2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

The study explores the integration of digital portfolios in first-year engineering education as a tool to foster reflection, communication, and professional identity development. Recognizing that early engineering curricula often emphasize computation over metacognitive and communicative competencies, the project was conceived to bridge this gap through technology-enabled reflection and self-authorship. Grounded in Schön’s reflective practice theory and constructivist learning frameworks, the initiative supports the development of agency among novice engineers within human-centered, AI-augmented learning ecosystems. It aligns with the emerging emphasis on intelligent, technology-integrated educational environments.
Implemented in an introductory engineering course at a small institution, the digital portfolio project pursued five interrelated objectives: cultivating reflective awareness, enhancing technical and visual communication, fostering professional identity formation, supporting employability, and expanding community engagement. Students developed personal web-based portfolios using Wix, documenting design projects, field experiences, and reflections over a 16-week semester. Structured checkpoints, peer feedback, and reflective prompts were integrated to scaffold learning, culminating in a public portfolio showcase. This experiential approach offered authentic assessment and visible articulation of student growth beyond traditional problem-based methods.
A mixed-methods evaluation framework provided both quantitative and qualitative insights into project outcomes. Rubric-based analyses evaluated technical communication, visual design, and reflection, aligned with ABET outcomes. Surveys captured shifts in students’ confidence, design awareness, and sense of professional identity, while instructor observations revealed increased engagement, ownership, and community participation. They also reported enhanced motivation, ownership of learning, and pride in sharing their work publicly, attributes strongly associated with student persistence and ABET-aligned outcomes in communication (SO3), lifelong learning (SO7), and design integration (SO5). Together, these data confirmed the initiative’s role in advancing not only cognitive learning but also affective growth among first-year engineering students.
Results demonstrated that digital portfolios significantly improved students’ capacity to integrate knowledge across projects and express design reasoning in both visual and verbal forms. Students exhibited stronger communication confidence and greater understanding of how classroom learning connects to real-world engineering practice. The portfolios also functioned as dynamic repositories for continuous learning and program assessment, offering tangible artifacts for ABET readiness and institutional evaluation. Instructors noted that the process encouraged deeper reflection and enthusiasm for self-directed learning.
The initiative presents a scalable and low-cost strategy for embedding reflection and communication within early engineering curricula. By merging human-centered design principles with digital tools, it strengthens employability and prepares students for intelligent systems-driven professional environments. Future work will incorporate AI-based analytics for feedback, data dashboards for outcome monitoring, and curricular integration across broader sequences. This model contributes to a growing evidence base that underscores how digital portfolios can transform engineering pedagogy, equipping students with the reflective and communicative capacity needed to thrive in data-informed, technologically advanced industries.