M.Ed. Plus Certification in Foreign Language Education

Comprehensive Examination: Portfolio and Presentation

Purpose

The final examination is an opportunity for students to reflect upon and synthesize their experiences in the program in reference to their professional goals as scholars and educators.

Process: The final comprehensive examination for the M.Ed. in TESOL or Foreign Language Education consists of (1) a portfolio, and (2) a presentation to faculty and students.

Written examination: Portfolio: The development of a portfolio is an on-going process that begins as soon as you enter the program. You are responsible for saving materials from coursework and other degree requirements that demonstrate significant learning. As you near the end of your program, you should select the best samples of your work for inclusion in the portfolio. The final portfolio should be divided into the sections below, with each section clearly labeled. You are responsible for notifying your advisor of your intent to take the comprehensive examination by the first week of your final fall or spring semester in the program. You will then be informed by letter of the date of your presentation.

Your portfolio will be based upon five to seven projects, written work assignments, or other activities that demonstrate your accomplishment of the following program objectives:

an understanding of important issues, trends, laws, programs, and policies in teaching and learning
an understanding of theories of communication, and of additional language and literacy development
knowledge of educational research and research methods
ability to design and evaluate instructional materials, technology, media, and other resources for teaching
knowledge of methods and practices for creating learning environments that support student success
knowledge of teaching field

Contents of portfolio:

1. Title page with name and date

2. Student's resume/vita

3. Program of study (Numbers and names of courses taken, quarter taken, and final grades if available)

4. A three to five page written statement that:

a. demonstrates your ability to synthesize your experiences in the graduate program as they relate to program objectives and your professional goals as a scholar and educator

b. describes your professional objectives for the future

5. A one page abstract for each of the five to seven projects described above. Each abstract must articulate how the project meets one or more of the program objectives.

A research project must be one of these projects.

Copies of projects are to be included in the portfolio whenever possible. If the project is not easily copied (e.g., a poster presentation), the original project should be submitted to your advisor with your portfolio.

(2) Oral examination: Presentation: Students will prepare a 15 to 20 minute presentation on a project contained in the portfolio. At a designated time in the last half of the semester, an oral examination will be held for examinees who have passed the written portfolio examination. The examination is open to all students and faculty. Three faculty members from the Teaching Additional Languages program will be present to evaluate oral presentations. Each student presentation will be followed by a discussion in which faculty will ask the presenter to expand on the synthesis and reflection on their experiences in the program that they undertook in their portfolio.

Samples of previous comprehensive examination portfolios are available in the Language Education main conference room. You are encouraged to look through these examples and to attend a comprehensive examination presentation session in preparation for the examination.