Developing Civic Identity and Assessing Civic-Mindedness Using ePortfolios

Kristin Norris Bill PlaterCathy Buyarski

July 2011 ePIC Conference, London, England

Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)

How many of you…..•Are familiar with the

concept of ePortfolios?

•Currently use ePortfolios?

•Use ePortfolios in the context of service-learning and civic/community engagement?

Session Goals•Discuss implications of civic learning in

higher education

•Introduce civic learning at IUPUI

•Define a ‘civic-minded graduate’

•Provide you with a suite of tools to assess civic-mindedness, including ePortfolio application

Civic Learning in the context of Higher EducationWhat is the purpose of civic learning?What are the implications of civic learning on higher education?

Lumina Degree Qualifications Profile•Preparing students for responsible

citizenship is a widely acknowledged purpose of higher education.

•Higher education is experimenting with new ways to prepare students for effective democratic and global citizenship.

•In developing civic competence, students engage in a wide variety of perspectives and evidence and form their own reasoned views on public issues. http://www.luminafoundation.org/publications/

The_Degree_Qualifications_Profile.pdf

High-Impact Practices (by Kuh, AAC&U, 2008)•First-Year Seminars & Experiences•Common Intellectual Experiences•Learning Communities•Writing-Intensive Courses•Collaborative Assignments & Projects•Undergraduate Research•Diversity/Global Learning•Service Learning, Community-Based Learning•Internships•Capstone Courses & Projects

Lumina Degree Qualifications Profile•The objectives of Civic Learning rely

considerably on students’ out-of-classroom experiences and their development of a capacity for analysis and reflection.

• http://www.luminafoundation.org/publications/The_Degree_Qualifications_Profile.pdf

The Intellectual Commons—Musil (2009)

Intellectual Commons

Civic Engagemen

t

Global Learning

Diversity Education

Essential Questions for Students

• Who I am? (knowledge of self)

• Who are we? (communal/collective knowledge)

• What does it feel like to be them? (empathetic knowledge)

• How do we talk to one another? (intercultural process knowledge)

• How do we improve our shared lives? (applied, engaged knowledge)

Students should be able to:• Gain a deep, comparative knowledge of the world’s peoples and

problems;• Explore the historical legacies that have created the dynamics and

tensions of their world;• Develop intercultural competencies to move across boundaries and

unfamiliar territory and see the world from multiple perspectives;• Sustain difficult conversations in the face of highly emotional and

perhaps uncongenial differences; • Understand – and perhaps redefine – democratic principles and

practices within an intercultural and global context; • Secure opportunities to engage in practical work with fundamental

issues that affect communities not yet well served by their societies; and

• Believe that actions and ideas matter and can influence their world (Hovland, 2005)

Civic LearningAt IUPUI and your campus

Defining Civic Engagement•Civic engagement is the acting on a

heightened sense of responsibility to one’s communities that encompasses the notions of global citizenship and interdependence, participation in building civil society, and empowering individuals as agents of positive social change to promote social justice locally and globally. (Musil, 2009)

Definition of Civic Engagement at IUPUI•Active collaboration that builds on the

resources, skills, expertise, and knowledge of the campus and community to improve the quality of life in communities in a manner consistent with the campus mission (http://csl.iupui.edu/About/5c.asp) .

Service Learning Defined•Service learning is a course-based, credit-

bearing educational experience in which students:▫Participate in an organized service activity

that meets identified community needs, and▫Reflect on the service activity in such a way

as to gain further understanding of the course content, a broader appreciation of the discipline, and an enhanced sense of personal values and civic responsibility .http://csl.iupui.edu/about/5b.asp

Institutional Context•Campus Culture•Campus Assessment

Culture - Principle-based approach to general education

•Campus ePortfolio development

Campus Commitment Civic Engagement

Sam H. Jones Community Service

Scholarship Programs

Community-based Work-Study

Alternative Spring Break

DOMESTIC AND INT’L SERVICE

LEARNING COURSES

George Washington Community

Schools Partnership

Campus Challenge for Civic Learning•Demonstrate the value-added

dimensions of SL/CE to multiple audiences

• Critically assess how SL/CE experiences contribute to civic learning

Civic-Minded GraduateA developmental model for looking at student development of a sense of civic purpose

Civic-Minded Graduate• Civic Mindedness refers to

a person’s inclination or disposition to be “mindful” of the community and to his/her duties as a citizen of that community. This includes being aware of community strengths, weaknesses, issues, organizations, and individual people.

• A civic-minded graduate is skillfully trained through formal education (bachelor’s degree or equivalent), and has the capacity and desire to work with others to achieve collective public goods.

Steinberg, Hatcher, & Bringle (in press)

How do you assess Civic Learning?

CMG can be used to assess:•Civic identity•Understanding how social issues are

addressed in society•Active participation in society to address

social issues•Collaboration with others (includes

diversity issues, interconnectedness, mutuality, and respect)

•Benefit of education to address social issues

Tools CSL has developed to assess civic-mindedness•SL Course Evaluation

•CMG Scale

•CMG Narrative, sub-prompts, and Rubric

Why Civic Learning ePortfolios? Why Now at IUPUI?

Value of ePortfolios for Service Learning•Most assessment tools are self-report

instruments (nationally and locally)•Eportfolios provide “authentic” assessment

evidence/data•Draw on strengths of Service Learning

▫critical reflection•Eportfolios are not just for research

▫also for course use and program assessment▫designs can be simple or complex

Various forms of Portfolios at IUPUI•Course-based (ex - First Year Seminars ,

capstone)•Process (Matrix)•Assessment/Evaluation (Matrix with

Evaluation tools and report functionality)•Presentation (both students and faculty)

Service Learning Assistant

Process Matrix within Portfolio site

•Questions????

Kristin Norris (norriske@iupui.edu)www.csl.iupui.edu

ReferencesAdelman, Cliff, Peter Ewell, Paul Gaston, and Carol G. Schneider (2011).

Degree Qualifications Profile. Lumina Foundation: Indianapolis, IN. http://www.luminafoundation.org/publications/The_Degree_Qualifications_Profile.pdf

Hovland, K. (2005). “Shared futures: Global learning and social responsibility”. Diversity Digest, 8(3), 1, 16-17.

Kuh, G. D. (2008). High-impact educational practices: What they are, who has access to them, and why they matter. Washington, DC: Association of American Colleges and Universities.

Musil, C (2009). Educating students for personal and social responsibility: The civic learning spiral. In B. Jacoby, Civic engagement in higher education: Concepts and practices (pp. 49-68). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

Steinberg, Kathryn S., Julie A. Hatcher, and Robert G. Bringle (2011). “A North Star: Civic-Minded Graduate.” Paper submitted to Michigan Journal for Community Service Learning.