Electronic portfolios in teacher education: Does sequence matter?

Electronic portfolios have been created by students ranging from elementary to post secondary, and by professionals in divergent fields ranging from art to business. The specific intentions of the portfolios are equally disparate, including showcases of accomplishment, competency, and self-reflection. For students in the teacher education programs advocating electronic portfolios, the initial development ranges from first semester undergraduates to pre-professional seniors and graduate students. In this quasi-experimental research, the researchers reviewed student electronic portfolios (N=75) from two large universities created between 2006 and 2008 to determine the percentage of students updating their portfolios. The results of the analysis indicate that 93.3% of the students did not make changes to their electronic portfolios after the semester in which it was created. Based upon this analysis the researchers contend that sequence must be considered.