The document is Rita Zuba Prokopetz's doctoral oral examination presentation summarizing her online ethnography of master's students' development of reflection through ePortfolio projects. It includes an introduction to her research questions and methodology, a literature review on reflection and ePortfolios, findings on students' perceptions of developing reflection through giving and receiving feedback, and recommendations for future research. The presentation demonstrates Rita's examination of how participating in online ePortfolio projects impacted master's students' reflective skills and sense of community.
1. 1
Final Doctoral Oral Examination
Rita Zuba Prokopetz
July 19, 2019
Examination Committee Members:
Dr. Norman Vaughan (External)
Dr. Jane Arscott
Dr. Pamela Walsh
Dr. Debra Hoven (Supervisor)
Capstone Electronic Portfolios of Master’s Students:
An Online Ethnography
Internet Culture
Learning Space
Universities
Programs
Courses
ePortfolio
ePortfolio in my study
2. 2
My online ethnography
Evolution of cycle of fieldwork (3 course iterations)
Coming into the study (professional self-development)
Research questions my study sought to address
Review of the Literature (four constructs)
Epistemology
My research Process
Addressing the research questions
Observation – students’ emergent realizations
Findings – student perceptions
Recommendations
Contribution and Significance
Areas for Future Research
Background
My research study
5. 5
Emergence of the Problem
While observing master’s students, I perceived their
Difficulty thinking through experiences to date
Struggle aligning competencies with experiences
Challenge articulating achievement of competencies
My personal perspective
During my observations, I relied on
Experience as creator, curator, user of an eportfolio
Proponent of interpretivist / constructivist approach
Reflective practitioner and reflexive researcher
(p. 5, pp. 89-93)
6. 6
What are the overall perceptions of the development of reflection in an
online eportfolio project by masters-level students participating in a
capstone project as an instance of Internet culture?
What value do students perceive of the reflective process
as they develop their capstone eportfolio project?
To what extent does giving and receiving feedback provide students with a
sense of being a part of a subculture of an online
community of learners?
How do students perceive their experiences as peer-feedback givers
in the development of reflection as they participate in an online Master’s
capstone eportfolio project?
How do students perceive their experiences as peer-feedback
receivers in the development of reflection as they participate in an online
Master’s capstone eportfolio project?
Self/peer
reflection
Image source: Clipart
7. 7
•Bruner (1996)
•Hattie and
Timperley (2007)
•Wiggins (2012)
•Barrett and Richter
(2018)
•Dewey (1933)
•Rose (2013)
•Danielson and
Abrutyn (1997)
•Eynon and
Gambino (2017)
•Light, Chen and
Ittelson (2012)
•Batson (2018)
•Eynon and
Gambino (2017)
•Fullan (2013)
•Light, Chen and
Ittelson (2012)
Technology Pedagogy
InteractionReflection
(p. 13, p. 30, pp. 34-36, p. 40, pp. 51-52)
9. 9
Observation (3 semesters)
Participation (3 semesters)
Questionnaire (6 students)
Interviews (6 students)
Presentations (21 audio-files)
My reflective journal
My personal notes
Research Techniques Data Analysis Technique
NVivo Software
NVivo Capture
NVivo Transcribe
Data Organization
Data Exploration
Data Visualization (word cloud generator)
Emerging Themes
10. 10
Development of reflection: Value of reflective process
Self-reflection - (pp. 155-156)
Feedback giving and receiving: Sense of community
Peer-to-peer reflection - (pp. 160-162, pp. 164-167)
Some value No value Not sure
80% 0% 20%
Some sense No sense Not sure
60% 20% 20%
Development of reflection was perceived when students:
shared educational experiences
paused to think back on learning to date
Responses revealed that students:
expressed difficulty with how to give and receive feedback
responded, questioned, and integrated feedback
engaged in community building activities
12. 12
• know more about eportfolios
• experiment with more platforms
• experience reflective writing
• learn about experiential learning
• learn to give constructive
feedback
• gain confidence in providing
targeted feedback
• learn how to prevent taking
comments too personally
Perception of Study Participants (p. 150)
14. 14
Stimulating discussion on:
reflection
feedback interaction
capstone eportfolios
assessment innovation
contemporary theories of learning
richness of eporfolio in teaching and learning
Expanding contribution to:
eportfolio course revisions
campus-wide eportfolio implementation
scholarship on eportfolio as pedagogy
17. 17
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