Mindsets and the Portfolio
Read more from the International Journal of the ePortfolio here.
Thus, it is essential that students are explicitly encouraged to focus on the developmental trajectory of their learning and to build connections across the information they have learned.
The power of teacher reflection
This study examined the perceived impact of creating digital portfolios on teachers and their students. Both quantitative and qualitative findings indicated that the digital portfolios had a generally positive impact on teachers, the teaching-learning process, and their students.
Does it change anything?
Helping students reflect on and connect their learning across academic and co-curricular learning experiences, sophisticated ePortfolio practices transform the student learning experience. Advancing higher order thinking and integrative learning, the connective nature of ePortfolio helps students to construct purposeful identities as learners.
A more comprehensive definition of the variety of ePortfolio affordances was elucidated by Duncan-Pitt and Sutherland (2006) who described it as: A system that belongs to the learner, not the institution; populated by the learner not their examiner; primarily concerned with supporting learning not assessment; for life-long and life-wide learning not a single episode or a single course; that allows learners to present multiple stories of learning rather than just a simple aggregation of competencies; and, importantly, where access to them is controlled by the learner who is able to invite feedback to support personal growth and understanding. (p. 70)