TRANSITION YEAR
PORTFOLIO MY REFLECTIONS, MY ACHIEVEMENTS
Transition Year Portfolio SCHOOL DETAILS Name: Address: PERSONAL DETAILS Name: Address: Phone number:
E-mail address:
Parent/Guardian:
Daytime contact number:
Are there any medical concerns or allergies others may need to know about?
Form Teacher:
Timetable
September to Christmas TIME
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
Timetable
Christmas to Easter TIME
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
Timetable
Easter to Summer TIME
MONDAY
TUESDAY
WEDNESDAY
THURSDAY
FRIDAY
MY SCHOOL TRANSITION YEAR KEY LEARNING, SKILLS AND TOOLS LET’S REFLECT; LET’S EVALUATE REVIEWS ASSESSMENTS AND CERTIFICATES
PORTFOLIO OF EXCELLENCE
CORE SUBJECTS SUBJECT:
SUBJECT:
SUBJECT:
SUBJECT:
3
TABLE OF CONTENTS TRANSITION YEAR
07
Subject List
10
KEY LEARNING, SKILLS AND TOOLS
11
Key Elements of the Transition Year Programme
Copying and Plagiarism
13 14 15 16 18 20 25 26 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 37 38 40 42 44 45 46 47
LET’S REFLECT; LET’S EVALUATE
49
List of Projects/Excursions/Guest Speakers/Work Experience/Volunteering
Reflective Self-Evaluation of Community Work/Volunteering Placement
52 55 81 103 125 145
REVIEWS
155
Highlights of Transition Year
158 159 161 163 164 168
Keys Skills and Learning Self-directed Learning Be Ready to Learn Multiple Intelligences Profile Intelligences Goal Setting Achieving Your Goals Opportunity to Learn New Skills Work Experience Mini-Company 21st Century Skills Brainstorm Thinking Hats Problem Solving Mind Mapping Attitude Is Altitude Transition Year Gives You Opportunities to Transition Year and Beyond Letter to Myself Some Awards and Activities for Transition Year Gaisce Awards/ECDL Report Support Information Page
Reflective Self-Evaluation of Project/Activity Reflective Self-Evaluation of Trip/Excursion Reflective Self-Evaluation of Guest Speaker/Presentation Reflective Self-Evaluation of Work Experience
End of September to Christmas Term Review End of Christmas to Easter Term Review Reflection for the Future End of Year Evaluation My Achievements
PORTFOLIO OF EXCELLENCE
ASSESSMENTS AND CERTIFICATION CORE SUBJECTS SUBJECT: SUBJECT: SUBJECT: SUBJECT:
169 173
MY SCHOOL
P O R T F O L I O
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6
TRANSITION YEAR
P O R T F O L I O
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8
Transition Year Portfolio
A
As part of your Transition Year you
REPORTS, REVIEWS AND RECORDS
will be asked to keep a portfolio of
Records, reports and self-
your work. The work in the portfolio
evaluations of the knowledge and
should represent all subjects you
skills you have developed
have studied and the activities you have engaged in during the year.
ASSESSMENTS
It should be compiled throughout
Assessment of your assignments
the year on a regular basis. Your
and activities, along with your
portfolio will allow you to showcase
personal and social development
your work and talk about it. This Transition Year Portfolio
LEARNING DIARY
assists you in organising this
A learning diary for the year
collection of evidence and
along with sections for you to
contains the following elements:
record your best pieces of work
TRANSITION YEAR
and certificates you earned during Transition Year.
Details of your Transition Year curriculum including subjects,
Your Transition Year Portfolio is
projects, excursions, guest speakers
an important document because
and work experience modules.
sometimes it is only when you have
KEY SKILLS AND LEARNING
all the various pieces or parts of your work throughout the year
Information on key skills and
collected in one place can you
learning for Transition Year, with
really appreciate exactly what it is
reflective exercises
you have achieved and learned.
LET’S REFLECT; LET'S EVALUATE
It is also important to celebrate your successes and one way of celebrating
Reflective evaluation forms to
your success is to share it with
be completed on the various
others. Your Transition Year Portfolio
components of your Transition
shows others not only what you
Year
have achieved but also what you are capable of achieving in the future.
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Subject List SUBJECT
10
TEACHER
MY HOPES FOR THIS SUBJECT
KEY LEARNING, SKILLS AND TOOLS
P O R T F O L I O
11
12
Key Elements of the Transition Year Programme
A
A key aim of Transition Year is
courses, modules and activities
to offer you the space to learn,
specifically designed to broaden your
mature and develop in the
horizons and promote your maturity.
absence of examination pressure. It provides opportunities for you to
As shown in the diagram below the
learn new knowledge and develop
components of the Transition Year
new skills, attitudes, and values
programme are:
where you take the responsibility for your own learning.
1 Core subjects 2 Subject sampling
The Transition Year programme has
3 Optional Transition Year
a balance between continuing your
orientated subjects
essential core subjects, sampling
4 Activities enhancing learning in
of other subjects and a variety of
the classroom OPTIONAL TRANSITION YEAR ORIENTATED SUBJECTS: cultural studies, environmental education,
CORE SUBJECTS: English, Irish,
well-being and health, personal
maths, computer studies
development, development and conflict studies
SUBJECT SAMPLING = history, geography, art, music, foreign
ACTIVITIES ENHANCING
languages, religion, biology,
LEARNING: work experience,
chemistry, physics,
community work placement, field
technical
excursions, team-building activities,
drawing,
competitions
woodwork
OP TRA TION YEA NSI AL R O TION RIE NT ED
ES ITI TIV ING AC ANC H EN
CO SUB RE JEC T
T JEC G B SU PLIN M SA
13
Keys Skills and Learning
W
While Transition Year offers
areas you would like to focus on for
opportunities for you to experience
the Leaving Cert and into the future.
and learn many new things in a variety of ways, it also provides
This type of learning is known as
the space and opportunities for
self-directed learning, something
you to take responsibility for your
which you might not have had much
own learning.
opportunity for during the Junior Certificate. Transition Year will allow
You are now in the driving seat, you
you to get involved in activities such as
have the responsibility of making
projects, work experience, excursions,
the most of these opportunities.
setting up mini companies etc.
There is no big examination at the end of the year forcing you
The next few pages are designed to
to work, instead you are asked to
help you get the most benefit from
use Transition Year to gain a set of
Transition Year by exploring with you:
skills and behaviours which will be important for both the Senior Cycle and in your adult life.
what self-directed learning is all about what intelligences you make most use of
You will reflect on your learning
how to set goals for yourself
and development throughout the
and some key skills and
year. These reflections will help you
tools that can assist you in your
identify your strengths, highlight
learning.
WHAT YOU WILL LEARN IN THIS SECTION? Selfdirected learning
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Intelligences that we all have
How to set goals for ourselves
Key skills and tools that are useful for projects, activities and work experience
Mini-Company
T
The mini-company project is part of
The mini-company is also a good
many Transition Year programmes.
project for getting the whole class
It gives you and your classmates
involved as everyone can have a role to
an opportunity to set up your own
play. You can also take your company
company where you can sell your
to a regional mini-company trade fair,
products or services for a profit.
where lots of different mini-companies can showcase their ideas. You also
You get to set up the business right from
get to meet and interact with other
the initial concept, thinking of a really
Transition Year students to exchange
good name, finding a product or service,
ideas and see what challenges they
coming up with a marketing strategy,
may have faced. It’s also good fun and a
advertising, sourcing supplies, negotiating
great place to make new friends!
with suppliers, appointing job roles to team members, holding meetings and
Participation in these projects not
preparing reports – everything a real
only gives new skills but gives you the
business would need to do.
opportunity to take part in more selfdirected learning, taking you out of
30
This gives you hands-on learning
the classroom and into a real working
experience and teaches you:
environment.
organisation, team work, planning, analysis, peer leadership, negotiation, marketing, customer relations, competition, innovation, presentation, accounting, product quality
Now let’s look at some of the tools you can use to get the most from that brain of yours to get you working creatively and innovatively!!!!
Transition Year and Beyond
T
Transition Year recognises
natural strengths and interests
that you are now emerging as
are, how these might influence
a young adult into the world,
your career choices and what
taking responsibility for your own
decisions you might need to
learning and development by
make for the Leaving Certificate
setting goals and making choices
and your own personal learning
for yourself.
on the journey ahead.
Take some time now to reflect
You should refer back to this
on what you have learned about
exercise throughout the year
yourself and Transition Year
when you are completing your
during this section and complete
self-evaluations at the end of
the following exercise which will
each term to see if you are
aid you in identifying where your
achieving what you set out to do.
1
I’m aware of the following opportunities for personal and social development during Transition Year:
2
I now know that my top 3 Intelligences are:
1 2 3
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3
The career possibilities for a person with these types of intelligences are:
Therefore the types of self-directed learning I might undertake are:
4
5
The most suitable opportunities for work experience in Transition Year would be:
The skills I would need to develop for this career are:
6
My strengths that I wish to develop further are:
7
8
9
Therefore the 5 Goals I wish to achieve are:
The subjects I would need to study at Leaving Certificate are:
1 2 3 4 5
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Letter to Myself
N
Now that you have set yourself
How will you have grown and
some goals for the months and
matured over the year?
year ahead why don’t you take
What goals did you set yourself
some time to write a letter to
and actions did you need to take to
yourself.
become this person?
Give yourself some time to consider
When you have your letter written
what types of person you would like
keep it safe, just before your
to be at the end of the year.
Transition Year graduation read it
What type of behaviours and skills
and ask yourself have you achieved
would you need to develop and
the goals that you set for yourself?
practice to become this person?
DEAR ME,
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Signed:
Dates:
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LET’S REFLECT; LET’S EVALUATE
P O R T F O L I O
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50
List of Projects/Excursions/Guest Speakers/ Work Experience/Volunteering ACTIVITY
52
DATES
BRIEF DESCRIPTION
List of Projects/Excursions/Guest Speakers/ Work Experience/Volunteering ACTIVITY
DATES
BRIEF DESCRIPTION
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List of Projects/Excursions/Guest Speakers/ Work Experience/Volunteering ACTIVITY
54
DATES
BRIEF DESCRIPTION
REFLECTIVE SELF-EVALUATION OF PROJECT/ACTIVITY Reflective Self-Evaluation of Project/Activity
Reflective Self-Evaluation of Trip/Excursion
Reflective Self-Evaluation of Guest Speaker/Presentation Reflective Self-Evaluation of Work Experience Reflective Self-Evaluation of Community Work/Volunteering Placement
55
56
Reflective Self-Evaluation of Project/Activity Title of Project/Activity: Dates: From
to
I enjoyed the project this much…
LOOKING BACK Why?
I did……
The 3 best things in the project were?
The most important thing that I learned was?
1 2
Why?
3
What helped me the most was…
What challenged me the most was…
The new skills that I learned and I can use again in the future are:
LOOKING FORWARD If I were to do this project again I would do the following differently:
Why?
60
Reflective Self-Evaluation of Project/Activity Title of Project/Activity: Dates: From
to
I enjoyed the project this much…
LOOKING BACK Why?
I did……
The 3 best things in the project were?
The most important thing that I learned was?
1 2
Why?
3
What helped me the most was…
What challenged me the most was…
The new skills that I learned and I can use again in the future are:
LOOKING FORWARD If I were to do this project again I would do the following differently:
Why?
61
REFLECTIVE SELF-EVALUATION OF TRIP/EXCURSION
81
82
Reflective Self-Evaluation of Trip/Excursion Destination: Dates: From
to
How well did you enjoy the trip/excursion?
Why?
What challenged me the most?
I learned that........when............This matters because.........
As a result of this trip I will...
86
Reflective Self-Evaluation of Trip/Excursion Destination: Dates: From
to
I enjoyed the trip/excursion this much‌
Why?
What challenged me the most?
I learned that........when............This matters because.........
As a result of this trip I will...
87
REFLECTIVE SELF-EVALUATION OF GUEST SPEAKER/ PRESENTATION
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Reflective Self-Evaluation of Guest Speaker/Presentation Name of Speaker: Venue:
I enjoyed the guest speaker/ presentation this much‌
Date:
This talk/ presentation is relevant to the following areas of my life or study:
3
things that I learned
2
things I already knew
1
thing I will remember or use in the future
108
Reflective Self-Evaluation of Guest Speaker/Presentation Name of Speaker: Venue:
I enjoyed the guest speaker/ presentation this much‌
Date:
This talk/ presentation is relevant to the following areas of my life or study:
3
things that I learned
2
things I already knew
1
thing I will remember or use in the future
109
REFLECTIVE SELF-EVALUATION OF WORK EXPERIENCE + Employer Work Experience Student Evaluation Form
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Reflective Self-Evaluation of Work Experience Name of Company: Name of Contact Person: Address: Tel number: Company website: Dates of work experience: From
to
Description of company:
My reasons for choosing this company:
I enjoyed my work experience this much:
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A brief description of my work experience:
As a result of this work experience I would like to know more about:
I learned how to do the following:
What challenged me the most was:
Why?
What excited me the most was:
Why?
This work experience affected my ideas for my future career because....
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“The people who make it to the top – whether they’re musicians, or great chefs, or corporate honchos – are addicted to their calling … [they] are the ones who’d be doing whatever it is they love, even if they weren’t being paid.” – Quincy Jones
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Employer Work Experience Student Evaluation Form STUDENT DETAILS Student Name: School Name: School Address School Phone No: EMPLOYER DETAILS Employer Name: Employer Address: Employer Phone No: REVIEW Once work placement is completed, please rate the student by placing a tick in the appropriate boxes below. POOR
FAIR
GOOD
VERY GOOD
EXCELLENT
Attendance Punctuality Ability to follow instructions Ability to learn new skills & procedures Level of competence when completing tasks Use of initiative Overall attitude towards the job Ability to communicate with staff, management and the public Suitability for type of work
Any additional comments you would like to make:
Signed:
Date
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REFLECTIVE SELF-EVALUATION OF COMMUNITY WORK/ VOLUNTEERING PLACEMENT
145
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Reflective Self-Evaluation of Community Work/Volunteering Placement Placement: Role(s):
Dates: from
to
I enjoyed my community work/ volunteering this much: A brief description of my community work volunteer placement: I chose this placement because‌
A new skill that I learned was ......
I would like to learn more about .........
A skill that I would like to develop further is.....
d itu
Att
150
ue
In future I will be......
Sk
Va l
My participation was.....
ge
e
Kno
led
ills
w
I discovered.....
I was moved by.....
I feel that I will.....
Reflective Self-Evaluation of Community Work/Volunteering Placement Placement: Role(s):
Dates: from
to
I enjoyed my community work/ volunteering this much: A brief description of my community work volunteer placement: I chose this placement because‌
A new skill that I learned was ......
I would like to learn more about .........
A skill that I would like to develop further is.....
d itu
ue
Att
In future I will be......
Sk
Va l
My participation was.....
ge
e
Kno
led
ills
w
I discovered.....
I was moved by.....
I feel that I will.....
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REVIEWS
P O R T F O L I O
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R E P O R T S, R E V I E W S A N D R E C O R D S
H ighlights
of
TY
Transition Year involves a variety of activities, skills, trips, new subjects and projects. Record the particular highlights for you for each term.
TERM 1 TERM 2 TERM 3
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R E P O R T S, R E V I E W S A N D R E C O R D S
End
of
September
to
Christmas
term review
Use the table below to rate your performance during this term: 1 Poor | 2 Fair | 3 Good | 4 Very Good | 5 Excellent STUDENT’S RATING
BRIEFLY EXPLAIN
Personal development Attendance Punctuality Approach to work Enthusiasm Personal presentation Cooperation with others / teamwork Courtesy Dealings with authority Self-directed learning Responsibility for own learning Organisation Use of initiative / creativity Completion of work on time Evidence of understanding Methodologies engaged Originality of work presented Skills development Written communication skills Planning skills Oral communication skills Presentation skills Visual display skills Problem solving skills Critical thinking skills Leadership skills
159
What has been your greatest personal success this term?
What 3 things have you enjoyed the most this term and explain why?
1 2 3
What 3 things challenged you most this term and explain why?
1 2 3
What were your top 3 learnings this term and why? ( Knowledge & skills)
1 2 3
What would you like to focus on more in the next term and why?
160
ASSESSMENTS AND CERTIFICATION
P O R T F O L I O
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170
Assessments
I
In Transition Year you are
It helps you work to your
engaged in self-directed learning
strengths and predict your
where you are reflecting on
potential for the future.
your own learning experiences. However, in all aspects of
Normally assessments are
life, be it in school or work,
carried out after submission of
it is also always beneficial to
assignments/ pieces of work and
receive feedback on your work.
at particular times in the year
Sometimes others see things
like end of term and end of year.
about you that you might be unaware of. Assessments are
Assessments are not used to be
used in schools to give you this
critical of you as a person but to
feedback.
help you in your learning so that you can achieve your potential.
The aim of assessment in
In Transition Year you have the
Transition Year is to lead you
opportunity to reflect and give
to greater self-awareness and
feedback on your assessments.
increased ability to manage and
No doubt having completed your
take responsibility for personal
own reflections throughout the
learning and performance.
year there will not be anything that should be totally new,
Other benefits of assessment are:
rather they will confirm and support what you already knew
It helps increase your
about yourself.
motivation. It is evidence of what you have learned and achieved.
Assessment is an integral part of the teaching and learning process. (Transition Year Programmes, Guidelines 1994-95).
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“Assessment in this spirit does not concern assignment of grades or evaluation of whether instruction was effective. It´s assessment designed squarely to feed into the learning process and make the learning stronger.” – David N. Perkins, Making Learning Whole
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CORE SUBJECTS
P O R T F O L I O
173
174
SUBJECT SAMPLING
P O R T F O L I O
175
176
OPTIONAL SUBJECTS
P O R T F O L I O
177
178
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