Vol. 10 No. 17 (2017): Portfolio, refleksion og feedback

This issue of LOM (the Danish abbreviation for "Learning, Education, Media") focuses on the portfolio and its various applications in upper secondary education and higher education. We are looking for articles covering the breadth of potentials and support methods for the portfolio. We also welcome articles in a wide range of genres, including articles on existing experiences with the use of the portfolio method, reviews of research and books on the portfolio method, evaluations of its effects and quality in relation to educational challenges, pedagogical innovations, and experiments with the method, and more.

In recent years, the portfolio has become an integrated part of the education system at various levels, serving as a tool for learners to document and reflect on their understanding of their own learning. For educators, the portfolio can help create coherence and progression in teaching and provide insights into the learners' learning outcomes. As an evaluation tool, the idea behind the portfolio is to make learning visible in a broad sense and thereby open up for nuanced evaluation of the learner's development, as well as facilitate feedback.

Progression can be related to many aspects: the development of either subject knowledge within disciplines, across disciplines, or in different application contexts, or the development of more implicit knowledge such as socialization into the education system, well-being, or motivation. Furthermore, there are many different understandings of progression, with a central distinction between linear and planned progression on one hand and more process-oriented or circular progression on the other. The question is, therefore, what specific opportunities are associated with the portfolio.

Reflection is also a multifaceted concept with many subcategories or related concepts such as 'critical reflection,' 'reflective thinking,' 'reflective awareness,' 'self-reflection,' 'reflection in action,' 'reflection on action,' 'metacognition,' 'meta-learning,' etc. Once again, it is crucial to illuminate how the potential of the portfolio can be understood in relation to these concepts and what opportunities this provides.

The potential of the portfolio seems broadly grounded and can be supported by various technologies: blogs, wikis, virtual folders, dedicated portfolio tools, etc.

In this themed issue, we seek to address the following issues, preferably with evaluations of specific portfolio courses as a basis:

- Definition: What can a portfolio be, and what is its role in various pedagogical contexts? Applications: What are the possible applications of the portfolio as a form of learning, teaching, and assessment?

- Quality: What is the quality and effectiveness of the portfolio method for learning and teaching?

- Technology: What technologies support the creation and use of the portfolio, and what is the potential of different technologies?

- Integration of Feedback: Feedback can be organized in various ways – self-feedback, peer-feedback, teacher feedback – and can have different focuses – on achievements, processes, and developments within an academic field. How can feedback be integrated into the portfolio?

- Progression: How can the link between the portfolio and progression be understood?

- Reflection: How is the learner's reflection supported in portfolio courses, and what is the significance of reflection for the learning outcome?