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Student E-Portfolios Literature Review

Elizabeth C. Garcia

Lamar University
STUDENT E-PORTFOLIOS LITERATURE REVIEW 2

Student E-Portfolios Literature Review

Cooper and Love define a portfolio as an organized collection of documents or artifacts

that can be used to demonstrate knowledge, skills, values and achievements, which contains a

commentary or exegesis to explain the relevance, credibility and coherence of each artifact or

document (2007). We will consider an e-portfolio to simply be any electronic form of a

portfolio. This literature review will not focus on determining the most suitable type of e-

portfolio students can create nor will it focus on the different platforms that can be used to host

student e-portfolios. The focus will be on the proven benefits of implementing student e-

portfolios in the classroom and how they contribute toward creating a more meaningful learning

experiences.

It has been repeatedly noted that simply adding a digital device to the classroom without

a fundamental change in the culture of teaching and learning will not lead to significant

improvement in education. (November, 2013) One-to-one initiatives are not likely to meet their

stated goals if they solely focus on using technology in the classroom; they need to shift their

focus to utilizing technology as a tool to support students in their learning process. It can never

be just about the technology, it has to be about the learning. Research shows that just because

students are using the technology doesnt necessarily mean that they learning. (Schaffhauser,

2014) In the past decade there has been a rise in the use of student e-portfolios in the classroom

which is supported by the one-to-one initiatives that many school districts have already

implemented. We will now explore the various experiences schools have had with the

integration of student e-portfolios and how they interpret the impact it has had on students

overall learning experiences.

Critical Thinking

A major benefit of the student e-portfolios is that e-portfolios are helping students

become critical thinkers and aiding in the development of their writing and multimedia

communication skills (Lorenzo & Ittelson, 2005). Not only are students continuously

improving their writing skills due to the practice and feedback they receive from their teachers as

well as their peers, students are also receiving more opportunities to think critically. For most

students, a perk of developing an e-portfolio is that it, allows for creative thinking and

collaboration with others (Gathercoal, Love, Bryde, & McKean, 2002). Students are no longer

being tied down to the didactic model in which there is only one way of demonstrating their

learning and doing so in isolation. Students now have virtually endless possibilities of media at

their disposal which they can use to showcase their learning. They can develop their critical

thinking skills as they select the media they will use to present their learning and piece it all

together.

Metacognitive Learning (Reflections)

Student e-portfolios have been gaining momentum as we act on John Deweys notion that

we do not learn from experience we learn from reflecting on experience and Carol Dwecks

concept of growth mindset which encourages progress over product. (D erizans & Bibbo, 2015)

Many educators have found that when students take the time to reflect on their learning, the

retention of knowledge tends to be higher due to the students being able to make more

substantial connections. (D erizans & Bibbo, 2015)

The Researching Electronic portFolios: Learning, Engaging, and Collaboration through

Technology (REFLECT) initiative began in the fall of 2004 inspired by the lack of literature on

student e-portfolio implementation in a K-12 setting. This research project involved 20 sites and
STUDENT E-PORTFOLIOS LITERATURE REVIEW 4

took place over the course of two years. Through the REFLECT initiative they found that e-

portfolios support reflection which can help students understand their own learning. They also

found that the more successful sites use the school-wide, cross-curricular approach [which]

seems to offer the most exiting potential to support teaching, learning, and change (Barrett,

2007). This study also found that the teachers roles have a higher impact on learning than the

technology itself. The students cannot simply be given a device and told to make an e-portfolio,

they need meaningful feedback from their teachers.

The Valid Assessment of Learning in Undergraduate Education (VALUE) project

conducted by the Association of American Colleges and Universities also set out to measure the

impact and effectiveness of student e-portfolios. They found that the development of an e-

portfolio included the processes found within the concept of metacognition; students were

reflecting on their work and therefore were consciously thinking about their overall progress in

learning. When students were interviewed at the conclusion of the VALUE project, many talked

about them realizing the importance of their work as they developed their e-portfolios.

Additionally, students repeatedly mentioned how it enhanced their overall understanding of the

learning experience. (Miller & Morgaine, 2009)

Assessment

A couple of teachers in Decatur, Illinois had a vision for using student e-portfolios as

authentic assessments. They saw that with the push for differentiated instruction, portfolios

would offer more opportunity to assess an individuals growth (Dotson & Henderson, 2009).

The ability to see the progression of their students work throughout the school year via the e-

portfolios enabled these teachers to have more productive student conferences, better

accommodate to the needs of the students, engage in more knowledgeable conversations with
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parents, and have sufficient data when referring students for special services. (Dotson &

Henderson, 2009) With all of these improvements, teachers are able to further empower students

to take ownership of their learning.

Ownership of Learning

In 2012, Garrison Forest School located in Baltimore, Maryland began a pilot of an e-

portfolio program. This school in particular felt that their methods of instruction were already

strong, through the pilot of this program they sought to have the students take ownership of their

learning in order to create more meaningful learning experiences. Garrison Forest School found

that by using e-portfolios the students began to take ownership of their learning process and in

doing so, they made the important shift from passive learners to the constructors and creators of

their own learning journeys (Shriver, 2014).

Students in the Faculty of Education at Karadeniz Technical University, Turkey were

selected to be a part of a study in which they were introduced to e-portfolios and given a list of

the minimum that needed to be on the e-portfolio throughout the course. The reflections written

throughout the program were reviewed as they were interviewed at the end of the study. The

students mentioned that engaging in the e-portfolio process helped them develop regular study

habits rather than cramming for tests and forgetting the content they memorized shortly after the

tests. (Cimer, 2011) These students took ownership of their learning, which ultimately resulted

in an increase in their retention of knowledge.

Three teachers began the initiative of piloting the use of student e-portfolios to guide

student-led conferences at Lincoln Middle School located in Portland, Maine. The pilot was

studied in order to examine the perceived effectiveness of this concept. When they surveyed the

students, teachers, and parents near the end of the study they found that majority agreed that the
STUDENT E-PORTFOLIOS LITERATURE REVIEW 6

e-portfolios helped students take responsibilities for their own work, reflect on their own work,

self-ass their work, and set future goals for themselves. (Juniewicz, 2003) Students felt

empowered as they engaged in the process of developing their e-portfolios and were therefore

able to take ownership of their learning.

Conclusion

Teachers all over the world have begun to integrate student e-portfolios into their

classrooms. E-portfolios have proven to offer many benefits such as students learning how to

collaborate and think critically. Perhaps the most common outcome is that as the students reflect

on their learning as they develop their e-portfolios, they take ownership of the learning which

leads to higher retention of knowledge. All of this ultimately leads to creating a more meaningful

learning experience for all involved.

References

Barrett, H. C. (2007). Researching electronic portfolios and learner engagement: The REFLECT

initiative. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 50(6), 436449.

https://doi.org/10.1598/JAAL.50.6.2

Cimer, S. O. (2011). The effect of portfolios on students learning: student teachers views.

European Journal of Teacher Education, 34(2), 161176.

https://doi.org/10.1080/02619768.2011.552183

Cooper, T., & Love, T. (2007). Electronic portfolios in e-learning. In N. Buzzetto-More (Ed.),

Advanced principles of effective e-learning. Santa Rosa, CA: Informing Science Press.

D erizans, R., & Bibbo, T. (2015). Time to reflect e-portfolios and the development of growth

mindsets. Independent School, 74(2), 7885.

Dotson, R. K., & Henderson, M. (2009). Using student portfolios to guide instruction. Illinois

Reading Council Journal, 37(4), 1419.

Gathercoal, P., Love, D., Bryde, B., & McKean, G. (2002). Web-based electronic portfolios.

EDUCAUSE Quaterly, 2937.

Juniewicz, K. (2003). Student portfolios with a purpose. The Clearing House.

https://doi.org/10.1080/00098650309601232

Lorenzo, G., & Ittelson, J. (2005). An overview of e-portfolios. EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative,

127. https://doi.org/10.1177/1048371314523964

Miller, R., & Morgaine, W. (2009). The benefits of e-portfolios for students and faculty in their

own words. Peer Review, 11(1), 812. Retrieved from http://www.aacu.org/peerreview/pr-

wi09/pr-wi09_benefits.cfm
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November, A. (2013). Why schools must move beyond one-to-one computing. November

Learning, 01.

Schaffhauser, D. (2014). 9 Lessons from 1-to-1 pioneers. (Cover story). T H E Journal, 41(3),

1017. Retrieved from

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spx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=103335792

Shriver, C. (2014). A 21st-century tool for 21st-century learning. Independent School, 73(2), 70

76.