E-Portfolios in Higher Education: Case Study & Literature Review
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E-Portfolios in Higher Education: Case Study & Literature Review
- 1. Stefanie Panke University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Center for Faculty Excellence 2016 E-Portfolios in Higher Education: Case Study & Literature Review
- 2. E-Portfolios in Higher Education Originated in art-related programs, adopted in multiple domains since the mid 1990s (Lorenzo & Ittelson, 2005). We are on the ‘brink of an era of expanded adoption and impact of e-portfolios’ (Kahn, 2014). 57 % of US postsecondary institutions made some use of e-portfolios (ECAR, 2013). ECR 2015: e-portfolios as ‘technologies may be achieving their potential’.
- 3. What are e-portfolios? Systematically curated exhibition of learning products Title: Square 1 Description: Discuss, Share Reflect
- 4. Types of Portfolios (Hewett, 2004) • Documentation portfolios: growth toward learning goals • Process portfolios: phases of the learning process • Showcase portfolios: accomplishments and competences
- 5. From ‘assessment of learning’ towards ‘assessment for learning’ Knowledge imparted by the instructor (input) Competencies students can apply (output).
- 6. Carolina MPA E-Portfolios (2014) • Graduation requirement • Campus-wide WordPress Multisite • PUBA 746 portfolio course (peer feedback/ milestones) • Portfolio Guide • Competence Memo • Portfolio Assessment Rubric
- 8. Integrated, complex construct of knowledge, skills and attitudes that can be used in order to solve arising problems and succeed in handling (new) situations (Baartman et al., 2007). Combination of knowledge, skills, understanding, values, attitudes and desires, which lead to effective, embodied human action in the world, in a particular domain. (Buckingham et al., 2012)
- 10. • Peer-reviewed articles • Higher education context • 2004-2014 • Instructional context information • Empirical data on portfolio outcomes Literature Review
- 11. Portfolio Goals • Accreditation standards • Reflection, self-regulation, metacognitive awareness • Reflective leadership / professionalism • Community of Practice • Student autonomy • Employability
- 13. Facilitation & Scaffolds • Portfolio guides • Rubrics • Frequent instructor feedback • Technical support • Portfolio workshops • Peer learning opportunities
- 14. Tools and Infrastructure • Portfolio systems (Mahara, PebblePad) • HTML editors • Blogs • Wikis • GoogleSites • PowerPoint • Word
- 15. Assessment • Why and how to re-assess graded assignments? • How to establish fair / transparent criteria? • Rubrics • Evaluation templates • Student-developed criteria
- 16. Benefits of e-portfolios • Encouraging reflection (Roberts, Maor & Herrington, 2013). • Promoting self-regulation (Abrami et al, 2008, Meyer at al, 2010). • Improving knowledge management (Chang, Tseng, Liang & Chen, 2013). • Acknowledging diversity and transfer learning (O’Toole, 2013).
- 17. Benefits of e-portfolios • Fostering digital literacy /multimedia storytelling (Wakimoto & Lewis, 2014). • Supporting career development (Reese & Levy, 2009). • Strengthening organizational ties (cf. Lorenzo & Ittelson, 2005; Reese & Levy, 2009).
- 18. Reflective Leadership and Professionalism • Enter shared-goal conversation that values the leader and his or her expertise (Hyland & Kranzow, 2012) • Fostering critical reflection as means of developing expertise, critical self-surveillance whereby professional experiences are revisited and explored (McNeill, Brown & Shaw, 2010).
- 19. Barriers to Implementation & Use • Implementing e- portfolios is a complex process fraught with challenges and dilemmas (Chau & Cheng, 2010). • The promotion of reflective thinking and practice are not an automatic result of creating a portfolio (Wray, 2007).
- 20. Barriers to Implementation & Use • Tensions between personal reflection and institutional requirements (Tosh, Light, Fleming & Haywood, 2005) • Written reflection vs. metacognitive processes (McNeill, Brown & Shaw, 2010) • Unclear expectations and assessment strategies • Conflicting portfolio goals
- 21. Portfolio Evaluation (2014) • Faculty focus group • Course evaluation results PUBA 746 • Student online survey. • Participants: • 18 students (15 female, 3 male) • 17 faculty members (10 female, 7 male).
- 22. Student Online Survey • Administered July 2014, 2 month after graduation • Survey software Qualtrics • Incentive $10 gift certificate • 23 Likert scale items: Strongly Disagree (1) - Strongly Agree (6) • 3 open-ended questions • 15/18 students (83%) http://tinyurl.com/nzk7lr6
- 23. Learning Trajectories and Transfer Learning • 60% included products created outside class. • 73% agree that the portfolio brings together classroom learning with professional experiences and personal background. • 2% plan to use the portfolio in the future.
- 24. Foster Digital Literacy % who agree or strongly agree • Web publishing is an important skill: 73% • The portfolio has improved the general technical abilities to develop a professional website: 1% • It was easy to set up the portfolio in WordPress: 53%
- 25. Support Career Prospects • Only one student shared the portfolio with a potential employer. • ‘It's too personal. Changing the portfolio to be less introspective would make it a less useful assignment, though’. • ‘By the time I could share the portfolio, I had a job’.
- 26. Assessment Students diagreed: • that the assessment process was fair: 40% • that they received helpful feedback: 33% • that the committee reviewed thoroughly: 33% • ‘a bit of inconsistency with the expectations of different faculty committees made the process seem unfair’. • ‘by allowing us to put as much material in the portfolio as we wanted, it was simply too much for them to review’.
- 27. Reflection • 80% were proud of their portfolio. • 93% agreed that the portfolio process prompted them to reflect their competencies as public service leaders. • ‘extremely worthwhile exercise’. • ‘excellent opportunity to increase self-awareness and plan for future development’ • ‘Overall, the portfolio did help me reflect on what I learned in the program’. • ‘I appreciated the flexibility we were given to design our portfolios to reflect our strengths’.
- 28. Summary • Faux reflection based on institutional requirements • Consistency in assessment: clear and shared expectations • Increased ownership: Roadmap for future use of portfolio? • Balance between structure and autonomy during portfolio process • Learning opportunities for students and program leadership / faculty • Dialogue on how to interpret central learning outcomes of the program • Bridge between classroom reality and professional experiences • Reflective Leadership • Peer Learning Community through shared portfolios within cohort
- 29. Conclusion • Diverse landscape • Various infrastructures • Differences in curricular integration • Best practices for instructional orchestration • Assessment challenging • No silver bullet for student autonomy and reflection
Notas del editor
- Questions on how to (best) implement e-portfolios and what instructional outcomes to expect are discussed on many university campuses. While it is often proclaimed that e-portfolios have great potential to engage students and promote deep learning, implementing e-portfolios is a complex process. What should administrators, students, faculty and instructors expect when implementing e-portfolios in their program or course? In the following 20 minutes, I will present some highlights of a recent literature review on e-portfolios in higher education.
- Though they originated in art-related programs and in disciplines with significant writing components, portfolios have been adopted in multiple domains since the mid 1990s both in secondary and higher education (Lorenzo & Ittelson, 2005). Portfolios are a hot topic. In a recent edition of the magazine Peer Review that is published by the American Association for Universities, Susan Kahn, who is the director of the Indiana and Purdue University portfolio initiative, stated that we are on the ‘brink of an era of expanded adoption and impact of e-portfolios’. Portfolios have gained significant interest as an authentic assessment tool to monitor and demonstrate competence development. According to the 2013 Educause survey on the use of information technology in undergraduate education, 57 percent of US postsecondary institutions state that they made some use of e-portfolios in the past year.
- An e-portfolio is a systematically curated exhibition of learning products. Students use their portfolios to collect their work, select and highlight examples they want to showcase, and to reflect, discuss and potentially even advance their learning. The collection as a whole presents the student’s learning goals, learning processes, and learning outcomes. These processes are basically the same for printed portfolios or e-portfolios. The electronic format makes it easy to link artifacts and reflections and allows to include a richer variety of content such as multimedia elements or datasets.
- Hewett (2004) distinguishes three basic types of portfolios that support different assessment purposes: Documentation portfolios show the growth toward achieving specific, pre-defined learning goals. They support diagnostic assessment and allow students and instructors to both plan and check how the learner is progressing. Process portfolios document the phases of the learning process and reflect upon the students’ journey towards mastery. They make students cognizant of how they learn best and support self-assessment of learning strategies. Showcase portfolios focus on the students' accomplishments and competences. They include the students' best works and reflections on how and why the work products were selected. They support summative assessment of students’ competences and learning outcomes. We are currently in the process of getting IRB approval for investigating how well our portfolio approach meet the needs of program leadership, faculty and students. Our research focus is twofold: First of all, we want to understand how well different types of portfolio enable specific benefits – and inhibit others. Second, we want to understand what are effective techniques for assessing portfolios. We do this through a series of online questionnaires, focus groups and interview. We are eager to share our instruments and discuss our results.
- Portfolios are a tool for supporting authentic assessment, they allow a shift from ‘assessment of learning’ towards ‘assessment for learning’. Instead of assessing how well students can reproduce knowledge imparted by the instructor (input), the focus is on the competencies students can apply (output).
- My personal motivation to delve deeper into the topic of e-portfolios stems from my work as an Instructional Analyst at UNC School of Government. In 2012, our Master of Public Administration Program shifted from a capstone project to an e-portfolio and oral exam process for graduation.
- Prompted by a shift in accreditation standards that call for a competency-focused curriculum, the Carolina MPA has undergone a complete curriculum redesign. The faculty committee developed a set of eight broad competencies with 24 intermediary competencies that together define the learning outcomes the program seeks to impart.
- Competencies are an integrated, complex construct of knowledge, skills and attitudes. They describe what we can do with what we know and how we can transfer it to handling new situations. Instructors often assume a smooth learning trajectory as students move through the curriculum from course to course, from year to year and eventually into the workplace. However, accomplishments in authentic settings require more than knowledge. Learners need skills, understanding, values, attitudes and desires to apply their knowledge in a particular context.
- In the Carolina MPA program the student portfolio is a pivotal piece of the new, competence-oriented curriculum. Students use the portfolio to document their level of competence in central learning outcomes of the program. It needs to pass a three person faculty review committee, before students can move on to the final oral exam. This spring, the first cohort completed the portfolio process. When it came to evaluating and reflecting our portfolio experiences, we asked ourselves – what are the benchmarks of success? Is it enough if our students and our faculty are fairly happy with the process? What experiences do other campuses have?
- The body of literature included in this review was accumulated primarily through queries in ERIC, with supporting research in Google Scholar, Science Direct, ResearchGATE and EdITLib, using the search terms ‘electronic portfolio(s)’ and ’e-portfolio(s)’. The criteria for inclusion were Peer-reviewed journal article, English language, Higher education context, Published between 2004-2014, Context information on pedagogical goals, instructional design or assessment, Empirical data on portfolio outcomes in a specific course or program. Each article was read carefully to document the curricular integration of the portfolio, the subject domain and degree, the institution, the country or region, details on class size or cohort, the goals and motivation for implementing the portfolio, the instructional design of the course or assignment, the portfolio assessment and the infrastructure deployed for generating the portfolios. In addition, the specific research questions and method of inquiry, information on the research subjects as well as outcomes of the research process were documented in a spreadsheet.
- Goal and Motivation: Why implement portfolio processes in the first place? Common drivers for portfolio integration at a program level are accreditation standards and the goal to enable competence-oriented assessment. Other frequently stated reasons for using portfolios are fostering reflection, self-regulated learning and development of metacognitive awareness, e.g., ‘creating independent learners able to monitor their own learning’ (Siu, 2013), ‘enhance students' ability to engage in a reflective cycle’ (Pelliccione & Raison, 2009). Related goals are reflective leadership and reflective professionalism: ‘Enter a shared-goal conversation that values the educational leader and his or her expertise’ (Hyland & Kranzow, 2012), ‘Fostering critical reflection as means of developing expertise, as critical self-surveillance whereby professional experiences are revisited and explored’ (McNeill, Brown & Shaw, 2010). Other motives are to increase student autonomy as to what they choose to present or withhold for assessment, offer a digital space where students can present evidence of employability skills and create a community of practice that extends interaction beyond class time.
- Curricular Integration: Portfolios differ in their curricular integration. Portfolios can be introduced at the beginning of the program for students’ ongoing engagement with the process of selecting and reflecting on learning products. Students document growth and development as they navigate the curriculum (cf. Hopper, Sanford & Bonsor-Kurki, 2012; Tran, Baker & Pensavalle, 2005). More typically, portfolio courses are offered as a graduation requirement course during the last term. In some cases, instructors use e-portfolios as an individual course assignment in elective or required courses.
- Scaffolds: Most portfolio processes include some kind of scaffolding to help guide student development (Fitch, Peet, Reed & Tolman, 2008). Several publications attribute portfolio guides, rubrics, frequent instructor feedback, technical support, portfolio workshops and peer learning opportunities to positive portfolio outcomes. Instructors have a key role to play when students are called upon to construct e-portfolios to enhance deep reflection and analyze what they learned (Brandes, 2008). As Fitch et al. (2008) stated, scaffolding may be especially instrumental in helping students reflect on and integrate their various classroom and field experiences. Few publications provide details on the scaffolds or instructional prompts associated with the portfolio. An exception is a course design described by Brandes (2008), in which students were asked to find metaphors to highlight their understanding of teaching, learning, and the use of technology. The students then used these central metaphors to structure their portfolios. owe
- Infrastructure: The systems and tools reported comprised self-developed solutions, specialized portfolio platforms (Blackboard ePortfolio, Mahara, PebblePad, TaskStream, Open Source Portfolio), Microsoft Office components (Word, PowerPoint), HTML-editors (Frontpage, Dreamweaver), and web 2.0 tools (blogs, wikis, GoogleSites). Half of the articles reviewed did not provide any details about the technical infrastructure deployed for implementing the portfolios.
- Assessment: Although portfolios are often praised as an authentic assessment strategy, little is known about how to establish fair and transparent processes for assessing the portfolio itself. Very few publications discuss the assessment aspect and describe how portfolios were evaluated. Rubrics, marking criteria and evaluation templates appear to be a common approach to generate transparency and clarify expectations (Mason, Pegler & Welller, 2004; Rowley & Dunbar-Hall, 2012; Wakimoto & Lewis, 2014; Zawacki-Richter, Hanft & Bäcker, 2011). Brandes (2008) described a course in which students developed criteria for the evaluation of portfolios. As Fitch et al. (2008) reported, faculty may struggle with the idea why one should assess assignments already graded.
- To this end, I did a lit review of portfolio outcomes so we can see of we achieve this. Benefits of e-portfolios documented in the literature include: Fostering digital literacy and multimedia storytelling: By creating digital exhibitions spaces of their work, students gain technology, writing and multimedia communication skills en passant (Wakimoto & Lewis, 2014). Supporting career development: The digital collection of work samples and skill demonstrations can be easily shared with potential employers (Reese & Levy, 2009). Strengthening organizational ties: E-Portfolios may link students to their alma mater even after graduation and can be used to connect alumni and prospective students (cf. Lorenzo & Ittelson, 2005; Reese & Levy, 2009). Encouraging reflection: E-portfolios enable learners to review their learning processes and outcomes by self-reflection and comments from peers (Roberts, Maor & Herrington, 2013). Promoting self-regulation: Portfolios that stress the reflective component have the potential to raise students’ metacognitive awareness (Abrami et al, 2008, Meyer at al, 2010). Improving knowledge management. The process of conceptualizing, implementing and developing an e-portfolio involves collecting, arranging, re-organizing and presenting information. E-portfolios can thereby facilitate knowledge management performance (Chang, Tseng, Liang & Chen, 2013). Acknowledging diversity and transfer learning: Portfolios are a natural fit for assessing networked learners in their personal learning environments Panke, 2013). The e-portfolio brings diverse student outputs from a range of different learning and working contexts into one common format and thus facilitates assessment (O’Toole, 2013). This makes portfolios sound like the proverbial jackalope. However, not all of the benefits will manifest in every instance of a portfolio centered assessment. It is important to keep in mind that there are different portfolios for different purposes.
- To this end, I did a lit review of portfolio outcomes so we can see of we achieve this. Benefits of e-portfolios documented in the literature include: Fostering digital literacy and multimedia storytelling: By creating digital exhibitions spaces of their work, students gain technology, writing and multimedia communication skills en passant (Wakimoto & Lewis, 2014). Supporting career development: The digital collection of work samples and skill demonstrations can be easily shared with potential employers (Reese & Levy, 2009). Strengthening organizational ties: E-Portfolios may link students to their alma mater even after graduation and can be used to connect alumni and prospective students (cf. Lorenzo & Ittelson, 2005; Reese & Levy, 2009). Encouraging reflection: E-portfolios enable learners to review their learning processes and outcomes by self-reflection and comments from peers (Roberts, Maor & Herrington, 2013). Promoting self-regulation: Portfolios that stress the reflective component have the potential to raise students’ metacognitive awareness (Abrami et al, 2008, Meyer at al, 2010). Improving knowledge management. The process of conceptualizing, implementing and developing an e-portfolio involves collecting, arranging, re-organizing and presenting information. E-portfolios can thereby facilitate knowledge management performance (Chang, Tseng, Liang & Chen, 2013). Acknowledging diversity and transfer learning: Portfolios are a natural fit for assessing networked learners in their personal learning environments Panke, 2013). The e-portfolio brings diverse student outputs from a range of different learning and working contexts into one common format and thus facilitates assessment (O’Toole, 2013). This makes portfolios sound like the proverbial jackalope. However, not all of the benefits will manifest in every instance of a portfolio centered assessment. It is important to keep in mind that there are different portfolios for different purposes.
- Tensions between personal reflection and institutional requirements: Tosh, Light, Fleming & Haywood (2005) criticized that oftentimes portfolios offer pseudo-authentic student voices, and are viewed as ‘just another assignment’. Instead of valuable reflection, students produce what they think the instructor or program requires. As Chau & Cheng (2010) observed: “students may conceive and shape written messages based on institutional requirements” (475). Discrepancy between written reflection and metacognitive processes: McNeill, Brown & Shaw (2010) questioned whether recorded reflection is a true picture of the cognitive process involved. Specifically, the authors raised the question as to whether participants who did not have fluent writing skills were able to fully convey the cognitive processes involved in reflection, or indeed, whether participants who were accomplished writers could appear to attain deeper levels of reflection. Difficulties with portfolio expectations and assessment: Although portfolios are often praised as an authentic assessment strategy, little is known about how to establish fair and transparent processes for assessing the portfolio itself. As Fitch et al. (2008) reported, faculty may struggle with the idea why one should assess assignments already graded. Conflicting portfolio goals: It remains an open question how well different types of portfolio enable specific benefits – and inhibit others. For instance, a portfolio that emphasizes reflection and fosters metacognitive awareness may not be the best tool to support career development – and vice versa.
- We obtained IRB approval for evaluating the portfolio process in a mixed method approach that included (1) a faculty focus group, (2) the course evaluation results of PUBA 746 and (3) online survey for students, administered 2 month after graduation.
- Two month after graduation, the research team administered an online survey with the survey software Qualtrics. We reached out to the 18 students in the first MPA cohort in the portfolio condition to learn about how they viewed the process in retrospect. We offered a $10 gift certificate to enhance the response rate and as a token of appreciation for the students’ willingness to provide ongoing feedback and endure uncertainty and change as the portfolio pilot group. The survey comprised a total of 25 items, most of them with a six point likert scale in order to obtain clear trends. In addition, we included 3 open-ended questions to get suggestions for improvement and other qualitative input.
- Reflection: In what ways can e-portfolios contribute to reflective practices? Many portfolio projects stated the goal to ‘create reflective leaders’, ‘reflective professionals’ or ‘engage students in a reflective cycle’. As Chau & Cheng (2010) observed: “Regardless of whether or not writing is in the form of self-reflection or peer feedback, students may conceive and shape written messages based on institutional requirements” (475). McNeill, Brown & Shaw (2010) stated that further research is needed to explore factors that enable or inhibit the use of the e-portfolio for reflection and whether recorded reflection is a true picture of the cognitive process involved. The authors raise the question as to whether participants who did not have fluent writing skills were able to fully convey the cognitive processes involved in reflection, or indeed, whether participants who were accomplished writers could appear to attain deeper levels of reflection. Learning: It seems that the reception of portfolios is a crucial aspect of the portfolio process: “We must consider viewing the e-portfolios as learning opportunities for the students who construct them, as well as those who view them” (Brandes, 2008). Experience with portfolios across different settings suggest that students learn from other students’ portfolios, e.g. Wakimoto & Lewis (2014, 57): “Students were also encouraged to share access to their eportfolio with their fellow cohort members. This created an interactive community of practice where students could discuss, reflect, and evaluate individual understanding of professional practice”. Portfolios offer insights into the ways how students perceive, interpret and transform the learning objectives underpinning the curriculum. They provide the faculty with means to support and monitor student learning toward expected standards of the program (Parker, Ndoye & Ritzhaupt, 2012).
- In 2011, Virginia Tech’s Center for Instructional Development and Educational Research established an electronic, open access International Journal of ePortfolio. The journal typically publishes two issues per year, in April and October and employs a rolling submission process, though it seems to have switched to an annual publication in 2015. The current CFP ends June 1st.