1. Portfolios and Pedagogy
A Faculty Share and Care
Gail Matthews-DeNatale, Ph.D.
Graduate School of Education
Northeastern University
College of Professional Studies
http://www.slideshare.net/gmdenatale
2. Today
• ePortfolios: What They Are
• Pedagogies Supported by ePortfolios
• Examples from My Practice
• National Resources
3. But First … Student Voices
TAMARA D.
―It was an opportunity to
integrate my personality
with my education, a space
where I could gather my
thoughts and memorialize
them. The process of
entering that information
reinforced what I learned
and enhanced my ability to
reflect on my experience. I
had a place to contain my
knowledge that sometimes,
honestly, can escape me!‖
4. But First … Student Voices
KATHERINE V.
―I really took into
consideration the great
feedback and useful
comments on how to make
my portfolio better … it
reassured me that I am
equipped and capable of
succeeding in this program.‖
5. But First … Student Voices
MIKE W.
―I am very pleased with my
group project results —
even more so that we could
take the module we
developed and, with very
little tweaking, put it to use
in our own settings. … I
have an opportunity to play
a pivotal role in redefining
education at my workplace.
I’m very grateful for the
knowledge I received and
the two colleagues and
Professor who helped shape
my knowledge in this area.‖
6. But First … Student Voices
ANGELICA R.
―I found encouraging
professors who push you to
think beyond, to dream,
and to design ways to put
that dream into action. You
feel inspired to research on
your own and to create real
work. You discover that
change can really happen
and that together we can
build a better future for
education.‖
7. But First … Student Voices
STEPHANIE H.
―I am able to share my
learning in a colorful,
creative way. This format
allows me to bring words to
life, allowing my reader to
see inside my journey and
not just words on a paper …
Some images and videos I
chose to include convey
meanings that are
otherwise hard to capture.
Through my voice you hear
my passion and purpose for
my work.‖
8. What is an ePortfolio?
Portfolio
purposeful collection + student work + reflection
(Paulson, F.L. Paulson, P.R. and Meyer, 1991)
ePortfolio = all of the above …
+ web-based
+ multiple formats and media
+ links, non-linear pathways
+ capacity to share with a larger audience
(Polklop, 2013)
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9. CPS uses Digication and all can access it at
http://northeastern.digication.com
10. M.Ed. Program’s ePortfolio Context
• Foundational Courses Across the Program
– Education as an Advanced Field of Study
– Culture, Equity, Power, and Influence
– Capstone
• Sequenced Courses within Each Concentration
–
–
–
–
Higher Education Administration
eLearning and Instructional Design (emphasizes online/mobile)
Learning and Instruction (emphasizes k-12)
Special Education
• Signature Assignments in Each Course
– Authentic Work Designed to Evidence Program Outcomes
– Students Incorporate SAs into ePortfolio, Polish in the Capstone
12. In My Experience, ePortfolio Pedagogies
…
• Help Make Thinking Visible
• Personalize & Increase the Transparency of
Expectations for Learning
• Accumulate, Connect, and Extend Learning
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13. Visible Thinking
―I look forward to revisiting this later in the program to see how I
have evolved in my thinking about learning.‖
14. Personalized & Transparent Expectations
―I am at a changing point
in my career … I am now
leading the team to move
our corporate learning
models to online learning
modalities …
Although this is an
exciting project, this also
is a time where I need to
consider my next
professional steps.‖
+ Professional
Learning Plan
20. C2L Proposition: eP Intensive Course Use
• Advances Student Success
• Supports Reflection, Social Pedagogy and
Deep Learning
• Catalyzes Learning-Centered Institutional
Change
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We will mute the mikes – please type your messages in the chat box.We have a short amount of time, a big topic to address, and a large crowd today, and so Elizabeth is going to be keeping an eye on the chat, and I’m going to be checking in with her periodically so that she can serve as a bridge with the virtual attendees.Who has used portfolio pedagogy in their teaching?
It was an opportunity to integrate my personality with my education … It personalized my notes, my projects, readings, and was organized for my personal needs.It enhanced my ability to reflect on my learning experience, my space where I could gather my thoughts. I felt like I had a place to contain my knowledge – that sometimes, honestly, can escape me!The process itself reinforced what I learned and by memorializing new information in my e-P it significantly improved my ability to retain what I learned.
Feedback from others increased her confidencethat she could succeed as a graduate student (social pedagogy)
Increased his ability to implement what he created during coursework within his workplace (experiential learning, connecting inside and outside of school)
Has the capacity to Link Learning, integrate independent work into the collection of saved coursework
Can represent many ways of knowing – going beyond text to incorporate sounds, images, and video
Portfolios are not new – they’ve been part of art education and writing education for many years. As Peter Elbow says, if you automatically learned from experience, all old people would be smart. You learn from reflecting on experience.What difference does the “e” make?The web format and levels of permission (private to public) makes it possible to explicitly link the learning that takes pace inside/outside school, at the workplace, etc.The multimedia format makes it possible to reflect different ways of knowing, make thinking visible with more than just words, and to take a holistic approach to many modes of “communication”Learning accumulates over time, can be non-linear, involves iterative reflection, often involves non-linear paths, and is about connection-making. The levels of permission also provide student with an opportunity to consider learning as a journey. In the early stages, it’s a space in which you can gain perspective on the multiple drafts of your work and thinking. Along the way, you share and receive feedback peers and faculty. Learning involves change, and therefore the learner (and others involved in formative work, should be able to see evidence of change.In later phases of development there is an opportunity to “go public” with your ideas – to make a contribution to the world’s body of knowledge. For example, a portfolio could be private during the early phases while a student is documenting learning, and then access settings can gradually made more public as they develop and improve.You can also have more than one portfolio – more than one audience, not always the teacher – and therefore it’s important to consider the audience when crafting the ePortfolio.While these features speak to the technical functionality of ePortfolio software, it’s more important to consider the pedagogies that they are designed to support, and the underlying assumptions about learning.
Northeastern Center for Advancing Teaching and Learning Through Research - Presentation developed by Laurie Poklop, who did her dissertation on ePortfolios at Northeastern. This schema focuses on the many uses to which an ePortfolio can be put. It also has implications for the viewership, sense of audience, and representation of self.Some are self-focused, such as those for reflection, developmental learning, professional development, and imply assessment interactions with programs and faculty.Some imply extensive work with peers, such as the project or collaborative portfolios. Some are externally facing, such as the showcase and employment portfolio.Pause to elicit questions or comments from those in the room. Also reach out to include virtual attendees, asking the online facilitator to summarize the chat.
My teaching takes place within the context of a fully online program that has articulated outcomes and includes an ePortfolio requirement.ePortfolios are introduced in the gateway course All subsequent courses also include a signature assignment that is designed to evidence students’ learning in relationship to outcomes.Students add these assignments to their portfolios, and draw upon this body of work in the capstone course.
eP PedagogiesHelp make thinking visiblePersonalize and increase the transparency of expectations for learningAccumulate, connect, and extend learningHere are a few concrete examples
This example is from a course that I teach entitled How People Learn. The exercise helps me get a better idea of how my students conceptualize “learning” as they are coming into the class. At the beginning of the term, each student uses https://bubbl.us to create a concept map. They place the word “learning” in the center of their map and then place at least 10 terms that they associate with the term learning on the map. This allows me, and them, to see what’s in the “bubble over their heads” regarding the course topic.Then they share maps and do a set of readings. In addition to comparing their own maps, they are asked to consider what the maps of the reading authors would look like if those people were also participating in the assignment.Following the discussion, they revise their maps and upload them into their portfolios. Two examples are on the slides. As you can see, the second maps demonstrate significant development in their cognitive links. At the end of the assignment, students are asked to upload their beginning and revised maps into their ePortfolios.Here’s a quote from one person’s portfolioThis was a fun and eye-opening exercise. I look forward to revisiting this later in the program to see how I have evolved in my thinking about learning.The quote indicates a forward orientation, intent to connect this course with future courses, and to track his development as a learner over time. This exercises could be done without the final step of putting it in an ePortfolio, but based on these and other quotes I believe that the portfolio helps them consider the cumulative learning across course, and across time.
In the article “Leadership Standards:Pros and cons of a competency approach” Richard Bolden and Jonathan Gosling observe that competencies are most constructive when they are used inductively, as a means for opening a dialogue about principles and promising practiceFollowing up on that idea, learners need to be involved in investigating and identifying the competencies that they intend to pursue, to build a bridge between what is (the competencies that we as educators have identified for them) and what could be (the development priorities they set in relationship to their individualized goals for the future).The Professional Learning Plan assignment provides a framework for this conversation. In the beginning, students look for “dream job” postings on the web, find white papers and opinion pieces about the future of their fields, and look for peer-reviewed publications about the proficiencies expected of people within their current/intended profession. They pool this knowledge in a class wiki. The next week, they compare the wiki work with the program/concentration outcomes, which are embedded in their ePortfolios. They consider their strengths, gaps, and priorities for development, and develop a first draft of a Professional Learning Plan that they place in their portfolios in the outcomes area. In the following weeks they receive faculty feedback and comments from peers, and revise their plans. This is something they can use as a guidestar and/or modify as they progress through their program – long after the course is over.
For the Case Study in How People Learn, students create a case study project portfolio, based on a template that includes prompts. Each week they do a bit more work on the case study, incorporate it into the project portfolio, and receive peer feedback. The cases incorporate images and audio/video interviews in addition to text. This breaks this challenging assignment down into smaller pieces, but also helps student maintain a sense of how the pieces fit together.At the end of the course they can also link this case study in their ePortfolio – it will become a project portfolio that’s linked within their program portfolio.Pause to elicit questions or comments from those in the room. Also reach out to include virtual attendees, asking the online facilitator to summarize the chat.
International Journal of ePortfolioFounded in 2011 Edward Watson of Virginia TechPeer Reviewed, Open Online Journal that focuses on ePortfolio Researchhttp://www.theijep.com
Association for Authentic, Experiential and Evidence-Based Learning (AAEEBL, pronounced "able"), founded in 2008 http://www.aaeebl.org/This conference is in Boston, just across the street, and it is the largest annual conference focused on ePortfolios in the country. If you are interested in attending, please let me know. Because of our affiliation, we may be able to support a few scholarships this year.
3-year FIPSE-funded project that began in 2011Coordinated by LaGuardia's Making Connections National Resource Center in partnership with AAEEBL
C2L is a network of 24 participating institutions – including Northeastern. Each kept a program portfolio to document and reflect on their work with ePortfolios, and to share research. We shared our work every 6-8 weeks in the context of a “jam.”C2L participants also agreed to administer a “core survey” to faculty and students involved in portfolio-intensive courses at the end of each term. This provided qualitative in addition to quantitative data.Project researchers analyzed the core surveys and combed through the institutional portfolios (work samples, institutional data, documented practices, reflections, peer feedback, discussions)to develop models and articulate learning principlesSite went live at AAC&U last week, includes a framework and links to over 220 case studies written by all types of institutionshttp://c2l.mcnrc.org
Out of this research, C2Ldeveloped the following propositions and principles
Here’s an example of the evidence that surfaced.Compared the data for students in portfolio-intensive courses with data for students in courses that did not include a portfolio componentSpring 2013N=2,000
Another example of improvement in retention when students took more than one course that involved portfolio-intensive workJune 201160 courses110 sections
C2L also used the research to develop a “Catalyst for Learning” model that illustrates the institutional system that supports success.The framework integrates people (faculty, students, support staff), institutions (missions and programs), dimensions that are key to success (e.g., professional development), and design principlesAs you can see, it is rich and interconnected, similar to a mandala. We don’t have time to go into every sector today. I encourage you to visit the site, read the Catalyst Model essays, and access the 220 “real world” case studies that are associated with each element in the catalyst model. These case studies include descriptions of portfolio pedagogies, and additional materials such as syllabi, specific assignments, and student ePortfolio examples.Pause to elicit questions or comments from those in the room. Also reach out to include virtual attendees, asking the online facilitator to summarize the chat.
