ELP Teaching + Learning Benefits

Over the past decade, research has indicated that reflective practice in learning is critical to students’ success and intellectual growth. The electronic learning portfolio, (also called “e-portfolio” and “ELP”), is a tool that universities widely use to enhance and increase opportunities for students can connect their varied learning, both in and out of the classroom, integrating all of the parts of their education. While the portfolio concept derives from the arts and architecture, the implementation and use of an ELP tool throughout a students’ education allows them to connect-the-dots between the knowledge they’ve already gained, what they are learning in each of their courses and in co-curricular activities each semester, and over the course of their studies.

The learning portfolio is, therefore, a personal space for students to establish an authentic representation of themselves as learners as they progress through their education.

The focus of the learning portfolio is reflection. Students use this tool to look across their many courses, semesters, assignments, papers, projects, and out of class experiences to find connections among the varied educational activities they participate in. The learning portfolio is a way for students to examine their own progress and performance, to share their work with their faculty and peers, and to learn how to tell the story of their time at the university.