ePortfolios to assess and develop professional

competency in speech pathology

Abigail Lewis

Edith Cowan University

Outline• ePortfolio: what?• Speech Pathology at ECU• ePortfolio: Why:• ePortfolio: How?• ePortfolio: What?• Supporting students• Assessment• Evaluation

ePortfolios

• Portfolios been used in HE for some time (Klenowski, Askew, & Carnell, 2006)

• Web 2.0 technologies led to interest in ePortfolios (Hallam & Creagh, 2010)

• ePortfolios are being used in HE and in business (Brandes & Boskic, 2008)

What is an ePortfolio?

‘an electronically stored collection (or archive) of a student’s experiences,

achievements and artefacts, together with their reflections on learning.’

Australian ePortfolio Project (AeP) (2009). ePortfolio concepts for academic staff [brochure].

Retrieved from: www.eportfoliopractice.qut.edu.au

Speech Pathology• Allied health course accredited by Speech

Pathology Australia• Competency Based Occupational

Standards used to accredit course & practicum

• Usually students produce portfolio of evidence of clinical competencies in 4th year

• None using ePortfolio as yet

Speech Pathology at ECU• Commenced 2009• 4 year undergraduate course• Clinical coordinator – organise practicum• Focus on reflective practice• Professional standards and competencies

unit in first year – introduction to CBOS

with essay assignment → ePortfolio

Why? AeP 2009:• “Develop an holistic overview of their

learning/experiences/development beyond individual subjects/classes.

• Understand their learning and experience in terms of graduate attributes and employability skills.

• Extract evidence to represent their learning and achievements, for example to develop selection criteria responses

• Identify skills gaps through review of and reflection on their ePortfolio content.

• Plan and set personal development targets.” (p.2)

Why?• ePortfolio can increase depth of reflection

(emerging evidence) (Butler, 2006) • Hyperlinks make linking of evidence easier• Can adapt for different purposes/audiences• Can share with peers for feedback/peer

marking• Can use for addressing selection criteria for

jobs on graduation• Promote lifelong learning (Hallam &

Creagh, 2010)

Purpose at ECU• Evidence of development towards clinical

competence as formative assessment• Evidence of development of reflective

practice• Record experiences gained so future

placements can fill in any gaps• Demonstrate ‘Entry Level’ competence by

the end of the course as a summative assessment.

ePortfolio: How?• Read - AeP project & UK eP project useful• Talk to other eP users• Engage teaching team• Establish purpose of eP• How assess and give feedback?• What platform to use?• Develop template/structure• Embed across course

• Launch!!• Review and evaluation

ePortfolio: What?

• Template developed for students, all information embedded, currently in BlackBoard (MyExpo), launch July 2010

• Section A: Reflections on my learning • Section B: My development of

competency• Section C: My records

Learning Outcomes• construct a repository for the ongoing

selection of evidence towards gaining competency in CBOS & COMPASS®.

• analyse the competencies for graduate entry level

• evaluate the evidence collected• generate specific short-term personal

learning outcomes• exemplify increasing depth of reflection

STAR-L framework for evidence

• Situation• Task• Action• Result• Lessons Learnt

AeP, 2009

Embedding across curriculum

• Introduced S2 First Year – summarise information across each section and submit for marking

• Submit S1 and S2 Second Year – a few pieces added to each section

• Submit S1 and S2 Third and Fourth years – substantial material added, attached to clinical units

Supporting students• Template and teaching given in computer

lab• All information is embedded in ePortfolio

and also in a separate document• All submission forms and marking guides

are embedded in the ePortfolio and on a separate site

• FAQ document with additional information

Assessment• Submission forms and marking guides

completed for each semester• % score in 1st and 2nd years• Pass/Fail in 3rd and 4th years• Marking in 4th year will be carried out

across academic staff – looking at entry level quality of evidence

Evaluation• Mixed responses from students – platform

is clunky and hard to use• Template is too complex• 3rd years becoming more positive as they

see the point of it

Quotes• ‘One place to keep

things which will assist me on my journey to becoming a qualified speech pathologist.’ 2nd year

• ‘Having a place to collate and store competency evidence. Good to work out what you still need to achieve.’ 3rd year

• ‘Understanding the ePortfolio is hard for me & I just find it really difficult to work.’ 2nd year

• ‘Links not working in the ePortfolio, not being able to structure it in the way I want because it's playing up or is just plain faulty.’ 3rd year

Next steps• New template with new CBOS in 2011,

simplified• Make teaching more specific it and hands

on – in computer labs• New platform with Curriculum 2012?• See if students’ evaluation increases as

they progress through the course

Resources• Australian ePortfolio project:

http://www.eportfoliopractice.qut.edu.au/information/

• UK ePortfolio project: http://www.jiscinfonet.ac.uk/e-portfolios

• Further ePortfolio resources: http://www.altcexchange.edu.au/eportfolio-resources

References• Brandes, G. & Boskic. N. (2008). Eportfolios: From description

to analysis. The International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 9(2). ISSN: 1492-3831

• Butler, P. (2008). A Review of the literature on Portfolios and Electronic Portfolios. Retrieved from http://akoaotearoa.ac.nz/download/ng/file/group-996/n2620-eportfolio-research-report.pdf

• Hallam, G. & Creagh, T. (2010). ePortfolio use by university students in Australia: a review of the Australian ePortfolio Project. Higher Education Research & Development, 29(2), 179-193.

• Klenowski, V., Askew, S., & Carnell, E. (2006) Portfolios for learning, assessment and professional development in higher education. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher

Education, 31(3), 267-286.