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

Abstract

Introduction Portfolio-based assessments require that learners' competence development is adequately reflected in portfolio documentation. This study explored how students select and document performance data in their portfolios and how they perceive these data to be representative for their competence development.Methods Students uploaded performance data in a competency-based portfolio. During one clerkship period, twelve students also recorded an audio diary in which they reflected on experiences and feedback that they perceived to be indicants of their competence development. Afterwards, these students were interviewed to explore the extent to which the performance documentation in the portfolio corresponded with what they considered illustrative evidence of their development. The interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis.Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s40037-020-00571-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. A. Oudkerk Pool ( ) School of Health Professions EducationResults Portfolios provide an accurate but fragmented picture of student development. Portfolio documentation was influenced by tensions between learning and assessment, student beliefs about the goal of portfolios, student performance evaluation strategies, the learning environment and portfolio structure. Discussion This study confirms the importance of taking student perceptions into account when implementing a competency-based portfolio. Students would benefit from coaching on how to select meaningful experiences and performance data for documentation in their portfolios. Flexibility in portfolio structure and requirements is essential to ensure optimal fit between students' experienced competence development and portfolio content.Keywords Portfolio · Assessment · Competencybased medical education · Medical students 166 Student perspectives on competency-based portfolios

How Is the Perception of Teachers in Indonesia about Portfolio Assessment for Elementary School?

“…Principle 2, on the adequacy of time to use portfolio appraisal, illustrates the constraints to portfolio appraisal that consume time and energy. However, it turns out that some teachers still consider the aspects of the benefits of portfolios for students, so even though it requires a lot of time and energy, portfolios still have significant benefits for the development of student competencies [16]. Based on the in-depth interview, the answer is that the actual time spent working on portfolios for students is a good learning time, besides that for teachers, they can also find out students' abilities personally through their portfolio work.…”

Reconfiguring assessment practices and strategies in online education during the pandemic

“…The general response is at moderate preference level. Performance assessment derived from traditional approaches includes portfolio assessment along with competencies and skills assessment (Oudkerk Pool et al, 2020). Such practices are also available in this study.…”

“…For students in this study, Portfolio-based assessment allows them to collect data and information that serve as evidence to their performances. Similarly, Oudkerk Pool et al, (2020) elaborated that evidence-based assessment needs a demonstration of the application of the lessons rather than only knowing those. This is the reason why skill assessment is the most widely used approach.…”

Medical Student Portfolios: A Systematic Scoping Review

“…However, a flexible approach allowing medical students to personalise their MSPs 58 and express themselves more freely 59 facilitates portfolio student-centricity 60 , 61 and ownership 53 . By encouraging students to incorporate their own content, such as reflective diary entries 55 , reflective essays 57 , video recordings 58 , audio recordings 59 , poetry or art 62 , improvements may be seen in the quantity and quality of their reflections 56 .…”