throwing a pebble into the pond: e-portfolios and student engagement hazel willis phil gravestock...

Throwing a pebble into the pond: e-portfolios and student engagement

Hazel Willis

Phil Gravestock

Martin JenkinsUniversity of Gloucestershire, UK

Overview Introduce Personal Development

Planning and PebblePad The pilot study Lessons learned and building on the

pilot study

The starting point Personal Development Planning

Encourage reflective practice and critical thinking

Government requirement Introduction embedded into Learning and

Personal Development ‘module’ (unit) Need to engage students in the process

PebblePad Encouraged reflection Appropriate use for different audiences Flexibility Support ‘embedding’ the process Why PebblePad?

The Pilot First Year students for PDP

Small sample Students interviewed by 2nd year students Monitored usage

Final year dissertation students Small sample

Record of dissertation meetings Monitored usage Interviewed by academic staff

Encouraging engagement Greater engagement with final year

students Final year students good initial

engagement then a decline But no completed ‘e’ portfolios …

Reflections ‘Use vulnerable to external pressures’ (Pearson and

Hayward, 2004)

Resort to tools that are familiar Revert to automatic rather than controlled

processes Not sufficiently ‘embedded’

Need for clearer justification Process not product

Learning support Timing of training Closer link between support and learning task

Moving forward? Psychology - not being used this academic

year Staff flexibility

Environment - process focus PebblePad used as delivery tool

‘institutionalise’ use so taken for granted (O’Keefe & Zehender, 2004)

Requirement for 120 students

Contact detailsHazel Willis

Department of Natural and Social Scienceshwillis@glos.ac.uk

Phil GravestockCentre for Learning and Teachingpgravestock@glos.ac.uk

Martin JenkinsCentre for Active Learningmjenkins@glos.ac.uk