Abstract
The educational use of portfolios has been increasing in the last few years, especially as technology has also developed electronic versions of portfolios. Although there is abundant information about their benefits and practice description, few studies provide empirical evidence of their implementation. The objective of this study was to provide initial evidence about the use of the portfolio in higher education. Concretely, we aimed 1) to explore the correlation between students’ performance on the portfolio and their performance on more traditional assessment methods 2) to explore whether student’s personal variables predict performance in key elements of the e-portfolio, such as individual reflections, and if these contribute to general academic performance in the course, and 3) to evaluate whether the use of the e-portfolio during a semester changes the students’ self-efficacy and engagement. For this purpose, an initial sample of 73 students were recruited, and an e-portfolio (based on Mahara) was implemented over a semester. The results showed that performance on the portfolio correlated with the score obtained on multiple choice tests. There was an increase in self-efficacy after one semester of e-portfolio implementation, and engagement proved to be an important predictor of the final course grade through the mediation of individual reflections. These results offer preliminary and promising evidence about the relationship of a specific element of e-portfolios, individual reflections with several variables related to academic achievement such as self-efficacy and engagement.
Highlights
An e-portfolio can be defined as “a digitized collection of artifacts including demonstrations, resources, and accomplishments that represent an individual, group or institution” (Lorenzo & Ittelson, 2005)
Three specific objectives were set: 1) to explore whether achievement through individual reflections correlates with achievement through more traditional activities such as individual tests and group assignments; 2) to explore whether student’s personal variables predict performance in key elements of the e-portfolio such as the individual reflections, and whether its use has an effect on academic performance; and 3) to evaluate if the use of the e-portfolio during a semester changes students’ self-efficacy and engagement
Due to the role that self-efficacy and engagement have on academic performance (Honicke & Broadbent, 2016; Lei et al, 2018), we aimed to explore if critical reflections could have a mediating role in this relationship
Summary
An e-portfolio can be defined as “a digitized collection of artifacts including demonstrations, resources, and accomplishments that represent an individual, group or institution” (Lorenzo & Ittelson, 2005). Portfolios, mainly in their electronic format (e-portfolios), are gaining ground in educational settings, especially in the field of teacher education (Totter & Wyss, 2019) In this context, the portfolio takes a step further, and is more than a collection of artifacts because it encourages critical reflection, facilitates both formative and summative assessment, and reveals the acquisition of competences (Amaya et al, 2013; Mohammed et al, 2015; Ring et al, 2009). It is argued that the e-portfolio captures the learning process itself (Barrett, 2007) because the student’s progress can be monitored along the way (Gómez et al, 2013; Mohammed et al, 2015) It allows the exchange of ideas and feedback (Lorenzo & Ittelson, 2005), key elements in formative assessment as well (Gedye, 2010), and one of the most important factors influencing learning (Hattie & Timperley, 2007; Wisniewski et al, 2020). Some authors argue that it is most suitable for student-centred, rather than teachercentred, learning environments (Clark & Eynon, 2009; Harun et al, 2021; Stefani et al, 2007) and allows students to be more active, self-regulated and autonomous in their learning process (Amaya et al, 2013)
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