Portfolio-Based Teaching and Learning

Abstract

The portfolio and its use have been widely documented across various disciplines and at different levels in education. The portfolio is a useful assessment tool for evaluating student learning and a process-oriented approach that encourages critical reflexive thought and self-directed learning. More recent social work education literature discusses the portfolio as a synthesis of theory, practice, and critical self-reflection. In our program, students were expected to focus on the context of power, privilege, social location, and identity within their critical self-reflections. In this paper, the authors reflect on the launch of the first portfolio course as an alternative to the field placement for undergraduate students of social work on-campus at a large urban university. This alternative course was launched within an anti-oppressive social work program and we discuss the opportunities and challenges that arise.