Etec 511 Final Essay Cleo 2

Running Head: DIGITAL PORTFOLIOS: SELF-REFLECTION AND DIALOGUE 1                 Digital Portfolios in the Elementary Classroom:  Learning through self-reflection              Cristina Leo  ETEC 511: Foundations in Educational Technology   University of British Columbia  December 15th, 2018         

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Introduction In 2015, the government of British Columbia announced changes to the curriculum design for students in Kindergarten to Grade 12. These changes which would be mandated into practice in 2016 changed the way curriculum delivery would be approached, including the ways in which student learning would be assessed and reported. These curriculum changes also coincided with advances in web 2.0 capabilities, including access to devices and high-speed internet. (BC Ministry of Education, 2017) Therefore, Digital portfolios as a classroom support tool, allow student thinking, knowing, and doing to be visible, transcending the typical four walls of the classroom. When teachers and students work in partnership to co-construct learning, students are able to receive immediate and timely feedback that can be revised and reworked enhancing the final product. Digital portfolios provide an access point for parents to not only observe but comment on student progress, enhancing and extending the conversation outside of the classroom. This paper outlines how digital portfolios aid in the alignment of new curriculum standards, core competencies, and tenets of 21st century learning when implemented effectively in a K-5 school. As well how digital portfolios extend communication between all stakeholders: students, teachers, and parents. Context for Learning Gone are the days when the teacher stands at the front of the classroom instructing students to absorb the mass amount of information required to be digested and regurgitated through a test. Today, students are able to access mass amounts of

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information online through the click of a button. Rather than focusing on the content of information required to be known through assessment, curriculum reform has shifted the focus to skill development. In 2015, BC’s Education Minister Mike Bernier stated that, “personalized learning is the heart of the changes-and teachers will have the time and ability to help kids dig into what interests them. We all know how passionate kids can be when they get into something like music, soccer, or dinosaurs. The new curriculum will give teachers the ability to tap into these passions.” (Vancouver Sun, 2015)

These changes to the design of the curriculum introduce a new model of learning where students will be assessed on knowledge, understanding, and application. Similar to the design cycle, this learning model involves iteration, the ability to move forwards, backwards, and within the process of learning. This new concept-based competency-driven approach to learning explores the topics or content that the student will ​know.​ Through this phase of learning students are able to choose what area they will explore based on interest and depth of understanding. This concept-based model also explores the big ideas and what students will ​understand.​ Finally, students will ​do​, meaning rather than being consumers of knowledge, students will demonstrate the process of knowledge construction through the application of knowledge and skills in the creation of a new product. These changes to the new curriculum put students in the driver’s seat, with a focus on conceptual learning rather than content driven, students can dive deeper into their inquiry. This new curriculum is more flexible, broader, and transdisciplinary allowing for a blend of subjects rather than learning in isolation. The

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framework for student learning opens up the possibility of using digital portfolios in the classroom to document student learning as a means of communicating student knowing, understanding, and doing.

Digital Portfolios Digital portfolios have long been a tool used by artists and professionals as a means of documenting artifacts and best work. Educational portfolios however, are not limited to final products and showpieces, but rather a reflection of student learning that is chosen by the student. Most often these pieces are “collected, reflected upon, selected, and presented to show growth and change over time, work that represents an individual’s or an organization’s human capital.” (Barrett, 2007) Vital to the efficacy of digital portfolios is the role self-reflection plays when considering each piece included. Student reflection validates the process of learning that has occured. “Stiggins (2004) defined a portfolio as a collection of student work that demonstrates achievement or improvement” (Barrett, 2007) Digital portfolios begin where portfolios left off, as Barrett stated, “an electronic portfolio uses technologies as the container, allowing students or teachers to collect and organize portfolio artifacts in many media types (audio, video, graphics, text). Hypertext links organize the material, connecting evidence to appropriate outcomes, goals or standards.” (Barrett, 2007)

The purpose of a digital portfolio in the 21st century provides students with the agency to showcase their learning through the selection and reflection of artifacts and evidence

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that represents their personalized journey. The way in which teachers choose to use digital portfolios in their classrooms however can be done through one of three different ways. “​Literacy professors Richard Allington and Patricia Cunningham (2006) offer clear definitions for this assessment tool and process (p. 179): ● Performance portfolio​s are collections of a student's best work, with the student taking the lead in the selection of the work and providing an explanation as to why they should be included. ● Process portfolios​ contain several versions of a selected work. Such a portfolio might hold early drafts of a paper or poem to show how the piece developed over time. ● Progress portfolios​ are often managed by teachers. They hold collections of work intended to illustrate children's development over time.” (Barrett, 2007) Today, new digital portfolio apps such as Freshgrade and Seesaw, make it possible for seamless integration and delivery of lessons for students, teachers, and parents to see. Freshgrade for example, allows teachers the ability to streamline the paper used in class and document student learning by providing a place for students to showcase their learning, changing the way their content is used. Freshgrade CEO, Lane Marrifiedl said, “we understand that teachers are already using a variety of methods to track and report on students’ progress and communicate with parents. Freshgrade simplifies and enhances this process, and offers a more efficient and impactful way to approach these tasks. We’re excited that through our new mobile app, we’ll be able to alleviate even more of the workload that teachers endure on a daily basis.” (Newswire, 2015).

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Digital portfolios not only open the door for students to share what they have been learning about, creating, and making in class with their parents, but ultimately continue the conversation of and about learning, stretching beyond the four walls of the classroom. Engagement in content through concepts is the heart of digital portfolios in the 21st century. Advances in web capabilities through app design allow for students to easily upload multimedia that serve as evidence of student learning. Images, pictures, video and audio recordings of student’s thinking, doing, and reflecting are now possible with these digital portfolio apps.

Another benefit to digital portfolios is that communication between teacher and parents becomes more accessible. Marrifiedi states, “I usually see parents after school or at parent-teacher meetings. FreshGrade allows me to create a bond with parents that hasn’t been there before. I can share instantly what’s going on in my classroom with parents-samples of reading, video, performances. Everything that sparkles in the classroom.” (2015) When learning is shared with parents in a timely manner, the conversation continues to live outside the classroom walls. Rather than waiting until the end of a unit or through a summative assessment, student progress can be reported and shared through a live format. This live reporting or showcasing of student learning and thinking allows for students to continue the conversation at home with their parents in real time. This however, has not always been the case with digital portfolios in the past. This is where much of the research fails to provide current, up-to date data

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regarding the true benefits of digital portfolios since much of the research predates web 2.0 capabilities. Kotsopoulous, Lee, Cordy & Bruyns’ case study entitled, “Electronic portfolios in grades one, two, and three: a cautionary tale” discussed the failure to research the efficacy and implementation of digital portfolios within primary classrooms. Research around the use of digital portfolios often speak to the metacognitive skills students develop through reflection and content knowledge (Barrett, 2007). According to Kotsopoulous et al, “Other research about portfolios, however, has raised concerns particularly in the validity of portfolio assessment, suggesting that consistent and/or stable interpretations of learning over time are questionable” (2014). While attempting to research the evidence-based benefits of implementing digital portfolios in 10 primary classes, three objectives were set. First, they aimed to “evaluate the user interface issues associated with EPs by working with teams of teachers and their students to implement EPs in grades one, two, and three. Second, to examine the extent to which EPs potentially support teaching and student learning. Third, reflect collectively upon the intersection of pedagogy and EP use.”(Kotsopoulos, 2014) Honest in their case study they admit that they failed to prove their first two objectives due to the fact that they had incorrectly selected a digital portfolio app that was inappropriate for their intended age group. This is a significant issue when districts and independent schools are choosing to implement the best fit into their schools. Students should be able to navigate the tool with ease, limiting their reliance on teachers to do things for them. As Kotsopoulous et al. (2014) note, “electronic portfolios must be developed with innovative touch-screen technologies

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in mind. Children are more digitally advanced and sophisticated than ever and so user interfaces must leverage this advantage.” Another critical factor to the success of implementation of a digital portfolio tool is the introduction of the tool early on in a students educational journey. When students are given the choice and agency to be active members of their own learning this enhances the use of the tool both within and outside of the classroom. From their research conclusions, Kotsopoulous et al. (2014) offer key recommendations regarding the implementation of digital portfolios in primary education, such as user interface limiting the amount of text-based reading expectations and including more touch-screen features for younger students. Even though the researchers see their study as a failure, they provide discussion regarding this age group who are often overlooked in academic literature. Overall, the researchers point to an important fact that research and understanding of digital portfolios in the primary years is limited. Much of what is published discusses higher-education, such as the use of digital portfolios for teacher evaluation. Continued research regarding digital portfolios use for primary students is necessary.

Skills Based Learning Pasted structures of curriculum design stressed the importance of preparing students for testing, such as standardized assessment in Grade 10 through 12. However, due to the changes the BC Ministry of Education has made regarding the curriculum, teachers no longer are teaching to the test so to speak. Students likewise don’t feel pressure to learn how to be masterful test takers. Rather, this shift in design allows students to

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engage in creative and innovative lessons, relying on skills such as creativity and critical thinking. Skill development is a critical feature of this new educational curriculum redesign, focusing on the core competencies which the government calls “sets of intellectual, personal, and social emotional proficiencies that all students need to develop in order to engage in deep learning and lifelong learning.” (BC Curriculum, 2015) The core competencies include: ​communication​, ​thinking,​ and​ personal social emotional.

The purpose of these core competencies is for students to actively model and engage in the use of these skills through collaborative opportunities amongst peers in the process of learning to co-create, problem solve, and think critically. As technological advancements rapidly change the way economies function, students need to be equipped with both the soft skills and hard skills to adapt in new environments and situations. These core competencies become an integral part of the students day to day life.

Communication is considered a core competency or skill that needs to be explicitly taught and modeled for students. One way of doing this is through the use of digital portfolios in the classroom as a means of encouraging discussion, reflection, and dialogue between students, teachers and parents. McLeod and Vasinda’s case study, “Electronic portfolios: Perspectives of students, teachers and parents” evaluates how digital portfolios “capture and enhance the learning of elementary students in a public

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school setting and as an opportunity to communicate this learning to parents.” (2008) Portfolios require reflection, an important metacognitive skill that benefits student learning and future success (McLeod, 2008) When students select evidence of learning that goes beyond worksheets or textbooks, authentic evidence is selected. These opportunities to showcase performances and creative pieces makes learning enjoyable, or what Papert (2002) called, “Hard fun.”

McLeod and Vasinda’s research aimed to determine “whether the students perceived any subjective satisfaction, whether they enjoyed the process and importantly, whether they learned to reflect constructively on their work.” Additionally they were curious about the subjective satisfaction parents and teachers had regarding the use of digital portfolios to communicate student learning, knowing, and doing.

Students described how the most enjoyable part of their learning was the choice they were given in selecting what pieces were included as artifacts. As well “students found satisfaction in the digital aspects of the portfolio, including the public nature of their work posted on the Internet...several students noted the authenticity of this project as well as the creative and choice aspect.” (2008) Students in the study mentioned that it provided those with learning differences an avenue to showcase their learning beyond the typical writing formats of assessment such as essays.

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Teachers reported that by using digital portfolios in the classroom it impacted their teaching in positive ways. By listening to the student reflections, teachers were able to tailor their lessons to better fit the needs and questions of students, determining what aspects of the lesson students identified as important or required further clarification. Key takeaways from this case study provided the perspective for teachers about the capabilities of their students, developing skills such student ownership, and discussions with students about their identities as learners.

Finally, parent perspectives on the use of digital portfolios was an important component of this case study. Parents reported that through the documentation of student learning through artifacts and self-reflections, parents has a better indication of who their child was, as a learner. Parents enjoyed “the digital aspect of hearing and/or seeing as part of their perception of being included in the life of the classroom. An additional dimension of the digital nature of these portfolios is to actually hear their child’s voice while reflection on their work.” (2008)

Overall, the benefits of implementing digital portfolios into the classroom for this case study strengthened the claim that there is value from all stakeholders, students, teachers, and parents. McLeod and Vasinda state that “students began thinking more deeply about the content and about themselves as a learner while teachers obtained valuable insights into those thoughts.” (2008) Consistent across much of the research exploring the benefits of digital portfolios in the elementary context, these findings are

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“particularly useful because as previously mentioned, empirical findings are limited particularly for elementary aged students.” (2008)

What is exciting from this case study is the potential for enhanced student reflection through better designed apps and feature capabilities of digital portfolio tools being used today. Making digital portfolios meaningful is now possible with cloud based access and storage capabilities. With enhanced high-speed internet access, many schools are able to use these tools to their full capabilities. In 2017, the BC Government proudly reported they has successfully installed Next Generation Network (NGN) in more than 1, 600 public schools across the 60 school districts in the province.

Understanding the ways in which all stakeholders find purpose in digital portfolios requires continued research into the design and implementation in elementary school education. Helen Barrett discusses how the REFLECT initiative provides a framework for schools looking to implement digital portfolios into their classrooms. Barrett noted that the lack of literature and research into the implementation of digital portfolios in the K-12 context sparked the need for a two-year action research study. REFLECT, which stands for “Researching Electronic portfolios: Learning, Engaging, and Collaboration through Technology.” The study revealed that the success of implementation depended on teacher buy-in, where schools that had “a strong teacher leader, or an active technology coordinator, there was stronger support for the teachers implementing electronic portfolios. Here we have an opportunity to build a real community of practice.”

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(Barrett, 2007) When there are educators in supporting technology roles, implementation is more realistic. A transdisciplinary approach allows for teachers to create opportunities for students to create artifacts that are multidimensional in nature, such as connecting literature with science. When schools conduct a self-study to find out what works and why, more teachers will buy into the practice.

Conclusion Partnership for 21st Century Learning focuses on creativity, critical thinking, communication, and collaboration as essential skills students must master in order to be prepared for the future. Along with the core competencies of the BC new curriculum, students are given opportunities to learn, practice, and utilize these skills through classroom activities. Along with the design of lessons and activities that motivate and engage students authentically, digital portfolios provide an opportunity for these moments to become captured through video and visual images, and most importantly for self-reflection. Assessment and reporting through digital portfolios becomes a real way of understanding students knowledge of both content and concepts. Overall, the benefits of utilizing digital portfolios in the classroom allow for all stakeholders- students, teachers, and parents-the opportunity to engage in meaningful discussion and transform the learning to stretch beyond the four walls of the classroom. In conclusion, further research is needed in regards to the use of digital portfolios in the elementary classroom but the current research supports that self-reflection continues to be the everlasting hope educators have to connect the new curriculum with skill development.

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