Background: Portfolios are collections of intentional and meaningful artefacts that represent personal efforts, professional development, and achievements. Portfolios are used to document students' learning, growth, and development throughout time, as well as to promote reflective practice and professional certification. Purpose of the study: Investigating how first- and fifth-year medical students at New Giza University perceive portfolios as a way of teaching and learning assessment in the newly constructed Egyptian Medical Program. Materials and Methods: A self-administered anonymous questionnaire was provided to first- and fifth-year students, and the results were analyzed.
Results: In terms of the impact of portfolios on the learning process, the majority of students reported that portfolios are not an effective means of learning, teaching, and assessment; however, they agreed that organizing the portfolio helped them improve their organizational skills and documentation's ability to provide a comprehensive view of the full scope of the professional competencies required for clinical specialization. Concerns were raised about the time spent preparing for the portfolio requirement, as well as the relationship between the reflection task and the learning process.
Conclusion: Students are unaware of the significance of portfolios and its relevance to their learning. A proper introduction to the portfolio is required, along with clear description of portfolio objectives and more specific activities.