Review of Literature A Critical Reflection on Eportfolio as a Teaching

Tool by Lyn Lewis

This article appeared in the New Zealand Journal of Teachers Work, Volume

12, Issue 2, 2015. Lewis is the head of the teacher preparation program at

the Auckland University of Technology and has been using eportfolios with

her students since 2007, developing research and pedagogy centered around

eportfolios throughout that time. I selected this article primarily because the

author used Mahara, the same eportfolio site that I currently use with my

students and I hoped to discover new strategies for using it in my classroom.

While there were not specific examples given, Lewis shared her growth over

time in how she viewed the use of the eportfolio with her education students

and by extension students at primary and secondary levels. The article

chronicles a shift from viewing the eportfolio strictly as a storage and

presentation tool to one of personal reflection and pedagogical strategy.

Lewis examines three very different learning activities, each through four

critical lenses. She sees the eportfolio as both product and process and

believes that they are not mutually exclusive. This is because the learner is

in control of the form and content of the portfolio and the act of selecting

and organizing the artifacts requires the learner to reflect, discuss, share,

plan, synthesize and respond to feedback regardless of the purpose of the

final product. She employs Brookfields four lenses to assess each of the

three assignments:
1 - Autobiographical experiences of learning the teacher imposing their

own experience as a learner on the teaching

2 Learners eyes how students experience the teaching.

3 Colleagues experience - peer feedback and discussion.

4 Theoretical literature using scholarly research to support and expand

thinking.

The three portfolio activities that Lewis assessed through these four lenses

were:

1 the eportfolio as a storage and presentation tool. This activity was

teacher directed and had a specific structure. While there was room for

student selection and reflection, the ultimate goal was presentation.

2 the eportfoilio as a journaling tool, students use it to reflect on learning

over time through a series of writings that are used to conclude what

learning has occurred over time.

3 the eportfolio as a visual narrative of learning over time, students curate

artifacts and select the form that they feel best expresses their learning.

Over time, Lewis discovered through these three specific assignments, that

the more student centered the solution to the problem was allowed to be,

the more meaningful the resultant learning was. When students were given

the opportunity for more control over what they included and how they

selected and presented that information, the more invested they were in the

content. By examining and reflecting on the work through different lenses,

Lewis was able to be more objective in her evaluation of the three

assignments by adopting different points of view. She was able to adapt

based on the results of the assessments, developing a theory for best

practice when assigning eportfolios to students. While the students that she

was working with were preservice teachers, she believes that these ideas

can translate to students at all levels. She concludes that through seeking

feedback from colleagues and students, one can develop more meaningful

instruction.

Lewis, Lyn. (2015). A Critical Reflection on Eportfolios as a Teaching Tool.

New Zealand Journal

of Teachers Work. Volume 1 2, Issue 2, P.115-130