This document provides an overview of ePortfolios, including their definition, purposes, and Newcastle University's experience with them over 10 years. EPortfolios are purposeful collections of student work and evidence of learning and competencies. They can be used formatively or summatively and can take many forms from unstructured to structured. Newcastle has used ePortfolios to support reflective learning, assessment of outcomes, and personal development planning. Engagement is higher when ePortfolios are clearly embedded in curriculum through modules and regular reference by teaching staff. The university is now developing a unified ePortfolio system to further support reflection, employability, and meetings between students and personal tutors.

1. Overview of ePortfolios
Simon Cotterill
Learning Technologies for Medical Sciences
School of Medical Sciences Education Development

2. Objectives
To provide/discuss a general overview:
• What are portfolios?
• Background/ Drivers
• Engagement / Embedding
• Brief overview of current Newcastle University context

3. What are Portfolios ?
“..a purposeful collection of student work that
exhibits to the student, or others, [their] efforts or
achievement in one or more areas.” Arter and
Spandel (1991)
The Journey – the process of completing the
portfolio as a learning experience
The end-point – the evidence of learning /
competencies
Artefacts (eg. essays, logs of experiences, artwork, videos,
audits, records of prior-learning/ qualifications).

4. Diversity of Portfolios
Unstructured Structured
Formative Summative
Factual / Quantitative Reflective / Interpretive
Sample All work
Best work Representative
Learner Owned Employer Owned
Episodic Life-long

5. ePortfolios: defined by their purpose(s)
Portfolio for
Presentation
Portfolio for Sharing / dialogue
Assessment
Portfolio for
Application
Portfolio for Learner’s (job / promotion)
Accreditation/ ‘repository’
Revalidation
Institutional
Data
Portfolio for
Appraisal
Central data:
Transcript
MIS/ HR data PDP
(shared)
Programme data:
PDP / Reflective
Granular assessment data
(private)
Outcomes / skills sets

6. ePortfolios at Newcastle: >10 yr experience
FDTL-4
JISC ePET project
Project
FDTL T&L Fund Projects x 2
Mini project Transferability
JISC EPICS regional Project
(Bioscience) Postgraduate Research
ePortfolio project
Training ePortfolio
Mini Projects
(Medicine)
Teaching Fellowship
ePortfolio for appraisal
Mobile
Hosted Dental portfolio
services ePortfolio projects Wide uptake in other
JISC EPICS-2 regional undergraduate courses
ePortfolio project

7. Aims of our FDTL-4 ePortfolio project (2002)
• To develop an on-line portfolio system to support a reflective
approach to evidencing the attainment of programme
outcomes.
• To promote the development of the reflective capabilities of
medical students, giving greater responsibility for managing
their own learning and preparing for aspects of work-based
and lifelong learning.
• To develop strategies to facilitate assessment of curriculum
outcomes that are not amenable to traditional instruments of
assessment.

8. Personal
Development Planning (PDP)
 ‘a means by which students can monitor, build and
reflect upon their personal development’.
Dearing Review (NCIHE 1997)
 ‘a structured and supported process undertaken by
an individual to reflect upon their own
learning, performance and/or achievement and to plan
for their personal, educational and career development’.
(QAA, 2001)
Links with other agendas: employability, widening participation

9. How much structure?
• Intrinsic structure
– „scaffolding‟
– structure aids assessment
• structured skill sets, outcomes and competencies
– but too much structure
• perceived as ‘form filling’
• risks lower engagement
• Extrinsic structure
– guidelines / assessment criteria
– guidance / direction from tutors & mentors

10. Changing habits and expectations…
Web 2.0
• Interactive / participative
• Social / conversational
• Simple – unstructured
Our response:
• Unstructured Blog but with explicit links to skills/outcomes
Cotterill SJ et al. Beyond the Blog: getting the right level of structure
in an ePortfolio to support learning. Proc. ePortfolios 2007
Mobile / Wireless Technologies
• Our early pilots of PDAs for logbooks problematic
• Successful use in Dentistry – assessment at the point of learning

11. Factors related to engagement with ePortfolio / blog
Questionnaire results n=163 (30% response rate, 3 subjects – non-medical)
EPICS-2 Project
http://www.epics.ac.uk
Group 1 Group 2 Group 3
High Medium Modest
Engagement Engagement Engagement
I have a clear understanding of the purpose of the ePortfolio 87% 74% 58%
I have a clear understanding of how the ePortfolio is used in my programme 91% 76% 42%
I received adequate information on how to use the ePortfolio 58% 50% 58%
I had a clear understanding of the skills being evidenced in the ePortfolio 66% 65% 17%
The skills included in the ePortfolio are important in studying for my degree 69% 94% 25%
The skills included in the ePortfolio are important for my longer-term career 59% 94% 33%
The ePortfolio is important for my programme 75% 82% 33%
Course handbooks and study guides refer to the ePortfolio 58% 65% 25%
Teaching staff regularly refer to the ePortfolio 84% 41% 33%

12. Embedding in the curriculum = better engagement
and effective use of ePortfolios
Driessen E et al. Portfolios in medical education: why do they meet
with mixed success? A systematic review. Med Educ. 2007;41:1224-
33.
Atlay, M. Embedding PDP practice in the curriculum, in Personal
Development Planning and Employability, Higher Education
Academy, York. 2006
… but, what do we mean by embedding?

13. Atlay (2009) classified ways in which PDP can be
associated with curricula:
Discrete ‘bolt on’ – optional and additional to + Low cost
the curriculum - Risk low engagement
Linked Run in parallel to the curriculum but + No disruption to curric.
linked to it - Risks low engagement
Embedded Included in specific module(s) + Better consistency of
experience
- Risks being fragmented
Integrated Underpins and used throughout the + Becomes integrated part
curriculum of staff/student thinking
- Difficult to achieve!
Extended Integrates activities in the curriculum + Draws together study,
along with wider life experiences work & life experiences
- Unpredictable outcomes

14. Project 2012 – University portfolio
Governance: University ePortfolio Steering Group
2011/12 2012/13 2013/14
Student evaluation Students will have Students will have the
access to an ePortfolio opportunity to use their
to support personal ePortfolio in meetings
Consultations with staff
reflection and with their Personal Tutor
development of to support the student in
Jan 2012: enhanced employability skills achieving personal,
ePortfolio live academic and
Semester 2 2011/12 professional goals
pilots of ePortfolio use

15. Opportunities
Sharing and community features
• Additional information for tutors + recording of meetings
• Channel for additional feedback
} opportunity
& threat!
• Could help support seminar group / peer mentoring
Integration with other systems
• Integration with TSE/LSE e.g. SSC supervisors
• Viewing released component marks + integrated reflect/plan or feedback
• Feeding undergraduate portfolio information on into Foundation portfolio
• Portfolio linked to curriculum map (Learning Maps)
Feeding information into the portfolio
• Longstanding example: PGR workshop attendance records are added to CV
• Could feed in assessment and feedback from diverse activities
• e.g. Phase 1 ethics: peer assessment / peer feedback
• e.g. Facility for staff to add adhoc feedback

16. Further information Simon.Cotterill@ncl.ac.uk
Our Information
Portfolio Service: https://portfolio.ncl.ac.uk (or access via TSE/LSE or Blackboard)
Our publications: http://www.eportfolios.ac.uk/docs
Over 15 papers, chapters and conference papers e.g.
Cotterill SJ, Bradley PM, Stacy R. Using ePortfolios to support annual appraisal in undergraduate medicine.
Proc. ePortfolios, identity and personalised learning in healthcare education. 2008 Newcastle
Cotterill SJ, McDonald AM, Hammond GR, Bradley PM. ePortfolio to support planning, learning and
summative assessment for student selected components in Medicine: 4 years experience. . Proc. ePortfolios,
identity and personalised learning in healthcare education. 2008 Newcastle
Cotterill SJ, Aiton J, Bradley PM, Hammond GR, McDonald AM, Struthers J, Whiten S. A flexible component-
based ePortfolio: adapting and embedding in the curriculum. In: In Jafari A, Kaufman C, ed. Handbook of
Research on ePortfolios. Pennsylvania: Idea Group Inc, 2006.
External Sources
JISC ePortfolios Toolkit: http://www.jiscinfonet.ac.uk/e-portfolios
Centre for Recording Achievement
http://www.recordingachievement.org/

17. 10 ‘value added’ features
of an online approach to portfolios
• Sharable / facilitate interaction
• Transportable - supporting continuity in LLL
• Highly customisable
• Multi-purpose eg. formative & summative = reduced duplication
• Multiple structures / views
• Easier cross-referencing
• Searchable
• Reduced admin
• Secure access from a range of locations
• Not left on the bus !