<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>Portfolios are often used in higher education for learning, promotion, assessment and appraisal. Thanks to technical developments in recent years, portfolios are increasingly digital rather than physical. E-portfolios provide a comprehensive way to document personal progress, to reflect on work activities, to support learning and to serve as a tool for feedback and evaluation. However, there has been very little research conducted on the use of e-portfolios for learning purposes in higher education. This paper focuses on the use of e-portfolios in teacher education. Six students in a master programme work with e-portfolios in the course of their practical vocational training. In a mixed-methods design, the students were interviewed about their experiences and the process of writing e-portfolios. In addition, a document analysis of the e-portfolio entries has been conducted in terms of content and structure. The findings of this study provide indications on how e-portfolios can be used effectively in teacher training and which promoting and inhibiting conditions students encounter.</p></abstract>

Portfolios are often used in higher education for learning, promotion, assessment and appraisal. Thanks to technical developments in recent years, portfolios are increasingly digital rather than physical. E-portfolios provide a comprehensive way to document personal progress, to reflect on work activities, to support learning and to serve as a tool for feedback and evaluation. However, there has been very little research conducted on the use of e-portfolios for learning purposes in higher education. This paper focuses on the use of e-portfolios in teacher education. Six students in a master programme work with e-portfolios in the course of their practical vocational training. In a mixed-methods design, the students were interviewed about their experiences and the process of writing e-portfolios. In addition, a document analysis of the e-portfolio entries has been conducted in terms of content and structure. The findings of this study provide indications on how e-portfolios can be used effectively in teacher training and which promoting and inhibiting conditions students encounter.

Opportunities and challenges of e-portfolios in teacher education. Lessons learnt

Zurich University of Teacher Education (PH Zürich)

Research on Education and Media

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Portfolios are often used in higher education for learning, promotion, assessment and appraisal. Thanks to technical developments in recent years, portfolios...

Opportunities and challenges of e-portfolios in teacher education. Lessons learnt

Published Online: Dec 26, 2019

Page range: 69 - 75

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/rem-2019-0010

Keywords
E-portfolio, teacher education, mixed-methods design

© 2019 Alexandra Totter et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Opportunities and challenges of e-portfolios in teacher education. Lessons learnt

Published Online: Dec 26, 2019

Page range: 69 - 75

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/rem-2019-0010

KeywordsE-portfolio, teacher education, mixed-methods design

© 2019 Alexandra Totter et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Keywords
E-portfolio, teacher education, mixed-methods design