A learner has submitted every required portfolio activity on time. The reflections are there. The goals are there. The advisor's comments are there. On paper, everything looks exactly as it should. But look a little closer.
The reflections are brief and largely summarize what happened rather than what was learned. The learner has written essentially the same goals for three consecutive review periods. Across multiple advisor reviews, the feedback keeps circling back to the same observation: limited follow-through.
Nothing here would trigger a formal review, and nothing is technically wrong. That's exactly what makes it worth paying attention to.
We opened a webinar with a version of this scenario because it illustrates a challenge that extends beyond any single portfolio platform or educational program. A portfolio built primarily to track completed activities can appear perfectly healthy while missing the very thing it was intended to support: learner development.
Although researchers describe portfolios in different ways and emphasize different implementation strategies, they repeatedly return to the same underlying idea. The educational value of a portfolio has surprisingly little to do with the portfolio itself. Instead, it comes from the reflection, coaching, feedback, and longitudinal conversations that the portfolio makes possible. This distinction is subtle, but we think it fundamentally changes how portfolios should be designed.
Start with purpose, not paperwork
One of the first questions we posed during the webinar was deceptively simple:
What is your portfolio actually for?
Programs answer that question in different ways. Some emphasize documentation. Others focus on advising, coaching, assessment, professional development, or accreditation. None of these purposes is inherently better than another, but the literature consistently shows that portfolios are most successful when their purpose is intentional and understood by both learners and faculty (Driessen et al., 2007; Buckley et al., 2009).
This understanding changes the entire design process. Instead of asking, "What should learners upload?", we can ask, "What educational opportunity should this activity create?" Once that question is answered, decisions about reflections, forms, advisor reviews, or evidence uploads become much easier because they support the educational goal instead of becoming the goal themselves.
Reflection creates insight. Coaching creates growth.
Reflection has become almost synonymous with portfolios, but the research makes an important distinction. Simply asking learners to "reflect on your experience" rarely leads to meaningful learning. Strong reflection prompts encourage learners to interpret an experience rather than simply describe it. What challenged their thinking? What feedback changed their perspective? What will they do differently next time? Those questions help learners make sense of an experience instead of simply documenting that it occurred (Mann et al., 2009; Sandars, 2009).
But reflection is only part of the story. One idea generated a great deal of discussion during the webinar: evidence doesn't create learning. Conversations about evidence create learning.
A completed reflection, uploaded document, or advisor form doesn't automatically improve clinical reasoning or professional growth. What often makes the difference is the conversation that follows. Research on feedback shows that learners benefit most when they understand where they're trying to go, how they're progressing, and what they should focus on next (Hattie & Timperley, 2007). Coaching conversations help learners interpret evidence, recognize patterns, and translate feedback into meaningful action (Sargeant et al., 2015).
That's why we increasingly think of advisor review as much more than an approval step. The portfolio provides context. The conversation is where much of the learning actually happens.
The real value appears over time
Individual portfolio activities provide snapshots. Longitudinal portfolios tell stories.
Over time, learners revisit goals, respond to feedback, revise development plans, and gradually build a picture of their own growth. Looking across those activities helps both learners and educators recognize patterns that would be difficult to identify from isolated submissions (van der Vleuten & Schuwirth, 2005; van Tartwijk & Driessen, 2009).
That brings us back to the learner from the beginning of this article. None of the individual portfolio activities suggested a serious concern. Together, however, they painted a different picture. Repeated goals, increasingly brief reflections, and recurring advisor comments weren't evidence that the learner was failing. They were evidence that a conversation might be helpful.
While portfolios certainly don’t need to become surveillance tools, they should help educators notice patterns early enough to ask thoughtful questions, offer support, and help learners move forward before isolated challenges become larger ones (Hauer et al., 2009).
One question worth asking
We closed the webinar with a question that seemed to resonate with many participants:
If a portfolio activity disappeared tomorrow, what learning opportunity would disappear with it?
We like this question because it shifts attention away from the activity itself and back toward its educational purpose.
If removing an activity would eliminate a meaningful reflection, coaching conversation, or opportunity for learners to recognize their own growth, it's probably worth keeping. If nothing meaningful would change, it may be worth asking whether that activity is contributing to learning or simply contributing to documentation.
While documentation certainly has an important place in health professions education. The strongest portfolios make it clear which activities exist to satisfy administrative requirements and which exist to promote learner development.
Looking ahead
While portfolio conversations often focus on technology, features, or workflows, the literature spends remarkably little time on those topics. Instead, it repeatedly returns to educational design, purposeful reflection, coaching relationships, and learner development.
Technology certainly matters. It can make these processes easier to support and sustain. No platform, including Elentra, can create meaningful learning on its own. That's still the responsibility of educators.
The encouraging news is that meaningful portfolios don't necessarily require more activities. More often, they require better questions, more intentional conversations, and a clearer understanding of what each portfolio activity is meant to accomplish.
That's a conversation worth continuing.
Continue the Conversation
If you would like to explore these ideas further, you may request access to the full webinar recording.
We are also continuing the conversation in our member community, Elentra Connect, and we would love to hear how this resonates with your experience:
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How clearly do learners and faculty understand the purpose of your portfolio activities?
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Which portfolio activities lead to the most meaningful reflection and coaching conversations?
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How are you using longitudinal portfolio evidence to identify patterns and support learner development?
Elentra Members are invited to join the discussion on Elentra Connect.
If your program is working to move portfolios beyond documentation, Elentra can help. From supporting purposeful reflection and coaching conversations to helping educators recognize patterns in learner development over time, we help institutions create portfolio processes that are more connected to learning. If you’d like to learn how Elentra can help your program strengthen portfolio-based reflection, coaching, and longitudinal learner support—contact us today.
References
- Buckley, S., Coleman, J., Davison, I., Khan, K. S., Zamora, J., Malick, S., Morley, D., Pollard, D., Ashcroft, T., Popovic, C., & Sayers, J. (2009). The educational effects of portfolios on undergraduate student learning: A Best Evidence Medical Education (BEME) systematic review. BEME Guide No. 11. Medical Teacher, 31(4), 282–298. https://doi.org/10.1080/01421590902889897
- Medical Teacher, 31(4), 282-298.Driessen, E. W., van Tartwijk, J., van der Vleuten, C. P. M., & Wass, V. J. (2007). Portfolios in medical education: Why do they meet with mixed success? A systematic review. Medical Education, 41(12), 1224-1233. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2923.2007.02944.x
- Hattie, J., & Timperley, H. (2007). The power of feedback. Review of Educational Research, 77(1), 81-112. https://doi.org/10.3102/003465430298487
- Hauer, K. E., Ciccone, A., Henzel, T. R., Katsufrakis, P., Miller, S. H., Norcross, W. A., Papadakis, M. A., & Irby, D. M. (2009). Remediation of the deficiencies of physicians across the continuum from medical school to practice: A thematic review of the literature. Academic Medicine, 84(12), 1822-1832. https://doi.org/10.1097/ACM.0b013e3181bf3170
- Mann, K., Gordon, J., & MacLeod, A. (2009). Reflection and reflective practice in health professions education: A systematic review. Advances in Health Sciences Education, 14, 595-621. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10459-007-9090-2
- Sandars, J. (2009). The use of reflection in medical education: AMEE Guide No. 44. Medical Teacher, 31(8), 685-695. https://doi.org/10.1080/01421590903050374
- Sargeant, J., Lockyer, J. M., Mann, K. V., Armson, H., Warren, A., Zetkulic, M., Soklaridis, S., Könings, K. D., Ross, K., Silver, I., & Holmboe, E. S. (2015). Facilitated reflective performance feedback: Developing an evidence- and theory-based model that builds relationship, explores reactions and content, and coaches for performance change (R2C2). Academic Medicine, 90(12), 1698-1706. https://doi.org/10.1097/ACM.0000000000000809
- van der Vleuten, C. P. M., & Schuwirth, L. W. T. (2005). Assessing professional competence: From methods to programmes. Medical Education, 39(3), 309-317. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2929.2005.02094.x
- van Tartwijk, J., & Driessen, E. W. (2009). Portfolios for assessment and learning: AMEE Guide No. 45. Medical Teacher, 31(9), 790-801. https://doi.org/10.1080/01421590903139201