As mentioned before, a portfolio of various maps of the self can form the basis of a summative performance task, that when compiled together offer a kind of “Atlas of Experience” in which lands that have been explored and staked out, as well as all the wide open frontiers and vistas of the future. It also offers a way to dive into an extended memoir and reflection writing or essay on what the students have learned about themselves, and who they wish to become / aspire to. A collection of various life maps (as outlined in the teaching strategies section below) as well as any related writing can form a transformative product, a personal atlas and visual memoir of their lives.
As Hall points out, “As we nose around these newfound territories, we may begin to create an ever more complex and useful geography of survival: atop our maps of land, sea, planet, chromosome, and cosmos, we superimpose maps of pain, of revelation, of joy, of disappointment. To each emotion, there is a pin on the map, the pattern of each accumulating and filling in until they have the appearance of growth rings.” (Harmon 19).
