Rethinking Assessment: ePortfolios as Tools for Authentic Evaluation
This section consists of six chapters that document the transformative role that ePortfolio can play in the assessment process. For example, the chapter ‘From crisis to opportunities: Evaluating the effectiveness of ePortfolios as a tool for assessment in higher education during the global crisis’ demonstrates how the Covid-19 crisis helped some lecturers transform their assessment practice from traditional high-stakes summative examinations to ongoing formative ePortfolio assessment activities.
This transformative theme is followed up in the next chapter, ‘From Traditional to Transformative Assessment Practices in Higher Education: Affordances of ePortfolios as Pathways to Holistic Learning in the Digital Era.’ In this chapter, the author demonstrates how ePortfolios can support a progressive assessment practice that fosters holistic student development and pedagogical innovation in the digital age while transforming the assessment landscape in higher education.
In the subsequent chapter, ‘Investigating the Paradigm Shift of Replacing Traditional School Report Cards with Developmental, Learner-Centred ePortfolios in South African Primary Schools: A Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory Perspective,’ the author provides strategies for transforming the assessment reporting process in primary education. The chapter suggests that the post-pandemic academic potential of a student should not be judged solely by grades but by a comprehensive view of the learner’s journey, as captured through a contextualized learner ePortfolio.
The chapter on ‘Assessing Student Learning and Development through ePortfolios: A Case Study from Zimbabwe’ describes the findings of a study where ePortfolios were used to submit student assignments. The results indicated that an ePortfolio submission process can be cost-effective as well as provide timely feedback and guidance from instructors. Challenges included internet access and connectivity issues.
‘Assessment and Evaluation: Methods for Assessing Student Learning and Development through ePortfolios’ is a chapter that provides a variety of strategies for using an ePortfolio process for self, peer, and instructor assessment. These strategies include a focus on both formative and assessment techniques.
The final chapter of this section, ‘Assessment of Agricultural Education Student Learning through ePortfolios During the Covid-19 Era,’ provides a case study for how ePortfolios can be used for student assessment at a programmatic level. The author describes how ePortfolios emerged as a transformative tool, enabling educators and students to maintain continuity in learning and assessment despite the constraints of the Covid-19 pandemic.
