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Work 2A: Case Study (Educational Practice Analysis)

Project Overview

Project Description

Write a case study of an innovative learning practice—a method, a resource or a technology, for instance. This could be a reflection practice you have already used, or a new or unfamiliar practice which you would like to explore. Analyze an educational practice, or an ensemble of practices, as applied in a clearly specified a learning context. Use theory concepts introduced in this course. We encourage you to use theory concepts defined by members of the group in their published Work 1, with references and links to the published works of the other course participants.

Word limit: at least 2000 words

Media: Include images, diagrams, infographics, tables, embedded videos, (either uploaded into CGScholar, or embedded from other sites), web links, PDFs, datasets or other digital media. Be sure to caption media sources and connect them explicitly with the text, with an introduction before and discussion afterwards.

References: Include a References “element” or section with at least five scholarly articles or books that you have used and referred to in the text, and all the added media, plus any other necessary or relevant references, including websites.

Rubric: The educational practice rubric is the same as for Work 1, against which others will review your work, and against which you will do your self-review at the completion of your final draft.

Go to Creator => Feedback => Reviews => Rubric to see rubric against which others will review your work, and against which you will do your self-review at the completion of your final draft. The rubric explores four main knowledge processes, the background and rationale for which is described in the papers at this page.

Icon for How e-Portfolios are Reshaping Educational Landscapes

How e-Portfolios are Reshaping Educational Landscapes

Technology is undoubtedly reshaping the field of education, and e-portfolios are a new buzz word within many educational institutions -- both secondary educational institutions, as well as higher educational institutions have recognized the importance of e-portfolios. The benefits of e-portfolios are endless, and the purpose that they serve depends on the need of the institution and the student. Kim Moore (2019) explains how e-portfolios serve a multitude of purposes: ranging from an archive of relevant information that allows students to holistically reflect on their course material over time, to an alternative form of assessment that facilitates instant feedback, self-assessment and reflection and much more (Moore, 2019).

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Michael D. Ciocco and Diane Holtzman (2008) elaborate upon what Morre (2019) states and explains that e-portfolios also serve the valuable purpose of digitizing student work over time, and creating an archive of material that can be later used to be shown to college admissions boards, as well as future employers during the application process (Ciocco and Holtzman, 2008). Ciocco and Holtzman (2008) state that “for the life of the e-portfolio, prospective employers are often considered a major target audience” (Ciocco and Holtzman, 2008, pg. 70).

In addition to the many purposes an e-portfolio serves, there are many skills that a student gains from creating and maintaining e-portfolios over an extended period of time. Moore (2019) also draws attention to the ways in which e-portfolios can be thought of an ever-evolving resume that grant students’ ownership and control over the learning process. For example, e-portfolios allow students’ to “develop a growth mindset, strengthen metacognition—improve self-assessment, improve self-motivation—set and meet personal goals, showcase achievements, grow into empowered learners, expand digital literacy, channel creativity and innovation, and demonstrate learning across courses and time” (Moore, pg. 34).

Below Kyle Cote and Tara Emmet (2015) provide an example of a secondary student’s e-portfolio homepage. The photo is of their homepage serves the purpose of introducing the student to the viewer, and providing the viewer within insight into the student’s background and interests.

(Cote and Emmet, pg. 355)

Additionally, and as was mentioned before, e-portfolios are an excellent example of the ways in which technology is reshaping educational landscapes. As Schiele et. al. (2017) explains, that “e-Portfolios are additional examples of instruction being infused with technology to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of teaching and learning in the classroom” (Schiele et. al., pg. 102-103). Moreover, e-portfolios demonstrate the progress students make over their educational journey (Schiele et. al., 2017). Likewise, e-portfolios allow for greater transparency when it comes to assessing student work, both formative and summative assessments (Schiele et. al., 2017).

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The following sections will elaborate upon the purpose and benefits of e-portfolios in diverse educational settings, as well as examine the ways in which e-portfolios foster higher-order critical thinking and self-reflection (which is essential to personal and academic growth). However, before examining the aforementioned concepts, I will examine the use of e-portfolios within the context of the school where I work.

PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

The school I work at, Colegio Americano de Quito (The American School of Quito), is an International Baccalaureate (IB) school located in the capital of Ecuador. Within the past few years the school began to focus on the importance of e-portfolios, and require that all students create an e-portfolio that demonstrates the work that they have completed within the context of their classes (with the purpose of demonstrating their learning and growth over time). However, to be very honest, the e-portfolios within the context of the school where I work are largely treated as an afterthought; despite the verbal importance that is given to them.

The teachers where I work (myself included) are in charge of ensuring that our students upload a formative and summative assessment to their e-portfolios once a semester (twice a year). Likewise, the students are required to write a description of the assignment below the evidence that they provide -- evidence typically takes the form of a scanned copy of the assignment, or perhaps a video depending on the nature of the class and assessment. For example, I teach English Language Arts (ELA) and my students typically upload the various versions of an essay (rough drafts to the final version) to their e-portfolio under my subject area. The rough drafts include the feedback that I provided throughout the writing process, and the final version demonstrates how the students utilized the feedback to create their final version of the essay.

However, after reading various articles about the purpose and benefits of e-portfolios, I have to admit that there is much that can be improved in our school’s e-portfolio process. To begin with, the faculty and staff at my workplace are genuinely unaware of the reasoning behind the e-portfolios, and based on my perspective I would argue that this is because the school lacks strong leadership in the e-portfolio process. For example, the school itself hasn’t clearly defined the objective(s) of the students’ e-portfolios. Defining the purpose of e-portfolios to the faculty and student body might lead to greater buy-in from all parties involved.

Additionally, the task of the e-portfolios is delegated to everybody and nobody at once; it is very easy for all parties involved to defer responsibility to anyone else at any given moment. For example, teachers can require that students’ upload material to the e-portfolio as homework -- yet the teachers do not have to verify if students did indeed complete the “assignment” as this is seen as the students' responsibility, not the teachers, according to administration. So, essentially, the teachers' who are in charge of the e-portfolio process are in charge of “suggesting” to the students that they upload certain assignments to their e-portfolios. And this has resulted in student e-portfolios that resemble a random collection of various assignments from a plethora of classes -- nothing is connected, or explained, just uploaded and revisited by the teachers’ and students’ every five to six months.

Likewise, there is no reflective process that has been worked into the construction of the e-portfolios, nor are the subjects connected in a logical and interdisciplinary manner. Instead, the students’ e-portfolios at my workplace resemble a random mix of various assignments from all their classes. As Ciocco and Holtzman (2008) explain, e-portfolio processes at times are “treated as an eclectic repository of digital hodgepodge where there is not necessarily any rhyme or reason as to why the student has displayed certain projects… ” (Ciocco and Holtzman, pg. 70-71). E-portfolios have great potential to foster and facilitate a highly reflective process that allows for personal and academic growth, not to mention the opportunity to promote and instill a growth mindset. Curricularly and pedagogically speaking, e-portfolios are an excellent opportunity to make interdisciplinary connections between various subjects when used correctly. And ultimately, e-portfolios can serve as a strong piece of evidence during the college application process, and beyond depending on the educational institution.

If introduced and lead properly in the context of the school where I work, e-portfolios could serve as an excellent additional tool that promotes 21st century skills. As previously mentioned, the coming section will closely examine the purpose and benefits of e-portfolios in greater detail.

BENEFITS OF E-PORTFOLIOS

There are a multitude of purposes and benefits to e-portfolios, and the function(s) of an e-portfolio can vary depending on the educational institution. For example, Schiele et. al. (2017) explains that from an “educational perspective, e-Portfolios may be a personal and professional online space for students to showcase their experiences and demonstrate their skills. Learning-oriented e-Portfolios often contain three foundational components: reflection, documentation, and collaboration” (Schiele et. al., pg. 104). Additionally, e-portfolios can also be targeted towards potential employers if they’re constructed within the context of a higher educational institution, or they can be targeted towards universities during the college admissions process, and can aid in the candidate screening process when making final selections (Schiele et. al., 2017). E-portfolios can likewise be learning-oriented and geared towards potential admissions or hiring committees, also. Below we will examine the many benefits that are gained from learning-oriented e-portfolios.

When an e-portfolio is created with the purpose of being learning-oriented, it is very common for students e-portfolios to be assessed, and for students to receive feedback on the various aspects of their e-portfolio. Ciocco and Holtzman (2008) detail how e-portfolios allow teachers to review a variety of materials online, and as a result of the concise and condensed nature of e-portfolios, teachers are able to provide detailed feedback in a streamlined manner, often much more quickly than providing feedback on traditional assessments (Ciocco and Holtzman, 2008). “Through the use of e-portfolios, students can share their creative work and documented life experiences with others who provide feedback and assessment of their learning and skills development” (Ciocco and Holtzman, 2008, pg. 70).

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E-portfolios also provide educators with a collaborative platform that facilitates the tracking of students’ growth and development of skills over the years (longitudinal). For example, “With an e-portfolio system, faculty can move beyond their own courses and start to track the progress of each student over an entire program, curriculum, or series of courses. This allows for ongoing evaluation, student reflection on feedback, and continual directed improvement” (Ciocco and Holtzman, pg. 70). Teachers are able to review a student’s progress in a specific subject, or development of a special skill simply by analyzing a student’s e-portfolio and examined the evidence and reflections provided by the student. Teachers are no longer limited to providing a diagnostic exam at the beginning of the year to gauge each students level of knowledge and skills, they can see the “bigger picture” much more clearly thanks to e-portfolios. And because of this, educators can create long-term educational plans that are individualized to each student’s demonstrated strengths and areas of improvement. In short, e-portfolios have the potential to aid in the personalization and individualization of the learning process.

Beyond the ways in which e-portfolios facilitate and foster the creation of personalized education plans, they also serve as a great sounding board for educators to make more informed curricular and pedagogical choices based on where teachers notice areas of interest and reinforcement given the holistic analysis of the cumulative e-portfolios from their students’. For example, Ciocco and Holtzman (2008) explain that e-portfolios can be utilized to “...identify common issues and weaknesses in the student body based on evaluation criteria and then work to address said issues within their courses. In some areas of study, e-portfolios can be used in this fashion to serve as a sort of ‘early warning system’ that may prove valuable to student retention and success” (Ciocco and Holtzman, pg. 70). Overall, “the benefits of an e-portfolio typically derive from the exchange of ideas and feedback between the author and those who view and interact with the e-portfolio” (Cote and Emmet, pg. 355). Such exchanges and interactions between the author and the viewer allow for informed pedagogical and curricular choices that ultimately foster a highly student-centered learning environment; and as Cote and Emmet (2015) explain, e-portfolios generated ongoing communication between the students’ and their teachers’ that resulted in an ongoing loop of feedback and reflection (Cote and Emmet, 2015).

Lastly, and of equal importance, e-portfolios make the learning process meaningful by promoting students to take ownership of their learning process. Geiger and Arriaga (2012) note the importance of student ownership and encouraged all students to carefully and thoughtfully choose the artifacts/ evidence that they wanted to include in their e-portfolios (Geiger and Arriaga, pg. 51). Moore (2019) also echoes the importance of students taking ownership of their e-portfolios and emphasizes that by allowing students free reign over what they choose to include, and what evidence they choose to present to the viewer, the students will experience a more meaningful learning process. “Students are in charge of what to include, within guidelines set by their teacher. They decide how to design their e-portfolio, which artifacts best represent their learning, and, sometimes, what medium these artifacts are in. It is important to allow students to have some control over their final product. To demonstrate growth, an e-portfolio will often include similar work done over the course of several years. The products students include in their portfolios should be related to the curriculum and serve as evidence of their engagement in meaningful learning” (Moore, 2019, pg.34).

Below are examples of students’ e-portfolios that demonstrate the ways in which students can customize their learning process to their personal interests within the bounds of the class curriculum. As was already stated, this allows for greater meaning to be attached to the learning process, and is another example of how e-portfolios foster personalized learning environments.

(Moore, pg. 35)
(Moore, pg. 35)

In addition to the many benefits that e-portfolios foster, it’s important to examine the ways in which e-portfolios allow for a process of reflection and promote personal and academic growth, as well as enhance learning outcomes.

HOW E-PORTFOLIOS PROMOTE REFLECTION & ENHANCE LEARNING OUTCOMES

E-portfolios allow for a process of personal and academic reflection in which students are able to examine what went well, and also examine what did not go as planned, and most importantly, reflect on what can be done differently in the future. As Moore (2019) explains, “e-portfolios allow students to critically assess their academic work, to reflect on that work, and to make connections among different courses, assignments, and other activities (such as work experience, extracurricular pursuits, and volunteering opportunities)” (Moore, pg. 34).

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Reflection is an ongoing process, and e-portfolios aid in ensuring that students are constantly learning from their mistakes and become comfortable with “failing forward.” As Moore (2019) details, “e-portfolios are both a product and, more importantly, a process. An e-portfolio is a collection of work (evidence, artifact) in an electronic format that showcases learning over time” (Moore, pg. 34). Cote and Emmet (2015) note how the most valuable aspect of incorporating e-portfolios into the curriculum at VLACS [Virtual Learning Academy Charter School] is the ongoing reflection process that the students are prompted to participate in. They draw special attention to the value that is gained by the annual reflection letter that students are asked to write at the end of each school year -- this annual reflection letter is used in part to present their portfolio to a group of advisors, which consequently serves as another mode of reflection for the students’ at VLACS (Cote and Emmet, 2015). Cote and Emmet (2015) state how “these reflective pieces provide students with an important opportunity to consider themselves as learners. The desire to encourage this reflective process influenced each phase of ePortfolio development” (Cote and Emmet, pg. 355).

Below we can see the ways in which VLACS prompts students to reflect on themselves as learners through their e-portfolios in the first photo, and in the following photo we can see how a student responded to the prompt and autonomously examined themselves as a learner.

(Cote and Emmet, pg. 359)
(Cote and Emmet, pg. 359)

Ultimately, Cote and Emmet (2015) found that “students who created and fully interacted with their ePortfolios value the experience. In their final reflective letters, students mention the importance of having a reflective component within the ePortfolio requirements” (Cote and Emmet, pg. 361). And as was previously mentioned, reflection allows for learning and growth, and for this reason, a builtin reflection process should be strongly considered when utilizing e-portfolios with a learning-oriented purpose. However, the effective implementation of e-portfolios is not intuitive, and as referenced earlier, e-portfolios can quickly become a hodgepodge of disconnected virtual artifacts that quickly lose meaning and purpose if not executed properly. The last section will provide suggestions for the successful implementation of e-portfolios, and examine key takeaways.

SUGGESTIONS & CONCLUSION

As was discussed in detail above, there are many positive aspects and benefits to e-portfolios; however, it was also noted that if not implemented properly, e-portfolios can quickly turn into a collection of digital artifacts (which has unfortunately happened within the context of the school where I work). In order to avoid this outcome, it is advisable that professional development be provided to educators in order to generate greater buy-in. However, teacher buy-in and understanding of the purpose and benefits of e-portfolios is not the only aspect to consider, student buy-in is equally as important when it comes to ensuring the success of e-portfolios, and more importantly, that students gain the maximum benefits from the ongoing process of creating their own e-portfolios. Schiele et. al. (2017) notes how their overall analysis reveals that “students found e-Portfolios to be a beneficial learning and professional development tool” (Schiele et. al., pg. 107).

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Additionally, there are available resources for educators who wish to implement e-portfolios within the context of their educational institutions. Below Moore (2019) has provided resources to guide educators in the right direction, and to help them learn more about what makes e-portfolios success and meaningful for students:

(Moore, pg. 35)
(Moore, pg. 37)

Additionally, Ciocco and Holtzman (2008) note that it might be valuable to have e-portfolio clinics at schools and universities in order to aid students in the creation of their e-portfolios. Based on my personal experience, I think this would be a valuable addition to educational environments given the fact that schools and universities across the world are quickly jumping on the bandwagon -- however, often times, many schools and universities lack the knowledge and support to successfully facilitate the implementation of e-portfolios. The successful implementation of e-portfolios comes with many benefits as was already discussed in the prior sections. Moore (2019) notes that “88% of students found multiple benefits to student-created portfolios, 89% agreed that the portfolio encouraged them to think about what they had learned during their academic experience, and 91% affirmed that the portfolio-building process encouraged them to think about the professional knowledge, skills, and abilities they acquired” (Moore, 2019, pg. 35). Given all that is to be gained through e-portfolios, institutions have to ensure that they are equipped to facilitate the process to its maximum potential.

REFERENCES

Ciocco, M.D. and Holtzman, D. (2008). E-Portfolios and the Millennial Students. Journal of Continuing Higher Education, 56(3), 69–71. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy2.library.illinois.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eft&AN=508009816

Cote, K. and Emmet, T. (2015). Effective Implementation of ePortfolios: The Development of ePortfolios to Support Online Learning. Theory Into Practice, 54(4), 352–363. https://doi-org.proxy2.library.illinois.edu/10.1080/00405841.2015.1077642

Geiger, S. and Arriaga, A. (2012). First Steps in Implementing a High School E-Portfolio Program. Library Media Connection, 31(2), 50–51. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy2.library.illinois.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eft&AN=82392212

Moore, K. (2019). Tools and Tips for Helping Students Create E-Portfolios. Computers in Libraries, 39(8), 32–37. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy2.library.illinois.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eft&AN=139248673

Schiele, K. Richard N. Matzen R.N. and Bridgewater, M. (2017). Using e-Portfolios to Demonstrate High-Impact Educational Practices and Promote Student Employment Success. Journal of Higher Education Theory & Practice, 17(1), 102–109. Retrieved from http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy2.library.illinois.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eft&AN=136722463