INVESTIGATING PORTFOLIO PRACTICE: SEARCHING FOR COMPETENCY THROUGH A REFLECTIVE LENS

The purpose of this pilot study stems from the need for occupational therapy educators to critically evaluate the use of traditional and electronic portfolios as assessment methods to provide evidence of student learning. The Accreditation Council of Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) mandates that occupational therapy educators provide documented evidence of student learning. Under increasing pressure of accountability, many occupational therapy educators have implemented student learning portfolios as an effective way to document knowledge acquisition, clinical reasoning, skill competency, and student self assessment. Currently there is an insufficient amount of empirical research on how occupational therapy students perceive the use and value of portfolios for reflective and professional development purposes (Funk, 2007). Even less research is available on its value and ability to effectively assess student learning in occupational therapy (Crist, Wilcox, & McCarron, 1998).
This pilot study seeks to: 1) examine how graduate occupational students and faculty at Salem State College perceive the electronic portfolio process and how it compares to the traditional portfolio process in producing summative evidence-based learning outcomes; 2) examine the extent of improvement in students’ perceived level of preparation in the six student learning objective strands; 3) explore students’ perceptions of the reflective learning process and use of portfolios for professional development 4) investigate the Task Stream E-folio software for utilization at Salem State College; 5) examine faculty’s perceptions of value of capstone portfolios for continued professional development . The use of portfolios for assessment purposes is evolving in occupational therapy education, and both traditional and electronic portfolio methods need further investigation. This study will explore the effectiveness of both kinds of portfolios in providing evidence of student learning while examining student and faculty perceptions of the benefits of portfolio use.