ePortfolios and the BA in Childhood Studies John Davis, Co-ordinator of BA in Childhood Studies, University of Edinburgh Jen Ross, E-portfolio Co-ordinator, School of Education, University of Edinburgh 1 June 2006

BA in Childhood Studies new degree - first group of about 30 started in 04/05; part-time, non-traditional entrants, mature students; students come directly into 2nd year - credit is given for HNC-level studies; aimed at childcare professionals; focus on work-based learning, reflection, personal and professional development, organisational development and management skills.

from the programme co-ordinator: “Our course is a vocational course, and students are required to carry out assignments that involve work-based and problem-based learning. The assignments enable them to link key skills to practical experience, and demonstrate the ability to link theory, method and practice. At the centre of this process is “reflexivity”. Reflexivity involves students considering how their values impact on practice and endeavouring to develop their practice accordingly. The e-portfolio enables students to keep a record of their reflexive journey. In their final year, our students will look back across their e-portfolio and consider the skills they have developed over the course of their programme. This assignment is formally assessed and, beyond this, it will enable them, at the end of their degree, to discuss their skills with future employers.” - John Davis

who are our students? ‘digital immigrants’? ‘techno-reticent’? this is the stereotype of non-traditional learners. however! - learners have a range of experience

what is the range of experience? Students in January (3 months into course): 2/3 had word processing skills 2/3 use email no one had done web authoring a few had used Powerpoint half were confident to use a web browser on their own

e-portfolio for Childhood Studies linked from WebCT and integrated with courses; used for formative assessment and as basis for major end-of-programme assignment; reflective.

what do we know about students and e-portfolios? 78% of students on Social Work course at University of Dundee said that they “would have used their ePortfolios less often if there had not been a compulsory assessed task”. (Ingram 2006) Ingram concluded that formative assessment at an early stage would be beneficial. Richard Ingram, “An electronic learning curve: implementing ePortfolios”, ALT Newsletter, January 2006. standards-based, vocational course - strong motivation built into the idea of ‘reflective practitioner’ - pervasive. like in education. tensions about assessment - is it motivating and/or coercive?

what do we know about students and e-portfolios? Tosh et al (2005) found that students believed: induction was often inadequate; should be sold in a ‘cool’ way, but lecturers are not credible if they do not understand/use the technology themselves; keeping an e-portfolio had not helped them progress through their course (2/3 of those surveyed). David Tosh, Tracy Penny Light, Kele Fleming, Jeff Haywood, 2005 “Engagement with Electronic Portfolios: Challenges from the Student Perspective“ Canadian Journal of Learning and Technology Volume 31(3) Fall 2005.

what happened with our students? less than half attempted to used the Portfolio after induction; of the 10 who tried to log on: 5 looked around; 3 added personal information; 1 uploaded files; 2 couldn’t get in at all

what happened with our students? “Portfolio sessions gave me the view of quite a time consuming programme. Working full time and studying most nights, I would prefer not to use this system and just retain information in my own way.” “Internet fine but the portfolio thing not confident. Get confused as to how to access & which portal to use” did we not make it seem attractive enough? are we not addressing IT problems? quotes suggest a reluctance which is about technology, but also about other issues: time, complexity, preference.

where do we go from here? has to be personally meaningful to learners in their own particular context; not just an easy technical/rational solution to issues of diverse learning; WE need to be clear why we want to encourage e-portfolio use. This programme already very reflective and therefore reflection is not a bonus of e-portfolios as such.

where do we go from here? is there a question that comes before “how do we get learners to engage with e-portfolios”? are we giving choice at the right stage and making our students co-creators of the learning experience if we dictate that they should use a particular tool/technology which may not fit with their learning approaches?

contact us John Davis: john.davis@ed.ac.uk Jen Ross: jen.ross@education.ed.ac.uk ERDEE (E-portfolio Research and Development in Education at Edinburgh) project web site: http://www.erdee.org.uk