ePortfolio Data for External Accreditation
A report from the Association of American Colleges and Universities states that a “purposeful educational program starts at the endpoint, with the desired characteristics of an institution’s graduates, and asks the faculty to reason backwards from outcomes to the implementation of an intentionally designed curriculum to cultivate the desired qualities.” This statement characterizes ORU’s process to articulate the University’s student learning outcomes with their accompanying proficiencies/capacities, as well as the development of the ePortfolio process.
ORU’s School of Education has been collecting ePortfolio data since 2002. The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) has heralded the ORU School of Education’s ePortfolio system as an example for all member institutions. The Oklahoma State Board of Education has done likewise. It serves as a model for other ORU programs to determine whether student learning outcomes have been achieved. Undergraduate faculty in the School of Education meet once every semester during “Assessment Week” to analyze summative data from artifacts assessed in the ePortfolio. All artifacts for the education major ePortfolio are aligned with the School of Education’s institutional standards, which in turn are aligned with national and University outcomes and provide valuable information at the student, program, and unit levels as it relates to moving students toward the knowledge, skills and dispositions expected of teacher candidates. Analysis of the Teacher Work Sample (TWS) can serve as an example. Through the TWS, teacher candidates demonstrate that they can deliver effective instructional units, employ meaningful classroom assessments, and analyze and reflect on their experiences. Data from the tws revealed that teacher candidates were scoring at the acceptable levels in the areas of demonstrating knowledge concerning using assessment data for instruction, analyzing student learning, and reflecting on teaching experiences. Results from ePortfolio also revealed that some faculty members were assessing students inconsistently. As a result, faculty members participated in professional development training on validity and reliability. Specific areas were identified where teacher candidates needed additional instruction. Therefore, the education assessment course was changed to incorporate additional instruction as it relates to teacher candidate use of assessment data to inform instruction.
In 2003-2004, the School of Nursing and the Engineering Department initiated ePortfolio programs. They have made progress in documenting the achievement of student learning outcomes. The engineering programs (computer, electrical, and mechanical) recently completed a re-accreditation site visit by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET). The final ABET evaluation reported that ORU’s engineering program had “no deficiencies, no weaknesses, and no concerns.” They added that a major strength of the engineering program is its ePortfolio-based assessment program, which is coupled with the feedback mechanism of the University-wide student learning outcomes assessment system.
ORU’s School of Education has been collecting ePortfolio data since 2002. The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) has heralded the ORU School of Education’s ePortfolio system as an example for all member institutions. The Oklahoma State Board of Education has done likewise. It serves as a model for other ORU programs to determine whether student learning outcomes have been achieved. Undergraduate faculty in the School of Education meet once every semester during “Assessment Week” to analyze summative data from artifacts assessed in the ePortfolio. All artifacts for the education major ePortfolio are aligned with the School of Education’s institutional standards, which in turn are aligned with national and University outcomes and provide valuable information at the student, program, and unit levels as it relates to moving students toward the knowledge, skills and dispositions expected of teacher candidates. Analysis of the Teacher Work Sample (TWS) can serve as an example. Through the TWS, teacher candidates demonstrate that they can deliver effective instructional units, employ meaningful classroom assessments, and analyze and reflect on their experiences. Data from the tws revealed that teacher candidates were scoring at the acceptable levels in the areas of demonstrating knowledge concerning using assessment data for instruction, analyzing student learning, and reflecting on teaching experiences. Results from ePortfolio also revealed that some faculty members were assessing students inconsistently. As a result, faculty members participated in professional development training on validity and reliability. Specific areas were identified where teacher candidates needed additional instruction. Therefore, the education assessment course was changed to incorporate additional instruction as it relates to teacher candidate use of assessment data to inform instruction.
In 2003-2004, the School of Nursing and the Engineering Department initiated ePortfolio programs. They have made progress in documenting the achievement of student learning outcomes. The engineering programs (computer, electrical, and mechanical) recently completed a re-accreditation site visit by the Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET). The final ABET evaluation reported that ORU’s engineering program had “no deficiencies, no weaknesses, and no concerns.” They added that a major strength of the engineering program is its ePortfolio-based assessment program, which is coupled with the feedback mechanism of the University-wide student learning outcomes assessment system.
Comments