Electronic portfolios: Tools for supporting the teacher's need for assessment and the student's need for deep learning.

The purpose of this thesis was to examine the question Can electronic portfolios be used to support the teacher's need for assessment and the students' need for deep learning? Students (n=12) in a grade 11/12 Comparative Civilizations course built electronic portfolios. One was a working portfolio and the other was a showcase portfolio. All assignments were assessed and stored in their working portfolios. Students then selected work that they believed best met the prescribed learning outcomes for the course and stored this work in their showcase portfolios. Quantitative data gathered from a five-point Likert scale questionnaire, and qualitative data extracted from a personal reflective journal, interviews with six students, and student written comments on self-evaluations forms. The data revealed that electronic portfolios can be used to support both the teacher's need for assessment and the students' need for deep learning. --P. ii.