Research+Problem

Research Problem The majority of research on digital portfolios focuses on older students. There is very little about the benefit of using this kind of portfolio with younger students. There is a considerable push towards meaningful integration of technology at all levels. Incorporating a digital portfolio is a way to integrate technology, assessment and reflection as well as documenting benchmarks. What should be contained in a digital portfolio? Does a digital portfolio have any educational benefit over a traditional portfolio? I would like to explore the idea of a digital portfolio being something more than a space saver or an assessment tool. The usage of this specific technology is not well documented with elementary school aged children. Ideally, students would be able to set goals, reflect upon their own work and offer commentary on other students’ progress. I believe that if the students know that others will be able to easily see their collection of work, they will not only take more pride in their work, but they will spend more time writing their reflections. The portfolio becomes more than a collection of work; it reflects the entire learning process, from planning, to revision and reflection. For this project, fifth grade students will photograph a minimum of 3 artworks for inclusion to their portfolio. Two must be finished pieces, while one may be in progress. Students will then insert their photographs into a program such as Photostory. After working with the classroom teacher on descriptive writing, students will describe, analyze and evaluate their work based on the Georgia Performance Standards. Students may reflect upon unfinished pieces by explaning what they will do to finish the piece, as well as any changes they will make. If possible, audio commentary will be recorded with the photos in order to create a finished portfolio. My planned research topic is to evaluate the benefits of digital portfolios in the elementary art class. I think the particular approach that will best fit my topic is case study research. I will be focusing on 5th grade classes that are not randomly assigned- we have one that is heavily weighed with gifted students, one that is remedial and one that is special ed inclusion. This would prevent me from having a valid control group. I am really more interested in how this will benefit my students rather than how this would be adapted to a larger audience. Since this is a very specific group I am studying, it would be an intrinsic case study (Johnson & Christensen, 407). This is also the best way to evaluate a program and its efficiency (408).
 * Research Methods**

Johnson, B. & Christensen, L. (2008). Educational research. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, Inc.