E-PORTFOLIO AS A TOOL FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND ASSESSMENT OF THE PROSPECTIVE SINGERS

Abstract

This article examines the role of e-portfolios as digital assessment tools in enhancing the quality of student learning outcomes in higher education. E-portfolios tap into the potential of digital technologies to support students’ self-monitoring, self-evaluation, and sharing of learning. Thus e-portfolios have been reported as bringing about improvements in prospective singers’ learning. On the other hand, existing research also shows challenges for university teachers when adopting e-portfolio assessment. The issue of using e-portfolio assessment is currently being discussed in national and foreign studies (D. Alfimov, N. Mykhailova, M. Ostrenko, O. Pichkur, N. Savina, I. Shalyhina, E. Heinrich, M. Bhattacharya, R. Rayudu, S. Peacock, L. Gordon, S. Murray, K. Morss). To formulate strategies for optimising the learning potential of e-portfolios, a landscape review of research literature is conducted to address the research question about how e-portfolios are used as digital assessment tools to enhance the quality of learning outcomes in higher education.The article presents an overview of e-portfolios as digital assessment tools. A typology of e-portfolios is then presented to analyse the situations where e-portfolios are applied in higher education. The chapter goes on to argue for two essential affordances of e-portfolios, namely: empowerment and ownership of learning for students, and feedback and interactivity by drawing on digital technology. This is followed by a discussion of challenges and opportunities of e-portfolios in meeting conventional assessment criteria, including: reliability, validity, authenticity, and honesty. Key pedagogical factors influencing the use of e-portfolios as digital assessment are then examined. The author distinguishes the following factors: students’ motivation for engaging with e-portfolios, dual roles of e-portfolios in assessment of learning and assessment for learning, possibility of students lacking the capacity for self-reflection, potentially insufficient teacher guidance and support.