Do portfolios have a future?

Abstract

While portfolios have seen an unprecedented surge in popularity, they have also become the subject of controversy: learners often perceive little gain from writing reflections as part of their portfolios; scholars question the ethics of such obligatory reflection; and students, residents, teachers and scholars alike condemn the bureaucracy surrounding portfolio implementation in competency-based education. It could be argued that mass adoption without careful attention to purpose and format may well jeopardize portfolios’ viability in health sciences education. This paper explores this proposition by addressing the following three main questions: (1) Why do portfolios meet with such resistance from students and teachers, while educators love them?; (2) Is it ethical to require students to reflect and then grade their reflections?; (3) Does competency-based education empower or hamper the learner during workplace-based learning? Twenty-five years of portfolio reveal a clear story: without mentoring, portfolios have no future and are nothing short of bureaucratic hurdles in our competency-based education programs. Moreover, comprehensive portfolios, which are integrated into the curriculum and much more diverse in content than reflective portfolios, can serve as meaningful patient charts, providing doctor and patient with useful information to discuss well-being and treatment. In this sense, portfolios are also learner charts that comprehensively document progress in a learning trajectory which is lubricated by meaningful dialogue between learner and mentor in a trusting relationship to foster learning. If we are able to make such comprehensive and meaningful use of portfolios, then, yes, portfolios do have a bright future in medical education.

Multiple‐role mentoring: mentors’ conceptualisations, enactments and role conflicts

“…The role of the mentor is essential to the success of PA: mentors can engage mentees in meaningful, reflective dialogues, provide counselling and support the use of follow‐up and feedback . The mentor is thus tasked with coaching students and stimulating the development of their competences through use of the performance data in the portfolio . However, in PA, the mentor is also asked to advise an independent assessment committee on the students’ progress and competency level.…”

“…10 The mentor is thus tasked with coaching students and stimulating the development of their competences through use of the performance data in the portfolio. 12,13 However, in PA, the mentor is also asked to advise an independent assessment committee on the students' progress and competency level. This has resulted in new models of mentoring in which mentors have to fulfil the dual and potentially conflicting roles of coach and assessor.…”

Student perspectives on competency-based portfolios: Does a portfolio reflect their competence development?

“…They felt that this additional information would help assessors to develop a better understanding of their competence development. Captions could be used for this purpose [23]. Captions are textboxes attached to each portfolio document describing what the document is, why this is valuable evidence, and for what development it provides evidence [24].…”

Targeting Assessment for Learning within Pharmacy Education

“…Thus, these reflective portfolios can be used for programmatic assessment, but often are negatively viewed by students and faculty; these portfolios are often time-consuming for students to complete, are detailed and inflexible to student choices, and can be unwieldy for involved faculty based on its sheer size. 26 Although unpopular among learners, 26 this portfolio is still considered at least somewhat learner-centered.…”