The Inter/National Coalition for Electronic Portfolio Research a story of reflective practice focused on learning

Georgia Writing Portfolio  Assessment of first year composition outcomes  Three essays, one revised, and cover letter  Collected and analyzed through

Kapi’olani Hawaiian Values Portfolio  Organized around six native Hawaiian values and four stages of the journey of a canoe  Matrix thinking (Hamilton)  Impact on student engagement and learning strategies

LaGuardia ePortfolio  Recent immigrants and first-generation college students  Bridging home and disciplinary culture  Impact on retention, student engagement, grades  Portfolio studios  Visual design and iteration

Thomas College Graduation/Accreditation ePortfolio Four core competencies Internship seminar+results Reviewed for public posting

What’s an ePortfolio? Collection Selection Reflection Projection Development Diversity Communication Evaluation

ACT ONE: The Role of Questioning  1. What are the materials/evidence of reflection? How is it defined, solicited, and valued at different places? Linking, coherence, accessibility as other common features. Reflection is a distinctive feature.  2. What are the guiding principles and practices of individual (school) and Coalition portfolios? Who wants to know? Outsiders, some insiders.  3. Do electronic portfolios enhance student learning, and if so, in what ways? A BIG question. Could frame it in terms of competencies or practices. The critical thinking as it is scaffolded in a portfolio.

And More...  4. What literacies are fostered by eport use?  5. How portfolios are being used in different contexts? Can the uses be categorized?  6. Student engagement as something we need to measure, so define it and measure it, quantitatively and qualitatively.  7. What are the criteria for success for certain practices? Evidence of student learning? Metacognition? A collective conversation that would precede the common question. Operationalize certain components: reflection, eg.

ACT TWO: The Artifact

ACT THREE: The Artifact in Context  Choose one student portfolio that you can share, preferably on the Web but maybe on a CD. List the possible artifacts from that portfolio that you would categorize as example of reflection. Do not list all artifacts, but only those that are reflective.  Of these, which three are most useful to look at for analysis about reflection, and why?  Which artifact will you choose first to analyze, and why?  What information would a reader (like a member of the National Coalition) need in order to understand how this artifact shows reflection?  Is there evidence that argues that the activity of composing this reflection, in itself, contributed to the student’s learning?  How is this artifact congruent or not congruent with what you learn about the student’s ability

ACT FOUR: Moving Outward  Reflection and Connection (transfer)  Reflection, Development, and Learning  The Role of Different Methods: Detailed Analysis; Connections to Other Data Sets; Interviews as Mental Reflective Space  Theory: Donald Schon

“the biggest challenge I faced when creating my concept map was trying to identify relationships. It was very easy to name accounting concepts but developing relationships between the concepts was a challenge.”

Lines of different colors indicate the flow and development of ideas from earlier classes to classes later in his career. Rollover boxes reveal comments on each of the courses in bold face, explaining what exactly Justin considers he learned in each one. Similar rollover boxes on the colored lines between courses reveal Justin’s explanations of the questions that led from one course to the next. Conclusions from one course become the agenda for subsequent courses.

 Clemson Eport Structures

Name:_____________________________________ Date____________Length of time for this session_________________ ( spaced out for fill in space) Feel Free to use the back of this sheet as necessary 1.) What do you intend to accomplish this session? 2) As you work on the portfolio this session, please note what artifacts ( text, links, documents, pictures, audio/video, etc.), or design elements you create or change and briefly explain your reasons for doing so. 3) What issues came up this session? 4) How did you seek out help or work with others during this session? 5) What do you think you achieved/ learned this session? George Mason Thinking Sheets

Data! ;)  La Guardia—course completion, retention  Kapiliani—measures of engagement  UNO—focus of attention, pre- service development  Clemson—student assessment of student work—self; peer; faculty NEEDED: Interpretation

The Materials of Reflection …  Written, but to a real audience, and on more than one experience or artifact. Matrix thinking as “advanced.”  Visual, in maps of various kinds: course; disciplinary; eportfolios themselves.  Visual in images and metaphors, which work at the intersection of the verbal and visual  Notes and diagrams and thinking sheets: the raw material of reflection.

The Role of Structure and Context  Reflection always happens in context  The structure we provide will shape the response  Asking students to create their own structures may be a key move  Response (even anticipated) also influences reflection

The Beginning of a New Language  Evidence of many kinds and patterns in evidence  Situated learning: reflection written for an audience has the potential to change reflection  Review and re-contextulize and re- iteration: the processes of reiteration as a means of discovery and development (like artists and scientists)  The role of the personal in securing learning

The Coalition: The Power of Collective Expertise  Common question played across different sites  The rhythm of the questioning  The importance of documenting practice  The role of inquiry and the willingness to engage in it  The need to connect the question and its results with larger sets of data

We Wanted to Know... What are the materials/evidence of reflection? How is it defined, solicited, and valued at different places? Does it make a difference?

Current Questions...  The Use of a Model: The Alverno Model adapted by IUPUI and Sheffield Hallam  The Use of Coding to Inquire into the Quality of the Reflection  The Connection to Persistence; New Ways to Value Reflection  Connections between Reflection and Integrative Learning

In Sum: New “funds of knowledge” about reflection, based in real student work, located in diverse campuses with diverse students, linked to other data showing that reflection enhances learning and increases “stickiness” And reflection as more than self- assessment: rather, also as a means of invention—for students and for postsecondary education.