Improvements
End of semester 1 recommended improvements:
End of year (semester 2) recommended improvements:
This comprehensive range of improvements are invaluable to the next iteration and the continuation of the BMgt eportfolio strategy. Some of these improvements have been implemented already and others are underway.
- Embed the use of portfolios in more units/assessments, especially in the first year so students can become more familiar with the technology to curate their evidence;
- Encourage staff to focus on student evidence by providing more targeted assessment to allow such evidence to be created and further to this, educate staff in the importance and value of students creating evidence for their future employability;
- Build staff capacity (preferably institutional wide) in both the value of ePortfolios as well as the practical and technological use;
- Improve digital literacy among staff – a greater number of assessments generating understanding and practice of digital literacy (i.e. not just how to use spread sheets). Including the use of mobile apps to create artefacts – photo collages, Instagram, FB, presentations, mind maps, honing interview skills, etc.
- Improve the ability of students to curate and reflect on evidence.
End of year (semester 2) recommended improvements:
- Ensure strategies such as communication, implementation and roles and responsibilities are documented and available to all staff in case of staff changes, as well as aims of the unit and the assessment items
- More communication between Faculty and students on a regular and ongoing basis to help students manage their time and understand the task
- Business students need a lot of support to develop their reflective practice and writing skills. A set of instructions is to be developed to assist students in developing these skills should be implemented. It needs to be appropriately timed – providing the session too early, students will not attend, nor will they see the relevance of the session, timing is too late will mean students do not have enough time to undertake reflection and collection and curation of their evidence.
- Scaffold skills development in how to use a portfolio effectively;
- Have teacher led instruction at pertinent times to make explicit connection between the student’s credit point unit work and the eportfolio unit. The aim is to provide students with an understanding of the aims of the eportfolio unit and therefore they will be able to produce better quality portfolio;
- Make more connections between the content of the curriculum that bears credit points and the overarching hurdle unit, so that students see the how they can evidence their learning and make connections between units content;
- Provide a more detailed planner for students to track their progress, with tighter milestone dates as students are more comfortable with external locus of control for their studies;
- Provide more exemplars of student work, providing a learning opportunity, by asking students to assess the contents of the eportfolio using the marking rubrics that will be used to assess their portfolios;
- Review template and instructions so that they are more explicit and helpful.
This comprehensive range of improvements are invaluable to the next iteration and the continuation of the BMgt eportfolio strategy. Some of these improvements have been implemented already and others are underway.