Stefanie PankeUniversity of North

Carolina at Chapel HillAACE E-Learn 2014, October 27th, New

Orleans

E-Portfolios in Higher Education: Literature Review

E-Portfolios in Higher Education

We are on the ‘brink of an era of expanded adoption and impact of e-portfolios’ (Kahn, 2014).

57 % of US postsecondary institutions made some use of e-portfolios (ECAR, 2013).

Carolina MPA E-Portfolios

• Graduation requirement• Campus-wide

WordPress Multisite• PUBA 746 portfolio

course (peer feedback/ milestones)• Portfolio Guide• Competence Memo Template• Portfolio Assessment Rubric

What are E-Portfolios?

Support Learning Trajectories

Acknowledge Diversity

Raise Metacognitive Awareness

Foster Digital Literacy

Barriers to Implementation & Use

Implementing e-portfolios is a complex process fraught with challenges and dilemmas (Chau & Cheng, 2010).

Barriers to Implementation & Use

The promotion of reflective thinking and practice are not an automatic result of creating a portfolio (Wray, 2007).

Silver Bullet for Authentic Assessment or Technology Fad?

Types of Portfolios (Hewett, 2004)

• Documentation portfolios: growth toward learning goals

• Process portfolios: phases of the learning process

• Showcase portfolios: accomplishments and competences

• Peer-reviewed articles

• Higher education context

• 2004-2014• Instructional context

information • Empirical data on

portfolio outcomes

Literature Review

Portfolio Goals

• Accreditation standards• Reflection, self-regulation,

metacognitive awareness• Reflective leadership /

professionalism• Community of Practice• Student autonomy • Employability

Curricular Integration

1 2

3

Facilitation & Scaffolds

• Portfolio guides• Rubrics• Frequent instructor

feedback• Technical support• Portfolio workshops • Peer learning

opportunities

Tools and Infrastructure

• Portfolio systems (Mahara, PebblePad)

• HTML editors• Blogs• Wikis• GoogleSites• PowerPoint• Word

Assessment

• Why and how to re-assess graded assignments?• How to establish fair / transparent criteria?

• Rubrics• Evaluation templates• Student-developed

criteria

Reflection & Learning

• Faux reflection based on institutional requirements

• Quality of cognitive reflection or written expression?

• Learning opportunities for students and program leadership / faculty

• Peer Learning Community

Conclusion

• Diverse landscape• Various infrastructures• Differences in curricular

integration• Best practices for

instructional orchestration• Assessment challenging• No silver bullet for student

autonomy and reflection