ABSTRACT
The study was designed to investigate whether the use of portfolio-based advice can overcome students’ difficulty with self-directed learning skills in work-based simulation learning. The study was conducted using a descriptive method with a quantitative approach. Students were divided into four groups, each student in each group was given a task according to manufacture organization and asked to prepare food from an animal product such as yogurt or ice cream. Each student was required to create a portfolio in the form of a log book as a guide for working in the laboratory. Questionnaires were given to the students to establish their opinion about using portfolios in self-directed learning. The result shows that 78%of students agreed that the use of portfolios helped them to understand the flowchart process of making ice cream and yogurt, as well as the importance of standard operational procedure in preparing food products. Eighty-four percent of the students agreed that creating a portfolio could improve their skills in food preparation. They also agreed that the use of a portfolio helped them to improve their skills in self-directed learning.
