Portfolio as a method of documenting the development of professional competences on the example of occupational therapy

Abstract

Documenting the development of professional competences nowadays seems to be a challenge. How to do it? Are there any tools that help you collect and systematize evidence of your own professional development? Employees nowadays often ask themselves these questions. Keeping a portfolio may be the answer to this search for a way to collect information about your professional progress. The purpose of this article is to characterize the method of documenting the development of competences which is the portfolio. Portfolio is a tool that stimulates reflection on the current and desired level of competence as well as facilitates planning of professional development. The idea, essential for keeping a portfolio, is primarily supporting reflective learning through the analysis of knowledge and experience acquired by an individual. This tool also allows you to show the development of a person, especially their professional development and the positioning of its individual elements on a timeline. The recommended starting point for conducting it should be the education preparing for professional work. A portfolio may be kept in a traditional hard copy form i.e. a specific “photo album” or due to the progressive development of computer techniques – in an electronic form, as an e-portfolio. Keeping a portfolio allows not only to collect and systematize data in the area of professional activity of a person – it also facilitates their potential recipients (e.g. employers) to quickly find out what competences a given person possesses. In order to better illustrate the contents presented in this article, the characteristics of the portfolio have been prepared by referring to the specifics of the profession of the occupational therapist emphasizing that the implementation of systematic and thorough professional self-assessment is extremely important especially in the context of the occupational therapist’s responsibility for the quality and reliability of actions taken towards the recipients of occupational therapy.