Evaluating continuous assessment quality in competence-based education online : the case of the e-Folio

Abstract

The pedagogical model, in use at Universidade Aberta (UAb) since 2007, is based on four cornerstones: student-centered learning; flexibility; interaction; digital inclusion. The cornerstone of digital inclusion is particularly important in the context of a fully virtual learning environment such as the one offered at UAb. The article was the result of a research project developed at the Distance Education Laboratory (LE@D – Laboratório de Educação a Distância) of UAb, focused on assessment issues, namely the two main types of instruments (e-folios and p-folios) used in undergraduate fully online courses at UAb. The research work developed by the team (Alda Pereira; Isolina Oliveira; Luís Tinoca; Lúcia Amante; Maria de Jesus C. Relvas; Maria do Carmo T. Pinto; Darlinda Moreira), whose members produced this paper, was particularly focused on the e-folio which a) is a short digital document; b) should clearly demonstrate the student’s acquired or developed given competence; c) may include a critical reflection about the student’s own learning, or a report about field work, or a problem solving activity, or a reading review, or the production of an artifact. Two main research questions were therefore asked, as a basis for both the whole project and this paper: 1) what relationship is there between the concept of competence being used in the e-folios and our current working definition? 2) what are the main characteristics of the e-folios? The research is based on the analysis of a pool of 35 e-folios collected within a sample of volunteer teachers, representing seven different scientific areas (education; languages; culture; literature; natural sciences; economy; documental sciences), preceded by a group discussion and clarification period around the concept of competence, and followed up by the creation of an analysis grid centered on the following criteria: the course competences; the e-folio competences; types of competences; the assignment; types of task; assessment criteria; instructions; resources; timetable; and structure. From the analysed e-folios, it becomes clear that the assessed competences were all framed by the concept of competence assumed by this research group, although they are not always presented with a clear formulation; it also becomes clear that the most valued type of competence was “problem solving”, with a recurrent use of textual based resources, and that there were several interpretations of what an e-folio may be