How and why are we using eportfolios? Penelope Swenson CSU, Bakersfield

Why should we assess?  Rick Stiggins suggests:  To gather evidence to inform instructional decisions  To encourage students to... learn.  Stiggins (2008)

Is this the real reason? It is one reason— and a major one. Yet...

Kathleen Willbanks See this chart and more at Always student centered.

assessment must be seen as an instructional tool To maximize student success, assessment must be seen as an instructional tool for use while learning is occurring, Stiggins (2003)

and as an accountability tool to determine if learning has occurred. Stiggins (2003), continued

...both purposes are important...they must be in balance. Stiggins (2003), continued

Course Description  An advanced, intensive study and analysis of the interrelated cultural, philosophical, historical and social factors which bear upon the continuing and contemporary issues in American Education. The course focuses upon an integration of foundational themes and concerns that relate directly to contemporary educational problems. One of our courses with an embedded signature assessment:

Kathleen Willbanks Goals and Standards?

Course objectives 1. An understanding of the formative ideas and events that have shaped American Education since the 1600’s. 2. An understanding of the fundamental social, political, religious, commercial, demographic and community dynamics that influence education in America. 3. Recognition of various schools of philosophic thought and academic diversity in education. 4. Appreciation of the multicultural diversity of American society in its educational undertakings. 5. An understanding of the purposes of schooling in a diverse, democratic society. 6. Reflective thought to the economic, political and cultural factors that affect education in California as well as America generally. 7. Utilization of solid writing and research skills.

RAND-Assignment/Assessment  Select an issue/problem from the Rand Report.  Do a brief literature review to limit, then do more later.  Look at historical and sociological background to develop deep understanding.  Craft a solution.  This is not an analysis of the problem without a solution.  This is not a political polemic.

The embedded assessment using the template:

Self-assessing on course rubric I would assess myself as follows: (student's own words) 4 Mechanics- I feel my report contains few if any errors in the conventions of the English language. The spelling was accurate, and I followed the APA format in the word processing document it was created in. I followed the APA format for abbreviation and spacing. 3 Information Literacy- I feel I demonstrated fluency with accessing, evaluating and using appropriate resources, but I took a point up because even though I did the on-line research, I used a lot of information from the books I had at my finger-tips. This might have been different if I had not experienced so many computer problems during the creation of this report. 4 Background/historical information- All major points were supported by facts with references. I gave credit in my bibliography to all of the information I read to synthesize my information. 3 Quality of Solutions- There is evidence of careful synthesis of information-I may not have referenced it directly, but all references are included in the bibliography. 3 Search References- The search strategy has some documentation; there is a gap between the references used in article and the Search; a bibliography is attached. I may not have been able to add all of my on-line sources in my bibliography due to my computer issues. 1 Rubric completed and submitted in full.

Assessment of Learning  Purpose of portfolio prescribed by institution  Artifacts mandated by institution to determine outcomes of instruction  Portfolio usually developed at the end of a class, term or program - time limited  Portfolio and/or artifacts usually "scored" based on a rubric and quantitative data is collected for external audiences  Portfolio is usually structured around a set of outcomes, goals or standards  Sometimes used to make high stakes decisions  Summative - what has been learned to date? (Past to present) From Helen Barrett (2004) Recognizing Barrett promotes FOR learning.

Kathleen Data Aggregation supporting Accreditation and Assessment

Group data ready for review, improving practice, and accreditation reports. What do students know? What are they able to do?

From embedded assignments to unique contributions and completed ePortfolio.

Key assessments Portfolio  Templates dictate portfolio essentials  Based on course objectives  Based on program objectives  Based on professional standards  Candidate choice  Essential to have creative options/ opportunities  Determine who may access (other than those required)  Encouraged to do deep reflection

Kathleen Willbanks Institutional Benefits?

Standards Assessments Results Review Reflect Refine Improve Continuous cycle of improvement

Kathleen Willbanks Benefits? ALL--students, school, program

We strive to do both. Embedding assessment may not fully merge these, but embedded assessments and ePortfolios have improved our practice. Penelope Swenson CSU, Bakersfield