Book Creator | Eportfolio Based Assessment - Inspiring Exploration and Supporting Evaluation for Practitioners

Contents

Foreword 3

Understanding Eportfolio based assessment 5

Geography , Dublin City University 8

Education, Hadlow & West Kent Colleges 11

Information Technology, Dublin City University 14

Education, Marino Institute of Education 17

Geography, Dublin City University 20

Languages, Warwick University, 21

Health Studies, Institute of Technology, Tralee 24

Psychology, Dublin City University, 27

Finance, National College of Ireland 30

Nursing, Dublin City University 33

Professional Development, Maynooth University 34

Elearning, Dublin Institute of Technology 37

Sociology, Dublin City University 40

Business, Dublin City University 43

Assessing Eportfolios 46

Eportfolio Rubric, 47

References, 49

Contact, 50

Foreword

By Professor Mark Brown, Director of the National Institute for Digital Learning

Portfolios have a long educational history. However, this ebook illustrates how eportfolio has distinct and potentially transformative advantages over the use of traditional paper-based portfolios. My own introduction to the potential of eportfolio for teaching, learning and assessment dates back over a decade when in New Zealand I worked with a small team of colleagues to develop the Mahara open source eportfolio platform.

Since this time both the level of interest and scholarly activity on eportfolio use has grown immensely, as evidenced by a recent literature review of research in this area (Scully, O’Leary & Brown, 2018). Our understandings of the different types and applications of eportfolio in educational settings have become far richer and deeper. The relationship between Assessment and the purpose of eportfolio is crucial to harnessing the transformative potential and larger goal of developing self-directed, critically reflective, life-long learners.

This ebook illustrates the above point by sharing insightful case studies across several institutions of how eportfolio can be embedded in Assessment for learning. It provides a practical guide to successful eportfolio implementation in the context of Assessment across a range of disciplines. Their efforts in sharing their innovations make a valuable contribution to other educators. I would like to personally acknowledge their efforts and also the work of Lisa Donaldson from Dublin City University (DCU) in compiling such a useful collection of cases.

References
Scully, D., O'Leary, M., & Brown, M. (2018). The learning portfolio in higher education: Like a game of snakes and ladders. Centre for Assessment Research, Policy and Practice in Education (CARPE) and Natuonal Institute for Digital Learning (NIDL), Dublin City University, Dublin. Available at https://www.dcu.ie/sites/default/files/carpe/eportfolio_report.pdf

Acknowledgements

Sincere thanks to all the educators in Ireland and the UK who contributed their eportfolio based assessment and experiences to this book.

It was a collaborative effort which started at the Eportfolio Unconference, funded by the National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning. This was run by Eportfolio Ireland at Dublin City University in 2018. I hope this open and collegial sharing of practice will inspire others to explore the many benefits of eportfolio based assessment.

Lisa Donaldson, Dublin City University, August 2018

Understanding Eportfolio Based Assessment

Over the last decade, the use of eportfolio in higher education has been recognised for it's transformational power in the learning process (Batson, 2011). They are seen as a dynamic and innovative medium for recording and showcasing student learning, as well as a powerful tool for reflection and assessment.

This ebook, a product of collaborative effort from many universities across Ireland and the UK, seeks to highlight examples of impactful eportfolio based assessment. We hope that sharing these assessments, strategies and reflections in this practitioner's guide will inspire and encourage others as they start to explore the many benefits of harnessing eportfolios to support teaching and learning.

Eportfolio based assessment supports documenting student progress and encourage greater student involvement in the learning process. This can result in a 'multimedia collection of evidence that is more authentic and more efficiently collected through partnerships with students over time' (Penny Light, Chen, Ittelson, 2012). A central feature of learning activities for eportfolios is reflection. The examples in this ebook feature reflective writing at their core.

Eportfolio based assessment can provide valuable opportunities to engage in the most effective long-term learning activities. Research has shown that eportfolio practice can provide substantial educational value to students by improving student persistence and the achievement of learning outcomes (Eynon & Gambino, 2017).

Unfortunately, despite the significant growth in the use of eportfolios worldwide and the potential benefits, in Ireland traditional forms of assessment still dominate. A recent study reported that the creation of digital artefacts for assessment were one of the least used assessment methods with 63% of respondents stating they were never used (Y1Feedback, 2016).

Developing good support structures for students and faculty may be the key to enabling the spread of high-impact ePortfolio practice. Some guidelines are recommended in this ebook to support deeper learning and student success with eportfolio based assessment.

* Become familiar with the eportfolio platform yourself!
* Re-imagine the assessment to meet module learning outcomes whilst taking advantage of the affordances that eportfolios provide eg multi media content
* Assign marks to the activity and a reflective element
* Design a template to simplify the process if eportfolios are new to your students
* Create a mock-up of what their ePortfolio might look like- eg a model answer
* Introduce the activity early to students. Schedule some class time for a demonstration or hands on time
* Discuss the rationale for the assessment and the use of the eportfolio in your context
* Communicate assessment expectations and provide a clear rubric or marking guide
* Be aware of help resources that may be available and direct students to these
* Feedback is important. Try to build in an element of peer or tutor feedback on student eportfolio assessments
* Encourage students to consider their eportfolio as an ongoing resource after the assessment

Effective eportfolio use needs to be scaffolded and while not an exhaustive list, these guidelines on incorporating eportfolio based assessment have been generated from a two year eportfolio project at Dublin City University.

Geography

At a glance

What was the challenge?

Ruth McManus, Dublin City University
Ruth.McManus@dcu.ie

B.A. (Joint Honours) degree | 2nd year
60 students | Face to Face | Mahara

Population Geography introduced a learning journal 'Population Toolkit' for assessment purposes and to encourage student engagement with the module materials on an on-going basis. It was worth 15% of the total marks for the module and students collated concepts, calculations, terminology, themes and reflections. The Toolkits were useful to identify how well/deeply a student had engaged with the module.

Population Geography was a new module which was offered for the first time in Semester 1, 2017-8. The module includes quite a lot of specific terminology, theories and simple mathematical calculations. This can prove overwhelming for students, particularly those who leave the intensive study of the material to the examination period. In order to address these concerns, students were encouraged to use their ePortfolio to develop a ‘Population Toolkit’. This was intended to be a reflective learning journal, but students were also encouraged to use it as a space for teasing out ideas or theories and working out calculations which had been mentioned in class.

Geography

How was the assignment designed?

Students were advised that their Toolkit should be a continuous activity where they would be responding to the themes and lectures as they were encountered in class. Ideally at least one entry should be made each week. There was no specified word length however there was a minimum requirement of one journal/toolkit entry for each of the five module themes. It was suggested to students that 12 entries would be a reasonable average.

In order to help students with the task, an introduction to the eportfolio was provided and a briefing document was prepared which included FAQs. A step-by-step illustrated handout of the process was also provided, as well as a simple rubric to identify the required key elements. This rubric covered: Continued Engagement, Description of contents, concepts, terminology, Analysis and Connection Making between themes, Data, Personal Reflections, and Style

In answer to the question ‘What should I include in my Population Toolkit?’ the following advice was given: ‘You can add anything that you find interesting and which is relevant to the module. Everyone’s Toolkit will be unique to them, reflecting their own particular ‘take’ on the course topics.' This was worth 15% of the total marks for the module.

Geography

Reflection

As a first run of this assessment, it worked well and grades were consistent with expectations. In particular, I was pleased that some students remarked within their Toolkits on its additional utility as a learning and revision tool.

The best Toolkits were quite comprehensive and availed of ePortfolio functionality to incorporate images, diagrams and links, as well as reflections. However, weaker students saw this as an additional chore and gave minimal attention to the ePortfolio. In order to further enhance this assessment and address the limited engagement with the Toolkit by some class members, I will give the students a ‘formative’ assessment whereby they submit their Toolkits earlier for feedback. This may encourage the less enthusiastic students to engage more fully, and give them the opportunity to further develop their work prior to final submission.

The marking rubric will be amended to include 'Incorporation of additional materials' and this will be provided at the outset. Students will be encouraged to compare their Toolkits with rubric categories. Clearer guidelines of expectations will be included which will be made easier through the use of examplars, and I will also highlight the benefits of the activity, drawing on the observations made by peers in the previous cohort. From an assessment perspective, the ePortfolios were relatively easy to grade and, in general, a good way of identifying how deeply a student had engaged with the module.

'I really think keeping a population toolkit like this one was really beneficial. It will be great to have and look back on, especially now during the prep for exams'