ePearl: Electronic Portfolio Encouraging Active Reflective Learning - POP Presentation (Jan. 12, 2007)

The Centre for the Study of Learning and Performance The CSLP is a provincial research centre of excellence based at Concordia University. Our approach focuses on evidence-based policy making and practice. We use an iterative process of research, design, development and further research, learning from our own experiences and transferring such knowledge into practice. We provide opportunities for our partners, in particular, and the educational community, in general, to have active input into all phases of these projects. Our partners experience ownership over the outcomes and learn more about effective pedagogical practices.

CSLP Software Tools: How can technology support learning and performance? Research Interests Evidence Intervention Partners / Field testing

Our Portfolio Project Multi-year, multi-disciplinary, collaborative, province-wide project. Partners are LEARN-RECIT and six school boards Will increase our understanding of the impact of portfolios on self-regulated learning, through the design of a suite of tools based on sound theoretical principles and faithful to student-centred curriculums. Hope to collect data on portfolio use (quantity and quality) and on student learning outcomes.

What is Self-Regulation? The forethought phase includes task analysis (goal setting and strategic planning) and self-motivation beliefs (self-efficacy, outcome expectations, intrinsic interest/value and goal orientation). The next phase, performance, includes self-control (self-instruction, imagery, attention focusing and task strategies) and self-observation (self-recording and self-experimentation). Finally, the self-reflection phase includes self-judgment (self-evaluation and casual attribution) and self-reaction (self-satisfaction/affect and adaptive-defensive responses).

Web-based, bilingual software that is both a learning (process) and showcase (presentation) portfolio tool. Level 1: Grades 1-2; Level 2: Grades 3-6; Level 3: Secondary It is available at no charge to schools.

Overview Students can: Learn to set general goals for a term and more specific learning goals for a task. Learn to collect, select and organize their work within a digital portfolio; Learn to reflect on their learning meaningfully and to comment constructively on the work of their peers. Track their reading and music development, or oral presentation skills by recording directly into the computer; Learn basic word processing commands through use of a text editor; Archive selected artifacts within a Presentation Portfolio over the course of their education.

Overview, cont’d Teachers can: Parents can: Create their own portfolios; Provide feedback on students’ goals, work and reflections; Track the development of their students’ learning over a term, a year, or a cycle; Model effective practices related to goal setting, reflection and conferencing. Parents can: Track their child’s learning; and Become actively involved in their child’s education through the provision of feedback on their child’s portfolio or individual work stored within their child’s portfolio.

Home page: Levels 2 and 3

Work Space The second option is the setting of learning goals by term. These are accessed in Reflection and Conferencing screens

Create Work

Create Work

Create Work

Next….the Portfolio

Home page: Levels 2 and 3

Customizing: Welcome We will first review the Process Portfolio After logging in, students are brought to their Process Portfolio. From this screen the student can: Add new work View or edit previously created work Copy work that has been placed in their portfolio by their teacher (see Shared Work) by copying it into their workspace entitled My Work Access one of the 8 functions by clicking on an icon along the left. We’ll go through each one of these functions next.

Customizing: Themes At any time, a student may select one of 12 themes to change the interface of their portfolio. (Use new themes)

Customizing: Banners

Customizing: Folders

Customizing: Colour Codes

Portfolio: Artifacts

Viewing an Artifact

Viewing an Artifact

Viewing an Artifact

Sharing the Portfolio

Sharing

Peer Feedback

Parent Mode

Parent Mode

Presentation

Presentation: Export! The ePEARL Work Space offers a text editor and an audio recorder for creating work, but also offers the ability to attach files made with other software, so it can accommodate any kind of work you would like to use in your class. Students can create different drafts of a work and save them under different version numbers to track their learning development. The template that is used is similar to the Portfolio entry template, and information is easily transferred from one to the other.

Professional Development & Support Materials for both students and teachers should address the how, when and why of goal setting, planning, monitoring and reflecting PD for teachers should include printed as well as online formats Using Grayling’s (2002) five key characteristics: Context specific; Useful; Obvious to invoke; Non-Intrusive; Easily Available The embedded help would serve both audiences, however additional professional development materials for teachers regarding SRL process and supportive materials should be included. For this additional information, in its online version, Grayling’s (2002) five key characteristics for useful online help should be our foundation: 1) Context specific: contains only the info relevant to the specific context. 2) Useful: contains all the info relevant to the specific context. 3) Obvious to invoke: The mechanism for invoking help must be obvious to the user. 4) Non-Intrusive: invoked only at user’s request. Does not distract the user’s attention from their work before being invoked. 5) Easily Available: Help is just one or two clicks away. Does not require rummaging through help topics or using an index.

Professional Development Resources In-context Help

This Year We Are Working on …. Further design SRL interface in Workspace Improved exporting More flexibility for teachers Support MELS grant to develop video clips Research Data collection from teachers RE: SRL