Xiangyun Du xiangyun@plan.aau.dk Learning portfolio Xiangyun Du xiangyun@plan.aau.dk

What is a learning portfolio? A collection of a learner’s experiences and achievements during a period of educational activity (Elango, Jutti and Lee 2005) Written reflection – reflective essay

Why? Demonstration of accomplishments Assessment – the quality of the student’s past or ongoing performance through process Improvement of education

Why? – benefit Empower the learner - individual learning needs – self directed learning Professional development – keeping records of learning activities Job hunting and career pursuit

How to write? Time line: Please send to me by email xiangyun@plan.aau.dk, latest Monday, Nov 17th, 2008 Length: around 5 pages (minimum 3 – maximum 10) Features Spontaneous Flexible Changing

How to write? - forms Written narratives Experiences (what are they) + Reflections (meanings of the experiences) Appendix of materials – anything had special meanings or that can prove your learning (University of Oklahoma 2001)

How to write? - contents What were my goals/expectations for the project work? How did they change during the semester? What did I gain from the course? What did I learn about myself as a problem-solver? What did I learn about project management? What did I learn about professional communication? What did I learn about myself as from working in a team? What did I learn from the intercultural environment? What was missing? What was redundant?

How to write? - contents What new interests or values have I acquired so far? What learning activities were most/least valuable for me? What and how can I use these for life and future work?

Xiangyun Du xiangyun@plan.aau.dk www.ucpbl.aau.dk/xiangyund Professional communication Writing report in a team and oral presentation Xiangyun Du xiangyun@plan.aau.dk www.ucpbl.aau.dk/xiangyund

Agenda Report writing Peer review Discussion of sample report Learning porfolio Presentaion – preparation for P0 status seminar

Report writing Before writing (the group): Preparation: receiver, message, outline Brainstorm: e.g.. Post-it Writing (individually): Go for it : write without criticism – one headline at a time (in arbitrary order) Structure – structure the writing, creating overview and consistency Edit – make the writing easy to read After writing (the group or others) Review

Report writing Two essential ingredients of academic writing Organization Title, abstract, introduction, materials and methods, results, discussion, acknowledgement, references, (appendix) appropriate language within the organization

Report writing Title – the fewest possible words that adequately describe the content of the paper Abstract state the principle objectives and scope of the investigation describe the methodology employed Summarize the results State the principal conclusions

Report writing Introduction Present the nature and scope of the problem investigated Review of the pertinent literature Methods of investigation Principle results of the investigation Definition of any specialized terms or abbreviations A ‘why and what for (4)’ method Why is the topic of interest? What (1) is the background on the previous solutions, if any? What (2) is the background on potential solutions? What (3) was attempted in the present effort (research project)? What (4) will be presented in this paper?

Report writing Materials and methods Results Exact technical specifications and quantities, source or methods of preparation Details of methods Do not put any results Results ‘big picture’ - describe the methodology employed Data – representative instead of repetitive data Meaningful statistics

Report writing Discussions Present the principles, relationships, and generalizations shown by the results Point out any exceptions or any lack of correlation, and define unsettled points Show how your results and interpretations agree (or contrast) with previously published work Discuss the theoretical implications of your work as well as any possible practical applications State your conclusions clearly Summarize your evidence for each conclusion

Report writing References and quotations http://wwwlib.murdoch.edu.au/find/citation/ Appendix

Appropriate Language Simple Precise Concrete Neutral Sensible Logical Understandable

Peer review Why ? To evaluate the work To find mistakes and to identify if something is missing To check whether it is understandable

Peer review How and When ? Written or oral At a group meeting After everybody have read the writing and have prepared individual comments to it

Peer review Valuable criticism Be kind – be motivating for the group member, avoiding offending Be concrete – providing alternatives and suggestions Be constructive – aiming at improvement Be critical – professionally but not personally

Peer review Elements Misspelling, misprint and other corrections in the proofs. (might be noted directly in the document) Logical errors, misunderstandings, poor formulations, technical mistakes etc. that makes the understanding difficult or impossible for the reader. Good points, well structured, clear overview, interesting angle, well documented, clear illustrations etc.

Asignment 1 from last week Please prepare for a powerpoint presentation which cover: A brief introduction to your P0 project Project management (goal, time plan, resources, methods, expectation, etc) Team management (how you work together, e.g. Code of conduct, collaboration agreement, etc) Make a team based, max 8 minutes long presention next time (Oct 3rd)

Asignment 2 from last time Please look through a 7th semester project report and discuss in your group, and prepare for a short presentation: Please list 3 good points (what you can learn from it) Please critize constructively on 3 points (what could be done to make it better)