The Learning Portfolio: Reflective Practice for Improving Student Learning by John Zubizarreta
Reviewed by Barbara Wilkinson, Center for Excellence in Teaching & Learning, University at Albany, SUNY

The Learning Portfolio: Reflective Practice for Improving Student Learning by John Zubizarreta provides a rationale for using student learning portfolios as a culminating experience for a course or program. Part 1 introduces the benefits of learning portfolios. Part 2, the largest section, presents models of portfolio implementation, including descriptions of programs, roles of faculty and students, reasons for creating a portfolio, and student experiences associated with the process. Part 3 offers a collection of sample portfolios. Part 4 delivers a collection of materials used in setting criteria and assessment guidelines for portfolios.

Learning portfolios have diverse educational uses. Gronlund (2003) suggests that a student portfolio can show the following:

Learning progress over time.

Student's current best work.

Comparison of best work to past work.

Development of self-assessment skills.

Development of reflective learning.

Individual's level and pace of work.

Clear evidence of learning to parents and others.

The amount of teacher-student collaboration involved.

(Gronlund, 2003, p. 158).

Zubizarreta focuses` on a subset of this list, the use of student learning portfolios for critical reflection and collaboration between teacher and student. In particular, the focus is on student reflection of the content learned and of oneself as a learner (p. 8), and of the added benefits a mentor provides in the collaborative process of developing a learning portfolio (p. 12).

The reflective narrative—where the student describes what was learned, why it was valuable, and ways to improve future learning (p. 28)—forms an essential component in any learning portfolio. Portfolio documents are selected to provide evidence for this reflective narrative. This process highlights the relative importance of the two components that comprise the portfolio. Similar to a teaching portfolio, the primary component is the reflective narrative. It drives the decisions as to which documents to include. Zubizarreta has provided a table of sample purposes, themes, and evidence to illustrate this point. For example, if the purpose of the learning portfolio is improvement, the listed possible themes are development, reflective inquiry; focus on goals, and philosophy of learning. Suggested evidence includes drafts, journals, online threaded discussion, emails, statement of goals, classroom assessments and research notes (p. 32). This is contrasted with the guidelines offered by others who first focus on which documents to include, and then ask students to prepare reflective pieces for each of them.

A student's collaborators may vary. Some suggested by Zubizarreta include:  mentors who are teachers, students who have been trained in various skills related to their mentor role, and an entire learning community the student elects to participate in (p. 36). The various models of successful use of learning portfolios illustrate these forms of collaboration, as well as various roles that learning portfolios can play in the student's college experience.

The purpose of a student learning portfolio also varies. As Tanya Augsburg from Arizona State University and Catherine M. Wehlburg from Texas Christian University illustrate, the portfolio is particularly useful in helping students make connections between individual courses from various departments.

Missing from the examples of learning portfolio models and practical materials is an example of criteria that may be used to assess student performance on the learning that resulted from developing a learning portfolio. Although Zubizarreta states that the focus of the student learning portfolios is on critical reflection, several examples of evaluation forms included checklists of items to be included in the portfolio, and ratings of aesthetic qualities. Descriptions and examples of evaluation tools that may be used in measuring student's critical reflection are needed. Coincidentally, one such example of an improvement portfolio is provided by Gronlund (2003). It includes a four point rating scale, from outstanding to unsatisfactory progress, to be used for evaluating students on their improvement in the following areas:

Understanding of concepts

Application of information

Reasoning ability

Writing skills

Speaking skills

Problem-solving skills

Performance skills

Computer skills

Self-assessment skills

Reflection skills

Work-study skills

Independent learning

(Gronlund, 2003, p. 165).

This list may also be used to rate students' reflections on each of these areas in their critical narratives.

References

Gronlund, N. E. (2003). Assessment of Student Achievement, Seventh Edition. New York: Pearson Education, Inc.