e-portfolio at IUPUI

Susan Kahn

Director, Institutional Effectiveness

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)

Sakai Conference

Amsterdam 2007

e-portfolio at IUPUI definition

A selection of purposefully organized artifacts that support retrospective and prospective reflection and that document, assess, and enhance student learning over time.

Why e-portfolios?

1. For students– Track growth and development– Develop capacities for metacognition and self-directed learning– Integrate and apply learning

2. For faculty– Enrich learning experiences– Base assessment on authentic performances

3. For programs and institutions– Assessment for admissions, program effectiveness, accreditation

Authentic Assessment

• Asks students to apply their knowledge and skills to “authentic” tasks and projects (e.g., conduct research; do experiments; write stories, reports, analyses; solve “real-world” or simulated problems)

vs. traditional assessment

• Tests that rely on memorization or simple problem-solving

Novice-Level Interpersonal Communication (Foreign Language Educators of N.J.)

Exceeds Expectations Meets Expectations Does Not Meet Expectations

Does the teacher understand me?

(Comprehensibility)

The teacher understands me without difficulty.

The teacher understands me with occasional difficulty.

The teacher understands me only with much difficulty.

Do I understand the teacher?(Comprehension)

I understand the teacher without difficulty.

I understand the teacher but sometimes I need repetition or restatement.

Most of the time I don’t understand the teacher.

How well do I use the Spanish language?

(Vocabulary Use & Language Control)

I am mostly correct when producing simple sentences.

I attempt to create. I recognize and use

vocabulary with ease.

I am mostly correct with memorized language. I am less correct when I try to create language.

I recognize and use most of the vocabulary correctly.

I can only communicate at the word level.

I use a limited number of words / phrases.

How well do I keep the conversation going?

(Communication Strategies)

I begin to recombine some memorized language to ask for repetition and/or clarification

I use memorized chunks of language to:

-Ask for repetition -State that I don’t understand

I cannot keep the conversation going.

Advantages for Assessment

“Documenting learning in this way places the focus on actual achievements that are viewed directly, rather than on proxies of achievement like cumulative GPAs or test scores that are only indirect indicators of learning. The focus is also on what students can do with their knowledge and skills and not simply on whether knowledge has been acquired.” (Huba & Freed, 2000)

Principles of Undergraduate Learning

1. Core communication and quantitative skills

2. Critical thinking

3. Integration and application of knowledge

4. Intellectual depth, breadth, and adaptiveness

5. Understanding society and culture

6. Values and ethics

ePort Learning Matrix

Inside a Matrix Cell

Goal: To document introductory competence in written communication

Expectations:

1.You have identified a different audience and purpose for at least 2 documents

2.You have selected information appropriate to your audience and purpose.

3.You have used two different organizational styles appropriate to audience and purpose

4. You have used appropriate language, style, writing conventions, and formats.

Initial Implementation inFirst-Year Experience Courses

• Technology difficult to use• Some faculty didn’t understand purpose• Most students didn’t understand purpose• Matrix too abstract for students?• Treated as “add-on”/extra task; not

embedded in curriculum

Current Implementation

• Integrative Department Grants: small two-year grants to departments to integrate e-portfolio into curriculum

• Learning Communities Grants: one-year grants to integrate e-portfolio into learning community courses

• Capstone Grants?: e-portfolio as a capstone project

Uses of e-portfolio within academic programs

• Curriculum mapping (identify where competencies are taught and learned)

• Program effectiveness (diagnose strengths and weaknesses in curriculum and pedagogy and use findings to plan improvement)

• Accreditation (use selected portfolio excerpts as evidence that students are achieving desired learning outcomes)

Implementation Issues

• How will the portfolio be designed to fulfill the institution’s or department’s purposes?

• How will the portfolio be integrated into program curricula? What changes will this require?

• Who will read and evaluate student portfolios? When?

• What are the infrastructure needs? What resources are needed?

• What faculty development is needed? What skills will students need to develop?

Lessons Learned

• Start with small pilot projects and with faculty/departments that need e-portfolio for specific purposes

• Consult extensively with early adopters• Be prepared to offer lots of faculty

development and technical support• Expect uneven levels of participation and

interest at first