Learning with Digital Portfolios: Teacher Candidates Forming an Assessment Identity

Abstract

This study focuses on how the use of digital portfolios in teacher education can support teacher candidates to shift their understanding of assessment as they form their assessment identity. The study was in the context of a changing curriculum and assessment practices promoted in British Columbia. We draw on data from a cohort of teacher candidates in the first term of a 16-month post-degree teacher education program, where they created a digital portfolio across multiple courses as part of their final assessment to be used in an exit interview with instructors and teaching professionals from the field. Narratives of teacher candidates’ experiences were collected to shed light on their changing understanding of assessment for learning practices and their emerging teacher identity as assessors promoted by the digital portfolio process. Significance of using digital portfolios to support their process of becoming teachers is focused in conclusion of the paper.