Review by: Jenert, Tobias (2009-05-06)

The article inquires into the impact of using an electronic portfolio system (the Open Source Portfolio – OSP) in higher education, presenting case studies from four US universities. The authors' aim is to give an overview of the current state of OSP portfolio practice in higher education institutions (HEIs) presenting different implementations of various functionalities of OSP. The case studies have been conducted by the Inter/National Coalition for Electronic Portfolio Research (http://ncepr.org/index.html), an association of about 50 HEIs to encourage and support research on the impact of electronic portfolios.

Overview of the tool

First, the authors provide an overview of the Open Source Portfolio (http://osportfolio.org), reporting on the history of its development, its main functionalities, and typical usage scenarios. OSP development started in 2003 as a joint initiative of several US educational institutions. Since 2005 it forms part of the Sakai learning management system. It incorporates a number of tools that are intended to support three main usage scenarios:

• Students can use different tools to compose a portfolio for their personal representation, i. e. demonstrating knowledge and skills acquired during their studies by gathering artifacts (project results, papers, etc.) and reflecting upon them.
• OSP is used to support teaching and learning processes. The authors point out the relevance of the so-called "Matrix" tool, where students self-assign their learning activities to given or self-defined learning outcomes. Together with formative feedback from teachers, this supports reflection on students' development.
• The portfolio is used for assessment and accreditation. Teachers can create assignments and define fitting standards and goals. Students can submit their assignments and receive feedback from their teachers.

Case studies

The four case studies presented describe different usage scenarios of the OSP at Purdue University Indianapolis (Indiana), Kapi’olani Community College (Hawaii), George Mason University (Virginia), and Weber State University (Utah).

Uses of the Matrix functionality of OSP are reported from Purdue University and Kapi’olani Community College. At Purdue, students choose a number of learning objectives they consider most important for themselves (e. g. "critical thinking skills") and relate them with personal goals concerning their career, lifelong learning, and personality. This results in matrix cells consisting of a learning objective and a developmental direction (career, lifelong learning, personality). They then assign learning activities from their study to each cell and reflect how these activities contribute to the learning objective with respect to e. g. their aspired career as a manager. Kapi’olani Community College follows a similar approach; however the matrix is formed of six basic Hawaiian values and four developmental states. In this case empirical data was gathered about student learning: It is shown that compared with a control group, students who used the OSP matrix scored better on both the Study Strategies Inventory (LASSI) and the Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE). According to the authors, the findings suggest that the use of the Matrix tool can empower students to transfer what they have learned to other contexts and make them feel more connected to their learning.

In the case of Weber State University, OSP is used for assessment purposes. It is reported that while the use of the electronic portfolio worked well with formative assessment, faculty found summative assessment of learning artifacts and reflections challenging. The authors emphasize that for portfolios to become functioning assessment tools, framing conditions need to be established: Fitting assessment standards have to be defined and curricular structures need to be adapted in a way that prompts students to regularly submit assignments and reflections.

Finally, the case of George Mason University is presented where OSP is used to support and track students' development of leadership identity. Students used the portfolio to gather works from their studies and relate them to a theoretical framework of leadership. In addition to its role in student learning the data gathered with OSP was also analyzed on the basis of a grounded theory approach, providing insight into what students consider relevant aspects of their own leadership competence.

Discussion of future developments

In their discussion of future directions and challenges in using e-portfolios in HEIs the authors point to the need to solve the tensions between "integrative learning" and assessment: The first requires open portfolio arrangements and broad learning objectives that enable students to integrate diverse learning experiences from different subjects and courses. The latter requires clear standards and comparable measures. To bridge the gap between these opposing demands, e-portfolio work has to be embedded into broad curricular structures that embrace the idea of integrative learning and adjust assessment accordingly.

Critique

The article certainly tackles an important topic: After a great hype about e-portfolios in higher education, it is time to take a close look at established practices to see the potentials and challenges of portfolio work. Therefore, the case studies seem to be an adequate approach. Unfortunately, the information provided about the individual cases is too shallow to get an in-depth understanding of how portfolio work is really done at the institutions presented. For example, there is no information about the characteristics and number of departments, study programs, faculty, and students involved in the cases described. Also the curricular context, which the authors themselves point out to be crucial for successful portfolio work, remains unclear. Still, for anybody interested in e-portfolios the article provides a good starting point to find out more about a number of interesting projects mentioned.