Room 109: The Promise of a Portfolio Classroom

We all agree that students learn at different rates and in different ways. The question now is how to create a classroom that is responsive to and respectful of their learning needs.Room 109 offers one such example, demonstrating the promise of portfolios to individualize instruction.

Room 109 is a how-to and ultimately why-to book, offering a range of strategies for helping learners of varying abilities. Richard Kent shows how he took current research in the fields of teaching and learning and turned it into successful practice. His underlying premise is that to have a portfolio classroom, the teacher must also be a portfolio keeper. This book shows in detail the what, how, and why of doing portfolios, providing in depth guidelines on portfolio requirements and full-blown descriptions of portfolio projects.

Room 109 demonstrates how to build a classroom community through the exchange of letters: teacher to student, student to teacher, student to student, "keeper" (parent, guardian, or significant adult other) to student. These lively letters reveal the energy and passion of the learners. The writing is down to earth and the situations real. The book also includes samples of students' work, including that of Peter, a special-needs student who suffers from fetal alcohol syndrome; Brooke, a high-honors student; Jeremy, the class's "resident expert on black holes"; and Joshua, a student with Down's Syndrome.

Room 109 will help secondary preservice and inservice teachers of all levels and all disciplines rethink their practices regarding portfolio use, assessment, teacher research, parental involvement, and project-based learning. Readers will find the book instructional and inspiring.