CONTEXT The move towards competence-based medical education has created a need for instruments that support and assess competence development. Portfolios seem suitable but mixed reports of their success are emerging. METHODS To examine the effectiveness of portfolios, we searched PubMed and EMBASE using the keyword 'portfol*', PsychInfo and ERIC using the keywords 'portfol*' and 'medical educ...

In 1990, Miller wrote that no tools were available for assessment of what a learner does when functioning independently at the clinical workplace (Miller 1990 ). 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 th...

Electronic portfolios (e-portfolios) are a paradigm in constructivist e-learning. They are capable of involving students in deep learning while serving as a meaningful way for both students and faculty to engage in outcomes-based assessment. E-portfolios have been shown to be a valid way to document student progress, encourage greater student involvement in the learning process, showcase work s...

AIM Portfolios are often used as an instrument with which to stimulate students to reflect on their experiences. Research has shown that working with portfolios does not automatically stimulate reflection. In this study we addressed the question: What are the conditions for successful reflective use of portfolios in undergraduate medical education? METHODOLOGY/RESEARCH DESIGN: We designed a por...

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of portfolios and conferencing techniques on Iranian EFL learners' writing skill. The experiment involved Iranian intermediate students that were randomly assigned to two experimental groups and one control group. The participants of the first experimental group were asked to provide portfolios of their 4 paragraphs during the course ...