Non-traditional assessment in traditional subjects Work Placement, Employability and ePortfolios

Context Since the 1980s there have been consistent governmental drives to increase the effectiveness of HE in preparing students for working life Role of internships increasingly seen as critical in marketplace – improving candidates skills, widening access to professional networks and developing social capital

Work placement modules and humanities Hawkins and Woolf in Lavender ed. (2011) estimate that currently 32% of depts have wk placement provision Predominately those in the post-92 sector Assessments tended towards reflective essays and placement journals/diaries Hawkins and Woolf (2011)- ‘little use was made of any form of e-assessment’; ‘portfolios…involved students submitting a collection of items assessed individually, rather than…holistic portfolio[s]’

ePortfolios and employability ePortfolios have been seen for some time as a valuable extension of PDP Valued for developing goal-setting and reflecting skills, improving language and communication skills, and independent planning/initiative HEFCE e-learning objective (2005) – "encouraging e-based systems of describing learning achievement and personal development planning"

Why do we want to do it? To correct perceptions that humanities subjects do not develop transferable skills To improve the employability of our humanities students To encourage students to develop their career plans

Humanities Work Roehampton Work placement originally assessed via essay alone Revised by Dr. Kathryn Tempest to include portfolio –Improve engagement with placement –Greater integration of academic subject and placement opportunity 2 & 3yr UG Students from TRS, Philosophy, History and Classical Civilisations Students secure their own placement Assessed via 25% eportfolio and 75% essay on subject related to placement

THE The ePortfolio at Roehampton

Requirements The ePortfolio is posted as a Mahara ‘view’ It must contain: –A reflective journal –A copy of the student’s CV both before and after placement –A description of the host institution –Other potential items – covering letter; references from placement institution But many of our students do an awful lot more…

Potential ePortfolios allow students greater flexibility in recording the placement experience (video, photographs, links as well as text) Gives students the freedom to create a very rich resources (so rich that some material ‘borrowed’ by placement institutions) Potential for peer-to-peer learning via Mahara group

References R. Hawkins and H. Woolf, ‘The Assessment of Work Placement Learning in UK Undergraduate History Programmes’ in L. Lavender ed., History Graduates with Impact (HEA, 2011), 37-43R. Hawkins and H. Woolf, ‘The Assessment of Work Placement Learning in UK Undergraduate History Programmes’ in L. Lavender ed., History Graduates with Impact (HEA, 2011), JISC myWorld case study

Questions for discussion Do ePortfolios deliver on the skills they are designed to foster (reflection, independence, language/communication)? How can employability be enhanced further? Should ePortfolios be given more weighting in module assessment? Should we move towards outward-facing portfolios for work placement modules (portfolios that can be shared with future employers)?