A Reflection Upon Capstone ePortfolio Projects and Their Alignment With Learning Theories

ePortfolios, initially viewed as a technology in 1990s, gathered momentum a decade later and began to position themselves as a powerful pedagogy in education. Experience over three years with five groups of intermediate-level English as a second language learners (before and during the pandemic) has cemented the notion that the core value of an ePortfolio is predicated on the ability of the students to become aware of their learning history. A blended course (with a capstone project in the fifth and final module) developed for a learning center in Canada helped make visible student engagement during peer-feedback interactions which led to critical reflection throughout the ePortfolio development process. In this paper, I (a language instructor) share direct practical experience implementing ePortfolios as a capstone project in five iterations of a blended course with five stand-along modules. I also describe the evidence-based theoretical constructs undergirding the development of the projects and the interconnectedness with ePortfolio learning episodes in the designing, developing, and evaluating stages of the capstone project. As a robust field of inquiry and a digital transformation pedagogy, ePortfolio projects are part of a growing movement in the field of education. They are a substrate for a variety of learning behaviours among students, demonstrate alignment with some of the learning theories, and capacitate instructor and student philosophical positioning.