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Volume 16 (2)
Volume 16, Issue 2, Spring 1996
J Contin Educ Health Prof 1996; 16(2):75-81
THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS
Learning Portfolios: Potential to Assist Health Professionals with Self-Directed Learning
John Parboosingh BSc, MBChB, FRCOG, FRCSC
A b s t r a c t
While learning portfolios have been used by students enrolled in formal education
courses for over 20 years, their potential to assist health professionals with their learning activities
remains relatively unexplored. The increasing need for health professionals to manage change
efficiently and the central role of practice-based self-directed learning provide the impetus for
educators to find ways of assisting professionals to enhance the quality of their learning activities.
This article explores the potential of the portfolio to enhance the quality of an individual’s
learning activities while respecting their desire for control of the education process. Physicians
using a new computer software program called PCDiary report that it helps them to review and
appraise their learning activities. It is predicted, based on these early experiences, that the integration
of computer and telecommunications technology and the traditional learning portfolio
will produce a new generation of interactive learning tools. PCDiary, and future computer-based
learning tools, will stand or fall on their ability to assist professionals to plan and appraise learning
activities generated from their practice experiences. Computer "smart" portfolios will enhance
learner interaction in ways that preserve the autonomy of independent learners. They will also
be useful tools to research ways of helping professionals with their continuing learning.
Keywords: Continuing medical education; portfolio assessment; portfolio learning; practice-based learning; self-directed learning
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