Training University Teachers on the Use of the ePortfolio in Teaching and Assessment

Higher education is increasingly called upon to respond to the need for educational innovations promoting graduate employability and lifelong learning (European Higher Education Area, 2012, 2015). To achieve this, students must progressively become able to reflect both on their learning and their potential to improve and plan their own educational and professional development accordingly (D’Andrea & Gosling, 2005). The portfolio, now used in many university courses worldwide, is a tool that contributes to responding to these needs. A study of literature on this subject indicates that the portfolio’s effectiveness during the teaching-learning and assessment processes is dependent on the ability of teachers to master this tool. It follows that, in order to facilitate the effective implementation and use of the portfolio in universities, teachers need to receive suitable training. This paper presents the characteristics and results of a training course on the use of the portfolio (50 participants). The course was part of an extensive training project for university teachers in the University of Turin’s IRIDI program that was aimed at promoting the improvement and innovation of university teaching. The results of the training course show a higher level of competency in creating a portfolio, and a higher level of willingness to introduce it into teaching.