E-Portfolios for assessment of student learning: a critical perspective

ETEC 511 – 64A

By Sarah Winkler
Introduction

As e-portfolios become increasing popular in the education sector it is important

to examine where e-portfolios have come from, how they have developed and the key

components to their successful use. Could an e-portfolio replace a traditional report

card and provide the same summary of student learning to a parent, future employer,

and/or post-secondary institution? Through a thorough evaluation of the different

approaches to e-portfolio use we are able to develop a critical perspective of e-

portfolio’s and their place in the K-12 education system.

History of the portfolio

A portfolio is defined by the Webster-Miriam dictionary (2015) as “a selection of a

student's work (as papers and tests) compiled over a period of time and used for

assessing performance or progress.” The idea of a portfolio for assessment is not a

new one and we have only to look at the folder of art that often arrives home from a

preschool or Kindergarten student to see portfolios in use. The teacher carefully

gathers evidence of each students learning throughout the year, organizes the

documents chronologically and then creates a booklet or folder to hold this evidence.

This evidence is presented to parents at either a parent/teacher conference or

accompanies a written report to provide the evidence of that child’s learning. With the

development of the personal computer educators could move the storage of these

documents from paper folders to electronic files. As the web became more prevalent it

was a natural progression to move these portfolios onto an electronic platform.

 The second significant shift that was occurring during this time was a shift in our

assessment practices from assessment of learning to an assessment for learning. As

Godsey (2015) comments no longer is the teacher’s role one of “sage on stage” but

rather more of one as “guide on the side.” As educators start the transition to a

facilitator role the need for reflection as a component of self-assessment is key and the

e-portfolio allows students quick and easy access to their learning. An educator’s role is

to provide ongoing feedback to allow students to reflect and develop personal goals to

guide future learning. The development of electronic portfolios and their ease of use for

both students and teacher helped to increase the popularity of the e-portfolio and made

ongoing assessment for learning a natural step in the learning process.

What is an e-portfolio?

An electronic portfolio or e-portfolio is defined by Wikipedia (2015) as “a

collection of electronic evidence assembled and managed by a user.” Evidence

included on the portfolio can be in a variety of forms including: “text, electronic files,

images, multimedia, blog entries, and hyperlinks.” (Wikipedia, 2015) The e-portfolio has

several advantages to the traditional portfolio as it enables students and teachers to

share artifacts of their learning in different forms and in a timelier manner. No longer is

it a gym filled with poster boards, students can now demonstrate their learning using a

multitude of app’s and programs and then easily share their learning with home and

teacher using an e-portfolio. The accessibility of an e-portfolio from any device that has

access to the internet is the fundamental difference between that a file of samples or

portfolio.

Key components of an e-portfolio

 E-portfolios can be categorized into two categories: one is to showcase student

learning and the second is to enhance learning and encourage reflection. Barrett

(2011) talks about the need to balance these two categories or faces of e-portfolios.

The idea of two faces makes a strong metaphor for the effective use of e-portfolios. If

you take only one face or portion of the e-portfolio then you are not seeing the complete

picture. By examining both aspects, or in this case faces, you are able to gain a more

full and complete picture of each student’s learning. Cadd (2012) adds to the

advantages of the e-portfolio as “Logistically, electronic portfolios that are online offer

several advantages over paper- and videotape- based portfolios. First, the content is

available anywhere one has internet connection” as well as “second, the content can be

accessed at any time.” Whether using a showcase or workspace style portfolio the

ability to do so electronically and their ease of use has increased their prevalence.

A showcase portfolio is one that shows all items as a finished product. Items are

polished and in presentation style with students being offered the opportunity to perfect

their work before entering it onto the portfolio. Work entered here shows mastery of a

certain goal or learning standard and there is an expectation that it will be shared

between teacher and often parent. Barret identifies that a showcase portfolio will also

include reflection but these reflections are in the past tense and are used to set goals

for future learning. Lankes (1998) adds that this style of portfolio is “a venue for

spotlighting one’s most accomplished work.”

The second style of portfolio Barrett describes is a workspace portfolio. This

style of portfolios primary purpose is to show a student’s development as a learner over

a period of time. Jaschik (2007) summarizes it that it is to “have more emphasis on

student progression over a semester than on any one paper.” Work may not be in a

presentation style but more serves to document a process. Barrett notes that “reflection

is in the present tense,” and reflection is part of the ongoing dialogue that is captured by

the portfolio. Students may add evidence to their portfolio that demonstrates learning of

a certain outcome, receive feedback from their teacher and then add more artifacts to

expand their understanding. Bennet encourages that a portfolio be linked to a blog so

that it “contains an immediate reflection on the document and/or the learning associated

with the experience.” (Bennett, 2011) This student centered reflection piece is an

important aspect of the workspace portfolio. By students being an active participant in

evaluating their work become more invested in the learning process.

Assessment for versus assessment of learning

To fully understand the importance of an e-portfolio one would be remiss to omit

a discussion on assessment. One of the changes that precipitated the demand for e-

portfolios was a shift in education pedagogy. A common catch phrase that is thrown

around widely in education circles today is the concept of assessment for (formative)

versus the assessment of (summative) learning. This shift from teacher as keeper of all

knowledge and feedback to a need for learning to be a continual process highlights the

difference of the two assessment styles.

Formative assessment is one that happens throughout the learning cycle and

focuses on immediate feedback that changes and aids learning. This style of

assessment can take many forms and “the common thread woven throughout formative

assessment research, articles, and books bears repeating: it is not the instrument that is

formative; it is the use of the information gathered, by whatever means, to adjust

teaching and learning, that merits the “formative label.” (Chappuis, 2014). A quiz or test

may be formative if student learning is changed because of it. For example, a unit test

on subtraction is given and after marking the teacher discovers that subtraction with

regrouping is still not mastered as a class. If the teacher then uses that knowledge to

reteach subtracting with regrouping then that is formative assessment.

Summative assessment more typically takes place at the end of a unit or a

standardized exam. This type of assessment is generally used to gather evidence for

reporting and summarize student learning for a unit. Assessment of learning are

“assessments that provide evidence of student achievement for the purpose of making

a judgment about student competence or program effectiveness.” (Chappuis, 2014)

Here a quiz or test may also be summative if they test is given and the mark used to

generate a report card or meet a district objective and no further change in student

learning occurs. As in our above example, that same subtraction test is given, the

teacher notes that students have not mastered subtracting with regrouping but merely

notes this in his/her record book and moves on to their next unit and hopes that with

review next year, and they will master it. The absence of immediate follow-up or

change with the knowledge makes this summative assessment.

Advantages of using portfolios vs. traditional assessment

Traditionally students receive three report cards and year that are designed to

inform the student and their parent on how their child is performing academically that

term. The greatest challenge here is that it is only three times a year so what is

happening the remainder of the time. A portfolio “measures student’s ability over time.”

(Cadd, 2012) It offers continuous feedback and a way to communicate that feedback to
parents in a timely manner. Amaya (2013) summarizes that “It is generally used as an

evaluation system integrated into the teaching and learning process.” With an e-

portfolio assessment it is not a stand-alone event but rather one component of the

learning cycle. Amaya continues to illustrate how the process of deciding which

artifacts or evidences you chose are an important part of the process and add a level of

self-assessment to the portfolio creation process.

“About the evidences presented by the students, he/she necessarily

undergoes a reflection and justification process establishing a relationship

between what is shown and what is learned. This allows the student to take

into account what and how he/she learns, allowing setting his/her own

learning and working rhythm. This continuous reflection is what makes e-

portfolios to be used as a tool for assessment and evaluations within the

current continuous assessment, formative and summative systems.” (Amaya,

2013)

This cycle of learning and feedback creates a strong culture of learning by both

student and teacher and makes the use of portfolio assessment a key component of

effective evaluation.

Advantages of use

To determine the advantages of using an e-portfolio approach to assessment

versus other more traditional methods they are some key findings to be considered.

Barrett (2011) says “A balanced approach to e-portfolio development would focus on

formative, classroom-based assessment for learning, which prior research has shown to
be the best way to improve student achievement.” (Black & William, 1998). Also a

study at an Industrial Vocational High School looked at the effect of portfolio’s on

homework and found in the students who used an “e-portfolio application the interest

showed to homework is pretty high.” (Baris, Tosun 2013) Keeping students motivated

to keep learning at home is challenging for most teachers but keeping feedback

accessible and meaningful through the use of the e-portfolio was found to be having

that effect. As Paris and Ayers (1994) state “the overarching purpose of portfolios is to

create a sense of personal ownership over one’s accomplishments, because ownership

engenders feelings of pride, responsibility, and dedication.” (Barrett, 2011). It is

interesting that even “as early as 1995, Milone noted that the students in his sample

were more connected with their work because of the use of portfolios.” (Cadd, 2012)

Teachers are experiencing engagement due to students seeing ongoing feedback

rather than random grades, three times a year, that seem disconnected to daily

classroom learning. The portfolio has made the dialogue using formative assessment

more accessible to all and students are able to give anyone access to their portfolio

thus building a community of support for themselves.

The other significant advantage is a decrease in student anxiety. Students are

experience anxiety in greater numbers than ever before. The Globe and Mail reported

in 2013 that a survey of 30 000 post-secondary students found that “Almost 90 per cent

of students said that they felt overwhelmed.” (Globe and Mail, 2013) While we don’t

have direct numbers at the K-12 level it is hot topic and teachers are taking note of

student anxiety. By using a portfolio for assessment “Kazan (2006)noted at the end of

the research it was determined that students had no anxiety regarding their marks.”
(Baris, Tosun, 2013) When you are constantly receiving feedback and growing as a

learner your report card is no longer a mystery or a surprise which greatly reduces

students anxiety.

While there are many advantages to using an e-portfolio that final area to look at

is student engagement in the learning process. Barret found that “learners find their

voice and passions through choice and personalization! A portfolio is a student’s story

of his or her own learning.” (Barrett 2011) Amaya has found that “the use of these tools

in education K – 12 (primarily in Spain) has shown that learners using e-portfolios were

more actively involved in the classroom,” (Amaya, 2013). Finally as districts consider

the use of e-portfolios on a more permanent basis “having students view their own work

from previous semesters and compare it to their current proficiency level can be a

terrific motivator.” (Cadd, 2012) This tool combined with effective educators has the

ability to increase student engagement in their learning.

Implementation into the K-12 system

Widespread use of e-portfolios in the K-12 system is not yet a reality. As Jaschik

(2007) observed “the technology issues associated with e-portfolios make them more

likely to be ‘institution driven’.” There are also other concerns that must be addressed to

see successful implementation of e-portfolios. Time must be considered as “teachers

must ‘buy-into’ the pedagogical rational behind utilizing electronic portfolios.” (Cadd,

2012) Teachers must buy in to value of the investment of time needed to be successful

using e-portfolios. An e-portfolio is not a scrapbook but rather a series of carefully

selected artifacts of a student’s learning and that selection process and adding to the

portfolio takes time. To ease the implementation process the “use of preset portfolio
systems may help to provide a framework for early implementation” (Cadd, 2012).

There is a number of products on the market today that make creating student portfolios

easier and help to ensure a smooth transition from traditional reporting to the e-portfolio

use in our K-12 system.

Conclusion

In conclusion “The use of e-portfolio in education offers a valuable tool for

improving teaching practices, processes of teaching and student learning and

assessment. (Amaya 2013). If we desire to move our students into 21st century learning

where the process of learning is more important the memorization of facts we must

provide a venue for students to demonstrate these skill sets. Paper and pencil tests do

not capture creativity, interpersonal communication or critical thinking skills and neither

does a letter grade of A. The use of portfolios offer the opportunity for students to build

a showcase of their learning and be better prepared to meet the changing needs of the

21st century.
References:

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