Paper submitted for the EPortfolio and Identity Conference (EPIC) 2014 Kirstie Coolin, Mary Brown, Richard Windle, Chris Booth, Helen Parsons

1. School of Health Sciences
www.nottingham.ac.uk/healthsciences
Paper for EPIC 2014
EPIC at EPIC! E-Portfolios for International Competence: Introducing Evidence-Based
Learning E-portfolios for Healthcare Students on International Elective Placements
Kirstie Coolin, Mary Brown, Richard Windle, Chris Booth, Helen Parsons
Context
Placements are a core part of the undergraduate Nursing Curriculum in the UK in giving
students real-world knowledge and understanding of clinical practice.
Contemporary healthcare has a global perspective therefore it is essential that
students/practitioners develop a level of international and cultural competence. In year two of
The University of Nottingham’s Bachelor of Science in Nursing, 450 students undertake an
‘Elective Placement’ - a 4-week placement arranged by the students themselves giving them the
opportunity for international travel if they choose. Students often follow their own professional
interest and their final choice is often a very personal one.
E-portfolio-enabled Elective Placements are new for 2014. Previous placements were assessed
via paper workbooks whereas the 2014 Elective Placement is assessed via a student-centred e-
portfolio with students collecting and reflecting on evidence to demonstrate their learning while
on placement. The team are interested in evaluating added pedagogical value that an e-
portfolio provides over paper-based methods. Students are expected to curate and share a
variety of evidence in their e-portfolio which ought to provide them with the opportunity to be
more open, reflective and creative in producing their assessed e-portfolios.
This session will present the e-portfolio model developed for the programme plus initial
evaluations as the students return from placement with their e-portfolios.
Objectives
Key aims for using e-portfolio for the Elective Placement are:
1. Institutional change - using technology to encourage new methods in teaching/learning and
to:
 further embed and widen use of an e-portfolio tool within the academic School
 expand the perception of e-portfolio functions for learning and assessment
 support e-portfolio roll-out and the understanding of what else an e-portfolio can provide
in addition to its existing form-based institutional and administrative benefits.
2. Learning - promoting self-directed and transformative learning through:
 familiarising students with portfolio working and self-directed learning (while e-portfolio
is embedded into other areas of their course, using e-portfolio in this way will support
more personal and student-centred functions, establishing good learning habits for
reflection and lifelong learning as required by their profession)
 developing extra professional skills in evidence selection, curation and presentation of
skills

2.  synthesising theory and practice learning
 enabling student collaboration at a distance on a student-set group learning outcome to
enrich and share learning experiences
 introducing e-portfolio as a tool for employability.
3. Assessment, feedback and evaluation - introducing new assessment methods to support a
modern curriculum by:
 introducing a showcase e-portfolio as an assessed piece of work to include reflection on
learning outcomes
 learning about the types of evidence collected by students; how these are assembled
and synthesised; what evidence of reflective learning/high-level cognition emerges from
this group
 assessing the students’ learning journey and demonstration of learning processes
 including pre-placement planning activities within the e-portfolio (Risk Assessment and
Elective Plan)
 facilitating feedback from tutors, mentors and peers throughout.
Summary
E-portfolios were introduced into the School of Health Sciences in 2012 for students on the
Nursing Undergraduate programme, initially as part of a long term e-learning strategy.
Introducing e-administration processes alongside the portfolio has been beneficial for staff and
students in reducing paperwork and manual processes and has increased buy-in within the
School. Learning and teaching benefits have developed alongside, and use of the e-portfolio has
expanded over the last 18 months to form a core part of the e-learning provision offered within
the School. Roll-out of the system and its processes is extending to the whole School (Nursing,
Midwifery, Physiotherapy, Learning Beyond Registration programmes).
For the Elective Placement, the e-portfolio was used in the pre-placement stage and students
first submitted a Risk Assessment and an Elective Plan using forms developed within the e-
portfolio. Here, students set their learning objectives for the placement, using the Plan as a live
document with continuous feedback and mentoring throughout the placement lifecycle. Both
pieces are assessed.
Training was delivered to all students/tutors alongside detailed training materials. An extra
member of staff was employed to support students in developing and managing their evidence.
In addition to using written reflections as evidence, students have been encouraged to collect a
range media (images, video, and audio) to include in their e-portfolio. A particular challenge in
collecting healthcare-related evidence is confidentiality, consent and copyright restrictions.
Students and tutors were given guidance on the necessary procedures in relation to students’
own photographs and recordings so students could collect evidence creatively within legal and
ethical boundaries. Students may also add creative-commons images from the internet and
stock photographs supplied by the placement providers to their work.
As well as creating their e-portfolio, students collaborate towards a shared learning objective in
small groups and create a joint e-portfolio to share evidence and reflections from their own
placement.
Conclusion
By the time of the conference students will have returned from their placements and we hope to
show some examples of student portfolios