Instructional Roles of Electronic Portfolios

Abstract

This chapter presents an overview of 11 different ways in which electronic portfolios (ePortfolios) can support the teaching and learning process. Too often, discussion about the general instructional nature of ePortfolios only focuses on two distinct roles: portfolios as a means of assessing specific student performance, and portfolios as a showcase for outstanding student accomplishments. This chapter summarizes how ePortfolios can contribute to the design and implementation of effective instruction in many different ways by assuming a variety of roles that go beyond a traditional approach to portfolio use in the classroom. These roles include artifact creation as meaningful context, goal-setting, practice with a purpose, examples and non-examples, assessment, reflection, communication, instructor planning and management tool, learner organization tool, interdisciplinary teaching and learning, and historical records/stories as role models. Examples of portfolio requirements and assessment strategies from a higher education teacher preparation program are used to illustrate these different roles.