An ePortfolio Approach: Supporting Critical Reflection for Pedagogic Innovation

Abstract

This chapter investigates the capacity of a well-supported holistic ePortfolio program, the QUT Student ePortfolio Program (QSeP), to support critical reflection for pedagogic innovation in higher education, by exploring practice examples.

The chapter looks across faculty and discipline areas to illustrate a range of ePortfolio learning case studies, which have led pedagogical innovation across a whole institution, to enhance student learning and support academic teaching. The ePortfolio strategies discussed support innovation in learning and teaching where academics use the ePortfolio approach in different ways to develop connectedness (productive pedagogies) within learning. Students are supported to develop awareness of the connections between formal and informal learning opportunities and between their learning and personal and professional goals. Students are guided to understand what they have learned and how they have learned in terms of generic employability skills or graduate attributes and also in relation to professional standards and competencies and personal goals. In essence, the ePortfolio-supported pedagogy creates capstone events enabling students to develop a professional identity and understanding of ongoing professional development.

The examples are drawn from distinct discipline areas and illustrate the capacity of ePortfolio to underpin pedagogic innovation across discipline areas:

• Bachelor of Information Technology—the ePortfolio approach supports students to explore the IT industry as a means of clarifying personal expectations and goals, thereby enhancing student potential in the course

c• Bachelor of Nursing and Master of Nursing Science—students develop a professional ePortfolio to show development of the nursing competencies

• Master of Information Technology—Library and Information students compile a Professional Portfolio for assessment in the Professional Practice subject

• Bachelor of Laws—Virtual Law Placement (VLP) is a unit of study that challenges students to critically reflect on their performance and development duringthe work placement

Each case study illustrates the academic teaching goal and student ePortfolio task in context. Issues, challenges and support strategies are identified. Comments from the students and their lecturers give an indication of the effectiveness of the ePortfolio approach to meet learning and teaching goals.