Showcase Higher Education Research and Development Society of Australasia 2015

Abstract Content (up to 300 words recommended)

 Deakin University has been a member of the Inter/National Coalition of ePortfolio Research (INCEPR) between 2012 and 2015. Cohort VII was focused primarily on assessment  in eportfolios, through the lens of four propositions.

The propositions are:

• For meaningful assessment, interaction of pieces of evidence within an eportfolio is more important than single pieces of evidence.

• Reflection on pieces of evidence within an eportfolio and on the eportfolio as a whole provides information for assessment that is not available by other means.

• The material practice of eportfolio composition generates distinctive knowledge about learning.

• Eportfolios enable meaningful comparison of student learning across institutions (and other contexts) without standardisation (Cambridge, Cambridge and Yancey, 2012).

The Deakin University contribution to INCEPR has been based on Deakin’s underpinning curriculum model and assurance of learning through course learning outcomes. These four propositions have been pivotal to our entire approach to curriculum design and portfolio pedagogy as practitioners. Rather than just asking us how to better incorporate an ePortfolio into our current context or assessment, we quickly learned the importance of critically engaging with the so what factor and how to better prepare students for this social and high impact educational practice (Kuh, 2008) of experiential learning and portfolio pedagogy (Nettleton, Lowe and Dorahy, 2008). This included developing structures to scaffold and ultimately supporting learners to articulate their skills, experiences and knowledge through evidence and reflections as they connect the dots and construct a learning narrative to make claims for employability. Through practice led and evidence based qualitative and quantitative research, we have evaluated how the act of curation, multimodal narrative and reflection contributes to developing this meta cognitive practice for learners. This showcase will present how we are using ePortfolio for assuring learning outcomes and preparing learners for evidencing graduate employability in two courses in Information Technology and International Studies at Deakin University.

Addressing the theme/s of the Conference (up to 200 words recommended)

 This showcase will present how we are using ePortfolio for assuring learning outcomes and preparing learners for evidencing graduate capabilities in two courses in Information Technology and International Studies at Deakin University. It will include examples of integrative learning and portfolio assessment, iterative learning design and the importance of a culture of portfolio for both learners and educators. The culture of portfolio is learner specific, to support this pedagogical shift we have developed strategies to foreground a learner centric environment and enable modelling, scaffolding and support of learners to develop skills for life-long and lifewide learning in their discipline and beyond through the construction and curation of a learner and professional identity.  This presentation will explore what we have learned through the lens of four propositions, what we have got right, got wrong and how crucial assessment is for learning. We have been keen ‘Kerplunk’ players, carefully strategising and making moves to ensure that we keep our learners scaffolded and buoyed while they unlearn, develop resilience, self assess, reflect and make connections between experience, knowledge and skills.