Portfolio Instructions

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Printable Check List (required for all portfolios)
Printable Information Sheet (required for all portfolios)

Department of History Portfolio Instructions

Each graduating student with a major in History with a Social Science Waiver or Liberal Studies with a Special Field in History must submit a portfolio that formally presents his or her achievement and learning in the major. The portfolio, submitted during your final semester at CSUSM (the semester in which you intend to graduate), is an opportunity for you to think about what you have learned about the discipline of history.  It gives the History Department a chance to find out what our students, taken as a group, have learned.

NOTE: Students with a major in History now fulfill the portfolio requirement by completing assigned work in History 301 and History 400 courses.  History Majors should not turn in a portfolio UNLESS they are earning the Social Science Waiver.

The following instructions explain what to include in your portfolio, how to write its narrative section, when to submit it, and how it will be evaluated. 

What do I include in the Portfolio?

  1. Portfolio Checklist.  Click on this link for a printable copy of this checklist. Fill out the portfolio checklist once you have compiled all of your portfolio materials.  You will include this checklist as page 1 of your portfolio.

 

  1. Portfolio Information Sheet.  Click on this link for a printable copy of the portfolio information sheet.  Fill out the portfolio information sheet once you have compiled all of your portfolio materials.  This sheet will be page 2 of your portfolio.

 

  1. Unofficial transcript.  Print out an unofficial copy of your transcript from the web, and place it in your portfolio following the Portfolio Checklist and the Portfolio Information Sheet.

 

  1. 3 history papers.  Include three papers you wrote for upper division history courses at CSUSM.  These should be the original copies of papers with instructor comments and grades.   

 

    1. Which 3 papers should I choose?  If you are a History major, choose papers which relate to either your primary or secondary theme.  If you are a Liberal Studies major, choose papers which related to any of the themes emphasized in your study of history at CSUSM.[1]  One of your papers must be based on primary source research. (If you have written a research paper for a 400-level seminar course, you must include the 400 research paper in your portfolio. If you have not completed a 400 research paper, include either your History 301 research paper or another long paper containing a significant amount of primary source research.)  The other two papers may be book reviews, analyses of primary sources, or other short papers written in history courses. 

 

    1. How long must my papers be?  The total length of all your papers combined must be at least 15 pages.  There is no maximum page limit.  

 

    1. Should I choose the papers that received the highest grades?  You do not need to choose papers that received high grades, although each paper you include must have received a grade of C or above.  Choose papers that enable you to reflect on the significance of one of your themes.  These papers will NOT be re-graded in the portfolio evaluation process. 

 

  1. Syllabi and paper topics.  Together with each of your 3 history papers, submit a copy of the relevant course syllabus and paper prompt.[2]

  

  1. Portfolio Narrative.  This is the only new work you will need to do for the portfolio. Please write a 5 page paper (1,250-1,500 words) which (a) discusses the 3 papers you are submitting in your portfolio, (b) offers an overview of what you have learned about the study of history, and (c) describes a hypothetical historical research project or historical lesson.  Step by step guidelines for writing your portfolio narrative are found below.

How do I write the Portfolio Narrative?

  1. Your narrative will describe each of the 3 papers you have

included in your portfolio, discuss the theme to which each of these papers

relates, discuss some of the major issues and current developments in the field of 

history, and propose either a hypothetical research project or a hypothetical

historical lesson to be taught in a class (depending on your major.)   It is fairly straightforward to do all this in 5 pages if you follow the instructions here:  

 

  1. Your narrative should begin with a brief summary of a few of the most important things you have learned through the course of your studies in history.  If you are a History Major, identify your choice of primary and secondary historical themes, and explain why you chose them. (Liberal Studies Majors and History Majors who entered CSUSM before 2000 may omit this step, since you are not required to choose a primary and secondary theme.)

 

  1. Next, describe each of the 3 papers you have included in the portfolio, explain how each of them relates to a theme in the study of history, and discuss the significance of that theme for how we understand history.  (Devote between ¾ and 1 page to the discussion of each paper.)  

 

    1. Example:  if you wrote a paper on European women’s activities during World War I, you would first describe the topic and the thesis of your paper.  Then you would explain how your paper provides an example of one way in which historians use gender as a theme of historical study.  Then you might explain how the paper illustrates what the study of gender adds to our understanding of World War I, or to the history of wars in general.

 

  1. Next, include a section (about ¾ to 1 page long) explaining how your work on these papers, and/or your work in history as a whole, has increased your understanding of major issues, debates, and recent  developments within the discipline of history.  Before you begin this section, ask yourself: What have I learned about the different ways different groups of historians have seen the past?  Why do historians disagree about how we should approach and understand the past?  What do these disagreements tell us about the discipline of history? 

 

  1. Finally, describe (in about 1 page) a hypothetical historical research project or a hypothetical historical lesson, depending on your major, that illustrates your historical skills and understanding. 

 

    1. If you are a History Major or a Liberal Studies Major who does not intend to teach, propose a hypothetical research project (400-seminar-type paper, exhibition, or presentation).  In your proposal, you should:

n  Describe the topic of your proposed research, and why it is historically significant.

n  Describe the primary and secondary sources that you would use to accomplish your project.  

n  Explain what kinds of historical approaches you would take to your topic (would it be a political history?  A cultural history?  A social history?) 

n  Describe the research methods you would use to complete the project.

    1. If you are a Liberal Studies Major who intends to be a teacher, or a History Major with a Social Science Waiver who entered CSUSM before 2000, propose a historical lesson that you would teach in a class, targeted to the grade you intend to teach.  In your lesson plan, you should:

n  Describe the topic of your lesson (i.e., an event, phenomenon, person, or group). 

n  Explain why you chose the topic and why it is historically significant. 

n  Describe the teaching methods and historical sources you would use in the lesson.

n  Explain the learning objectives you would pursue in the lesson. 

When do I submit the Portfolio?

Submit your portfolio to the History Department secretary in Markstein Hall 226 during your final semester at CSUSM.  The portfolio submission deadline will be publicized on the Department website.  Usually the deadline is at the end of the 11th week of the semester.  Portfolios will be evaluated by History Department faculty, usually by the end of 14th week, and the Department will notify you as soon as possible about whether your portfolio has passed.

If your portfolio receives a passing grade, graduation advisors in Registration and Records will be notified that you have satisfied your portfolio requirement.

Re-submission for a second evaluation.  If your portfolio does not receive a passing grade, you will have an opportunity to revise and re-submit the portfolio by the re-submission deadline, for a second evaluation. Retrieve your portfolio from the department office, revise it on the basis of feedback contained in an attached evaluation sheet, and return it before the re-submission deadline (usually the end of 15th week).  Students who follow the advice given on the evaluation sheet will receive a passing grade after re-submission.  Your re-submitted portfolio will pass the portfolio requirement in time for graduation ONLY if you submit your revised portfolio by the re-submission deadline.

Please pay close attention to the deadline for re-submission.  Portfolios submitted for evaluation or for re-evaluation AFTER the re-submission deadline will not be evaluated until the following semester.

What are the criteria for assessment of the Portfolio?  

To make sure your portfolio passes, check yourself by answering these questions: 

  1. Completeness.  Have you used the portfolio checklist and portfolio information sheet to make sure your portfolio includes all necessary items?

 

  1. Understanding of themes. Does your narrative explain how each paper relates to a theme in the study of history? Does it explain why that theme matters in the study of history?

 

  1. Understanding of debates and issues within the discipline.  Does your narrative demonstrate your understanding of at least one important debate or issue within the discipline? Does it discuss that issue in an informed, sophisticated way?

 

  1. Research or lesson-planning skills. Does your narrative propose a hypothetical research project or lesson? Does your proposal discuss all of the required elements?

 

  1. Quality of writing.  Is your narrative well-written and well-organized?

What if I still have questions about the portfolio requirement?

The History Department portfolio committee usually conducts 2 portfolio workshops each semester to answer questions about the portfolio.  The dates and times of these workshops will be announced on the Department website.  For questions that come up during the semester after the portfolio workshops have been held, you may contact the History Department secretary.


 

[1] Historical themes include:  politics and institutions, race and/or ethnicity, culture and ideas, gender, economics and class, media and history.

[2] If you have lost your copy of either the syllabus or the paper prompt, write a note to the portfolio evaluation committee explaining that this is why you have omitted them, and place it at the front of the portfolio, after the unofficial transcript.

 

Link to History Homepage