The use of E-portfolio for self-reflection to promote learning: a case of TVET students

The power of reflection is highly acknowledged to promote learning and develop expertise, yet reflective skills are rarely explicitly taught in schools. As a result, encouraging reflection among learners is often difficult to accomplish, especially in the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) setting. By employing the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) construct, this research investigated the use of structured reflection through digital learning portfolios (e-portfolio) and explores its relation to students’ learning. Using mixed methods design, this study examined a group of students from one of the TVET institutions in Brunei over an eight-week period as they practiced reflection through e-portfolio designed to guide the students to reflect upon their own learning. The students’ e-portfolio notes were converted to Students’ Reflective Scores (SRS) as a measure of level of reflection. The data gathered revealed that although student performance can have a moderate effect on students’ level of reflection, building structured opportunities to reflect and integrate learning can develop students’ ability to reflect better. The quality of students’ reflection had significantly increased throughout the study period as more students exhibited higher-order thinking in their e-portfolio. Meanwhile, the key themes emerging from the semi-structured interview data revealed that while students see reflection in detached ways, the intervention had provided the opportunity for students to enhance both their cognitive and metacognitive skills. The students’ responses also implied that operational feasibility of e-portfolio for Brunei TVET might depend on teachers’ input, students’ motivation, type of e-portfolio software chosen, and connectivity setting.