Presentation by Siobhan Devlin and Gary Unthank (University of Sunderland) at Mahara Hui UK in Southampton, UK, on 9 November 2015. Recording: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rg4XsccNXw

1. Department of Computing, Engineering & and Technology
University of Sunderland
Will embedded ePortfolio-based supervision
lead to greater student engagement
in a capstone project?
Dr Siobhan Devlin & Dr Gary Unthank

2. Module Context
• Final year UG project – capstone module - worth 40 credits (1/3 of
year). So, over time:
– Students have had the pervasive initial pedagogy that frames and
prefigures professional preparation
– This is one of the pervasive capstone apprenticeships (real world
experience)
– It is also a culminating sequenced and balanced portfolio (the sum of the
parts of the software engineering process – problem analysis &
specification, client interaction, literature review, product build (design,
build, test, evaluate) and dissertation write up)
• They are computing students
– Computer Science, Computing, ICT, Computer Forensics, Business
Computing, Network Computing, Games Software Development
– Some have done a placement (additional capstone apprenticeship)

3. Supervision Process
• Students have individual supervisor but it is a timetabled interaction
in the project room
– At any one time there’ll be several supervisors sitting with one
student each for a 20 minute interaction
• Supervisor is not the project sponsor
– The student is not doing a project for the supervisor e.g. in their
area of academic research
– As we are an institution with a big focus on employability we
ensure students interact with both a client and a supervisor as
each entail different skills development
• Supervisor is often the personal tutor/programme leader
– Embedded PDP

4. Previously…
• Progress and advice recorded on carbonated paper
– A copy for the student and a copy for the supervision file kept in
the project room
• Easy to do but:
– Difficulty deciphering hand writing
– Students lose their copies
– Students could only demonstrate what they brought in paper
files or on own electronic device
– Students chose to engage or not. Missed sessions meant no
record/no progress check/no advice given
– Students could hide lack of progress/bury their heads in the
sand
– Supervision “after the fact”; not active involvement

5. Enter Mahara…
• We had previous experience of using it with first year students
(these same students now in final year)
– With less structure
– Less focus
– At that time we thought the students would take the tool
and run with it (they’re permanently online, and they’re
computing students!) – but they didn’t
• So, some trepidation in both tutors and students
– “First year I knew a lot less about the way to structure and use the
system properly, …” (student)
– “I know originally I did not like the thought of using it or adding blog posts
…” (student)

6. But…it was a new and improved
version of Mahara
• Better interface
• Better functionality
• Which both staff and students could see
• And the module leader had done an online course
on ePortfolios…
• So we were hopeful

7. Initial hopes…
• We wanted to be better able to track and encourage
engagement
• For engagement, read “professional disposition”
• In Shulman’s (2005) Signature Pedagogy terminology
“Professional education is not education for
understanding alone; it is preparation for accomplished
and responsible practice in the service of others”.

8. Signature Pedagogy of Software
Engineering?
SE is: systematic, controlled, cost-effective, scientific
approach to the development, operation, and
maintenance of SW, using appropriate tools and
techniques, according to the constraints you are
working within
SP of it must be: problem-based/ problematised,
systematic, controlled, cost-effective, scientific,
authentic, hands on (the instruction & critique that
Shulman describes in an engineering lab), interactive
& reactive, evolving, emergent, team based – including
peer review, constrained (including time),

9. What did we do?
Students & staff given the above template & training
Then, pretty much work as usual but with the eP
being used as the supervision vehicle

10. What have we found so far?
• 7 weeks in
• 1st assessment in week 6 (unfortunately not yet
marked)
• But several supervision sessions in we can start to
draw some tentative conclusions

11. Student feedback

12. Strong agreement
• The eportfolio is a good way to keep my supervisor in the loop/
informed about what’s going on in the project
• I am able to share evidence of what I’ve done with my supervisor
more easily than if we weren’t using an eportfolio
• The eportfolio helps a supervision to run smoothly as everything is
stored in one place
• The eportfolio enables me to see my achievements build up bit by bit
on the project
• The eportfolio makes me think about what I’m doing/have done
before I go to a supervision session
• The eportfolio helps me to track my own progress
• The eportfolio helps me to reflect on my progress

13. Some agreement
• I am able to share evidence of what I’ve done with my
client/sponsor more easily than if we weren’t using an
eportfolio (not many at that stage yet)
• Seeing my achievement build up on the eportfolio helps
motivate me on my project
• The eportfolio means I can’t hide lack of progress from my
supervisor (or myself)
• I am uploading a variety of media-rich artefacts to my
eportfolio (text, images, audio, video etc) (not much
opportunity yet)
• I am only uploading text documents (not much opportunity
yet)

14. No agreement
• The eportfolio has a negative effect on the supervision conversation
• I find I am able to do bits and pieces ‘on the go’ on the eportfolio
because of its portability (Staff think this is happening with ‘weaker students’
but they aren’t necessarily the ones who have responded to this q’naire yet)
• I only really put stuff there before I go to a supervision
• Using the eportfolio is a pain
• I feel that the eportfolio helps supervisor communication outside of
the supervision sessions
• It’s only used in the supervision session
• I feel like using the eportfolio is helping with my professional
development
– What do their agreed points add up to if not professional behaviour?

16. “Personally I think that the e-Portfolio is allowing us
to monitor our progress much better than last year’s
paper based systems.”

17. “It’s nice to be able to fill in the record before supervision and then
not having to remember to bring all the paper based records ...
Getting feedback on your supervisions is much easier than last year
and you can’t lose the copy of paper!”

18. “If you keep your blog up to date with what you are
doing then the supervision blog is very easy to do
and takes next to no time.”

19. “ePortfolio is a good way of keeping track of
what I have done and submitted, I can look
back on previous progress and compare with
what I need to achieve.”

20. “Supervision sessions are very structured in what is
checked
…then the feedback given is always at hand so improving
upon what I have done is easier for me.
It also looks to be a good way of ensuring regular progress
…and that deliverables are given to support the claims.”

21. • “I am using the eportfolio to keep a weekly blog of what I am
doing on my project and also to keep a blog on what I am
doing on another module as well. I think it is a good way to
keep all of my work together as well.”

22. Staff Feedback

23. Q: are the students doing
anything differently?
• No, not really although some students are more active in creating
documents that they can upload, e.g., client meeting notes.
• It is helping them reflect on their own progress better. If a student hasn’t
done enough in previous weeks, it is difficult for them to ‘hide’ from this. It
has also eliminated the need for students to bring work in paper or digital
format to the sessions, which streamlines the process for us.
• There may be a slight improvement in the timeliness of when students do
things
• The better students add far more detail to review prior to coming to the
supervision meeting
• Those engaging are creating blog entries and appear to be in better
control
• It’s getting some of them to think more – they’re certainly keeping up with
learning logs etc.

24. “There may be a slight improvement in
the timeliness of when students do
things.”

25. Has the supervisor role changed?
• No
• Not in terms of what I say but perhaps in how I give examples/feedback
• I don’t feel my role has changed, but I do feel the portfolio enables students to
fulfil their role more appropriately and to take greater control of the project
experience from the onset.
• I feel a little like I have a better chance at influencing & encouraging as I can
see more at a glance and can point out what they have. I feel a little more
‘involved’ whereas writing comments on paper feels ‘after the fact’
• Yes – now with the ‘good’ students I review their progress (which has a lot more
detail). For weaker students the role remains the same.
• I feel like I can concentrate more on talking to the student and then write a
shorter summary comment on the ePortfolio rather than filling in the three boxes
on the old forms.
• I am also finding that I’m expecting more work to be provided for me to review in
the session whereas in the past they often didn’t have this with them.

26. Issue where supervisor wants to be project manager
rather than scrum master, or assessor rather than
facilitator?
• It’s great for accessing and tracking the docs – its just typing in the
feedback. I want to give the students quality feedback and I end up
wasting time correct my silly typing errors etc.
• The students occasionally forget to create a supervision record
before coming to their supervision slot. This means I have to ask
them to log in and create a page (I want to keep records sequential.)
I have also had one case where a student restructured the links in
her portfolio and has ‘lost’ / hidden my supervision feedback for the
previous weeks. She has agreed to resolve this by our next session.
• supervisor need to supervise efficiently vs student choice & flexibility

27. • Questions/discussion?

28. % staff agreement
100%
70%
67%
80%
90%
• I can track my students’ progress easily on the eportfolio system
• I can track my students’ progress better on the eportfolio than I
could on paper
• I’m not able to compare but I feel the eportfolio allows me to
track progress better than a paper based system would
• I see evidence of student deliverables more readily than when
students had to remember to bring additional things to the
supervision meeting
• My students are not able to hide a lack of progress now that we
use the eportfolio system

29. % staff agreement
40%
30%
20%
10%
30%
• My students seem more engaged with their projects
than usual
• It seems as though the students are engaging
whenever/wherever they can since the supervision
‘tool’ became a flexible online tool.
• The evidence of progress that I can see is media
rich/is more media-rich than previously
• The student reflections are meaningful/seem more
meaningful than previously
• The students seem to be developing/presenting more
professional dispositions