NLI faculty development session on ePortfolio pedagogy. Spring 2015 Virginia Tech

1. Making Learning Visible:
EPORTFOLIOS AS A
CATALYST FOR LEARNING &
CHANGE
Dr. Marc Zaldivar (marcz@vt.edu)
Active Technologies for Engaged Learning
NLI, Spring 2015

2. Guiding Questions
• Why ePortfolios?
• Why does ePortfolio pedagogy
catalyze change?
• What might this look like in practice?
• Source material:
• http://www.aacu.org/leap/hip.cfm All things HIP
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUxM2OOPM
Mw&feature=youtu.be Reflection & ePs
• https://atel.tlos.vt.edu/student-showcase/. Some
really amazing students doing amazing things.

3. ePortfolios in
academic contexts • Individual learning
portfolios
• Online resumes
• Teaching portfolios
• Course-based learning
portfolios
• Programmatic assessment
portfolios
• External accreditation
portfolios
Assess
Share
Select Reflect
Collect

4. Why is ePortfolio
Pedagogy
relevant?
Folio Thinking creates students who are
engaged with their learning and who
seek to demonstrate that learning to
relevant audiences (peers, instructors,
advisors, professional contacts)
Encourage students to integrate discrete learning
experiences
Enhance students' self-understanding
Promote students' taking responsibility for their own
learning
Support students in developing an intellectual identity
ePortfolios MAKE LEARNING VISIBLE

5. ePortfolios AS catalyst?
Three Primary Audiences
Five Tiers of Stability
Three Encompassing Qualities
Success=Change
http://c2l.mcnrc.org/

7. EPORTFOLIOS AS
CATALYST

8. EPORTFOLIO AS
CATALYST

11. ePortfolios AS catalyst?

12. What are high impact
practices?
• George Kuh, (AACU, 2008)
• First-year Seminars and Experiences
• Common Intellectual Experiences
• Learning Communities
• Writing Intensive Courses
• Collaborative Assignments and Projects
• Undergraduate Research
• Diversity/Global Learning
• Service Learning, Community-Based Learning
• Internships
• Capstone Courses and Projects
• All demonstrated significantly increased engagement by
students in deep learning.

13. What might this look like in
practice?
• Students do amazing work, both in and out of the
classroom…

14. What might this look like in
practice?
• While they do this work, hopefully they learn
something…
Scieneering has bridged the gap between my passion for the sciences with my desire to
face the challenges of engineering… Upon coming to Virginia Tech, I initially decided to
pursue studies in the Biological Sciences. However, the challenge of the engineering
curriculum- especially one from the acclaimed university founded through a land-grant solely
to teach engineering- beckoned my academic curiosity and as a sophomore I had every
intention on switching to a degree in Chemical Engineering. However, upon taking these
engineering classes I realized my true passion remained in the sciences yet still yearned to
pursue engineering to perfect the characteristic method of organized problem solving that is
emphasized through engineering... Through the Scieneering program, I have realized that
the two disciplines, while separately are quite powerful, are a much more potent tool
for innovation and research when forged together. – Michelle Tran, ePortfolio
Undergraduate Showcase Winner, 2012.

15. What might this look like in
practice?
• And while they learn, they can hopefully make that
learning visible in order to gather feedback from
peers, mentors, and audiences of their choosing and
need…

16. Some questions to guide
us from here
• What high impact practices do you use or plan to
use in your students’ educational experiences?
• How might technologies enhance their ability to
engage with the learning you desire?
• How might technologies streamline the students
ability to share and get feedback from a variety of
sources?

17. More opportunities to learn
• MORE NLI Sessions
• http://www.nli.tlos.vt.edu
• Come talk with us!
• Marc Zaldivar (marcz@vt.edu)