As a competency-based form of assessment that is learner-centered and goal-oriented, portfolios provide for continuous feedback and foster autonomous learning. Hence, portolios as an assessment method are useful for documenting and evaluating language learning development in LSP classes. The BHT research project on e-portfolios (that was made possible through a Prüfung hoch III Drei fellowship) concentrates on creating portfolio tasks for LSP classes, which can be used in several class formats and can also be adapted for other contexts.
In this hands-on workshop, we will provide participants with various portfolio tasks and scenarios and are looking forward to discussing these with the audience. Taking into account recent developments, the BHT language team has e.g. created scenarios for using ChatGPT in e-portfolios and thereby takes on the challenges that AI applications currently pose. Additionally, various rubrics along with performance criteria for assessing portfolios that were developed in the project, will also be discussed in this workshop. Elaborating on Delett’s framework for portfolio assessment (2008), the process of creating, implementing, carrying out, and assessing portfolios will be demonstrated in connection with sample e-portfolios.


Reference
Delett, Jennifer S., Barnhardt, Sarah & Jennifer A. Kevorkian (2008). A Framework for Portfolio Assessment in the Foreign Language Classroom. Foreign Language Annals 34(6), 559-568. DOI:10.1111/j.1944-9720.2001.tb02103.x.

 

Bios
Dr. Alexia Schemien has been a permanent lecturer (Lehrkraft für besondere Aufgaben) at the Berliner Hochschule für Technik (BHT) since 2019. She teaches in the fields of Business English as well as Technical English. Previously, she taught for 9 years at the University of Duisburg-Essen where she also received her doctorate in Inter-American studies. Her research interests include English for specific purposes, blended learning, task-based learning, British and American literature and learner autonomy.

Prof. Dr. Aleksandra Sudhershan is Head of the Language Centre at the Berliner Hochschule für Technik (BHT), where she also teaches Business English and Technical English. Her research interests include ESP, flipped learning, learner autonomy and problem-based teaching and learning.

Vanessa Arnold was born and raised in New York City and has been living and teaching English in Berlin, Germany since 2010.  She has taught a wide range of courses related to Academic English and English for Specific Purposes. Her research interests include learner autonomy, testing and assessment, intercultural communication, and inclusivity in the language classroom.

Alan McElroy – Lecturer in English for Special Purposes and member of the language team at BHT. He teaches in various technical, scientific, engineering, and technological fields at the BHT. He is also involved in the organisation and coordination of communication projects with BHT partner universities.