Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
10th International Congress on Curriculum and Instruction, Ankara, Türkiye, 26 Ekim - 28 Kasım 2022, ss.1270-1275
Assessment can be briefly defined as the process of gathering proof of a learner's knowledge and skills. It is inevitable for a number of reasons, including comparing students to one another, assisting teachers in determining the effectiveness of their instruction, determining learner needs, and evaluating oneself (Tsagari & Banarji, 2016). Regarding time and purpose, there are different types of assessment. To assess productive language abilities (speaking, writing), alternative assessment approaches have emerged recently depending on the learner's needs and technological development (Bagley, 2010). One of them is portfolios assessing learners over a period by collecting evidence, instead of assessing their performance at a specific point of time (Apple & Shimo, 2004) thus they provide a continual and continuing record of students' advancement (Lam, 2016) telling in-depth narratives.
Web technology based innovations have been shaping education and with them, portfolios have taken a new form, online portfolios which are a more personal and digitized collection of students’ works. In a technological environment, students can cultivate their learning and knowledge through collaborative works and peer learning (Beckers, Dolmans, and Van Merrinboer, 2016). The present study attempts to discover undergraduate students’ experiences concerning the implementation of online portfolios in writing skills assessment at the English preparatory program in a state university in Istanbul, Turkey.
Methodology
The present study can be specified as a qualitative single case study focusing on the students’ experiences of the use of online portfolios in the assessment of writing skills within the bounded case chosen: English language preparatory program at a state university’s school of foreign languages in Istanbul.
Convenience sampling method was operated to select the sample group. The study group covers 17 students who were in their first year of college. The ages ranged between 18 to 20.
A semi-structured one-on-one interview and a focus group interview protocols were employed. Protocols comprised nine open-ended questions on traditional and alternative assessment, benefits and drawbacks of online writing portfolios and receiving feedback. The focus group interview was conducted via Zoom.
For the analysis of the interview data, a qualitative content analysis method was executed. Beforehand the analysis, six one-on-one interviews and one focus group interview were transcribed and translated into English. As the initial step, the transcriptions were reviewed numerous times to avoid missing any data. Memos and notes were taken to produce codes. For triangulation, another researcher was asked to code one of the transcriptions.
Results / Expected Outcomes
Findings revealed that the adoption of online portfolios in writing skills assessment at the English preparatory program contributes to learners emotionally, cognitively, socially and their language development. Students emphasized the emotional dimension of portfolios which are self-evaluation, self-confidence, self-awareness, increased motivation and less anxiety. Next, they mentioned the metacognitive aspects which are the development of metacognitive skills, the improvement of research and inquiry skills and student engagement. Another theme is the social dimension. Final theme is language development including improved writing skills in mother tongue as well.
Keywords: Higher Education, Language Teaching