Alternative ways of assessment /portfolio. Plan: The issues with conventional assessment methods Advantages of Alternative Assessment

Step 2: Apply the RETAIL framework. I developed this framework to help people discover new opportunities (you can also read about it here). 

1. 
   READ VORACIOUSLY - Upskill yourself by going deep into topics you are interested in. Spend time enriching your mental sphere. Learn new ways to see the world, so that you can spot new opportunities when they arise. The easy way to do this is by reading books. 
   
2. 
   EXPERIENCES - Dwell into your experiences and values. What are some skills/experiences that you have that would be useful to others? We all have something that others need - so don't look down upon your own competence. Make your acquired skills and competence work for you. 
   
3. 
   TEST - Test your ideas all the time. That way, you know what works, what doesn't. Get honest feedback for your thoughts from the ones whom you trust and for the ones whom you know who will tell you the truth, no matter how much it hurts. 
   
4. 
   ASK - Ask constructive open-ended questions that make you THINK. Open-ended question opens new possibilities of thinking e.g. What are some problems that need addressing? What can I do to help people? 
   
5. 
   IMMERSION IN DATA - Collect and immerse yourself with data. Be like Socrates. Be a thinker, and find a place where you can genuinely immerse yourself in your thoughts and be reflective of the data you have collected. 
   
6. 
   LEVERAGES - Find leverages. There are many people out there who can provide you leverages. You just need to work to build these leverages. You can also find or create leverages from technology. It also includes people who provide you care. 
   

Here is an example: Assuming that a student loves video production and one of the learning outcomes is to 'explain what thermodynamics is', that student can create a Youtube video, simplifying and making the explanation engaging for the layperson. 
If a student loves music, they can make a song explaining what thermodynamics is. 
If they love cooking, they can relate thermodynamics to cooking. 
If they love telling stories, they can write fictional stories with real elements of thermodynamics. 
If they love animals, they can write a research paper explaining how thermodynamics work with animals in hybernation. 
The bottom line is, students must make the lessons meaningful. They should be allowed to be as creative as their imagination takes them. RETAIL can help them discover new opportunities to put their lessons and skills to good use.
Step 3: Feedback time. After the activity is completed, students should showcase their work to people in their circles and beyond. They should get the market's opinion of their work. Students must provide an honest reflection of the activity in writing, in terms of what went right, what went wrong, and the lessons learnt from this. After all, the best lessons in life comes not from the absence of failure, but from the abundance of failures. The students should be informed that the grades are not the prime concern - it's more of a formality sake, but the real key lessons come from how they have put their lessons to good use and what insights they have acquired from the activity.
==========
As educators, we should place our students' potentials as our prime concern. Not so much of the bureaucracy and politics of education. We need to enable our students not only to survival, but to also learn things meaningfully and to add value to society. These and more make portfolio development very powerful. After all, people judge one's character and capabilities not by their grades, but by what they have accomplished and produced.

•