ePortfolios in Kinesiology at IUPUI
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Findings from a
6-year Program-Level ePortfolio Initiative in Kinesiology
Introduction
In 2016, a faculty team within the Kinesiology Department at IUPUI obtained an internal grant to implement a program-level ePortfolio for their undergraduate majors. The team leaned heavily on guidance provided by the sponsors of the grant in formatting the ePortfolio for implementation into key courses as a high impact practice. At that point, the focus was for the ePortfolio to serve as a final product to catalog and curate student accomplishments. However, soon after implementation, the faculty team reconvened and found they missed the mark.
In 2018, after 18-24 months of professional development utilizing various resources including papers, conferences, and mentorship, the faculty team recast the ePortfolio into a process-oriented project rather than the product-oriented project.
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In 2021, the team participated in the inaugural AAC&U Institute on ePortfolio. The goal was to increase student buy-in and engagement in the ePortfolio. In the Institute, the team completed two projects: 1) using journey mapping a a precursor to the ePortfolio and 2) integrating the ePortfolio into academic advising sessions.
Methodology
Because our project (a) took place in the classroom and had touch points at the 100, 200, 300, and 400 levels of our academic programs (b) was centered on developing reflective practitioners (c) was seeking a best practice to improve inclusivity and (d) was likely going to be highly iterative we felt the Design Based Research paradigm (DBR) was the ideal framework to operate within (Design-Based Research Collective, 2003)
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As a result, using DBR, this exploratory study adopted a mixed methods approach and evolved through two phases; first, a qualitative phase then, next, a quantitative phase to address the research goals. Rather than identifying a theory with accompanying hypotheses, we intended for the results of each phase to lead to more focused research questions and a better understanding of what it would take to being more inclusive when adopting an ePortfolio at the program level.
Lessons Learned
Our team is committed to ongoing local and national/international professional development.
Below are findings from our 6-year implementation of a program-level ePortfolio in kinesiology.
Process vs. Product
In 2018, after a year-long hiatus, our team recast the department-level ePortfolio from a product-centered project focused on career readiness to a process-centered project focused on student reflection.
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Early on, we thought the best option was for the ePortfolio to be used as an object to aid in the job search; a product. We had not conceived the notion that the process or the journey was just as important as the destination.
Student Voice & Choice
As part of the re-cast, student choice was central to the newly formatted ePortfolio project. This was expressed in two ways (a) the platform the student could build the ePortfolio within and (b) the techniques in which each student could reflect within the ePortfolio.
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Providing choice on ePortfolio platform expanded the range of options students considered; from a range of 2 platforms early in the project to 7 various platforms after recasting. Moreover, 77% of the students adopted platforms that were those other than the native tool linked in the university’s LMS. In one class, engagement and on-time reflection submissions increased from 75% to 100% once innovative and alternate reflection options were provided to the students.
Students as Collaborators
Our team focused efforts on collaborating with students in support of their diverse ways of learning to ensure maximal inclusivity. We view students as partners in their learning by asking for feedback and adjusting course assignments as needed. This collaboration can lead to greater student buy-in and ownership of their ePortfolios.
TILTed Assignments
When faculty make the purpose, tasks and criteria of an academic assignment clear before students begin to work on it, students are more likely to experience greater academic success with that assignment; developing the knowledge, disposition, and skills necessary to succeed both at school and in life (in comparison to when students experience less clarity around purpose, tasks and criteria for their academic work). The first assignment we TILTed in the FYS course was the service learning project.
Innovative Reflections
As educators committed to striving for excellence in teaching through the use of high-impact practices to better serve our students, we fully embrace reflection as an evidence-based tool in building a conduit to learning. Understanding written reflection, however qualified it may be, does not always accommodate all students and all faculty in all situations. Innovative reflection practices offer choice and diversity in meeting the needs of the many versus the few. Quite simply, it can achieve the same goal, but in an alternative way. This important lesson learned through the experience of implementation motivates us to not only continue to use a variety of reflections but to also seek to create and discover new and innovative reflections in the future.
Peer Review
Students are given opportunities to engage in peer-review of their ePortfolio throughout their journey. As a guide, the rubric for the assessment of the ePortfolio is used by the students. This process provides an opportunity to receive constructive feedback from peers, discover diverse examples beyond what may be provided by instructors, and gain an understanding of multiple viewpoints from their peers.
Conclusions
Faculty continually look for ways to implement high impact practices that benefit each of their students. For this faculty team, providing choices to students within their ePortfolio project yielded improved engagement and inclusive outcomes. As faculty adopt these high impact practices the preliminary findings from this project suggest that developing assignments with the student in mind and engaging in continual professional development have significant and meaningful impact on creating an environment of inclusiveness.
References
Fallowfield, S., Urtel, M., Swinford, R., Angermeier, A., & Plopper, A. (2019). A Case Study in ePortfolio Implementation: A Department-Wide Perspective. International Journal of ePortfolio, 9(2): 111-118.
Parkes, K., Dredger, K., & Hicks, D. (2013). ePortfolio as a Measure of Reflective Practice. International Journal of ePortfolio, 3(2): 99-115.
Light, T. P., Chen, H. L., & Ittleson, J. C., (2012). Documenting learning with ePortfolios: A guide for college instructors (1st ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Matthews-DeNatale, G. M., (2019). Untangling the past and present while weaving the future: ePortfolios as a space for professional discernment and growth. In K. B. Yancey (Ed.), ePortfolio as curriculum: Models and practices for developing students’ ePortfolio literacy (pp. 101-116). Sterling, VA: Stylus.
Montenegro, E., & Jankowski, N. A. (2017, January). Equity and assessment: Moving towards culturally responsive assessment. (Occasional Paper No. 29). Urbana, IL: University of Illinois and Indiana University, National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment (NILOA).
Urtel, M., Swinford, R., Fallowfield, S., Angermeier, A. (2020). Developing Innovative Reflections From Faculty Development: Lessons Learned. ePortfolio Review, 42-27.
Watson, C. E., Kuh, G. D., Rhodes, T., Penny Light, T., & Chen, H. L. (2016). Editorial: ePortfolios—The eleventh high impact practice. International Journal of ePortfolio, 6(2), 65-69.
​Winkelmes, M. A., Bernacki, M., Butler, J., Zochowski, M., Golanics, J., & Weavil, K. H. (2016). A teaching intervention that increases underserved college students’ success. Peer Review, 18(1/2), 31-36.
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