Portfolios for assessment and learning: AMEE Guide no. 45

Abstract

In 1990, Miller wrote that no tools were available for assessment of what a learner does when functioning independently at the clinical workplace (Miller ). Since then portfolios have filled this gap and found their way into medical education, not only as tools for assessment of performance in the workplace, but also as tools to stimulate learning from experience. We give an overview of the content and structure of various types of portfolios, describe the potential of electronic portfolios, present techniques and strategies for using portfolios as tools for stimulating learning and for assessment, and discuss factors that influence the success of the introduction. We conclude that portfolios have a lot of potential but that their introduction also often leads to disappointment, because they require a new perspective on education from mentors and learners and a significant investment of time and energy.

Notes

Notes

1. Parts of this section were published in the journal Quality in Higher Education (van Tartwijk et al. 2007).

2. Parts of this chapter were published earlier in Quality in Higher Education (van Tartwijk et al. 2007).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jan Van Tartwijk

JAN VAN TARTWIJK, Ph.D., works at the ICLON – Leiden University Graduate School of Teaching. In his research and teaching he focusses on teacher–student communication processes in the classroom and the use of portfolios in medical education and teacher education.

Erik W. Driessen

ERIK DRIESSEN, Ph.D., works at the Department of Educational Development and Research at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Maastricht. He specialises in assessment and the use of portfolios in medical education.Both have a long history with working with portfolios. Jan van Tartwijk started experimenting with portfolios in teacher education and faculty development in 1994. In 1999, he joined Erik Driessen and Cees van der Vleuten at Maastricht University, where they implemented portfolios in the undergraduate programme of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Maastricht. Since then, they have published a series of articles and books about using portfolios in higher education and have advised numerous faculties and originations in medical education and elsewhere about the use of portfolio for learning and assessment. Their corporation is not limited to the topic of portfolios; they also work together on research on how to stimulate and assess self-critical thinking and reflection.