ePortfolios for Assessment @ CSM

Why ePortfolios?

ePortfolio technology: • documents students’ learning in a more visible,

meaningful, and appropriate way than does standardized testing,

• facilitates reflection and assessment by individuals, faculty and departments,

• improves educational access for all students,• opens conversations about transfer and articulation

amongst the various educational systems in California, • fosters collegial conversation about effective teaching, • engages students in demonstrating their own

achievement in media that are appealing and comfortable for them,

• prepares them for entry into careers.

Why ePortfolios?

Rich Jewels

Scholarship

Student Reflection

Instructor Reflection

Examples: Student ePortfolios @ CSM

Student ePortfolios: Math 145

Student ePortfolios: ENGL 161

Student ePortfolios: a sample

Reflective Student Responses• I have been able to analyze readings and information that I was not able to

understand before taking this class. It enabled me to dig deeper and find the meaning behind the information.

• The class helped me to become a better writer because throughout the course, through essays, I learned to clearly express my views and interpret the readings that were assigned.

• This course has helped me develop my writing skills and has improved my grammar. We have touched on oral communication frequently and I am very comfortable speaking in front of large groups of people. I feel very comfortable working with others of different backgrounds because of group projects.  I would have liked to have done more group projects and to have had my writing assessed by my classmates more often.

• WAC course that I was taking helped me to realize values in life. I also learned how to understand reading of the true English language. Also, having discussions in class about reading was very helpful too.

• In this essay, it was not easy to just apply facts immediately. You had to try out several possibilities, including giving up almost, before actually coming to terms with the final answer. You had to go beyond thinking and start to dig deeper by looking from multiple perspectives. Imagination together with analysis and reasoning played a key role and led to the final outcome.

Reflective Student Responses• I didn't really like the writing for this course because I did not see why we had to

do it. But after I had completed the writing it all made sense and then I was ok with the work.

• THIS COURSE HELPED ME BETTER ANALYZE AND INTERPRET GRAPHICAL EQUATIONS AND HAS HELPED COMMUNICATE BETTER.

• I think when you learn a piece of math on your own, it forces you to approach the problem in a different way because there is nobody telling you their opinion, you only have your opinion to rely on. This made me think outside the box. There were also many times when I was totally stuck and frustrated at all the different kind of knots, loops and crossings. As I kept reading forward, I began to understand the topic more clearly. I guess you can call it an “aha” moment - like a light bulb just turned on in my head. I think the hardest part about this project was the process of learning a whole different topic on your own. But I guess that was the whole idea of the project. I had a great time with this project and I learned so much. Thank you!

• This project has allowed me to practice my communication skills not only with my partner and my instructor, but also with other classmates and other instructors. It has also allowed me to practice all of the different techniques that I have learned to help me analyze the data. Analyzing the data led me to apply my critical thinking skills by trying to make the analyses make sense, by putting the information in sentences and explaining what each of the calculations indicate. Working on this assignment with a partner, allowed me to practice making decisions and judgments that not only affect me, but my partner as well.

• I have overcome my fear and intimidation of writing with the help of my instructors demands for essays and the support of the WAC instructors.

Assessment @ CSMSpring 07

ISLOs & WAC Outcomes Institutional Student Learning Outcomes

• Effective Communication The ability of students to write, read, speak, and listen in order to communicate effectively.

• Quantitative Skills The ability of students to perform quantitative analysis, using appropriate resources.

• Critical Thinking The ability of students to analyze information, reason critically and creatively, and formulate ideas/concepts carefully and logically from multiple perspectives and across disciplines.

• Social Awareness and Diversity The ability of

students to recognize cultural traditions and to understand and appreciate the diversity of the human experience, past and present.

• Ethical Responsibility The ability of students to make, with respect to individual conduct, judgments based on systems of values.

(Adopted by the College Assessment Committee, May 2006)

The Results

ePortfolios @ CSMFaculty ePortfolios

Faculty ePortfolios: sample

Faculty ePortfolios: a sample

Faculty ePortfolios: LCOM sample

Reflective Faculty Responses

ePortfolios @ CSMReaching Out

Digital Teaching and Learning Consortium

ePortfolio Workshops: 6/18 (CSM), 6/19 (Carnegie Foundation)by Ruth Cox - Tuesday, June 12 2007, 06:44 PM As a reminder, or in case you didn't get the word, we want to invite you to join us for all or part of 2 exciting ePortfolio Sessions next week, June 18 & 19.

Afternoon 1: Monday, June 18, 2 to 5 pmWhat: Planning workshop: Get together in pilot groups to plan how students will use ePortfolios while transferring between campuses and to discuss other aspects of ePortfolio use.Where: College of San Mateo, Bldg. 12, Room 170CONTACT: Jean Mach to RSVP and to obtain a parking permits (mach@smccd.edu).

Morning 2 Session: Tuesday, June 19, 9 am @ Carnegie Foundation (Palo Alto)Special chance to meet in person with KEEP developer Toru Ilyoshi and others from the Knowledge Media Lab, share what our campuses are doing with them, and learn more about new features in KEEP.Where: Carnegie Foundation (directions: http://www.carnegiefoundation.org/general/index.asp?key=55)Parking is available in the Foundation lot, or Stanford golf course lot (and walk up hill).

LUNCH (hosted by Carnegie Foundation)

Afternoon 2: Tuesday, June 19, 2 to 5 pmWrap-up Workshop to integrate, consolidate, finalize plansWhere: Back at the College of San Mateo, Bldg. 12, Room 170

These will all be working sessions, with a chance to meet with others to discussplans for ePortfolio development on your campus, no matter what tools/approaches you are taking--the information should be relevant.

ePortfolios @ CSMLooking Forward

Plans for Fall 2007• Involvement of more faculty

• More ePortfolios for students

• Introduction of Layered student ePortfolio

• More Faculty Course ePortfolios

• “Talking about Teaching” in the new SoTL Center

• ePortfolio partnership with CSU East Bay, focused on WAC and Learning Communities

• More iTunes U tutorials for students and faculty