Paper-based Portfolio as an Educational Tool: Nursing Students' Perspective

Abstract

Paper-based portfolio is considered one of the interventions that have gained popularity. It can be used as a learning and assessment tool. It is Very important tool not only for the students, but also for the teachers as it provides the teachers with clear view of their students' development and growth in multiple dimensions not commonly seen in the traditional methods of evaluation. It helps them to determine to what extent their students are benefiting from the learning instructions in order to modify their teaching strategies. Despite these benefits, there are many challenges that may face the student if portfolio is not implemented effectively. So, the guidance provided by the clinical instructor in all phases of portfolio development application is very important. Purpose: this study aimed to determine the nursing students' perspective toward the use of paper-based portfolio as an educational tool. Design: A descriptive research design was followed in the present study. Setting:The study was carried out at the Faculty of Nursing, Alexandria University in seven academic departments that use portfolio in their clinical areas. Subject: The study subjects consisted of 320 nursing students. Tools: one tool was used in the present study to collect the necessary data; Nursing students' personal and academic data questionnaire, Tool 2: Nursing students' perspective toward using portfolio as an educational tool questionnaire. Results: this study revealed that nearly more than three quarters of the students have a negative perspective toward the use of paper-based portfolio. Conclusion: Based on the present study results, it can be concluded that, the nursing students reported lower support and endorsement to the benefits of paper-based portfolio. While the students perceive greater challenges of using portfolio, they also perceive minimum instructions and guidance received from the clinical instructors during all phases of portfolio development application. Recommendation: Training workshops should be conducted by nursing education department staff for all nursing educators to enhance their abilities and competencies in the use of Portfolio. Additionally, the connection between the different departments through the student portfolio from the first year until graduation should be assured and standardized criteria and rubric must be provided to and followed by all clinical instructors and students about the evaluation of paper-based portfolio.