Reports

Wednesday May 31 2006 | 000 Multidisciplinary

The Electronic Portfolio - A Useful Tool to Support Technological Integration in the Classroom

Ginette Bousquet Teacher, Cégep de Sherbrooke

The Issue
Practical Applications
Useful References
What's new?

Download this report as a PDF

Practical Applications

Integration in a program

Development of the Portfolio by the Program Staff

The establishment of a student portfolio requires time. First, the team of teachers has to take some time to reflect upon and discuss the ultimate goal of the portfolio, and choose the desired type of portfolio and its format. The development of the portfolio also requires a consensus regarding its content:

1. What will the portfolio contain? The objective to be attained, the type of portfolio chosen, and the field of study are elements which will determine the content to be included in a portfolio. For example, a technical program, with or without an internship, and a pre-university program have different goals: one prepares the students for work; the other to pursue his/her studies in university. The content of the portfolio must therefore differ accordingly. Similarly, a portfolio could hold colligated documents or personal items. The content could be organized around a theme, or aimed at professional development, integrating knowledge, and so on.

2. Will the content be open-ended or will it be predetermined? It is possible to give the students the freedom to choose to present what they feel to be relevant material, or to have the teacher decide upon the content, with or without consulting the students. All of these factors depend upon the goal and the type of portfolio.

3. How will the content be structured? It is important to include a table of contents in the portfolio to serve as a point of reference.

Finally, one of the issues to be considered when implementing a portfolio into the curriculum is the method of evaluation. The evaluation criteria to be used must be established by the teachers of the respective programs. It is also important that the students be well informed with respect to these criteria. The difficulty in establishing a method of evaluation is related to the nature of the material that is to be evaluated. Given that the portfolio consists of documents, feedback, and comments, the criteria are mostly qualitative. Here are some examples of criteria that should be considered:

the content is clear and univocal;
the content is complete;
the content is of high quality;
there is evidence of a progression towards the targeted competency;
there is evidence of a development of thought and a process of reflection on the part of the student given the relevance and consistency of the work that is submitted.

An ordinal scale (very satisfactory, satisfactory, not satisfactory) may be appropriate to gradually meet each criteria (Bélanger, 2003).

Using the Portfolio with the Students

It is important to take the required time to appropriately introduce the portfolio to the students. For the students to be able to get acquainted with the portfolio and use it regularly, they must have a clear understanding of the objectives either as defined by the program or by the teacher, and be aware that they are responsible for developing their portfolio. If the goal is misunderstood, there is a risk that the students’ effort will be put into the presentation of the portfolio rather than into the analysis and self-assessment portions of the learning process.

The implementation of a portfolio also demands that students have a chance to reflect upon and discuss their work, for which they need adequate time. One of the objectives of the portfolio is that it develop the metacognitive abilities of the student, which requires time in and outside the classroom. Furthermore, to be better able to reflect upon his/her own work, the student needs to engage in exchanges with the teacher. As a result, sessions for discussion and/or feedback must be planned and scheduled. To ensure a successful implementation of the portfolio, one or several classes at the beginning of the program must be dedicated to having students adapt to the portfolio, and subsequent classes throughout the semester should be reserved for exchanges between the student and the teacher(s). (CEFES, 2005; Eyssautier-Bavay, 2004; Goupil, 1998).

Other Uses of the Portfolio

The student portfolio may become a professional portfolio when the student in a technical program enters the labour market. A student in a pre-university program may continue to develop the portfolio in university. More and more faculties at the university level require a portfolio from their students. In practice, the student portfolio may also serve to attest to the academic achievements (assignments and work experiences) that the student considers to be proof of his/her development of professional competencies.

An Example: The Integration Activity in the Social Science Program

The integration activity in the Social Science program is given during the final semester of the program. Since this is a pre-university program, there is no period of internship as in certain other technical programs. The competency that is to be met by the student through this integration activity is to have him/her demonstrate how the knowledge gained in the program has been absorbed and appropriated by the student. During this activity, the student has to assess what he/she has learned throughout the program. The student must also appropriate this acquired knowledge by applying it to a project and, finally, must also perform a metacognitive analysis of the entire process. This latter activity allows the student to have a global overview of his/her academic and professional development. The portfolio therefore becomes a good tool for this integration activity.

Given its format, the portfolio is a tool that contains the student’s most significant work. The self-assessment component of the activity is applied to both the learning portfolio as well as to the presentation portfolio. These two types of portfolios also serve as a tool through which the student may apply his/her gained knowledge to a new cognitive activity. Finally, the metacognitive element of the integration activity is closely related to the development of the portfolio. Each document to be included in the portfolio, as chosen by the student, has to be justified.

The Electronic Portfolio in Social Sciences at Cégep de Sherbrooke

The electronic portfolio designed for the Social Sciences program at Cégep de Sherbrooke encompasses all three types of portfolio: the learning, presentation, and evaluation portfolio. At the beginning, the goal of using the portfolio was to facilitate the student’s level of self-assessment during the integration activity and to render this exercise more significant. The presentation portfolio, as well as the evaluation portfolio, was subsequently introduced by volunteer teachers during the pilot course three years ago.

The introduction of the learning portfolio has been more recent and more gradual. There are many students enrolled in the program at Cégep de Sherbrooke. For example, there were nineteen groups in the program in the Fall 2005 semester, with more than forty-five teachers with specific training who were divided into four profiles. The first trial was done in Fall 2004 according to the profile "Réalitiés internationales." In the Fall 2005 semester, the portfolio was used in two profiles ("Réalités internationales" and "Administration").

Currently, the development and format of the portfolio is the student’s responsibility. His/her role is to complete the portfolios during the respective semesters. The teacher’s role is to frequently remind the student to complete the portfolios. If need be, a teacher may review the portfolio and provide the student with feedback. Once the program will be evaluated, some adjustments may be made regarding the teacher’s involvement in the process to ensure that the students be better monitored. The teacher who is responsible for the integration activity and chooses to use the portfolio also has the responsibility of evaluating the presentation of the portfolio as well as the metacognitive component with which it is accompanied.

The following illustration presents the sections of the portfolio.

The students keep their work (Word or Excel assignments, multimedia presentations, etc.) in the learning portfolio (section titled Mes apprentissages), throughout the semester. The students also fill out a metacognitive questionnaire that accompanies each document. That questionnaire not only causes the students to recognize the knowledge they have gained, but also encourages them to use and develop their critical thinking skills (by planning, evaluating, and assessing). They can equally become conscious of their weaknesses and can learn to improve them accordingly.

The presentation portfolio (section titled Mes bilans) is designed in a way that allows the student to add to it, ideally at the end of each semester, or at the end of his/her studies. Each assessment (of the semester) consists of four sections:

1. The first part is where the students identify their most significant achievements and justify each of their choices. This activity makes them practice self-analysis and allows them to better recognize their interests, strengths and weaknesses.

2. The second part consists of a questionnaire regarding the skills and attitudes that have been gained through and pertain to the Social Science program. By filling out this section semester after semester, the students are able to track their own progress. They may also make connections between what they have learned here and what awaits them in their future university program.

3. The third part presents the students with a goal-oriented component which they must complete. The inclusion of this step is justified by the fact that only one student out of five enters CEGEP with a relatively specific goal or professional direction in mind (Fédération des cégeps, 1999). Hyperlinks are included in the questionnaire and help guide the students towards potential university programs.

4. In the last part of this self-assessment section, the students reflect on their progress at a higher level and are invited to make conclusions about the process. This kind of reflection links all aspects of the student’s life together, on both an academic and psychosocial level.

The presentation portfolio contributes to the student’s assessments of his/her competencies, to the management of his/her academic career, and to the student’s professional development.

The section titled Mes réflexions addresses three critical moments in the CEGEP student’s life. Up until now, the content of this section has been left to the students’ discretion. The few comments that were received from the students were generally positive.

1. The first analysis takes place after the student has completed his/her first two months of CEGEP. The first weeks are crucial to the student’s integration into the school environment, from both an academic and psychosocial aspect. During that period, the student has to adopt a new behaviour; and adopt new standards with respect to his/her studies, emotional development, and social life. For some students, all of these changes come as a shock. Ducharme (1990) discusses the shock of autonomy that is felt by the student ("choc de l’autonomie").

2. The second analysis occurs after the completion of the students’ first year of studies. The students are invited to confirm their confidence in their choice of program or to realize that they wish to pursue other interests. According to the SISEP ("Système d’indicateurs pour le suivi des étudiants par programme"), two out of five students drop out of their chosen program after the first year.

3. The third analysis is performed during the integration activity and addresses the transition from CEGEP to university.

The evaluation portfolio takes form of a metacognitive essay whose content is derived from the various self-assessments the students make in the section titled "Mes bilans" and/or the section called "Mes réflexions" The evaluation criteria are qualitative: the content must be complete, clear, done independently, attached to the document, and must demonstrate consistency between the chosen document and the self-assessment.

In conclusion, the electronic portfolio ensures the students a greater success rate, and guides them in their orientation process while allowing them to become acquainted with a tool that will be used in their university studies.

<< Previous section

Top of page

Next section >>

Comments by readersReact to this text

English
French

réponse à un questionnement

Merci aux commentaires de Yves R. Morin et de Jacques Lecavalier. Je suis contente d'avoir des témoignages de l'utilisation du portfolio d'apprentissage à l'intérieur d'un cours et non d'un programme. J'étais à m'interroger sur son utilisation pour le cours que je donnerai à l'automne soit Méthodes quantitatives en Sciences humaines. Vos témoignages m'ont convaincue à son utilisation. À suivre en décembre ou janvier prochain.

Ginette Bousquet, enseignante, Cégep de Sherbrooke [2007-5-21]

Bilan de DecClic en Français 101

J'ai utilisé le carnet de bord de DecClic I à l'automne 2006 et à l'hiver 2007 dans un groupe de français 101 (Écriture et littérature). Les étudiants y inscrivaient des notes sur les oeuvres littéraires en lecture. Je suivais la progression de chacun en indiquant, pour chaque poème ou scène, les éléments incompris. Au lieu d'un questionnaire de compréhension, qui arrête trop complètement la lecture de l'étudiant et qui lui fait perdre de vue la signification globale de l'oeuvre, les étudiants doivent exécuter toujours les mêmes stratégies. D'abord, indiquer qui fait quoi où et quand (mais pas pourquoi), puis relier le poème ou la scène à un thème. Au début de chaque cours (deux rencontres par semaines), j'arrive en sachant qui a fait quoi, avec quelles difficultés. En équipes, les étudiants comparent leurs notes et approfondissent avec mon aide leur compréhension de l'oeuvre. Les étudiants qui n'ont pas fait leur travail, après un avertissement, sont mutés dans une équipe de retardataires, au lieu de pouvoir rester avec leurs amis. Après deux semaines, tout le monde est à jour dans ses lectures, sans qu'il soit nécessaire d'imposer un contrôle de lecture. Les étudiants (de première session) qui ne sont pas habitués à faire leurs devoirs de lecture et de prise de notes acquièrent vite une discipline de travail (ou, plus rarement, quittent le cours). Ils parviennent peu à peu à interpréter l'oeuvre par eux-mêmes. Au moment de l'évaluation écrite, plus personne ne me demande "Qu'est-ce que tu veux que j'écrive?"

Jacques Lecavalier, Enseignant, Collège de Valleyfield [2007-5-20]

Portfolio en commercialisation

J'utilise déjà le portfolio d’apprentissage dans mes cours et ce, depuis 3 ans. Après quelques tentatives, le format que j'utilise actuellement comprend des questions cognitives sur la matières et métacognitives sur le processus de travail et d'apprentissage. Ces questions précises me permettent de mieux guider l'apprenant dans la rédaction du cahier. J'utilise aussi ce cahier de façon sommative et il remplace l'évaluation traditionnelle de ''par coeur''. C'est un outil très efficace pour augmenter la motivation intrinsèque de l'apprenant et pour éliminer l'effet négatif de stress d'un examen de ''par coeur'', examen d'ailleurs que les étudiants trouvent inefficace puisque 7 jours après l'examen, l'apprenant moyen ne se souvient plus de ce qu'il a appris. Pour consulter un de mes cahiers pré-formaté ... allez sur le lien suivant : http://www.profweb.qc.ca/ymorin/cahier_apprentisage_version_2006_chapitre_2_en_str-35.doc

Yves R. Morin, Enseignant, Cégep Marie-Victorin [2007-4-13]

Portfolio en Écriture et littérature

Je mettrai à l'essai la méthode du portfolio numérique (avec Dec-Clic) dans un cours de français Écriture et littérature à l'automne 2006. À suivre...

Jacques Lecavalier, Enseignant, Collège de Valleyfield [2006-7-02]

portfolio de l'enseignant de fle

Merci beaucoup pour ce dossier qui me sera très utile: j'entreprends une recherche sur l'élaboration d'un portfolio pour les enseignants de français langue étrangère en formation continue dans un contexte culturel "européen".

anne-marie johnson, enseignante-formatrice, Institut Touraine [2006-6-18]

Un véritable outil d'intégration

Bravo ! Voici enfin un véritable outil d'intrégration. J'ai trouvé votre dossier très intéressant et stimulant. J'ai l'intention de convaincre mes collègues de mettre en place un projet similaire à celui du Collège de Sherbrooke. Nous avons besoin d'un outil pour mettre en place un processus d'intégration qui commence avec la première session. Quelle belle idée stimulante que la vôtre.

Jean Poirier, Enseignant en histoire, Collège Shawinigan [2006-4-28]

Post your comments below! Spaces marked with an asterisk (*) are obligatory

Last name :

First name :

E-Mail Address :

Function :

Organization :