inter/national coalition for electronic portfolio research an introduction darren cambridge barbara...

Inter/National Coalition For Electronic Portfolio Research

An Introduction

Darren Cambridge Barbara Cambridge

Kathleen Blake Yancey

Inter/National Coalition for Electronic Portfolio Research

Overview

• History and structure • Some projects and findings• Successful campus practices• Successful coalition practices


Coalition Exigency

• Rapid growth in use of electronic portfolios in the United States

• Wide diversity of models • Considerable potential to impact learning and engagement

• Evidence uneven and unintegrated


Coalition Structure

• Inter/National Coalition for Electronic Portfolio Research established in 2003

• Led by Barbara Cambridge, Kathleen Yancey, and Darren Cambridge (with CRA staff for cohort IV)

• Five cohorts of about ten campuses– Cohort One, 2003-2006 – Cohort Two, 2004-2007– Cohort Three, 2006-2009– Cohort Four, 2007-2010– Cohort Five, 2008-2011


Coalition Activities

• Individual questions and collaborative themes

• Two meetings a year• Social network, newsletter, and chats

• Interaction between cohorts • Consultations with Coalition leadership

• Coordinated dissemination


Cohort One Members

• Alverno College (MI)

• Bowling Green (OH)

• IUPUI (IN) • LaGuardia Community College (NY)

• Northern Illinois (IL)

• Portland State University (OR)

• Stanford University (CA)

• Virginia Tech (VA)

• University of Washington (WA)


Cohort Two Members

• Clemson University (SC)

• George Mason University (VA)

• Kapi’olani Community College (HI)

• Ohio State University (OH)

• Thomas College (NY)

• University of Georgia (GA)

• University of Illinois (IL)

• University of Nebraska Omaha (NE)

• Washington State University (WA)


Cohort Three Members

• California State Universities (CA)

• Framingham State University (MA)

• George Mason University (VA)

• University of Massachusetts Dartmouth (MA)

• Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MN)

• Penn State University (PN)

• University of San Diego (CA)

• Seaton Hall University (NJ)

• Sheffield Hallam University (UK)

• University of Waterloo (CA)

• University of Wolverhampton (UK)


Cohort Four Members

• University of Bradford

• University of Cumbria

• University of Groningen (Holland)

• London Metropolitan University

• University of Manchester Medical School

• University of Michigan (US)

• University of Northumbria

• University of Nottingham

• Queen Margaret University College (Scotland)

• University of Wolverhampton


Cohorts One and Two

• Open focus • All US • Shared question focusing on the types and patterns of reflection in eportfolio contexts


Cohort Three

• Focus on out-of-classroom learning– Co-curricular / extra-curricular – Informal

• Collaboration between student affairs and academic affairs

• Funded by NASPA• First international cohort


Cohort Four

• UK-focus • Shared questions around

– Personal development planning– Self-efficacy

• Collaboratively led with – Rob Ward and Janet Strivens of the Center for Recording

– Steve Outram of the Higher Education Academy (funder)

Georgia Writing Portfolio

• Assessment of first year composition outcomes• Three essays, one revised, and cover letter• Collected and analyzed through <emma>• Data about relationship between revision and scoring

Kapi’olani Hawaiian Values Portfolio

• Organized around six native Hawaiian values and four stages of the journey of a canoe

• Matrix thinking (Hamilton)

• Data on impact on student engagement and learning strategies – CCSSE– LASSI

LaGuardia ePortfolio

• Recent immigrants and first-generation college students

• Bridging home and disciplinary culture

• Data on impact on retention, student engagement, course completion

• Portfolio studios• Visual design and iteration

Clemson Eport Structures

Thomas College Graduation ePortfolio

•Four core competencies•Mapping of curriculum•Internship seminar + results•Impact of public audience

•Reviewed for public posting

Electronic Portfolios 2.0:

Emergent Findings and Shared Questions• Collection of 24

chapters detailing research from cohorts I, II, and III of the Coalition

• Forthcoming from Stylus in October 2008


Intra-campus Practices

• Diverse team • Space for forming• Narrow but open question• Balance between intellectual and pragmatic purposes


Diverse Team

• Both people who have research in their job title and those who don’t

• Reflective of the range of people involved in portfolio practice on the campus– Include administrators– Include students

• Portland State: Administrators, students, faculty from multiple disciplines


Space for Forming

• Need sufficient time and space to develop– Shared expectations– Shared conceptual framework– Personal relationships within team

• Alverno: Frameworks for analyzing reflection drawn from faculty practice


Narrow but Open Question

• Well-focused research question• Openness to the data taking you elsewhere

• Ohio State: Statewide mobility focus on writing in urban schools

• Stanford: Correlation to grades detailed analysis of a single site to figure out why


Intellectual and Pragmatic Purposes

• Clear sense of audiences and purposes of research

• Practitioner research doesn’t have to be just evaluation

• Balance between what you need to justify your work and what’s intellectually meaningful

• IUPUI: Linking “matrix thinking” to NSSE results

• Washington: From contest to work with departments


Inter-campus Practices

•Senior administrative support •Triangulation rather than replication

•Collaborative exploration of methodologies

•Regular conversations with neutral experts

•Multiple genres of reporting out


Senior Administrative

Support• Three-year commitment of travel funding from institutional budget and membership fee– Confirmation of commitment to portfolio practice

• Regular updates and notes of thanks

• Ideally, member of the team


Triangulation

• Triangulation rather than replication

• Enough structure to focus and connect, but not restrict– No one strict definition of “research” – Shared themes but not a mandated research question• Cohorts One and Two: Catalog and taxonomy of reflective artifacts

• Critical friends


Collaborative Exploration of

Methodology• Guided exploration of research methodologies and methods

• Both a way to plan the project and a way to develop shared understanding of research

• Breaking out of received notions of research through conversations– Across disciplines– Across campuses


Conversations with Experts

• Quarterly conference calls with a Coalition leader

• Periodic occasions for reviewing and asking questions

• The questioning is probably more important than the advice

• Consultation with members for past cohorts


Multiple Reporting Genres

• Variety of forms of reporting– One-pagers– Blue Skies questions– Thick descriptions of artifacts– Presentations of evidence – Chats

• Helps to stimulate creativity and accommodate multiple styles

Questions?

inter/national coalition for electronic portfolio research an introduction darren cambridge barbara...

Documents

international cohort

coalition leadership

unintegrated slide

dissemination slide

campuses cohort

use of electronic portfolios

kathleen yancey

cohorts consultations