An exploration into first-year learners

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An exploration into first-year learners
experience of ePortfolios, in diverse subject
areas, in Scottish Higher EducationSue Murray
and Susi PeacockCentre for Academic Practice
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Overview

• Introduction
• Background
• Aims of the project
• Approach and tools
• Phases of the study
• Case studies
• Progress
• Early results emerging themes
• Conclusion

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Introduction

• Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh
• Approx. 5, 600 students, 4 schools
• Susi Peacock
• Senior lecturer in e-learning
• Sue Murray
• Research assistant
• ePortfolio tool, PebblePad
• implemented since 2005
• supports personal learning and development

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Background

• Growth in popularity and application of
  ePortfolio in the tertiary education sector
• Early studies - learner response is very mixed
  and often a lack of engagement with the tool,
  particularly first-year learners
• If we are to engage and support learners, we need
  to know more about their experiences
  expectations
• Focus on first-year learners crucial stage of
  learning
• Potential barriers to learner engagement could
  include poor system usability and accessibility
• Little research into accessibility and
  ePortfolios
• Suggestions for improving practice

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Aims of the project

• Conduct an extensive study, with approximately
  500 students, into the learner use and experience
  of ePortfolios in contrasting subject areas
• Explore the changing perceptions and experiences
  of first year students over two academic years,
  focussing on accessibility and usability

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Approach and tools

• Mixed methods approach
• Case studies - 5 different subject areas
• Interviews
• Co-operative evaluations
• Conducted at two stages
• Following introduction to the ePortfolio
• After using the ePortfolio for a time
• Online questionnaire
• approx. 500 students

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Three phases

• Phase 1 December 2007 Summer 2008 (Pilot)
• Trial research tools
• Conduct co-operative evaluations, interviews and
  administer online questionnaire
• Data analysis
• Honing of research questions, tools, process and
  analysis
• Phase 2 Autumn 2008 Summer 2009
• Focus on data collection
• Minimum of five case studies from subjects such
  as drama, radiography, inter-professional
  education, physiotherapy, and education
• Phase 3 Summer 2009 onwards
• Data analysis
• Writing up of the research findings
• Dissemination

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Case studies

• Drama stage management costume design
• Blogs, formative summative assessment
• Radiography
• Forms, summative assessment, Personal Development
  Planning
• Interprofessional Health Education
• Blogs, PDP, summative assessment
• MSc Physiotherapy
• Webfolio, summative assessment
• MSc in Professional Education
• Webfolio, summative assessment

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Progress phase 1 (Dec 2007- summer 2008)
Method Stage 1 Stage 2
Face-to-face interviews Level 1 (n4) post-doctoral (n1) Level 1 (n2)
Cooperative evaluations Level 1 (n4) Level 1 (n2)
Focus group Level 4 (n3) -
Questionnaires - n14 out of 129
Email interview Level 1 (n2) Level 4 (n1)
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Early results - key themes

• First impressions
• Mixed impressive, useful resource, nice
  look, more hassle than a notebook, gimmicky
• Expectations
• Memory aid, bit like a diary
• Benefits
• Easy to use, easy to access, all in one place
• Facilitates reflection, sharing, personalisation
• Environmental benefits
• Barriers
• Attitudes to change e.g. preference for paper
  format
• Learning to develop materials on the computer
  harder for some
• Perception of interface e.g. not everyone
  considered it user friendly
• Concerns regarding privacy
• Access and interoperability issues

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• Ill be able to remember things that maybe I
  would have forgotten. And its all I know that
  its all in one area and Im not going to loose a
  sheet of paper and its interactive, so I can
  go in and change things
• (level 1 learner, phase 1)
• I have had to keep a reflective diary for my
  practice case so I have used it on a daily basis
  After being taught how to use it I find it
  quite easy to find my blog and go back into it
  and I think its really good that you can open a
  new day, its so much easier than having to write
  it in a document because its set and ready for
  you to type in and you can just save that days
  and you can also go back and add which is really
  good
• (level 1 learner, phase 2)

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Conclusion

• Resources
• Examples of case studies at QMU
  http//www.qmu.ac.uk/eportfolio/examples.htm
• Contacts
• smurray_at_qmu.ac.uk speacock_at_qmu.ac.uk