Presenters:
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Leeann Ferries (Recreation and Leisure Studies)
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Leanne Wright (Student from the course Rec 351: Therapeutic Recreation Facilitation Techniques)
In the 2014 winter term Leeann Ferries introduced an ePortfolio component into her Rec 351: Therapeutic Recreation Facilitation Techniques course (class size - 49). Throughout the course, students participate in role playing exercises designed to help students gain experience facilitating and processing a variety of therapeutic recreation interventions with a variety of client groups. The ePortfolio was incorporated to help students’ develop their capacities to become reflective practitioners. Students created and collected weekly reflection responses to the various facilitation presentations. The ePortfolio provided a safe space for students to share what they had learned about the facilitation techniques and to provide evidence of this learning. Furthermore, the ePortfolio component gave students the space and time to gain insight into their thoughts and feelings experienced during the learning process.
Findings from the Connect to Learning (C2L) ePortfolio research project indicate that “the value of ePortfolio for students depends on how it is implemented: the pedagogy and practices of faculty and staff, as well as broader support structures” (Eynon, Gambino & Torok, 2014, p. 96).
During this session, Leeann Ferries shared her experience and lessons learned while integrating ePortfolios into her course for the first time- how she introduced the ePortfolios to the students, how she assessed the ePortfolio activity, what worked and what she’ll consider doing in the future. Leeann Wright, a student from the Rec 351 course, shared her experience using ePortfolios and how the ePortfolio activity impacted her learning experience. Participants reviewed best practices to consider when incorporating ePortfolios, and discussed how they might use ePortfolios in their own course.
Resources
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Eynon, B., Gambino, L. M., & Török, J. (2014). What Difference Can ePortfolio Make? A Field Report from the Connect to Learning Project. International Journal, 4(1), 95-114.
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Effectively Integrating ePortfolios- A model for student success
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See the Centre for Teaching Excellence website for more information on ePortfolios.