Portfolios And Learning

I've spent a good deal of time examining the ways in which learning and assessment are related. When assessment is limited or restricted to an interaction between the student and the institution - even if it is a test score, the value of the learning from assessment is limited. Real learning only occurs when opportunities for revision and improvement exist.

The essence of a portfolio lies in that ability to re-do tasks as needed to improve the learning. A portfolio should serve as a repository for students to collect, organize, reflect, and evaluate. An e-portfolio does this digitally. A paper based portfolio system that only serves to collect exemplars of student work without the other stages of organization, reflection, and evaluation is of little real use.

The process of e-portfolio learning can be seen in this graphic.

As an educator, I like the concept of "core" as something central to the educative process. A well done e-portfolio allows a student the chance to engage in the collection of evidence, the organization of evidence, reflection on learning, and finally evaluation on learning achievements.

A second key part of an e-portfolio system should be the method by which the evidence, reflection, and evaluation is shared. Implicit in an e-portfolio is the notion of digital sharing; however, it is important to enable the student a real opportunity for choice in sharing portfolio based assessments.

Finally, e-portfolios make students the center of the learning experience. Learning becomes something in which they are engaged, not a process done to them. E-portfolios can easily begin to remove a factory mentality about the educative process.

*CORE = Collect, Organize, Reflect, Evaluate

Dr. Roger Fuller, Ph.D. - CEO & Co-Founder, Gryphondale - 4/3/15