Author: Julie Hughes (j.hughes@wlv.ac.uk)

JISC e-Learning Activity Area: e-portfolios

Higher Education Academy Subject Centre: philosophical and religious studies, history classics and archaeology

 

Case study tags: online learning, an effect on learning, an effect on exam results, an effect on student personal development,student satisfaction with e-learning,innovation in learning and teaching, an influence on educational research, staff satisfaction with e-learning, staff personal development, an influence on policy,modifications to learning spaces, an effect on social equality, tangible benefits of e-learning, university of wolverhampton, e-portfolios, philosophical and religious studies, history classics and archaeology

 

Background & Context

 

The impact of e-portfolios on learning - Becta 2007

 

This scoping study argued convincingly for a research methodology that was capable of capturing the affective, social and conative aspects of the student experience, in contrast to the conventional focus on the cognitive. Two major gaps in data collection methodologies were identified by the scoping study:

 

• stories or narratives that capture the diversity of how students use learning technologies in their formal studies
• attempts to elicit beliefs and intentions

 

The study proposed that ideally a methodology capable of filling these gaps should display at least some of the following characteristics:

 

• It should be 'naturalistic' (focusing on informal as well as formal learning)
• It should capture the complexity and authenticity of case studies
• It should sample purposefully (choosing learners who are characterised by behaviours or qualities of particular relevance)
• It should focus on typical e-learning contexts rather than on specific types of activity
• It should employ semi-structured interview schedules

 

Interview Plus

 

The study proposed a method termed 'interview plus', where the 'plus' represents some artefact or activity chosen to guide, recall or aid thinking aloud.

 

Why did you use this e-learning approach?

 

Key finding:

 

The results of this study suggest that e-portfolios benefit learning most effectively when considered as part of a joined-up teaching and learning approach, rather than as a discrete entity. The approach should include online repositories, planning and communication tools, and opportunities for both students and teachers to draw out and present e-portfolios at particular times and for particular purposes.

There is then likely to be substantial impact on both learning processes and learning outcomes.

 

Use of e-portfolio and blogging in a School of Education

 

I was invited to be part of the institutional pilot year 2004-5 as an established user of technologies to support learning. My earlier use of available VLEs had not supported the dialogic approach I used with paper journals as the forum spaces were somewhat static and learner interactions were lacking the depth of reflection and engagement that I had experienced in the classroom and in students' shared journals.

 

I was keen to see if my successful face-to-face strategies of encouraging peer journal sharing and critical incident sharing for meaningful reflection upon self and professional practice could transfer/translate into an online learning environment that presented itself as inherently more dialogic and intuitive.

 

What was the context in which you used this e-learning approach?

 

The e-portfolio system, pebblePAD, has been used with three cohorts of PGCE (post-compulsory education sector) students, two cohorts of Foundation Degree students (Early Years and Learning Support) and a group of PGCE mentors undertaking a PGCert in Mentoring at the University of Wolverhampton. This institution has a key widening participation agenda and role in the region.

 

The PGCE is a full time 1-year programme consisting of 2 days in a teaching placement and 2 days at University. This is traditionally assessed by a paper portfolio. I was concerned about the technicist accumulation of paper evidence in the portfolio and the practice/theory split evident in some of the attitudes and comments of the beginning teachers. I was keen to use this online space to encourage a deeper engagement with theorising practice leading to observation evidence of teaching practice underpinned by theoretical understanding and application. In each of the 3 years I have used e-portfolio, all of my student group, 15 each year, used the system and submitted e-portfolios for assessment. During the academic year 2006-7 all PGCE students were inducted into the system and provided with workshops to support their use of a blended approach to e-portfolio use. 21% of the overall cohort from 4 tutor groups submitted e-portfolios for summative assessment.

 

The Foundation Degree is a part-time programme. Students work full-time and attend university 2 evenings per week. There were 30 students in each year. The e-portfolio has been used for ePDP in both cohorts and for submission of ongoing journal blogs and summative assessment in 2006-7. In both years workshops were provided for students and colleagues. Previously, writing has not been shared with tutors ongoing and students received no feedback on their writing and reflections until the return of the summative essay.

The PGCert in Mentoring pilot. This module was previously a face-to-face module with summative submission of a paper portfolio for each component of this module e.g. component 1 focuses on practice and component 2 on the theorising of their mentoring practices. As with the PGCE I wanted to encourage a dialogic investigation of both components simultaneously.

 

The University did not have, and still does not have a clear strategic vision for the use of this platform and there was considerable resistance from some colleagues who viewed the VLE as meeting their students' needs. However, the VLE is still predominantly used as a content management and delivery system which positions the learner as a passive recipient of chunks of information. Discussion within this environment was highly formal, rigid and owned by the institution. The e-portfolio's emphasis upon learner ownership and control, feedback and dialogue was viewed with suspicion by some colleagues ' and continues to be so.

 

As there were no clear instructions from the institution the e-portfolio seemed to inhabit a 'soft' PDP space and was not perceived as suitable for serious subject use. These perceptions have shifted slightly but there is still a worrying vocational/academic split.

 

What was the design?

 

The pebblePAD system, designed by educationalists and technologists, is structured around the Gibbs/Kolb reflective cycle and so prompts the student through a series of writing/thinking frames which support learning to learn. As a teacher I also provided additional specific writing frames such as a Learning Autobiography, focused journal entries and engaged in ongoing dialogue and questioning with all writing events to prompt and encourage deeper levels of learning and meta learning. Students were encouraged to write/reflect weekly. The dialogic approach (Laurillard 1993, Lillis 2001) supported the development of critical thinking suggested by Garrison and Anderson (2003: 15) through 'triggering, exploration, integration and resolution'. Writing within this space was an ongoing activity which drew upon the patchwork text approach (Winter 1999) whereby smaller pieces of shared formative writing developed into summative pieces. Methodologically, this case study situates itself within the emergent research field in e-learning which draws upon Beetham's (2006) Interview Plus approach (Creanor et al 2006, Mayes 2006) with a focus upon identified gaps in earlier research:

 

• stories or narratives that capture the diversity of how students use learning technologies in their formal studies
• attempts to elicit beliefs and intentions

 

 (Mayes 2006:4)

 

The study proposed that ideally a methodology capable of filling these gaps should display at least some of the following characteristics:

 

• It should be 'naturalistic' (focusing on informal as well as formal learning)
• It should capture the complexity and authenticity of case studies
• It should sample purposefully (choosing learners who are characterised by behaviours or qualities of particular relevance)
• It should focus on typical e-learning contexts rather than on specific types of activity
• It should employ semi-structured interview schedules

 

The study proposed a method termed 'interview plus', where the 'plus' represents some artefact or activity chosen to guide, recall or aid thinking aloud. (Mayes 2006:4)

 

How did you implement and embed this e-learning approach?

 

Institutional support

 

• Technology Retreats to support individuals and teams to adopt e-portfolio - application process
• Programme of staff development 1/2 day sessions from beginner level to more advanced
• (In)formal mentoring. No formal support within the School of Education or recognition that additional time is required for teaching innovation activities as opposed to research activities
• One of my roles within a CETL secondment was to mentor and support colleagues across the University in their e-portfolio practice and research
• I have presented and written with colleagues and students. As chair of the e-portfolio research group I have mentored colleagues in the Schools of Education, Health, Computing and IT, Art and Design, Business and Sports and Performing Arts in their e-portfolio practices and research
• Some student e-mentors and Student Union sessions on e-portfolio use
• End of pilot evaluation conducted by the University
• Whole University evaluation ongoing has not happened. We are part of the International Coalition for e-Portfolio Research with 10 US Universities, 1 Canadian and 1 other UK HEI and part of this research is to bring together some of the stakeholder evaluation
• There are some excellent case studies of evaluation e.g. the School of Health
• External evaluation/validation - see 6. School of Education PGCE students submitted articles to ESCalate, PGCE students used as JISC case study and PGCE community writing featured as a case study in OUP publication

 

Individual

 

• E-portfolio embedded in all modules and is modelled as a teaching tool from induction. Here is an example of a Foundation Degree teaching webfolio where content is 'storied' for students
• As the recipient of a National Teaching Fellowship (2005) I was able to employ a former PGCE student, Emma Purnell, as a Teaching and Research Assistant, in 2006. This has considerably developed my use of digital media and I have gained a great deal from this collaboration. Here is a link to a research webfolio containing links to our work

 

Problems

 

• Lack of vision within my own team and School. As an early adopter I somehow became e-portfolio and was responsible for all its minor problems. Colleagues seemed unable to separate the product from the learning processes it enables 
• School TSL directives encouraged false dichotomies: subject knowledge vs PDP, content delivery vs. dialogic, VLE vs. e-portfolio divides which many staff still buy into - leaving e-portfolio viewed as an add-on rather than integral to learning, reflection and progression
• The 'platform wars' silenced the learning debates and the use of e-portfolio was seen as an informal, student-driven activity rather than a powerful learning and teaching landscape
• Lack of alumni access for graduating PGCE students. The institutional policies do not seem able to deal with the viral nature of this technology, as it inhabits a different space to the institutionally owned and managed VLE

 

Overcoming problems

 

I just did it anyway! But the experiences above left me feeling very isolated within my team and School.

 

So I found other communities to interact with - internally as a mentor I have worked with colleagues from 5 other Schools and supported them in their practice and research. Nationally, I developed collaborations with other NTFs and FDTL5 projects - Prof Kay Sambell, Dr Mel Gibson and the MEDAL project. Internationally, my work has been received well including an invitation to contribute to a forthcoming e-portfolio book.

 

Hughes, J. (Forthcoming 2007) Becoming an e-portfolio teacher (working title) in Yancey, K., Cambridge, D., and Cambridge, B. (eds) Electronic Portfolios: Emergent Findings about Learning and Engagement

 

Technology Used

 

What technologies and/or e-tools were available to you?

 

I used the e-portfolio system pebblePAD. Although we consider that it is actually a personal learning environment with a focus upon the processes of learning rather than a digital repository or product.

 

The webfolio is only one of the publication functions within this system. Students can create thought assets, action plans, record experiences and meetings, undertake learning profiles and create weblogs. They can also upload digital images, sound files, video and scanned documents.

 

The system was designed and developed by a university off-shoot company. It was made available to all staff and students in 2005.

 

Tangible Benefits

 

What tangible benefits did this e-learning approach produce?

 

Student evaluations and levels of satisfaction were always high for the dialogic approach I adopted. Foundation Degree grades across the 2 years have shown clear improvement particularly in their ability to engage in reflection. The increase in A and B grades across the 2 years was specifically linked to the quality of the reflective writing. Current year 1 FD students have expressed a desire to act as e-mentors for next year's cohort.

 

There has been a significant development in student enthusiasm for e-learning activities and for the continuation of e-learning into the workplace. One new teacher from each of the cohorts (2005-7) is currently working in HE with embedded e-portfolio in their teaching and research.

 

Student stories of engagement - PGCE

 

ESCalate Summer 2006 and Autumn 2006

 

JISC case study - Jenny and Emma

 

My work has also been drawn up by Gillie Bolton in Bolton, G. (2005) Reflective Practice: Writing and Professional Development: Second Edition. Sage and used as a case study in Goodfellow, R. and Lea, M. (September 2007) Challenging E-learning in the University. Buckinghamshire. Open University Press.

 

The epistle project has worked with Primary, Secondary and College partners. TCAT have decided to adopt the system across the whole college and earlier e-portfolio learners following a teacher education programme will be using e-portfolio in their teaching from Autumn 2007.

 

Mentored staff's profiles have been raised through conference presentation and publication. School of Health and Humanities, Languages and Social Science staff are involved in HEA e-portfolio projects and Special Interest Groups.

 

Staff in the School of Education are slowly becoming more involved in exploring the potential within an e-portfolio system. The appointment of a part-time e-learning co-ordinator has further raised the profile of e-learning and there are some exciting ideas and projects emerging - most significant is the Primary PGCE team's piloting of an electronic Record of Professional Development in 2007/8.

 

The University currently has 15,000 users of the system although we do not know what that use is in relation to education and whether it has been formally encouraged in all cases.

 

Did implementation of this e-learning approach have any disadvantages or drawbacks?

 

As stated already and:

 

Innovation costs and this has not been factored into any of my personal workload in terms of time. As an early adopter my passion carried me through but when the same old arguments about technology emerge yearly it can be very demotivating and isolating. Because of the lack of strategic direction with regard to e-portfolio, or the fact that this has not been realised in school learning and teaching action plans I feel that e-portfolio has not been taken as seriously as other platforms.

 

How did this e-learning approach accord with or differ from any relevant departmental and/or institutional strategies?

 

As stated already and:

 

The University instigated an e-learning review in 2007 the results of which will be available in July 2007. It is hoped that a strategy for implementation will emerge from these findings.

 

The University is also currently responding to the alumni access issue.

 

Lessons Learned

 

Summary and Reflection

 

The use of e-portfolio and educational blogging has been an astounding success with the groups I have taught during the past 3 years echoing the key findings from the recent Becta publication (2007). Student testimonials, their attendance at national and international conferences, pass rates and evaluations have demonstrated that taking an approach which supports confidence and esteem building, early writing, rapid feedback moving into writing/reflective communities of practice (Lave and Wenger 1991, Wenger 2005) is hugely beneficial and supports meta learning from Foundation Degree to Master's level as this student publication suggests:

 

Using the web log as an online journal became a big part of our growth as reflective writers. Using the blog tool within the e-portfolio we could share thoughts, feelings, fears, anxieties and excitement and because it was a shared space we could see the value in the perception of thoughts and beliefs of others in the group. It was a space where we could feel safe from ridicule and criticism. We would share war stories from the frontlines of teaching and by discussing and commenting on each other's journeys as teachers we were becoming reflective writers and practitioners without even knowing it! Karim- Akhtar et al 2006 - PGCE students.

 

The flexibility of the e-portfolio meant that we had the luxury of time for our reflections. Activities, such as creating metaphors of teaching, discussing poetry, images and music to prompt reflection, that are usually confined to the restraints of a traditional classroom could be uploaded to pebblePAD. There was no pressure to answer/talk back immediately; you had time to think and then respond and everyone had the opportunity to comment, something that can rarely happen in a classroom environment. Karim- Akhtar et al 2006 - PGCE students.

 

This approach worked because of the strategies described and added value to the student experience by indeed supporting widening participation, engagement with self as learner and employability. The 2005/6 PGCE cohort are still blogging during their first year in the workplace and have found the community to be an invaluable support in the transition. Likewise the 2006/7 Foundation Degree have continued blogging after their 1 semester module and are keen to act as e-mentors for next year's cohort.

 

I have learnt that early online socialisation (Salmon 2004, Garrison and Anderson 2003) and the expectation that reflection and analysis will continue beyond the real classroom has helped support the development of engaged and vibrant learning cultures able to sustain themselves beyond the end of the module/course.

 

To continue to develop in these e-portfolio practices I intend to learn how to use digital media more effectively embedded in the fabric of the face-to-face classroom. To develop and influence e-portfolio use further I need to learn how to write bids that will support the exploration of e-portfolio use on self-esteem and efficacy, particularly in the transitions into and out of the University.

 

I probably need to develop a thicker skin and continue to keep the learner, rather than the technology, as the focus in my ongoing technology battles! I intend to keep learning from my students and to continue to engage in research with them.

 

Further Evidence

 

'Using the web log as an online journal became a big part of our growth as reflective writers. Using the blog tool within the e-portfolio we could share thoughts, feelings, fears, anxieties and excitement and because it was a shared space we could see the value in the perception of thoughts and beliefs of others in the group. It was a space where we could feel safe from ridicule and criticism. We would share war stories from the frontlines of teaching and by discussing and commenting on each other's journeys as teachers we were becoming reflective writers and practitioners without even knowing it!' Karim - Akhtar et al 2006 - PGCE students.

 

'The flexibility of the e-portfolio meant that we had the luxury of time for our reflections. Activities, such as creating metaphors of teaching, discussing poetry, images and music to prompt reflection, that are usually confined to the restraints of a traditional classroom could be uploaded to PebblePad. There was no pressure to answer/talk back immediately; you had time to think and then respond and everyone had the opportunity to comment, something that can rarely happen in a classroom environment' Karim - Akhtar et al 2006 - PGCE students.