Dr. Marc Zaldivar's presentation discusses the significance of eportfolios as tools for enhancing student learning and engagement through various educational phases. It emphasizes how eportfolio pedagogy supports students in connecting their learning experiences, fostering self-understanding, and taking responsibility for their education. The document highlights practical applications and benefits of eportfolios in demonstrating competencies and improving curriculum assessments.

1. Making Learning Visible:
EPORTFOLIOS AS A
CATALYST FOR LEARNING &
CHANGE
Dr. Marc Zaldivar (marcz@vt.edu)
Active Technologies for Engaged Learning
Connections 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=JUxM2
OOPMMw&feature=youtu.be Reflection &
ePs
• https://atel.tlos.vt.edu/student-showcase/.
Some really amazing students doing amazing
things.
• This presentation is available at
http://tinyurl.com/ePConnections15

3. Who we are
• Comprehensive Research I Institution
• Land grant
• 60 bachelors degree programs
• 140 masters and doctoral degree programs
• ~31,000 total FTE
• ~1,700 full-time
teaching faculty

4. How we got here…
• Phase 1 (Pre-2004): On your own
• Phase 2 (2004-7): Becoming systematic
• Phase 3 (2007-12): Centralizing, department-
focused, getting grounded, tool-centered (ePortfolio
Initiatives)
• Phase 4 (2012-now): Student- and process-
centered, tools abound (Active Technologies for

5. 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

6. 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

7. ePortfolios AS catalyst?
Image from http://rlv.zcache.co.nz/Image from https://www.pinterest.com/pin/46021227413943236/

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

10. EPORTFOLIOS AS
CATALYST

11. EPORTFOLIO AS
CATALYST

14. ePortfolios AS catalyst?

15. 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.

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

17. 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.

18. 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…

19. Bringing it all around
• ePortfolios enable a unique set of assessment data, including direct
evidence of students’ skills and direct reflection on the attainment of
those skills by the student.
• Having a set of ePortfolios offers a varied look at your students’
responses to the curriculum, offering a variety of unique perspectives
on the attainment of key departmental/programmatic/institutional
outcomes.
Interested parties
review this work
to determine
strengths and
weaknesses in
the curriculum.
Faculty use
information
gathered
to improve
student learning.
Students do work,
gather, reflect,
curate, and
display their learning.

20. Evaluators
perform
assessment
Data is
communicated
openly to
facilitate
programmatic
improvement
Students submit
artifacts and
write reflections
CNRE Assessment Cycle

21. • Points to need
for better ways
to approach
inquiry.
• Data will be
used this
summer for
curricular
planning in
courses
beyond first-
year.
Data from CNRE’s
Assessment of Inquiry Outcome

22. More opportunities to TALK
• Thank you for your time and attention!
• Marc Zaldivar (marcz@vt.edu)
http://atel.tlos.vt.edu
• The Catalyst Model of ePortfolio Adoption
http://c2l.mcnrc.org
• The Association for Authentic, Experiential, and
Evidence-Based Learning (AAEEBL)
http://www.aaeebl.org