Preservice Music Teacher Electronic Portfolios Integrating Reflection and Technology

Over the past decade, there has been a growing interest in the use of teaching portfolios inteacher education. Teacher educators have reported that the process of developing portfolios canhelp preservice teachers better understand the complexities of teaching, make connectionsbetween classroom learning and field experiences, and develop into flexible and reflectivepractitioners (Carroll, Potthoff, & Huber, 1996; Krause, 1996; McKinney, 1998). The research specific to electronic forms of portfolio development is just beginning to appear;however, there seems to be a great deal of promise in the digital format (McKinney, 1998;Milman, 1999; Polonoli, 2000). Many of the same benefits are reported with electronicportfolios as with the more traditional hard-copy format. Students reflect about themselves, theirwork as students, and their future in the teaching profession through their work in developingelectronic teaching portfolios (Milman, 1999; Polonoli, 2000). In addition, there are specificadvantages to using a digital format. McKinney (1998) reported that the “nonlinear nature ofmultimedia software allowed [students] to more easily show connections, and technologysupported the ability to personalize the way they showed their learning” (p. 94). Polonoli (2000)echoed McKinney’s findings and stated that the digital portfolio was a “unique vehicle” thatallowed students to express themselves and show what they could do. These early reports alsoindicate that the electronic medium can facilitate storage and makes it easier for students andfaculty to access the information (McKinney, 1998). One component of electronic portfolios thatDownloaded from jmt.sagepub.com