Redefining Electronic Portfolios: A View into the First Year Experience

Redefining Electronic Portfolios: A View into the First Year Experience Tracy Gottlieb Ph.D., Dean of Freshman Studies Paul Fisher, Director TLT Center Danielle Mirliss, Associate Director TLT Center

Seton Hall University
A mid-sized, private, catholic affiliated university in central New Jersey
Main Campus in South Orange, NJ
Law School in Newark
Over 40 off-campus sites
10,000 Students
4,400 Full Time Undergraduates (50% residential)
Laptop Program for all Undergrads and Faculty
Blackboard Course Management System Universally adopted

University Strategic Vision “ Comprehensive outcomes assessment in the form of “value added” to the student learning experience will be a cornerstone of our undergraduate strategic plan.” “ Strengthen the on-going program for the assessment of student learning.”

Why ePortfolio
University must have clear institutional and program level goals for student learning
University must have assessment results showing evidence that students are achieving institutional and program goals
University must use the assessment results to inform institutional planning and program improvement

Current Electronic Portfolios Initiatives at SHU
Curriculum Development Initiative (CDI):
Electronic Portfolio
4 Branches of Project:
College of Education and Human Services
Core Curriculum
English Department
Freshman Studies

College of Education and Human Services –
NCATE Influenced – Performance Evidence
Demonstrate & Motivate Student Learning
Reflection of the Student as a Teacher
Development of Student Professional Portfolios

ePortfolio in the English Department
First Year Writing
English Majors
Teaching Portfolio

New University Core Curriculum Creation of a Common Experience University Life, Signature Courses (I, II, III)

Explicit proficiency development infused into at least (50%) of student’s courses
Systematic reinforced development
Universal Proficiencies Numeracy Oral Comm. Writing Information fluency Critical thinking Core skills

Electronic Portfolios and the Core Curriculum
Evidence of Learning
Mapping courses completed
Structured repository of objects produced (attesting to)
Reflection of Learning
Framed reflections on learning growth

Freshman Studies
“ Strives to provide a common experience for Freshmen enrolled in the University Life course”

Historically has recognized the benefits of educational technology
2004 received a Curriculum Development Initiative grant (internally funded) to redesign University Life Course

Fall 2005 ePortfolio Requirements
Required:
Welcome Message
Career Goals
Activities
Ethics
Computer Skills
Volunteerism
Intellectualism
Multiculturalism
My Thoughts
Choice of 3:
Inspirational Websites
Photo Album
Blog
Resume
Work From Other Courses
Art Work, Music or Multimedia of Own Creation

Lessons Learned: First Year Implementation
Students did not see the connection with what was perceived as an onerous task and the goal
Support came from tech people instead of mentors and peer advisors
Portfolio was due at the end – students scrambled at the end to complete it
Students wanted to customize their pages; difficult to do in Bb environment

Fall 2005 Survey Reponses Percentage Very Satisfied and Satisfied I understand the concept of and importance of ePortfolio as it was presented in class 52 % The ePortfolio lesson was clearly presented in class 60.8 % The system used to create the ePortfolio was easy to use 46.6 % My mentor and/or peer advisor was able to answer basic technical questions regarding ePortfolio 77.1 %

Second Year Implementation
Emphasized the use ePortfolio as an opportunity to evaluate first semester through reflection
As we explained it better it was a task worth doing
Technical support came from mentors and peer advisors
Checkpoint Assignments due throughout semester

Fall 2006 ePortfolio Requirements
Required
Welcome Message
Community Service
CREW
Career Goals
Activities
Academics
About Me
My Thoughts
Choice of 2
Reflection on Ethics
Reflection on Computer Skills
Photo Album
Blog/MySpace
Resume
Art Work, Music or Multimedia of Own Creation

Fall 2006 Survey Reponses Percentage Very Satisfied and Satisfied I understand the concept of and importance of ePortfolio as it was presented in class 66.7 % The ePortfolio lesson was clearly presented in class 79.2 % The system used to create the ePortfolio was easy to use 68 % My mentor and/or peer advisor was able to answer basic technical questions regarding ePortfolio 89.4 %

Student Comments “ Doing an ePortfolio was productive in that I was really able to reflect on my first semester of college. ” “ Learning how to make an eportfolio was most helpful, because I was able to use this knowledge in other classes.” “ The e-portfolio was the most valuable because I learned how to present information in a professional manner that was different from a paper resume.” “ I found the ePortfolio to be the most valuable thing that I did in this course, because it help me realize a lot of things about myself.”

Fall 2007 Requirements
Welcome Message
Personal Mission Statement
International Week
Activities
Compass
Academics
Career Goals
Community Service
Paradigm Shift
My Thoughts
Creative Item
Reflect on Ethics
Reflect on Habit
Photo Album
Art Work, Music or Multimedia that YOU created

Fall 2007 – Covey Framework The 8 Habits
Be Proactive
Begin With the End In Mind
Put First Things First
---------------------------------------------------------DEPENDENCE------ 
Think Win-Win
Seek First to Understand then To be Understood
Synergize
--------------------------------------------------------INDEPENDENCE- 
7. Sharpen the Saw
From Effectiveness to Greatness
-------------------------------------------------------INTERDEPENDENCE-- 

Students Embrace Covey Language
I discovered (although I think I already knew) that I have
always been a great student in high school, and I can
certainly be a great student in college. However, in
order to do that I am going to need to be a much more
responsible student. I think that this e-Portfolio is a
reflection of me as an individual because is shows so
many of the things I have gone through and the ways in
which I feel I have changed. From learning to be more
proactive and discovering I'm not as good at writing
papers as I thought I was, to experiencing new and
different things throughout the semester, this e-Portfolio
documents the things that have happened to me and
the ways in which I have grown.

Fall 2007 Survey Reponses Percentage Very Satisfied and Satisfied I understand the concept of and importance of ePortfolio as it was presented in class 76.2% The ePortfolio lesson was clearly presented in class 87% The system used to create the ePortfolio was easy to use 75.4% My mentor and/or peer advisor was able to answer basic technical questions regarding ePortfolio 92% The ePortfolio enabled me to reflect on my growth as a college student during my first semester at SHU 76.4% 76.4%

What activities and experiences did you find most valuable in this course?
I felt that having to make the ePortfolio was valuable because it made you reflect back to the summer before the semester started and early on in the semester. Reflecting back that far, made me realize that my thinking back than was totally different than it is now .
More or less the e portfolio seemed to be the most important because it branched off into several different directions teaching me new things with each page
I think the eportfolio was the best assignment because we got to create something about ourselves .
I found the e-portfolio was valuable because I learned more about myself and what was important to me .
I really enjoyed making the e portfolio it helped me realize who i am as a person and what i want to be as a person
I found the ePortfolio the most important aspect of the class because it allowed me to understand the process of becoming a college student .

What they did not like
ePortfolio was time consuming
More integration with class discussion
Wanted class time to complete ePortfolio
Wanted fewer assignments in the ePortfolio
Easier system to use
More flexible due dates

How Far We’ve Come… Percentage Very Satisfied and Satisfied 2005 2006 2007 I understand the concept of and importance of ePortfolio as it was presented in class 52% 66.7% 76.2% The ePortfolio lesson was clearly presented in class 60.8% 79.2% 87% The system used to create the ePortfolio was easy to use 46.6% 68% 75.4% My mentor and/or peer advisor was able to answer basic technical questions regarding ePortfolio 77.1% 89.4% 92%

Allowed us to gain insight into the student
We can reach out to students who need help
Connection between mentor and students

National Coalition for Electronic Portfolio Research Across the country and around the world, at institutions of all kinds, students are creating electronic portfolios—portfolios for personal planning, freshman learning communities, general education, the major, advising, graduation, and on and on. Although these individual research efforts point us in the right direction, they have not enabled us to ask systematically and from one campus to the next, “What learning is taking place as a function of digital portfolios? How do we know?” This Coalition brings together faculty from ten campuses per year in successive cohorts. Ten institutions in a cohort each design a campus-based research agenda, enact it, and report out results.

Research Question… What is the role of the electronic portfolio in predicting whether students are at risk for early attrition?

Missing Pieces to the Puzzle
Can the portfolio give us the answers to:
Goal clarity (academic and career goals)
Perceived support from friends and family (Sandler, Nora, Cabrera)
Quality of Effort
Academic Engagement – parallel to NSSE (social integration – Pascarella & Terenzini, Tinto)

Fall 2006 ePortfolio Activities: Have you been proactive by becoming involved on campus? What activities have you been involved in, on or off campus, that have enhanced your first year of college? Describe in 200 words or more and include images and web resources where appropriate. Career Goals: Where do you see yourself after graduation? If you are unsure, then this section should explore career paths that are interesting to you, and how you are going about exploring these differing areas. How are you “Beginning with the End in Mind” in order to prepare for a future career? How did the Career Development Month program that you attended in November help you in considering you career path? Describe in 200 words or more and include images and web resources where appropriate.

Methodology
There are three groups of students that have been identified for inclusion in this study:
Group 1: Summer Scholars (at risk students who participate in bridge program)
Group 2: Students identified by admissions department as at risk
Group 3: Normative Sample
4 rubrics have been created to score portfolios

Creation of Rubrics
Example Goal Clarity Rubric - (Academic and Career Goals)
4 – Mature focus of academic and career goals, enterprising and realistic
3 – Clear expression of academic and career goals
2 – Elements of career exploration, some sense of career goals or academic goals
1 – Lack of focus or clarity of purpose expressed about college (academic and/or career goals), goal uncertainty

Analysis of Data
Scoring of portfolios took place in January 2008
What relationships are there between the scores?
Combine with Institutional Data (regression analysis – can we explain any variance)
Also relate it to NSSE
Look at the low scores and see if there are “persisters”

Thank you! Any Questions? Tracy Gottlieb – [email_address] Paul Fisher – [email_address] Danielle Mirliss – [email_address]

Redefining Electronic Portfolios: A View into the First Year Experience

by dmirliss on Jan 29, 2008

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