Learners' Perceptionsof Portfolio
Assessment andAutonomous Learning
i i^H

Bh

Etsuko Shimo

Miyazaki Municipal University^v^

shimo@miyazaki-mu.ac.jp

Portfolio use hasgreat potential topromote learner autonomy. To understand this potential better,I explore two questions in a university-level English class: (a) How do learners perceive portfolio
assessment as a meanstopromote autonomous or independent learning?, and (b) How canportfolio
assessment promote learner autonomy more effectively? I found that many students appreciatedthebenefits ofportfolio use, such as thesense of responsibility, ongoing evaluation, andfreedom inwhatto learn. It seems thatportfolio useprovides greater opportunity for regular feedback from theteacher, self- andpeer-evaluation (including goal-setting), as well as deeper reflection on learning.
Various portfolio tasks—(a) optional tasks which allow students to make choices, (b) decision
making tasks which enable students to plan and organize their learning, and (c) language tasks
related to both in- and outside-class activities—all help to encourage learner autonomy better. It
is also important for a teacher to take students' reactions or opinions into accountand modify thetasks when necessary. I conclude by looking at how such task types can be better integrated into
future portfolios.
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A u t o n o m y You Ask;

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SHIM O

Introduction

I began to realize thepossible effectiveness ofportfolios onlearner autonomy when I was
studying in theTESOL Master's program at theState University of New York, at Buffalo. Portfolio
creation was a partial requirement oftwo courses I was taking, TESOL Practicum and Teaching
Reading in a Second Language Context. While working on my own portfolios and observing myclassmates preparing theirs, I felt thatportfolios were helping us to monitor ourlearning better
andbeeven more responsible for ourstudies—in short, tolearn more autonomously.
Realizing the effectiveness of portfolios, I started to implement portfolio use extensively
in myown language classes. In this chapter, I will report one case from an English class at aJapanese university The discussion will be based on the students' statements about portfolio
assessment, which I hope will provide teachers with insights into more effective portfolio use.
Although portfolio use has not yetbecome a substantial assessment or instructional tool at any
level of education in Japan, I hope that my qualitative exploration of portfolios can help make amodest contribution to promoting them further.
What is Learner Autonomy?

The term autonomy is used differently according to context (Benson &Voller, 1997,pp. 1-2).
In this chapter, I use the term to mean the learners' ability to plan ways of learning, choosematerials, monitor their learning process, and evaluate their progress (cf. Wenden, 1991).
In order for learners to be autonomous, they need to engagein independent learning. Sheerin(1997) describes factors in independent learning, which I took into consideration when designing
the portfolio tasks. These factors include the disposition and ability to (a) "analyse one's own
strengths/weaknesses, [and] language needs," (b) "set achievable targets and overall objectives," (c)"plan a programme of work to achieve the objectives set," (d) "exercise choice, select materials andactivities," (e) "work without supervision,"and (f) "evaluateone's own progress" (p. 57).
What are Portfolios?

O'Malley and Valdez Pierce (1996),while saying that portfolios can mean different things todifferent teachers, illustrate the following basic three types: showcase portfolios, collections
portfolios, and assessment portfolios. According to those authors, "showcase portfolios are
typically used to display a student's best work to parents and school administrators,"whereas
collections portfolios (also calledworking folders), "literally contain all of a student's work,"and "assessment portfolios are focused reflections of specific learning goals that containsystematic collections of student work, student self-assessment, and teacher assessment" (p.
37). Basically, assessment portfolios are differentfrom the others in that students go over theirprevious and present work, and choose items to put into their folder according to certain
criteria. The items are usually not only the best work, as is the case of showcase portfolios, but
include various kinds of work to show ongoing learning processes, too. This type of portfolio
was used for the portfolio assessment in the class discussed in this chapter.
Many researchers agree that portfolio use can promote learner responsibility andindependence. According to Smolen, Newman, Wathen, and Lee (1995, p. 22),"one of the
Acknowledgements

Many thanks to all those insp ring people who have given me insi ghts into this project frc mvarious viewpoints, especially to the Anthology project members and two otr er friends ofmine.

LD SIG 2003 A n t h o l o g y —177 * Learners' Perceptions

major advantages of the process of collecting and assessing students'performance is that it
empowers students to become partners and decision makers in their learning." Smolen et al.
(1995) introduce one example approach in which goal-setting and self-assessment techniques
were promoted through portfolio creation. Theypoint out that the assessment partnershipthat students engage in helps them to be more independent learners. Many other studies, while
conducted in different contexts, also suggest that portfolio use will help learners take more
responsibility and control over their own learning (Antonek, McCormick, & Donato, 1997;
Gottlieb, 1995; McNamara & Deane, 1995; Mineishi, 2002; O'Malley & Valdez Pierce, 1996;
Santos, 1997). In fact, when considering what the portfolio is, Paulson, Paulson and Meyer(1991) assert that"... a portfolio is a portfolio when it provides a forum that encourages
students to develop the abilities needed to become independent, self-directed learners" (p.
63). In other words, portfolio use should be planned and integrated to help learners take more
responsibility for their learning and develop better autonomous learning.
In addition to this sense of responsibility, students can experience meaningful growth throughreflection in the process of making portfolios, whatever types of portfolios are used (cf. Mineishi,
2002; O'Malley &Valdez Pierce, 1996;Santos, 1997).Santos (1997) cites one of her students'
remarks: Without reflection, the portfolio remains merely a "folder of my all paper" (p. 10).
Reflection can be understood as one of the most significant features of the creation of a portfolio.
Learner reflection leads to self-evaluation. Through creating a portfolio, students are
required to examine, analyze, and evaluate their work and progress, so that they can learn
how to assess themselves. Moreover, learners can develop the ability to set achievable goals,
since goal-setting and self-assessment are closely related. Smolen et al. (1995) point out thatonce learners learn to examine their work criticallyand judge it against certain standards, they
will learn how to set reasonable goals for themselves. Similarly,Antonek et al. (1997) report,
in their study of student teachers' portfolios, that self-reflection helped the student teachers
to develop their professional identity. Perhaps their point can also be extended to language
learners. Reflection on their own learning processes may lead to their growth as independentand responsible learners and even as human beings—as learning beings.

To summarize, portfolios are collections of students' work which allow them to enjoy
responsibility and independence in their own learning in the process of preparing theircollections of work. Learner reflection is an important element in the process, which helps
learners to monitor and evaluate their learning processes.
The Study

Study Questions

Although it is clearly possible to saysimplythat portfolio use promotes learner autonomy, theimportant question is how we can make it do so. I posed two questions here:
1. How do learners perceive portfolio assessment as a means to promote autonomousor independent learning?

2. How can portfolio assessment promote learner autonomy in language learning more
effectively?

Investigating learners' perception of portfolio use is important because how learners think

and feel about learning materials is closely related to their learningoutcomes. I expected that
their perceptions would provide useful implicationsfor the better use of portfolios.

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Shimo

Local Context

Portfolio assessment was integratedinto an English as a foreign language class for Japanese
university freshmen. The class consisted of 17 female and 25 male students who were all
Applied Biologymajors. Their English level was not very high. Many of them had failed tomaster or had forgotten high-school level English. However, they generally showed interest, andtheir attendance in class was relatively good throughout the semester, with a maximum of three
students being absent from any given class except the last class.1 The class focused mainly on

enhancing the students' English communication ability, with more emphasis on listening andspeaking, but reading and writing activities were also provided. This was because I consideredbeing able to use integrated skills important for communication.
Thirteen 90-minute classes were given in the semester. Questionnaires to survey what
the students thought of portfolio assessment (see Appendices A and B on the Autonomy
You Ask! website) were provided in Weeks 10 and 13 (i.e., the last class). Questions were
written in the students' first language, Japanese, and they wrote their responses in Japanese tolessen constraints in expressing themselves. Forty-one responses were collected for the firstquestionnaire, and 35 for the second. Responses were kept anonymous.
Tasks for the Portfolio

The following tasks were prepared, with instructions given at the beginning of the semester:
Task 1: Choose two favorite conversations among those you have created in class.
Task 2:

Write three reports about English movies you have watched at home.

Task 3:Make a list of useful expressions that you came across in class and that you
would like to learn by heart.

In Task 1, students created a conversation in pairs and submitted it to me in written form
at the end of the class. I commented on each piece of work in terms of both content andexpressions, and shared good pieces with the whole class in the next class meeting. Task 2 wasamended after consideration of the feedback from the students and ongoing evaluation of theirEnglish languageperformance in activities in and outside class. The revised instruction wasto write two movie reports, plus one other movie report or report on an English song of theirown choice.The students were to submit the first movie report to me so that I could evaluate

their work and give feedback. Theywere also encouraged to turn in and revise their otherreports before including them as the final productin their portfolios. For Task 3,theywere told
to make their vocabulary list more helpful for them in remembering the expressions by adding
example sentences and/or explanations of usage.
Eachtask was prepared with the following objectives, many of which relate to Sheerin's(1997) characteristics of independent learning:
Task 1: Two Favorite Conversations

1) Students will evaluate their progress and/or analyzetheir own strengths and weaknesses
by lookingback on their work in the process of choosing their two favorite pieces.

2) Students will actively engage in the classroom activity (conversation creation), as thistask is based on such activity.
Task 2: Movie/Song Reports

1) Students will engage in learning activities outside the class, as this task is an outsideclass activity.

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Learners' Perceptions . .

2) Students will plan their own learning program, as this task allows the students acertain freedom to decide when and how they work on it.

3) Studentswill experience the freedom of choosing learningmaterials, as they canchoose movies or a song they like.

4) Students will analyze their level, as they have to find materials that suit their level.
5) Students will become aware of learning tools that they can make use of outside theclass.

Task 3: List of Useful Expressions

1) Students will experience a certain extent of freedom in choosing language to belearned, as they decide on expressions they would like to remember.
2) Students will set achievable goals in their learning, as they choose the expressions to
be consciously learned.
3) Students will engage in classroom activities more actively, as they have to make thelist based on what they cover in class.
The students were encouraged to revise the first products for both Tasks 1 and 2 based on
the teacher's feedback, and they were expected to evaluate their own progress and analyze theirstrengths and weaknesses in the process of comparing their earlier and later work (Tasks 1 and2), and in the process of making choices for their portfolios (Task 1). Regarding Task 3, students
made use of their own and classmates' work for Task 1, as well as other materials and activities

from the textbook. I explored my students' reactions to these tasks by using questionnaires.
Student Perceptions of the Portfolios

To answer my first research question (Howdo learners perceive portfolio assessment as a means
topromote autonomous or independent learning?), I would like to continue by sharing some of
my students' comments about portfolio assessment and learner autonomy. These are takenfrom their responses to the two questionnaires, and I have translated the students' Japanesecomments into English to convey accurately the original meaning. I will first present comments
pointing to active involvement with learning so that we can get a better view of their increased
sense of responsibility. We will then look more closely at the students' perspectives on therelationship between learner autonomy and portfolio use.
Portfolio Assessment and Students' Attitudes

Many of my students showed favorable attitudes toward portfolio assessment itself.They
appreciated it as ongoing evaluation throughout the semester, which cannot be done witha single, end-of-semester examination. Mineishi's (2002) study also indicates that her study
participants, Japanese university students, favored portfolio use. In addition, my Anthology
project first-stage partner, Steve Davies (personal communication, April 8, 2003) said, "Weintroduced the portfolio idea to the students today, and they seemed happy to do them,especiallywhen I told them they wouldn't be having any tests."
Students are likely to have the impression that a class without tests sounds easy. However,once they start working on their portfolios, they find it challenging. At the same time, they findit worthwhile. According to the survey, they seem to have developed positive attitudes towards
English learning due to the portfolio creation and therefore engaged in learning activities more
actively. My students' responses about portfolio creation and classroom activities include:—

Autonomy You

Aski

—

l8o

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SHIM O• I have become able consciously to use asmany new expressions we've learned aspossible
when creating conversations.

• I am especially conscious [aboutmaking a portfolio] when we make conversations
and when we writereports. In order to make a portfolio, I think I should not makea lukewarm one, andI engage in classroom activities, planning to make a productcompleted with high quality.

•

When we hadconversation practice in class, I was able to engage in the class, wondering
whether I could use the conversation as theonefor myportfolio.

•

When creating a conversation, Ifeel I should do well, because it is notjust mine.
[Author's note: The conversation may become one of the pieces in his partner's
portfolio.]

These comments indicate that the students participated with more attention and a higher
sense of responsibility in the activities that could be included in their portfolios later. They
were conscious about their portfolios as a final product, and they eagerly engaged in their workin progress.

Likewise, the students' responses to the following questions show their active involvementwith outside-class learning activities:•

When I had to writea 200 word report after watching a movie, [I was thinking about
myportfolio]. I've come to watch movies besides the homework, as I want toget moreused to English.

•

I remember [that I have to make a portfolio] while taking a rest at mypart-time work
place. When I watch movies, I try notto look at the subtitles though I don't understandthe meaning.

•

I've come to try to comprehend the conversation as much aspossible when I watch movies.

•

When I rent videos, I used toalways rent Japanese dubbed ones, butI'verecently rented
only subtitled ones. Subtitled ones are more fun asI occasionally come across expressions
I know. So, nowI enjoy two good points, pleasure in watching the movie andpleasure
about[English] language expressions.

It seems that the positive changes in the students' attitude are more related to the natureof the tasks than to the act of preparing a portfolio. However, the benefits of portfolio use
manifest themselves in its continuous production. Such sustained engagement continuously
encourages learners' active involvement in planning their learning program. One of mystudents neatly articulated this challenge when he/she ventured,"[making] a portfolio is toughfor those who cannot plan things''
A further factor which the students highlighted in their responses was the additional
freedom in choices and decisions which the portfolio assignments provided. This point appears
in comments such as the following:• When we have exams, it seems thatwe study only toget credits, butfor theportfolio, we
have to think ofEnglish sentences by ourselves, anditfeels that I amstudying English.

• Compared to tests, wecan study English more freely. (But, we've got to do a lotmore
than we dofor tests and so it's challenging.)•

We don't have a certain, setframe [about what tostudy] like tests and we can work
relatively freely, soI think it is notpainful to learn things by heart and think, so it's good.

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Learners'

Perceptions• Itis good that we do things on our own initiative instead ofdoing things aswe receive them.
Other positive comments about portfolio assessment include:• We can tell what and how wedid in class this semester just by a quick look [at theportfolio].
•

We canfeel a sense of achievement.

•

I've come to havemore time to expose myselfto English.

Such comments appear to show that portfolio assessment has enhanced the students' favorable
attitude towards learning English. We can see that this type of assessmentgave satisfaction to thestudents by providing them with ongoing evaluation processes, freedom in learning, and a senseof responsibility. In fact, activities that allow the students more freedom in using English or thatencouragethem to express their own ideas freely are possible in the form of tests,too. However,
portfolios have an advantage in that both teacher and student can be involved in assessment of alllearning processes. A further point is that portfolios can motivate students to engage in English
learning or use activities over a longer period of time, not just before the test takes place. Students
can thus continuously receive benefits from the portfolio creation.
Portfolio Use and Learner Autonomy

The students' responses to those questions probing their awareness of Sheerin's six factors of
independent learning are presented in Table 1 below. Using a 5-point Likert scale, students wereasked to indicate the strength of their agreement with a number of target questions: (1) I don't
think so at all. (2) I don't think so. (3) Neutral. (4) I think so. (5) I strongly think so.

Table 1 Students' Awareness of the Portfolio-Autonomy Relationship
Questions

1. Do you think that creating a portfolio has led
to independent or autonomous learning?
2. Did you analyze or think about yourstrengths and weaknesses in the process ofmaking your portfolio?
3. Did you set achievable targets and overall
objectives in the process of making yourportfolio?
4. Did you plan what you should do in orderto achieve the objectives set in the process ofmaking your portfolio?
5. Did you make your own choice of materials,
activities, and contents that you would use in
the process of making your portfolio?
6. Did you work without others' (yourteacher's) supervision in the process of making
your portfolio?
7. Did you evaluate your own progress inEnglish or think about it in the process ofmaking your portfolio?

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

*

Total

2

4

7

19

3

0

35

0

5

9

17

4

0

35

5

9

14

6

1

0

35

7

9

12

6

0

1

35

2

6

9

14

3

1

35

1

2

8

15

8

1

35

2

8

13

7

4

1

35

No response.

Autonomy You

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Shimo

A number of points can be made about the questionnaire results. First, the survey itself
seems to have helped the students to evaluate their strengths and weaknesses, but the students'
responses also showed their awareness of self-evaluation was not very strong. While many
students referred to their English language ability in written responses in the survey, scarcely
one third of the students answered that they evaluated their progress in English (Question 7).
Secondly, their awareness of goal-setting was not very strong, either (Questions 3 and 4); only
7 students answered that they (strongly) thought they had set achievable targets and overall
objectives, and 6 answered that they thought they had planned what they had to do in order toachieve the objectives.
Whereas quite a few students were not aware of existing independent-learning factors in theprocess of creating a portfolio, they provided insightful comments regarding how portfolio
assessment can promote autonomous or independent learning. For example, the students said
that portfolio use can do so because:•

Theact of thinking on our own and creating something on our own [the act of making
a portfolio] allows us to showourattitudes towards learning by the completeness [of the
final product, theportfolio], and allows us to discover ourselves;• I thought English was more fun when I could make my own choices and think for myself
than when we worked on provided questions withoutthinking much;• J looked up words with which I would like to express myselfin English in thedictionary
and I was able to learn those expressions. The hours I am exposed to English haveincreased.

These comments imply that the portfolio assessment succeeded in integrating thecharacteristics that Sheerin (1997) listed, namely making one's own choice in learning materials
and evaluating one's own progress.
On the other hand, several students were critical of its potential in promoting learnerautonomy. Sixstudents answeredthat"/ do not think so (at all)" to the question, "Do you thinkthat portfolio creation has led to independent or autonomous learning?" (See results (1) &(2) for Question 1 in the Table 1.) Three of them attributed their responses to their failingto complete the portfolio tasks satisfactorily (e.g., "because I didn't have time todo [the tasks]
in detail"), but one ironically pointed out another reason for his (or her) critical view of theportfolio, "Because [the portfolio] was something we wereforced to do. It isjustlike homework."
The other two students mentioned that they had found the tasks too easy, as they engagedin "more independence-promoting assignments" suchas writing a 200-word report once a week
in another English course.Therefore,the portfolio assessment did not help them developtheirautonomous learning. Most of the students in the class found the tasks quite demanding,but
more attention could havebeen paid to these students who found the tasks too easy. Givingthem
other optional tasks might have motivated them to workon outside-class learningactivities
more actively, and prevented them from just beingfrustrated by the easy requirements. At the
Anthology Writers' Retreat, Akiko Takagi and Stacey Vye suggested that I did not haveto limit the
number of movie/song reports,but rather just set the minimum required number. This had also
been suggested by one of my students in a questionnaire response.
Furthermore, a couple of students suggested that they wanted more freedom in what to do
for the portfolio, while many others appreciated the freedom in what to learn. For example,
one said that they could have written reports not just about movies or songs, but also aboutbooks or any topics interesting to them. The portfolio assignments could have better promoted
learner autonomy if they had provided tasks which allowed students more freedom in choices— LD SIG 2003 A n t h o l o g y

183* Learners' Perceptions

and decisions. One student said critically,"... you can't study autonomously anyway, ifyou don't
have interest in learning English first ofall." Choices and self-decisions may be able to enhance
students' interest. The next section discusses further the better use of portfolios.
For Better Use of Portfolios

Howcan portfolio assessment promote learner autonomy in language learning more effectively?
The previous discussion has already suggestedsome answers to this question (i.e., Research
Question 2). Furthermore, extensive idea exchanges with Steve Davies, who was then using
portfolio assessment in his Content-Based-Instruction class,together with feedback andopinions from other Anthology project members, have enabled me to approach this issue froma wider perspective.
How Much of the Framework Should the Teacher Provide?

The teacher is responsible for preparing a framework, specific guidelines, or requirements forthe portfolio, as he/she is the one who grades the students' work, usually with numerical values
and/or letter grades. However, if the teacher prepares too rigid a framework, it will deprive thestudents of their own personal responsibility. How much control should the teacher exert overthe portfolio creation? How specific should the teacher's guidelines be? To what extent should
the teacher decide on what the students should do for their portfolios?
As one of my students' critical comments on portfolios and learner autonomy implied,
portfolios should not be like homework, given one-way from the teacher as something thatstudents feel forced to do. Ideally, the teacher and students cooperatively decide what to do for
their portfolios (in class, too, as portfolio content should relate to classroom activities). In theprocess of making their own choices and decisions about tasks, students will find somethingthat stimulates their interests and will feel stronger personal involvement with the portfolio
creation. They may thus better develop learner autonomy.
I have realized the simple fact that portfolio tasks become student-centered activities when
they provide students with choices,self-decisions, and responsibility for learning. I havethen continuously integrated portfolio assessment into different teaching contexts, trying to
implement much more student-centered tasks, in which students get actively involved. In themeantime, however, I encountered another problem. I was faced with the dilemma that I always
took the initiative by proposing what the students should do, even though my purpose was toprovide student-centered activities and the activities appeared 'student-centered enough' to
involve the students' active participation.

Through exchanging ideas with the project members, however, I have come to think that
it is natural that the balance between the two features, student/teacher-centered and teacher/

student-directed, can be maintained differently according to local context. In the case of aclassroom with lessautonomous learners,student-centered activities may have to be prepared
as completely teacher-directed activities. Providing student-centered activities is the firststep towards eventually giving initiative to the students. The teacher has to transfer initiative
gradually or partially in the process of promoting learner autonomy. When the students
can work in completelystudent-directed and student-centered activities, they will have fully
developed learner autonomy (to the extent that they no longer need a classroom teacher!). The
shift from teacher-centered to student-centered, and the shift from teacher-directed to learner-

directed, do not occur at the same rate, but the former precedes the latter. The teacher cancontribute positively to the transformation by providing the students with choices and chances
for decision-making in their own learning.
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Shimo

At the same time, even though the teacher wants his/her students to take the initiative, it isalso often the case that the situation simply does not allow it. In quite a few cases, the teacher
has to make most of the decisions about what the students do because of various learner

factors, course requirements, and institutional constraints. If the students are not aware of what
they need to learn, the teacher cannot simply depend on what they want to do, as there may
be something they have to learn before that. Also, a teacher may often have to use textbooks
chosen by others. In addition, the school curriculum may not allow the teacher to do whateverhe/she would like to do.

In short, the answer to the question of how much of the framework the teacher should provide
varies from situation to situation. However, what is important is that the framework the teacher
provides for the portfolio allows the students a certain amount of freedom in what they do and lets
them feelthat they are in charge of their work. The portfolio framework must support studentcenteredness and promote student initiative,so that it will eventuallybecome student-directed.
What Kinds of Tasks Should be Included in the Portfolio?

The above discussion has led me to propose that the portfolio can better promote learnerautonomy when it includes the following items: (a) optional tasks which enable students tomake choices, (b) decision-making tasks which allow students to plan and organize theirlearning within them, and (c) language tasks related to both in- and outside-class activities.

Optional and decision-making tasks will promote students' personal and active involvement.
Personal or active involvement will lead to enhanced motivation and eventually to autonomous
learning. The students' responses in the survey show that they seem to work more activelyboth
in and outside the class if the activities can be included in their portfolios. Furthermore, if theportfolio is to be used for assessment for the class, in-class activities should definitely include
those which contribute to the portfolio in the end. Application / extension or outside-classtasks can also be helpful, as they encourage the students to work independently outside theclass and plan their learning program, although students willprobably need frequent or regularreminders and proper guidance in class.
Another keypoint is that tasksshould be adaptable. In other words, it is important fora teacher to consider students' reactions and opinions when preparing tasks. If the teacher
incorporates students' ideas into tasks, or if he/sheamends them after consideration of theirreaction to such tasks, the students will not find that things are just a one-way street controlled
by the teacher: They can become more motivated towards active learning.
How Should Assessment be Realized through the Portfolio?

Ongoing assessment iscrucial in the portfolio assignments. In orderfor the students ultimately
to be ableto learn by themselves, the teacherhas to assist them in the process of becoming
autonomous. This assistance includes givingfrequent feedbackon the students' work. Ongoingassessment cannot be effectively realized just by lookingat student portfolios at the end of thesemester. Such assessment would simplyturn out to be retrospective and not provide any useful
scaffolding for the nextsteps of learning, which should have been given throughout the semester.
In addition to the regular assessment by the teacher, opportunities for self-assessment andgoal-setting, which are closely related, should be integrated into class (O'Malley &Valdez
Pierce, 1996; Smolen et al, 1995). As discussed earlier, the survey indicated that my students

were not very aware in analyzing their strengths and weaknesses or evaluating their progress.
This implies that insufficientopportunities to think deeply about the objectives and explicit
chances to set their own goals were not provided in my class, although the tasks were prepared— LD SIG 2003 A n t h o l o g y —

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Learners' Perceptions

with specific objectives. It is important to provide students with specific occasionsto articulate
their classroom activity and portfolio creation goals. They will then have to think whether they
have achieved the goals or not, which will lead to better self-assessment.
Goal-cards, on the front of which students write their goals for the week or the unit, andon the back of which they write about their level of achievement, can be very useful (Smolen
et al., 1995). It is beneficial, too, to have students report either orally or in writing to one
another what they have actually done to meet the objectives set. Peer assessment will also be
helpful, as it promotes self-assessment: The students learn from assessment by others as well
as from their assessment of others. Students can share their work in progress, give feedback on
it, and learn from one another. When the portfolio creation process provides such ongoing,authentic assessment opportunities (including goal-setting), it can better foster capacities forindependent learning such as the ability to "analyse one's own strengths/weaknesses, [and]language needs,""set achievable targets and overall objectives,""plan a programme of work toachieve the objectives set," and "evaluate one's own progress" (Sheerin, 1997, p. 57).
After such continuous assessment, the teacher usually comes to the stage where he/she has
to give numerical results or letter grades to the students' portfolios so that they can be used to
calculate the students' ultimate grades for the class. This is really hard; how can the teacher doquantitative evaluation when the portfolio assessment is supposed to be qualitative? Validity
and reliability issues also remain for further exploration.2 The questions I have been facedwith are the following: (a) What criteria should we use in evaluating the portfolio? (b) Does theportfolio really represent what we are supposed to assess? and (c) How much should the students
knowabout the scoring guidelines orprepared rubrics?
What we should focus on in the assessment and how much we should let the students

know about the scoring system vary depending on the context, the objectives of the learning,
and the actual classroom activities. The advantage of portfolio assessment, again, is that itallows assessment not only of the final product but also of the individual student's progress at
different stages of learning. For example, it can allow the teacher to give credit for how mucha student has learned through one task or has improved from the beginning to the end of thesemester. Such aspects of assessment have to coincide with the objectives and purposes of thelearning in the class.
It is necessary to prepare specific scoring guidelines or rubrics which can guide the evaluator
to give points to a number of discrete items or guide him/her to evaluate the work holistically.
The items to be evaluated have to be carefully prepared so they mirror what the portfolio is
supposed to evaluate. I have so far presented the specific criteria to the students in advance inevery context. Some teachers may argue that providing the criteria may limit the possibilityof what the students can do because they may only focus on the criteria, but it enables thestudents to become clearer about why they are doing the tasks (i.e., the purpose and objectivesof working on the tasks). The students can also contribute their opinions about which items in
the portfolio should or should not necessarily be evaluated.3
Conclusion

My investigation for better use of portfolios is still in progress. I have so far integrated portfolio
assessment in different contexts (e.g., a university English reading class, a Japanese as a second
language writing class), all the while trying to make the most of the findings from the casereported here and discussion with the Anthology project members. When designing tasks
for the portfolio, I now try to provide chances for the students to (a) receive regular feedback
from the teacher and peers, (b) engage in more profound reflection in learning (e.g., keeping a—

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learning journal, sharing personal reflection with peers), (c) receive more explicit instruction
on objectives of portfolio tasks, (d) articulate learning goals and objectives for themselves, and(e) analyze their progress (e.g., self- and peer-assessment).
I do not believe that portfolio integration can automatically promote learner autonomy on
the part of the students. It depends on how the tasks or activities for the portfolio are designed
and presented. As for tasks, I try to integrate (a) optional tasks which allow students to makechoices, (b) decision-makingtaskswhich enablestudents to plan and organize their learning
within them, and (c) language tasks related to both in- and outside-class activities. These tasks
should be modified if necessary, according to the students' reactions or opinions. In discussingclassroom activities with Peter Mizuki, my Anthology project second-stage partner, I was
reminded that the content of tasks and activities makes a big difference in learning outcomes,
and that preparation of tasks and activities is what teachers have to put the most effort into.
The benefits of portfolio use will be most appreciated when the contents of the tasks andactivities are meaningful.

In closing, I would like to propose one question for future exploration: Shouldn't portfolio
use be integrated into high-school level English classes,too? Learner autonomy could, andshould be, promoted even before learners become university or college students. Portfolios canpromote learner autonomy by helping learners to reflect on their learning and feel a higher
sense of responsibility for their learning. Portfolio assessment is not free from problems, suchas validity and reliability issues, and it may be difficult to depend totally on the portfolio when
grading the students' English ability, if we consider large class size, the reality of entrance
examinations, and other constraints. Nevertheless, it should be worthwhile to integrate
portfolios into high-school level English classes; this can also be started without doing awaywith traditional assessment tests. Portfolio use in high school English classes still seems to bequite rare, but effectiveways to incorporate it at that level should be explored."
Notes

1. Seven students were absent from the last class, which had never been the case before.

The students had to submit their portfolios by that day. Some had submitted theirs
before, and others later. Two of them failed to prepare a portfolio.

2. For similar problems of institutionalized portfolio assessment, see Case (1994),
Herman and Winters (1994), and Wolf (1989). Nishioka (2003) also discusses how tograde portfolios.
3. Nishioka (2003) also argues in her discussion of the implementation of portfolio
assessment in elementary school classes that presenting rubrics to children has
disadvantages and advantages. This may deprive children of creativity and may makethem too conscious about their scores. On the other hand, rubrics can make learning
goals and activities clear to them.
4. Some elementary and junior high schools have been trying portfolio assessment,
especially in Sogoteki Gakushu noJikan [Period for Integrated Study]. See Katoand Ando (1999) and Nishioka (2003) for more information. Nishioka discusses

integration of portfolio assessment both into the Period for Integrated Study
and into other regular subject classes. Kato distinguishes between evaluation andassessment clearly in his chapter of the book, but I did not intend to make a clear
distinction in this chapter.

— LD SIG 2003 A n t h o l o g y —187 * Learners' Perceptions . . .
Critical Reader Response i

Wade Carlton and Joyce Cunningham
In this chapter, Etsuko Shimo describes how she has used portfolios in a university-levelclass and answers two questions: (a) How do learners perceive portfolio assessment as a means
to promote autonomous or independent learning?, and (b) How canportfolio assessment
promote learner autonomy more effectively? Etsuko does her readers a favor by providing very
comprehensible descriptions of learner autonomy and portfolios, with more than adequate
references to the literature in both areas. Both are buzzwords, but probably not all readers arefamiliar with what they encompass.
Etsuko's use of the students' native language of Japanese in her classroom surveys isrefreshing and undoubtedly led to more detailed and accurate responses. It is a practice that we
reviewers would like to pursue in the future, and, after reading examples of students' responses
in this chapter, we are inspired to do just that.
It is encouraging that Etsuko believes that students' "reflection on their own learning
processes may lead to their growth as independent and responsible learners..." A kind ofleveraging can take place in these kinds of projects, as one student admitted some motivation
to do well on a pairwork task because it (a conversation) could be selected by the other student
for inclusion in his or her portfolio. Such valuable insights, direct from the students, areliberally sprinkled throughout Etsuko's chapter, adding an authentic, real-world touch thathelps to support her findings.

With regards to her first research question, the findings (for her students) are quite clear
from responses to the first question on her second classroom survey, "Do you think that
portfolio creation has led to independent or autonomous learning?" Twenty-two out of 35
students answered either "I think so" or "I strongly think so." On the other hand, looking at
Table 1, which provides specific response rates for seven of the 19 questions in her second
survey, the results are slightly vague. A 5-point Likert scale was used, and the middle, neutral
response was the most often selected for 3 of the questions and was the second most often forthe other 4. Perhaps a 7-point scale would have produced more favorable responses; it almost
certainly would have provided more clarity
Etsuko's straightforward manner of including several less favorable responses is refreshing.
There will always be some students in mandatory classes who simply don't want to be there.
It is important for the teacher not to lose sight of this, whether they are employing portfolio
assessment or any other kind. In addition, in her chapter, Etsuko offers several suggestions for
improvement (particularly regarding task design), including some received from colleagues andstudents.

Overall, this is an illuminating chapter with relevance for any teacher considering the use of
portfolios. It includes solid referencing to the literature, vibrant students' voices, and Etsuko's
own critical thinking, all expressed in language accessible to practitioners. No doubt many
readers will be convinced to initiate portfolio work in their own classes,and perhaps conduct
similar research.

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Critical Reader Response 2

Ana Maria F. Barcelos

In this very interesting chapter, Etsuko Shimo reports on the use of portfolios within anautonomous learning context. In this response, I would like first to point out several interesting
aspects of the chapter, and then, address some questions that the chapter raises for learnerautonomy. First, Etsuko shows portfolios as a helpful instrument for encouraging learners toreflect on their own learning process. Second, besides highlightingthe importance of portfolios
as an alternative, ongoing form of assessment, the author also gives good suggestions for otherteachers. Moreover, Etsuko shows the limitations and constraints involved in implementing
portfolios, as well as students' self-evaluations and suggestions: She thus helps teachers, likemyself,who are trying to implement autonomous learning in traditional EFL classrooms, tomake more informed decisions. The usefulness of portfolios can be confirmed by students'
statements evaluating the portfolio and highlighting its freedom and challenge. Third, Etsuko
asks important questions about the issues of teacher control and teacher decisions when
implementing alternative ways of assessment and learner autonomy; she then provides answers
to these questions, advising teachers and students to work together in deciding and negotiating
the content of portfolios. In addition, Etsuko gives instructive suggestions concerning the kindsof tasks that could be included in portfolios, which is a great help for anyone interested indoing the same in their classes.

Some of the questions which this chapter raises refer, first, to the use of questionnaires and,second, to the dilemma of autonomy. When students were asked in the second questionnaire
about independent or autonomous learning, I wonder if their definitions of autonomy
were similar to the teacher/researcher's. I am not arguing that their definitions should be
similar. However, when using questionnaires, it is necessary to take into account the different
interpretations of key terms by both students and teachers, participants and researchers,
so that participants' concepts can be investigated in their own terms. The second question
relates to the dilemma of autonomy (Woods, 1996). In other words, in order for students to'act autonomously,' it is the teacher who should provide 'student-centered activities.' Etsuko's
answer to this dilemma is very wise and appropriate: Autonomy is contextual, and the teacher
should be aware of the particularities of his or her own context in order to situate autonomy
appropriately. In other words, autonomy is not an all or nothing concept but more of acontinuum. Furthermore, some teacher-centered roles may be required in order to have a more
student-centered classroom.

In conclusion, I echo one of Etsuko's students who said: "You can't study autonomously
anyway, if you don't have interest in learning English first of all." This comment reminds us of
the importance of taking into account students' attitudes and beliefs about (learning) English
when implementing autonomous learning. After all, it is always the learner who does thelearning.

LD SIG 2003 A n t h o l o g y