AMEE Medical Education Guide No.11 (revised): Portfolio-based learning and assessment in medical education

MAGGIE CHALLIS
1999 Medical Teacher  
Portfolios are not new, but their use in initial and continuing professional development in medicine is still in its infancy. In this context, this guide has the following aims: to give the background and an educational rationale for portfolio-based learning and assessment in medical education; to examine how and where portfolios have been used for professional development both within and beyond medicine; to highlight issues which will need to be addressed by those wishing to implement
more » ... based learning, and suggest ways of dealing with them. It does not attempt to address the particular constraints or resource issues that face practitioners in any educational initiative, as these are far too many and too complex for a publication of this type. However, it does provide evidence of a range of ways in which opportunities have been created and developed by colleagues in establishing frameworks within which individual learning can be planned, documented and assessed.Whilst not a panacea for all learning contexts, portfolios have much to offer both learners and teachers as we move forward into the new world of revalidation, clinical governance, and increased accountability. Rationale and development of portfolios What is a portfolio? ª A professional development portfolio is a collection of material, made by a professional, that records, and re¯ects on, key events and processes in that professional's careerº (Hall, 1992, p. 81). It is usually paper based, but it may also include anything that provides appropriate evidence of learning and achievement, such as video or audio recordings, artefacts or photographs. This evidence is gathered together, and possibly presented to another person for review, with a particular purpose in mind. Because the range of purposes is very large, there is an equally large range of structures and complexity of portfolio in use across professions, and even within medical education. Thus some will be little more than a log book recording speci® c activities, while others offer an in-depth and long-term perspective on professional development over an extended period. Whatever the guiding purpose behind the portfolio, it should be clear to both the learner and the person making judgements about the portfolio. Some portfolios may be developed in order to demonstrate the process of progression, while others will be assessed against speci® c targets of achievement. Some will be essentially private documents, for personal review only, while others will need to be open to public scrutiny. It may therefore be appropriate for some learners to create a long-ter m, personal development portfolio, which shows breadth of learning. From this, items can be selected to demonstrate learning that meets the standards of achievement required by other authorities. Portfolios will normally be integrally related to a personal or professional learning plan.This constitutes the framework within which portfolio development takes place, and provides a statement of the outcomes that the portfolio seeks to demonstrate. In all cases, the portfolio remains the practical and intellectual property of the person who develops it. In order to maximize the learning potential of portfolio development, the learner therefore has to take responsibility for its creation, maintenance and appropriateness for purpose. There are many bene® ts that arise from the use of portfolio-based learning that may not be encompassed in other forms of educational activity: · it recognizes and encourages the autonomous and re¯ective learning that is an integral part of professional education and development; · it is based in the real experience of the learner, and so enables the consolidation of the connection between theory and practice; · it allows a range of learning styles to be used according to the preferences of the learner; · it enables assessment within a framework of transparent and declared criteria and learning objectives; · it can accommodate evidence of learning from a range of different contexts; · it provides a process for both formative and summative assessment, based on either personally derived or externally governed learning objectives; · it provides a model for lifelong learning and continuing professional development. The remainder of this guide will explore these points, giving examples of how and where portfolio-based learning has been used in both medicine and other professions, and locating the practice within a model of adult learning and cognitive development.
doi:10.1080/01421599979310 fatcat:c66vydh7v5g7xma5s4em3bplem