Summary: e-portfolio implementation and use at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne
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e-portfolio implementation and use at University of Newcastle upon Tyne
Key words: postgraduate research students, medicine, middle-out, academic progression, employability, administration, holistic, skills, PDP, CPD, integration with VLE, student lifecycle
Numbers of students and staff using e-portfolios
Staff
Students
What is distinctive about this implementation case study
- Development began with paper based Personal and Academic Records for use by tutors in 1998
- In-house developed e-portfolio tool ePET for use initially in Medicine in 2004
- Use has been mainly within the Medical Faculty and by postgraduate research students
- A middle-out initiated process which has gradually received senior managment buy in
- Externally funded project involvement has been central to developments
- Postgraduate research training (PGRT) e-portfolio is a requirement from 2006
- Teaching and Learning Committee agreed the use of the PGRT e-portfolio model within undergraduate and postgraduate taught course in 2007 and as a result a working group and internal funding set up to support roll out
- A University 'Student Charter' (2010) sets out the use of the e-portfolio as part of tutorial support
Drivers
Originally:
- QAA 2001 requirements in relation to PDP
- Set for Success, the final report of the Roberts Review, April 2002
- Joint Research Councils and Arts and Humanities Research Board Joint Skills Statement for postgraduate research students and early career researchers
More recently:
- Issues around the Student Experience, fees, etc
- University Student Charter and Graduate Skills Framework for undergraduates and taught postgraduates, directed principally towards employability
- Personal tutoring
- Promotion of 'ncl+', the University's student award to recognise lifewide learning and support employability
Tool/s used
1 = In-house postgraduate research training portfolio (RTP) e-portfolio, based on the ePET e-portfolio piloted in the Medical Faculty
2 = Undergraduate personal development planner, based on 2000-02 i-PARs development, available within the institutional VLE
3 = 2010-11 Implementation of ePET e-portfolio for undergraduates and masters students
Implementation features for senior managers
- Development across the institution at all levels stemming from a postgraduate research student support e-portfolio implementation in one faculty (Medicine), which was designed to support the Roberts Skills agenda and expanded to incorporate management of supervision and progression processes
- Strategic university support for externally funded projects and internal funding for capacity building and wider roll out
- A university wide vision re graduate/employability skills
Implementation features for e-portfolio managers
- The 'ePET' portfolio is a relatively structured portfolio, designed to support different pedagogy and skill sets, which can be customised on a programme-by-programme basis. This has been an important aspect in its uptake in specific disciplines which have different pedagogic and policy drivers and also allows integration with the curriculum, which is associated with higher engagement. However there is an ongoing cost involved in adapting the structure to meet the various and changing institutional needs
- e-Portfolio use is integrated within a tutorial/supervisory support and reporting system for PGRT and at undergraduate and postgraduate taught course level
- Expertise of key individuals within one faculty has been central to this development which has taken some time to become a whole instutution initiative
- Graduate Skills have been an important lever for institution-wide adoption recently
- An e-portfolios unit though operating initially in one faculty has built both technical and pedagogic expertise and championed their use more widely
Implementation features for practitioners
- Extensive use in Medicine
- Used within the tutorial support system
- University-wide use within Post Graduate Research Training and integrated with the progression and reporting process
Implementation features for IT staff / educational technologists
- ePET is interoperable in that it adheres to the Leap2A standard for ePortfolios allowing portablity to other e-portfolios in common use
- Involvement in the JISC funded PIOP projects to support the development of the Leap2A standard.
The nature of e-portfolio use
The University's Student Charter links PDP and e-portfolio with keeping records of tutorial meetings and evidencing skills identified within the Graduate Skills Statement. All students on taught courses have access to the e-portfolio for these purposes. At the same time the use of the e-portfolio at postgraduate research student level, which is already institution wide, has been expanded to support the complete lifecycle for research students.
Intra course - localised use
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Inter/ whole course –> cross dept/ school/ faculty use
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Cross institution use
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Extra- curricular use
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Whole course use -
Pilots in Medicine , Biosciences etc are described in Exemplar 1.
Secondary PGCE - supporting professional standards and interfacing with Web 2.0
Exemplar 2
Joining up e-portfolios use across undergraduate and postgraduate courses in Dentistry to link explicitly with CPD Exemplar 3
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PDP use across the institution
Postgraduate Training Portfolio e-portfolio for postgraduate research students
Exemplar 4
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Student Award
ncl+
Exemplar 5
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The nature of the implementation journey
The Newcastle implementation is characterised by the very rich programme of projects undertaken in the Medical Faculty which has developed the experience and the expertise to support larger-scale implementation and has created a network of champions across the university, drawn in on different projects and various stages of evolution of the work. A wealth of middle-through initiatives has engaged senior management support, given major institutional drivers noted above.
The initial drivers for e-portfolios at Newcastle predate the Dearing Report (1997) and the rise of Personal Development Planning. The Medical Faculty wished to provide support online for students' reflective practice and professional development in Medicine. The Medical School has some history of institutional system development and considers the potential for institutional take-up and sustainability when designing development activities.
FDTL4 funding 2002-04 started the development of ePET, a generic e-portfolio framework to evidence learning outcomes and facilitate PDP. This proved pivotal. The funding not only supported the implementation of ePET in Medicine, but also provided the time and capacity to develop portfolio technology and pedagogy and to further develop national reputation and expertise in the area. It also attracted uptake in other disciplines at Newcastle; notably a portfolio to support postgraduate researchers within the Faculty, using the 'ePET' portfolio in place of an existing paper-based portfolio.
The Postgraduate Research Training e-portfolios for Medicine then attracted University Roberts funding for wider roll-out, championed by all three Postgraduate Deans. The scope of this e-portfolio has been broadened to include the project approval and mandatory annual progression processes for postgraduate research students.
Now available to all students and being embedded in IT services as mainstream provision in the University, supported by central IT and Learning and Teaching Services rather than by a project team in the Medical Faculty.
Overview
Stage 0: Prior developments |
Stage 1: Planning |
Stage 2: Early adoption |
Stage 3: Embedding |
Stage 4: Sustaining |
Capacity building in the Faculty of Medical Sciences through R&D projects from 1998: online support in Medicine for personal tutoring and links into CPD.
Institutional implementation of early model based on this abandoned, because take up was slow and meanwhile the e-portfolio concept arrived and overtook this practice.
Paper-based portfolio existed in postgraduate Medicine
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ePET e-portfolio, developed through FDTL4 project 2002-2005, implemented in Medicine.
Over 20 follow-on related projects developed experience of applications in lifelong learning, interoperability and work-based learning.
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ePET e-portfolio taken up in other disciplines: Dentistry; PGCE; Business.
ePET developed to support postgraduate research students in Medicine
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2005-- Postgraduate research training portfolio (RTP) rolled-out across all faculties. All PGRs required to use it from 2006. Supported as a mainstreamed central service.
Scope of RTP broadened to cover research student progression processes
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2007 Use of RTP for research students' progression embedded in regulations.
Use of e-portfolio included in undergraduate programme specifications in BioSciences
2010 e-portfolios included in University Learning and Teaching Strategy, linked to both PGRs and personal and professional development for students on taught courses; also linked to implementation of the University's Graduate Skills Framework and the delivery of personal tutoring support.
University's Student Charter makes it a student responsibility to use e-portfolio for PDP and for recording outcomes of personal tutorials.
2011 - 5 year strategic funding to enhance and roll-out ePortfolio across the University.
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Managing organisational change
Governance, leadership and vision
Currently implementation is managed by a cross-university steering group chaired by a Postgraduate Dean and involving staff from Information Systems and Services, Quality in Teaching and Learning and the Careers Service.The implementation is carried out by experienced staff from the School of Medical Sciences Education Development Unit working closely with central departments including Information Services and the Quality in Teaching and Learning unit. Information Services is concerned with technical sustainability, while the Medical Faculty will continue to host services. The Quality in Teaching and Learning unit is concerned with pedagogic suustainability and embedding in practice. The Director of QTL reports to the PVC for Learning and Teaching and the key point of reference is the institutional Teacing and Learning Strategy.
Alignment with the institutional context
DRIVERS:
Within the Medical Sciences the need to develop reflective practitioners with the skills and attitudes suitable for independent CPD, appraisal, and professional revalidation has been in place for a considerable time and e-portfolios support this process.
Key drivers that have supported the wider rollout of practice have been accompanied by the availabiltiy of both external and internal university funding. These have been the focus on QA for Post Graduate Research Training, and the University Sudent Charter which has required the 3 faculties to have in place for all course a mapping of graduate/ employability skills for 2012. e-Portfolios are used to support the development of these skills.
TECHNOLOGIES:
Development of an in-house e-portfolio occurred as suitable tools did not exist at the time.
Developing expertise/engaging with stakeholders:
Professional development for staff
e-Portfolio developments have been gradual and the School of Medical Sciences Education Development team has developed the capacity to adapt ePET to meet the needs of users within the University and to provide the professional development support for staff
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