In this paper, we present an empirical analysis of tasks for learning and assessment in e-portfolios as they are used in the education of future English teachers in Basle, Switzerland. Using a newly developed assessment rubric for analysing tasks in teacher education, we pre-sent key characteristics of those tasks and then link this analysis to learners’ perceptions of the usefulness of these tasks for inducing reflective practice and deep learning in e-portfolio work. In teacher education, e-portfolios have played an important role in implementing study envi-ronments conductive to deep learning and reflective practice (Cambridge, 2010). Such quali-ties are important especially in teacher education where students not only need to “know”, but to “act” (Shulman, 1986): they need to integrate pedagogical knowledge with personal beliefs, and then act upon that knowledge in complex and open-ended situations (Keller & Bräuer, 2010). Tasks (and prompts) are important factors determining the instructional quality of e-portfolio settings (Keller & Bräuer, 2009). They define expectations for learning outcomes and contain vital information about materials to be included or intermediary steps to be taken by learners to achieve those goals (Keller & Reintjes, 2016). However, there are relatively few empirical studies of tasks in teacher education (Keller, 2014). The analysis presented in this paper is based on a new assessment rubric for tasks in teacher education which is geared towards un-covering the quality of tasks to instigate deep learning and reflective practice (Reintjes, Kel-ler, Jünger & Düggeli, 2016). The rubric takes into account what types of demands the tasks makes of learners (cognitive activation), task structure (degree of openness) and links to the overarching curriculum of teaching education (explicit links to other subjects), among other categories. A representative sample of complex learning tasks from 8 different seminars were rated by two independent raters and their analysis compared; differencing analyses were resolved in an adjudication process. The results of this task analysis were then triangulated with information from N=67 questionnaires capturing students’ impressions about the usefulness of those tasks. Results show that tasks in e-portfolios are effective in fostering deep learning in students, and increase their motivation for engaging with the material, when they contain explicit links or references to practical teaching situation, when they are accompanied by in-time feedback both from peers and lecturers, and when they encourage students to engage critically with curricular material rather than enforcing memorisation alone.

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