What are Learning Portfolios? 

A learning portfolio (ePortfolio) is a digital collection of student work, reflections, and educational experiences that demonstrate a student’s work over time, showcasing skills, abilities, values, and experiences, in an online format.

The purpose of a learning portfolio is to:

• Catalyze integrative learning
• Contribute to holistic development: personal, academic, and career
• Encourage active reflection and meaning-making within academic disciplines and on the university as a whole
• Facilitate integration of topics and themes across disciplines and over time
• Provide a forum to synthesizing learning and sharing work with others
• Provide a resource for demonstrating skills, abilities, and experiences in the job-search process

A learning portfolio may include a variety of artifacts—or relevant documents and media files—that provide a holistic representation of who you are academically, personally, and/or professionally. A learning portfolio may function as a venue for collecting and sharing academic work with faculty members, a tool for inviting collaboration and feedback with your peers, or a personal account of your growth and learning process.

 

Fitch, D., Reed, B., & Peet, M. T. (2008). The Use of ePortfolios in Evaluating the Curriculum and Student Learning. Journal of Social Work Education , 44 (3), 37-54.

Reynolds, C., & Patton, J. (2014). Leveraging the ePortfolio for Integrative Learning. Sterling, VA: Stylus Publishing.