A portfolio can be defined as a technique of recapitulation, compilation, and collection of documents (reports, exercises, solved problem sets, maps, recordings, etc.) that allow students to demonstrate the completion of class objectives as well as the acquisition of the professional competencies needed in order to successfully complete the subject.  

In this sense, the portfolio is a method of teaching, learning and evaluation through which the teacher can judge the abilities of the students within the frame of a particular subject or unit of study.  In this way, the professor can evaluate how each student has benefitted from the course, what process he or she has followed to reach his or her goals, and can appreciate not only what has been learned, but also the students’ learning capacities and abilities. During the compilation of the portfolio, the students, in turn, are conscious of their effort and achievements in relation to the learning objectives, as well as the evaluation criteria that have been established by the professor.      

The professor’s task is to provide comments and suggestions that guide the student in his or her process of familiarization with the material, correcting any possible errors or misconceptions.  

Bibliography regarding this methodology i

BARBERÀ, E. (2005). La evaluación de competencias complejas: la práctica del portafolio. En Educere La Revista Venezolana de Educación, año 9, nº 31.

BARRET, H. (2000). Create your own Electronic Porfolio. Learning &leading with technology. Vol. 27, 7, pp. 14-21. Click here

Examples of implementation of this methodology

CHRISTY, A.D. (1998). The use of student portfolios in engineering instruction. Journal of Engineering Education, April 1998. 

GRACIA MORÁN, J. y PINAR SEPÚLVEDA, Mª A. (2009). Una experiencia práctica de evaluación por competencias mediante el uso del portafolio del estudiante y su impacto a. Revista de Formación e Innovación Educativa Universitaria. Vol. 2, nº 2, 210-220

REDONDO LÓPEZ, J.M.; ORTÍN SOLER, F.; VINUESA MARTÍNEZ, L. (2005). Aplicación de técnicas de evaluación alternativas para la enseñanza de la programación. I Jornadas de Docencia de la EUITIO.

SALA, D. (2007). A portfolio for a Project-based learning telecommunications engineering. A case study. ePortfolio International Conferences, Maastricht, The Netherlands, 16-19 October 2007.

UPCHURCH, R. L. & SIMS-KNIGHT, J.E. (2002). Portfolio use in software engineering education: an experience Report. 32nd ASEE/ IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference.