Digital Portfolios:How and Why We Developed Them

and What We Have Learned Along the Way

Sonoma State University

Department of Literacy Studies and Elementary Education

Presenters:Dr. MaryAnn Nickel

maryann.nickel@sonoma.edu

Dr. Paula Lanepaula.lane@sonoma.edu

Who We Are• Literacy Studies and Elementary Education

• One of 3 departments in the School of Education

• NCATE & CCTC Accredited using Digital Portfolio Data

• Our department includes Early Childhood programs, Reading

graduate and advanced certificate programs, and Multiple

Subjects

• Each year we graduate about 200 teacher candidates

• We have 9 full time faculty and about that many adjuncts

Why We Developed an eportfolio External & Internal Tensions

• Paper Portfolios (Ryan Act)

Data-Driven Evidence (SB2042) • TPE’s and TPA’s • Program’s effectiveness• A better way to look at ourselves• Evidence of candidates’ work• A way for candidates’ to make sense of

the work in an intensive program

• 3 - Year Process • Faculty buy-in • Several pilots & a “guinea pig year “ • Current integrated eportfolio

How the eportfolio Developed• Vision

– Design based on LSEE Performance Expectations

• Critical Decisions– Examination of what it means to be a

prepared beginning teacher

• Implementation– Led to deeper understanding of the concepts

underlying the PE’s

• Frequent Conversations– Between faculty and students

• Evidence of Program Efficacy– Fall 2003 Digital Portfolios were required

for the first time

Integrated Assessment

PHASE 1

ReadingsAssignmentsExperiences

CWS1–7 entries

(Candidate Work Sample)

•Intro Seminar•Support in Courses•Support in Field•Review Prior to Ph 2

CANDIDATESDigital Portfolios as Knowledge Construction

Developed during each Program Phase

Submitted for Feedback & Review

Receive Feedback

Review Data

PHASE 2

ReadingsAssignmentsExperiences

CWS2 –10 entries(Candidate Work Sample)

•Field Seminar•Support in Courses•Review at end Ph 2•Required for Completion

ProgramCompletion

Apply forBasic Cred.

ProgramEvaluation

ProgramGoals & Design

Elements That Make It Work

Candidate Work SampleCandidate Work Sample –– Performance Expectations:Performance Expectations:

(CWS-2) – Enacting and Designing Learning Experiences for All Students

PE-1 PE-1 (CA-SSU-LSEE-2.1)(CA-SSU-LSEE-2.1) [CA-SSU-PE.A, CA-TPE-1, CA-TPE-8, CA-TPE-9]:CA-TPE-1, CA-TPE-8, CA-TPE-9]: Design, implement pedagogy and curriculum that are informed by theory, research, professional standards & reflective practice.

Provide evidence that you know a great deal about the chosen content area and can teach this content concept effectively.  Provide evidence that you understand curriculum that is open to all learners. In your reflection be sure to highlight your differentiation choices, your ability to determine why students need to learn this, and how you determined who did learn.  How do you make content / knowledge accessible to learners?  What learning outcomes did you anticipate and observe?

The DesignThe Design

Authentic Portfolio

Signature Assignments or Not?

Portfolio Webpage http://www.sonoma.edu/lsee/portfolio/

Web resource that is an exact parallel to the LiveText Template along with rich resource for portfolio development

Inter-Rater ReliabilityCWS-1 Portfolio Rubric Spring 04CWS-1 Portfolio Rubric Spring 04

Aggregation of Evaluator CommentsAggregation of Evaluator Comments

PE-1.1: Demonstrate depth and breadth of content knowledge in MATH.EXCEEDS:

I like the way you connect this to students' interest and background, making connections to real life situations. You address a considerable amount of math standards.I appreciate your understanding that not only must math concepts be delivered in a clear and concise way but that you must always engage students in the task. While your plan precisely enumerates the mathematical procedures to learn this concept, the addition of the poem scaffolded English Language Learners, and other students as well, who might not be able to hold onto the process.Met all aspects of understanding and utilized good entry to justify rationaleI think this is an extraordinary, creative, detailed and diligent unit that demonstrates strong evidence of Math content knowledge.Strong lesson content and detailed observation. What is the grade level? Not sure I would use candy given the level of obesity of US children? Make sure your assessment meets your goals.

MEETS:math rationale needs to be more specific about the math contentGreat comment on how this lesson helped realize how much you are learning. To make this rationale stronger, add some reference to how much math content you are also learning.I like the way you tie this math lesson to literature.Although they could be more clearly identified, this entry and rationale demonstrate a clear understanding of the NCTM process standards for mathematics. However, there is little reference made to the

Aggregated DataAbility to rapidly generate various data reports

The Data Represent Complex Acts of Teaching and Reflection

Digital Portfolios, our evidence if you will, are sets of performances that have been captured in a multi-media

environment that inform the evolution of our programs.

Unanticipated Process Results

• Faculty have come to know each other and each other’s work in new ways

• Student Choice in entry submissions led to resonant teaching and learning opportunities.

Unanticipated Product Results

• Far more varied portfolios

• Art potential –art as a way of making meaning and communicating knowledge

• Integrated curriculum potentials emerged naturally

• BTSA/Mentor teacher collaboration

Challenges & Concerns

• Tech Support ––School and University

• Faculty Workload and Compensation

• Portfolio Management ––Feedback Loop

• Purposeful Use of the Data

• Technology in pace with each other

• Push to homogenize w/TPA format

Spandrels and digital portfolios

Our digital portfolio process created opportunities that didn’t exist before or were unrecognized opportunities.

We have begun to notice and exploit these new spaces from several perspectives:

1. Work Sample Analysis

2. Individual Discipline Study (mathematics)

3. Faculty Development

Spandrel as metaphor

Spandrels, the spaces above an arch, exist as a necessary outcome of building with arches.

In the same way…some features of organisms exist simply as the result of how an organism develops or is built.

Gould, Stephen Jay and Richard C. Lewontin. "The Spandrels of San Marco and the Panglossian Paradigm: A Critique of the Adaptationist Programme." Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 205 (1979) 581-598

Exploiting the Spaces

Work Entry Explorations and Conversations

Math Explorations and Conversations

Faculty Comment Analysis and Conversations

New Uses of Time

• Final’s Week

• Portfolio Share Day

• Course, fieldwork and assessment linked through on-site seminars

• Inter-rater Reliability

• Faculty Portfolio Review

• Course Assignments

• Students/Faculty Support

Sample Portfolio in LiveText

LiveText Login

Where We Need to Go

• Managing the process

• Improving feedback loop

• On-going faculty involvement/development

• New Faculty orientation

• Questioning the data

• Learn to speak the same language?

• Respond to new inititatives and directions