eportfolio: evidencing academic skill development. rosie mckay

ePortfolioEvidencing Academic

Skill Development

Rosie MackayCurriculum Officer

Program Development and QualityMonash University Foundation Year

ePortfolioEvidencing Academic

Skill Development

Rosie MackayCurriculum Officer

Program Development and QualityMonash University Foundation Year

Foundation Year

EnglishLanguageDiplomas

1st Year entry 2nd Year entry • Monash College• Undergraduate• Postgraduate

Foundation Year

Monash University Foundation Year is a one year program offering guaranteed entry into 1st year of all 10 faculties at Monash University.

Art Design and Architecture

Arts

Business and Economics

Education

Engineering

Information Technology

Law

Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences

Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences

Science

Recognised by

Foundation YearThe need to stand out from the crowd

TERTIARY ADMISSIONS

2%

98%

MATURE AGE INTERNATIONAL DIRECT ENTRY

MUFY

TOTAL UNDERGRADUATE INTAKE 2012‐2015

*Melbourne Campus Data

Student Cohort

Icon credit: MikaDo Nguyen

The Education Services for Overseas Students Act(ESOS)

Regulations and Frameworks

MUFY Curriculum Framework

English Subject ReviewObjectives

The English Language subject must explicitly include all of the following teaching and learning components:• Academic listening skills• Academic reading skills• Academic writing skills, including essay/report writing• Academic writing conventions (including understanding/avoiding plagiarism)• Oral presentation skills• Group discussions

(National Standards)

• Creative and critical thinking• Scaffolded development of language

Assessment before Review

“Skills such as paraphrasing, synthesising and summarising …take time to teach and develop, but when the report is due in week 4, students are being assessed on skills we have not had adequate time to teach.”

“More formative assessment is needed”

“The course is summative‐assessment driven”

“Greater emphasis needs to be placed on skills”

“Teaching the academic skills for report writing are the most relevant”

“A lot of the course content focuses on paraphrasing, correct note‐form skills…yet this is not reflected in the [assessment].”

MONASH UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION YEAR(MUFY) 

ePortfolio Assessment Task (proposed)

Note‐taking (written)

Note‐taking (aural)

Paraphrasing

Summarising

Synthesis

Citation

Reflection

SUBMISSION

ValueThe importance of valuing skill development

Individual rubrics used to assess each skill

Key PointsPlagiarism and authentication

Summative assessments must verify skill development in a controlled setting 

Assessment weighting must value both the formative and summative learning processes.

Key PointsFeedback mechanisms

In‐built need for reflection on skill development and performance in summative assessments with relevant criteria

Need for students to demonstrate critical thinking and the ability to act on feedback

OutcomeStructure of the ePortfolio

The traditional ePortfolio learning approach and development structure was modified to suit the program needs

MUF0011 ePortfolio

SupportProvision of guidelines and assistance

Suggested schedulesTemplatesSamplesExamplesTeacher Advice

FlexibilityDigital platforms and ICT skills

Ability to use a wide variety of platforms as suits each provider location

Examples

My notes on Rosling

Staff Feedback

“…reinforces the notion that the students are to work on an ongoing basis and produce work in order to upload the tasks. It enables [them] to see the connection between the skills.”

“The explicit emphasis on academic skills is of much value to the students. Many students have built awareness of the purpose of each skill as well as methods of application that will serve them well in their future study …the ePortfolio actually forces them to engagewith these ideas […] The reflection…encourages them to think about how they learn best 

as well as set goals for future learning. I found it very useful as a teacher to be able to read the ideas of the students...

“…encouraged students to consider feedback 

and implement strategies for 

improvement.”

“The requirement of the ePortfolio sets the scene that what students learn in 

class matters and that theyare expected to organise themselves

and keep records of everything they do.”

“…a good way to introduce the important underlying micro skills ... Over time the students were able to see how the skills built upon one another.”

OutcomesPerformance Technology

Assessment Preparation

Rosie MackayCurriculum Officer

Program Development and QualityMonash University Foundation Year

rosie.mackay@monash.edu

www.monashcollege.edu.au