Understanding adolescents’ e-Portfolio assessment literacy: Compilation, Conception, and Emotion

Alternative assessment has become commonplace since the turn of the century when assessment reforms were high on the agenda. E-Portfolio assessment is one prominent form of technology-assisted alternative assessment synergizing both language learning and assessment within a digital environment. In research, there is no shortage of empirical e-Portfolio studies. Nonetheless, these studies focus either on teacher competence in technology integration or on student learning outcomes after participation in various e- Portfolio programmes. To fill this void, this study intends to understand how 54 adolescent learners compiled, perceived, and felt about their e-Portfolio development journeys. The conceptual framework was derived from Yancey’s (2019) perspectives of how U.S. students created, curated, reflected upon, and published their e- Portfolio artefacts. The study, conducted in two Hong Kong secondary schools, adopted an exploratory case study design by utilizing an online questionnaire, student focus-group interviews, student e-Portfolio contents, and teacher individual interviews as instruments. The findings revealed that the majority of student participants enjoyed their portfolio compilation experience despite initial technological issues. They thought highly of the formative benefits of e-Portfolio assessment as it was a better alternative to help improve writing. Nonetheless, some students felt that the e-Portfolio contents should be less restrictive and allowed more leeway for originality and self-reflection. Concerning students’ emotion, they were positive about engaging in self- and peer-assessment tasks, yet they were anxious to disseminate work publicly owing to the privacy issue. Pedagogical implications and recommendations for sustaining adolescent learners’ e-Portfolio assessment literacy are discussed.