supporting and assessing lifewide learning
DESCRIPTION
Slides for a webinar on educating the whole student sponsored by NERCOMP, presented in collaboration with Kim Eby.TRANSCRIPT
Supporting and Assessing Lifewide Learning: Rethinking Evidence for Integration
Darren Cambridge, Ph.D.Assistant Professor, New Century CollegeFaculty Affiliate: Higher Education Program
Kimberly K. Eby, Ph.D.Associate Provost for Faculty DevelopmentDirector, Center for Teaching Excellence
Session OverviewExpanding what we value in
student learningEportfolios models for this
expanded understandingEportfolio research on evidence
at George Mason University Implications of social network
site use
Expanding What We Value in Student Learning
IntegrativeHolistic – educating the whole studentStudent Affairs – Academic Affairs
Partnerships◦Learning Reconsidered◦Leadership Reconsidered
Stakeholder analysis ◦Greater Expectations ◦AAC&U Project LEAP◦AAC&U VALUE project
Interconnectedness of Student Learning (from Learning Reconsidered, 2004)
Social Context
Institutional Context
Academic Context
STUDENTIdentity
FormationCognition/EmotionBehavior
Meaning Making
Integrated Outcomes
Construction of knowledge
Construction of meaningConstruction of self in
society
Learning Reconsidered: Student Learning Outcomes
Student Outcomes Dimensions of Outcomes Sample Learning Experiences
Cognitive complexity Critical thinking, reflective thinking, effective reasoning, intellectual flexibility, emotion/cognition/identity integration
Classroom teaching; campus speakers; problem-based learning; living-learning communities; judicial boards; diversity programs; study abroad
Knowledge acquisition, integration & application
Understanding knowledge in a range of disciplines; connecting knowledge to other knowledge, ideas, and experiences; relating it to daily life; pursuit of lifelong learning; career decidedness; technological competence
Majors, minors, general education; certificate programs; research teams; group projects; service learning; internships; jobs (on- and off-campus); living-learning communities; career development courses; drama/arts/music groups
Humanitarianism Understanding and appreciation of human differences; cultural competency; social responsibility
Diverse membership of student organizations; inter-group dialogue programs; service learning; cultural festivals; identity group programming
Civic engagement Sense of civic responsibility; commitment to public life through communities of practice; engage in principled dissent; effective in leadership
Involvement in student and community orgs; service learning; student governance; sports teams; leadership courses; open forums
Interpersonal and intrapersonal competence
Realistic self-appraisal and self understanding; attributes such as identity, self esteem, confidence, ethics/integrity, spiritual awareness, personal goal setting; meaningful relationships; interdependence; collaboration; ability to work with people different from self
Identity based affinity groups; academic/life planning; peer mentor programs; religious life programs and youth groups; classroom project groups; classroom discussions; student employment; paraprofessional roles (e.g., RAs, peer tutors/mentors, sexual assault advisors)
Practical competence Effective communication; capacity to manage one’s affairs; economic self-sufficiency and vocational competence; maintain health and wellness; prioritize leisure pursuits; living a purposeful and satisfying life
Health center programs; campus and community recreation programs; financial planning courses and programs; club sports; academic and personal advising; career development courses; senior capstone courses
Persistence and academic achievement
Manage college experience to achieve academic and personal success; academic goal success including degree attainment
Learning skills; bridge programs; peer mentoring; faculty and staff mentoring; tutoring; orientation programs; academic advising; disability support
Liberal Education for America’s Promise (LEAP) Knowledge of Human
Cultures and the Physical and Natural World◦ Through study in the sciences
and mathematics, social sciences, humanities, histories, languages, and the arts
Intellectual and Practical Skills◦ Inquiry and analysis◦ Critical and creative thinking◦ Written and oral
communication◦ Quantitative literacy◦ Information literacy◦ Teamwork and problem
solving
Personal and Social Responsibility◦ Civic knowledge and
engagement—local and global
◦ Intercultural knowledge and competence
◦ Ethical reasoning and action
◦ Foundations and skills for lifelong learning
Integrative Learning◦ Synthesis and advanced
accomplishment across general and specialized studies
VALUE Lifelong Learning Rubric
Networks of Educators: I/NCEPR
Institutional research teams examining the impact of electronic portfolio practice on learning
50 institutions in five cohorts Third cohort focuses on student affairs -academic
affairs collaboration US, Canada, England, Scotland, Netherlands Book out from Stylus More information on website: ncepr.org. Links with other networks of educators
◦ AAC&U / Carnegie Integrative Learning Project◦ Visible Knowledge Project ◦ Carnegie Academy for the Scholarship of Teaching
and Learning
What outcomes do you value?
Eportfolios Models for Integrative Learning and Whole Student Development
Learning Record Online (Texas)Stanford Learning Careers ProjectLaGuardia ePortfolioSeton Hall First Year EportfolioVirginia Tech English Education
Eportfolio
Three Curricula
Kathleen Yancey, Reflection in the Writing Classroom
Learning Record Online
Five dimensions of learning and course goalsObservations and samples of work throughout
semester Interpretation and grade recommendations at middle
and endMidterm moderations
Stanford Learning Careers
LaGuardia ePortfolio
Recent immigrants and first-generation college students
Bridging home and disciplinary culture
Impact on retention, student engagement, grades
Portfolio studiosVisual design and
iteration
LaGuardia CCSSE Results
How much has your coursework emphasized synthesizing & organizing ideas, information, or experiences in new ways? 1 = Very Little, 2 = Some, 3= Quite a Bit, 4 = Very Much
LaGuardia ePortfolio & Retention
Seton Hall First Year
First-year portfolio focused on four non-cognitive factors related to retention
Research demonstrates all four factors predict persistence and success (GPA) beyond otherwise available data
Social integration and quality of effort most significant new curricular emphasis
VA Tech English Education Portfolio
Pre-professional ePortfolio
Organized around INTASC principles
Reflection focused on linking evidence to outcomes
Includes course, field, and life experiences
Designed using generic tools
The Same Model with Student Topic “Overlay” on Principles
What intrigues you about these models?
Our ePortfolio Team Juliet Blank-Godlove, Director
of Leadership Education and Development
Darren Cambridge, Asst. Professor, New Century College
Kara Danner, Director, Portal Communications
Kimberly Eby, Assc. Provost for Faculty Development; Director, CTE
Heather Hare, Asst. Director, Center for Leadership & Community Engagement
Julie Owen, Asst. Professor, New Century College
Lesley Smith, Assc. Professor, New Century College
Our Project
Central question: What are the implications of evidence selection and use for integration, learning, and student engagement?
Portfolio contexts: Integrative approach to learning with specific attention to classroom-based, experiential, and co-curricular learning
NCC and portfolio-based assessmentIntentional collaboration with University Life Part of the Inter/National Coalition for Electronic
Portfolio Research (INCEPR)Small data sets over two cohorts (spring ’07;
spring ’08); additional cohort beginning in fall ‘08
Reflection and Evidence Research at Alverno College suggests that as
students become more skilled at reflection, they◦ Draw on analysis of their own experiences rather
than appealing to external authorities◦ Reference a wider range of activities and artifacts
Research deals only with the content of the reflections, not the evidence itself
Types of evidence in science portfolios (Collins, 1992): ◦ Artifacts, Attestations, and Reproductions
Mixes analytically distinct dimensions, such as characteristics of evidence and purpose
MethodologyDesign research
◦Intervention design informed by theory ◦Evaluated for effectiveness and
contributes to further development of theory
Grounded theory◦Collaborative coding of portfolio
content◦Informed by observations of course
meetings and conversations with portfolio authors
Characteristics of item used as evidence
Agency • Self-authored • Collaboratively authored (portfolio author and associates) • Other-authored Media •Media and modality of evidence (e.g., text, audio, image, streaming video, multimedia, etc.)
Purpose of incorporating evidence
Rhetorical Function• Intended (or deduced) function of the evidence (e.g., demonstrates or symbolizes) Object • Evidence reflects author’s knowledge, skills, character traits, beliefs, goals, or identifications
Characteristics of associated learning activity
Sponsorship• Institutionally sponsored (curricular, co-curricular, community organizations, etc.) • Self-sponsored • Unsponsored Participation• Individual participation • Group activity • Larger community/associational activity
Matches and MismatchesReflective description of evidence Content of evidence Local – site of specific evidence
use Global – the whole portfolio Matches and mismatches yield
more sophisticated understanding and resources for supporting portfolio authors
Applications & Implications
The typology can be used ◦To help portfolio authors think about their learning
experiences more broadly to promote integration.◦To help portfolio authors, teachers, and evaluators
think more deliberately about the hows and whys of evidence inclusion in ePortfolios.
If we want students to become integrative thinkers and learners, then we need to invite them to do this both within and outside of the classroom.
Blogs and SNS are Popular39% of Internet users read blogs8% write blogs54% of those authors have never
published their writing anywhere else 35% of adults have a social network
profile65% of teens do94% of college students are on Facebook175 million users spending 3 billion
minutes a month on Facebook
Being popular matters because
It suggests intrinsic motivation, which we’d like to understand and tap.
There are social practices related to use beyond academic settings we need to take into account.
Public Displays of ConnectionBlogroll and friends lists as
messages (Donath and Boyd, 2004)
Intentional performance of identity rather than a transparent representation of a social network beyond the system
Network as implicit validation of profile information
danahboyd as suicide girl
“impression management is an inescapably collective process”
(2008)
ParticipationCopy and paste as a key literacy
practice (Perkle 2008)
◦Embedded code ◦Reuse of other-created media and
functionality Neither fully production or consumption “Materially connected”: meaning and
functionality dependent on connections Compare to “authorship” and
“ownership” and “control”
Some Questions How do we mediate between the brevity, frequency,
loosely-structured conventions of blog and SNS genres and the more intensive and complex conventions of symphonic portfolios in a way that embraces connection?
How do we help students craft public displays of connection as intentional self-representations through their eportfolios? How do we determine when they’re successful?
If we embrace participation as a meaningful means of self-representation and reflection, how does that change how we think about evidence and ownership in eportfolios?
What is the appropriate balance between coherence and control and malleability and interconnection?
Electronic Portfolios 2.0: Emergent Findings and Shared Questions
Collection of 24 chapters detailing research from cohorts I, II, and III of the Coalition
Published by Stylus in 2009