E-PORTFOLIO ALTERNATIVE ASSESSMENT STRATEGY ENHANCING HIGHER-ORDER THINKING SKILLS IN AN OPEN DISTANCE LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

Abstract

Alternative assessment in the 21st century illustrates the importance of assessment practices that promote higher-order thinking, allowing students to be innovative and create in their learning as active participants. The purpose of this paper was to explore e-portfolios as an alternative assessment strategy to enhance higher-order thinking skills (HOTS); drawing on the case of a South African open distance learning (ODL) university. Semi-structured interviews with six lecturers who were purposively selected were conducted to collect data for the qualitative phase of the study.The interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed for themes. For the quantitative phase, a cohort of Bachelor of Education (BEd) and Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) students (n=106) voluntarily completed an online questionnaire. For findings from the study revealed that e-portfolios can be effective tools used to ignite students’ higher-order thinking skills through design and development. Furthermore, the active involvement of students in developing and designing their e-portfolios will refine their higher-order thinking skills by maintaining and keeping up with the innovative, authentic, and performance-based assessment that forces deep thinking.

Keywords: Authentic assessment; traditional assessment; performance-based assessment; e-portfolio.

Date of submission: 6th November, 2021; Date of acceptance: 19th August, 2022

Date of publication: 1st December, 2022

*Corresponding author

Citation:

Mudau, P. K. & Van Wyk, M. M. (2022). E-Portfolio alternative assessment strategy enhancing higher-order thinking skills in an Open Distance Learning environment. Multidisciplinary Journal of Distance Education Studies, 1(1), 1-18.

ISSN-L: 2955-7887