Paths to your professional choice – tasks that you can do for the portfolio
In this part of the portfolio, you can collect information that helps you plan for you visualize, look back, evaluate and reflect on your past while planning for your future professional development. Here you can find short descriptions and tasks about:
Motivation
Motivation can be divided into inner and outer motivation. The inner motivation makes you want to do something because it is dream of yours, it is something you want or need to do for yourself. Outer motivation is when you are driven by outside factors, for example your family wants you to do something, or you need to get a degree in order to get a job. Below are some tasks that will help you examine what motivates you to apply for a vocational degree or for a job. The tasks are split into the 5 key competencies that we are focusing on in this portfolio. If you get stuck or you don’t know what is expected of you when doing the tasks, don’t be afraid to contact, for example, a teacher at the integration- /language training school.
Tasks relevant for motivation:
Task 1: Write a future plan which includes your education and future work – examples on what you can focus on when writing this is integration, independence, cultural expectations, and achievements.
Task 2: Find information about relevant jobs and reflect and compare what type of job would suit you best. Write down your reflections and comparisons.
Task 3: Self-organization and motivation are important when applying to a new education or work. Add to your future plan (Task 1), a concrete action plan on how you intend to reach your goals and give deadlines by when you expect to have reached these goals. (e.g., Weekly – monthly schedules, for example school hours, hobbies and interests, voluntary activities, etc.). Try to be as realistic as possible when writing this action plan.
Personal goals
To succeed in your education you need to set personal goals that are reachable and realistic. To help you reach goals it is important to set both long-term goals as well as short-term goals. A long-term goal can for example be that you will get a degree in the hospitality sector within 3 years and a short-term goal can be that you will improve. You will write a personal CV and presentation letter that you will use when you apply for an education or for work.
Task 1: Look back at goals you had in the past. Think of one goal where you succeeded in reaching the goal and one where you failed in reaching the goal. You can then either write down or discuss with a friend how you managed to reach (what steps/actions did you take) the goal and why you did not reach the goal you had set. When it comes to the goal that you didn’t reach. Think about what you could or should have done differently to reach the goal.
Personal, Social and Learning to Learn competence
Personal, social, and learning to learn competence is the ability to reflect upon oneself, effectively manage time and information, work with others in a constructive way, remain resilient and manage one’s own learning and career. It includes the ability to cope with uncertainty and complexity, learning to learn, support one’s physical and emotional well-being, to maintain physical and mental health, to be able to lead a health-conscious, future-oriented life, empathize and to manage conflicts in an inclusive and supportive context.
On this Section, you are supposed to reflect on your personal, social, and learning to learn competencies, that focuses on communication, collaboration, growth mindset, critical thinking, managing learning, self-regulation, flexibility, wellbeing and empathy (see picture of tree below):
Tasks relevant for personal, social and learning to learn competences:
Task 1: Write a text about yourself. Be clear, give concrete examples.
Task 2: Write a formal text where you express your thoughts on future goals and expectations for the next five years.
Task 3: Write your own motivation letter, based on the results of your self-reflection insights on the questions below. In each section you have some material that can help you with this task. It’s recommended that you read the links below.
Social Competence
- Empathy – How do you usually respond to other people's emotions, experiences, and values? How can you show empathy to someone going through a hard time? Do you find yourself an empathetic person?
- Communication – What is more important for you in communication, talking or listening? Explain. Which tools do you usually use to communicate? Describe a situation where communication failed.
- Collaboration – Do you prefer to work in a team or individually? Why? What do you usually do when someone differs from your ideas or opinions?
Personal
- Wellbeing – Do you feel you are a healthy person? Why? What should you do to improve your physical, mental, and social health?
- Flexibility – How do you deal with unpredictable situations? Give an example. What is the most challenging for you at the moment as a student/migrant?
- Self-regulation – Can you understand and manage your emotions? How? What do you do when you feel anxious or frustrated? Do you know how to get help?
Learning to learn
- Growth mindset – What are the things you learnt in your life you are most proud of? Who has been the most influential person in your life? Explain why.
- Critical thinking – What do you do when you have to make an important decision? Describe the steps.
- Managing learning - How do you plan your learning aims and objectives? From 1 to 10, to what extent have you already reached them? Who and what were supportive for your learning? What kind of help do you need to improve yourself?
Tasks relevant for learning to learn competences:
Task 1: Reflect on your personal skills. Make a list of the personal skills you already have and which ones you need to develop further in your future job. You can use the list of your own qualifications when writing a CV.
Self-evaluation
Self-evaluation is when you critically evaluate your actions and your skills. You try to understand why you have done something, how well you did, what made you succeed or fail in a task or achieving a goal.
Tasks relevant for self-evaluation:
Task 1: Think of what type of education or profession would be suitable for you. Consider the following questions:
- What are you good at and why?
- What skills do you need to improve and why?
Cultural understanding
Cultural understanding and cultural awareness are when you recognize and understand the differences between the country you are currently residing in and the country you originate from. The better your cultural understanding is the better chances you will have to succeed in education or finding and keeping a job.
Tasks relevant for cultural understanding:
Task 1: Write a short text about the first things you noticed when arriving in the country. What similarities and differences did you notice? Express your own thoughts and opinions.
Task 2: In your opinion, what is cultural competence and cultural understanding?
Task 3: Describe how your culture and behaviour differentiates in the country you come from and the country where you are currently living. When doing the comparison focus on cultural competence and employability. One way to demonstrate your cultural competence is with your own behavious and communication, both in person and in writing.
- How can you use your experience and/or background as something that demonstrates strong skills and cultural competence?
- Have you been in situations that have made you aware of your own bias based on your culture (family, society, ethnicity…) and have shown ability to collaborate in diverse situations due to an open, flexible and respectful attitude?
PART 2: Skills
Education and qualifications
List your education and any qualifications you have obtained. Be sure to include the name of the institution, the degree or qualification, and the dates of attendance.
Work experience
Detail your work experience, including the job title, company name, dates of employment, and a brief description of your responsibilities and achievements in each role.
Try to find your certificates, such as certificate of integration training, certificate of language practice, work practice, certificate of voluntary work)
Language proficiency
Include information about your language proficiency, including your ability to speak, read, and write in different languages.
Tasks relevant for language proficiency:
Task 1: Can you write a text expressing your thoughts and ideas?
Personal, social and learning to learn skills
● Personal characteristics – strengths / development
● Teamwork
● Communication abilities
● Conflict management skills
● Problem solving
● Time managing
Tasks relevant for personal, social and learning to learn competences:
Task 1: Reflect your personal, social and learning to learn skills based on the list above. What are your strengths? What about weaknesses? How can you improve your weakness?
Write down concrete examples of your strengths to showcase your skills.
Mathematical competence and competence in science, technology, and engineering
General competences are:
- Problem solving
- Critical thinking
- Quantitative reasoning
- Applied mathematics
Tasks relevant for mathematical competence and competence in science, technology, and engineering:
Task 1: Read more specific definitions. Think about these definitions in your everyday life. How do you use these skills and competencies? Please give an example.
- Calculating, thinking logically, understanding shapes such as triangle and circle and functions such as problem solving.
- Proposes, formulates, defines and solves different types of mathematical problems looking for different approaches such as comparing, estimating, measuring etc.
- When we use math to solve problems or understand things, we can guess why things turned out the way they did. But we need to check if our guess is correct by comparing it to other ideas or real-life situations. This helps us be sure we really understand what's happening.
- We use both words and math to explain how we solved a problem using different methods like numbers, pictures, and analysing. We explain how we got our answer and why it makes sense.
- Analyses the relationships between two or more variables in order to determine or estimate their behaviour.
- We use numbers or other ways to describe the things around us, like how big or small they are, how far away they are, or how they compare to each other. We can do this by measuring them ourselves, or by using math to figure it out.
- When we want to understand something, we can either try to predict what will happen based on what we already know (deterministic approach), or we can use chance or probability to try to understand what might happen (random approach). We then explain why we chose the approach we did and why it is useful for understanding the process or situation we are studying.
- Interprets tables, graphs, maps, diagrams and texts with mathematical and scientific symbols.
Digital competences
General competences:
Different servers
- Safari
- Firefox
- Microsoft Edge
Microsoft Office
- Word
- Power point
- Excel
- Acess
- Outlook
- Publisher
- One Note
IWork
- Key notes
- Pages
- Numbers
Open Office
Videoconferences platforms
- Teams
- Zoom
- Google meet
- Skype
- Face time
Other apps
- Social Media (e.g. Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, etc.)
- Shop online (e.g. amazon, ebay, uber, etc.)
- Health
- Travel (e.g. booking, airbnb, ryanair, etc.)
- Bank
- Notes
- GPS
Tasks relevant for Digital Competences:
Task 1: Can you describe/explain why you think it’s important to have digital skills/competences?
Task 2: Describe which different programs/tools you know and if you are able to use them
PART 3: Certifications and proof
Official certifications that you have from lectures, languages, etc…
If you have received any awards or recognition for your work or achievements, be sure to include them in your portfolio.
If you have completed any projects or have samples of work that you would like to showcase, include them in your portfolio. This could include reports, presentations, or other examples of your work.
Finally, consider including references from past employers or academic institutions who can vouch for your skills and experience.
Create your Curriculum Vitae using the programm Word or online (e.g. Europass)
