E portfolio as an alternative assessment tool for students with learning differences

Abstract

The unprecedented technological and social changes, caused by the Fourth Industrial Revolution, demand that nobody be left behind and all learners be catered for equally, respecting the principles of inclusion (Collins & Halverson, 2018). However, worldwide, more than 700 million people with dyslexia and learning differences experience failure and marginalization due to standardized testing, which tends to devalue their out-of-the-box mindset (Washburn et al., 2011). According to the National Research Council (2001), an effective way to promote equity in education and optimize learning, as well as equip students for their future challenges, is to reflect on and restructure the assessment methods. In this vein, the purpose of the present research is to explore the impact of alternative assessment in the provision of holistic learning conditions. Therefore, e-portfolio was introduced as a research tool in an afternoon EFL class for students with learning differences (n=20 students) in Greece. The learners’ active engagement in the self-evaluation processes, the ongoing conferences between the teacher and each student gave insight into the learning progress and the in-time, constructive feedback comprise the strategies followed in this pilot study, aiming at investigating the learners’ emotional reinforcement, change of attitude towards learning English, as well as their improvement in the target language. Given the research findings, the e-portfolio enabled the students to employ both cognition and metacognition to prove their level of knowledge, adopt self-regulation strategies to boost their learning curves and enhance their self-development, indicating the efficiency of the tool.