TPE DOMAIN E: LIT.

REVIEW

Teaching Performance Expectations

Domain E: Literature Review
Lorand Irinyi
National University

In partial fulfillment of the requirements for

TED690 - Capstone
Instructor: Professor Clifton Johnson
June 23, 2016

TPE DOMAIN E: LIT. REVIEW

Abstract
The purpose of this paper is to provide a literature review of the article by Judy
Lombardi published in College Teaching titled To Portfolio or Not to Portfolio: Helpful
or Hyped? Portfolios have become a feature of many university departments and the
author describes various approaches to portfolios, as well as the origins of and research
related to portfolio use.

TPE DOMAIN E: LIT. REVIEW

The author examined the nowadays widely used Portfolios, which have become
fixtures in higher education institutions across wide variety of academic disciplines, in
historical perspective, how they evolved in form, type and purpose since their
introduction in various academic fields. It turns out that portfolios have a traceable origin.
Lombardi (2008) states that, The early roots of todays portfolios can be traced to the
mid-1980s, with the work of Peter Elbow and Pat Belanoff (1986), who served as
administrators for a writing program with a written exit exam. Elbow and Belanoff,
dissatisfied with the holistic scoring method used on the exam, experimented with
portfolios. Their students submitted folders with writing across several genres, rather than
only one. A new emphasis on process over product occurred as well (p. 7). This was
interesting since one would have thought that the evolution of portfolio use was a slow
process without a traceable origin. So, it seems that the need for something like a
portfolio did exist but it was neither fully recognized nor attempts at developing
something like it were emerging among professionals who evaluated students work that
could not be fully and reasonably assessed by evaluating only one particular piece of
work/assessment of the students being assessed. Portfolio-based programs started to
emerge at some universities in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Once portfolio programs
have matured to a widely accepted level, portfolios themselves started to take on two
forms. Portfolios, on the whole, were divided into two categories depending on the
purpose of the portfolios. Generally they were either process portfolios or product
portfolios. Process-oriented portfolios demonstrate and illustrate the learners growth and
development over time. Process-oriented portfolios, on the other hand, focus on the best
work of the student, focusing on items that represent the highest quality created by the

TPE DOMAIN E: LIT. REVIEW

student, demonstrating progress through selection of best works, the portfolio system
provides new ways for students to exhibit what they have learned over time (Lombardi,
2008, p.8). Since the introduction of the World Wide Web, a particular kind of portfolio
came to being, the ePortfolio. The ePortfolio has taken on a life of its own and became
important enough that many teacher education programs are adopting electronic
portfolios to meet National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE)
2000 Standard #2 (Lombardi, 2008, p.8). The author warns that ePortfolios, which have
multiple purposes, should not be confused with assessment management systems, which
are primarily used for formative and summative assessment. The true ePortfolio is
student-centered, with works selected by the student, whereas the assessment
management system is institution centered, with works prescribed by the institution
(Lombardi, 2008, p.8). The question arises regarding the true value of portfolios.
Experts warn about various dangers dangers of portfolios, where the portfolios become
the center of focus as opposed to the work include in them, but these experts also point
out the benefits of portfolios. One of the benefits to portfolios is that Portfolios shift the
responsibility for demonstrating learning back to the student teacher, as a participant
rather than an observer (Lombardi, 2008, p.9). All in all Lombardi (2008) states that,
The portfolio not only offers a tool for authentic assessment but also a means for
students to be reflective practitioners, emphasizing the how and why as much as the
what (p.10), which may be its most potent characteristic, altogether.

TPE DOMAIN E: LIT. REVIEW

References
Lombardi, Judy (2008). To Portfolio or Not to Portfolio: Helpful or Hyped? College
Teaching, Vol.56(1), p.7-10