Snapshot of learning for MyPortfolio
Establishing a learning environment to foster student collaboration and ownership of learning
Contributed by Fiona Burns, Mount Roskill Grammar School
Teachers and students at Mt. Roskill Grammar School have been exploring how online learning environments can enhance learning opportunities. A Learning Management System (LMS) is being used to organise and share resources, however, teachers have also identified the value of designing tasks and opportunities that encourage reflective thought. This snapshot describes how Level 3 English students are using MyPortfolio to engage in shared learning with their peers and subject teachers.
Focusing Inquiry
The NCEA Level 3 students in this group had achieved with Merit or Excellence at Level 2 in English.
Achieving at Level 3 requires the use of discourse that demonstrates the ability to critically analyse and support ideas and points of view. Creating and facilitating opportunities for students to collaborate in different contexts was identified as a key strategy to support learning.
The focus of the teacher inquiry was to identify whether student engagement and achievement would be enhanced through the integration of an online learning environment where students could:
- participate in collaborative learning opportunities
- reflect on their progress and achievements.
Teaching and learning strategies were selected to support students to improve their critical understanding of concepts and ideas through processes of sharing, explaining, justifying and questioning (Dillenbourg,1999, pdf, 107KB).
Dillenbourg highlights that merely coming together will not necessarily trigger the meta-cognitive actions that can improve learning.
Consequently the teacher inquiry also focused on what was needed to increase the probability of those interactions occurring through identifying opportunities to facilitate shared learning (NZC, p.34, 2007).
Teaching and Learning
-
Why an ePortfolio approach
An ePortfolio provides a learner focused environment where:
• students are able to develop a portfolio of their learning while reflecting on progress
• the online learning space supports learning outside of class enabling learners the flexibility to access, review and revisit their learning
• exemplars, templates and support material can be created, organised and shared, as well as specified criteria for guiding feedback
• students gain the satisfaction of seeing their work in print and available to a wider audience. -
Why MyPortfolio?
MyPortfolio was selected as an online learning environment because:
• it enables student ownership of learning including managing their own space in a safe, education focused environment
• students can share their work with other members of the class, collaborate and give peer feedback
• students can build a learning journal in response to feedback and directions for next steps in learning
• it includes a variety of options for sharing, enabling students to target their audience to suit purpose and manage interactions. -
MyPortfolio is highly learner-centred
This environment enables students to take responsibility for their learning. Additionally specific functions and tools were able to be utilised to support learning activities and teacher modelling including:
• using forums to discuss the pre-reading material, characters and themes
• sharing and discussing individual research on singular aspects of the texts
• identifying and organising resources including web links, video clips and other media to enhance and support their learning
• enabling students to manage their learning according to their own strengths and needs
• sharing digital records from face-to-face discussions to group pages in MyPortfolio for students to reference and revisit
• posting and sharing their essays with their teacher and peers for feedback (MyPortfolio includes a ‘Place Feedback’ function on pages)
• enabling students to monitor and respond to comments and questions, review their progress and revisit to support exam revision
• using feedback and recommendations to support reflection in their learning journals.
Learning Inquiry
MyPortfolio has provided an effective platform for supporting both learning and teaching. The learning was designed to accentuate “the form of thinking that happens when groups think together online (Collaborative Learning for the Digital Age, 2011).The use of online tools to increase collaboration, and learning together, have been recognised and appreciated by all participants.
The students also valued ownership of the learning process, including the opportunity to build a portfolio of essays within a relevant learning context. The ability to access and revisit their writing along with the feedback and reflections were identified as a bonus by the students, especially in the lead up to exams.
An ePortfolio approach, when integrated into a current programme of learning, can provide valued outcomes for students especially in relation to achievement and ownership of learning. This is a key consideration in relation to teaching as inquiry and “what is important and worth spending time on” ( NZC, p.35) . Opportunities for students to benefit from teacher modeling and assistance from their peers are an important part of the learning process.
Teacher Reflection
The purpose of using an ePortfolio approach was to identify and design learning that facilitates opportunities for collaboration. Forums that were focused on clearly identified learning outcomes to guide discussion resulted in valued outcomes.
While the students contributed a range of responses they all demonstrated engagement with the text and evidence of thinking. This was extended when students responded to or even challenged what others had written. This often resulted in a noticeable increase in students justifying their position, a key skill for critical analysis.
Some of the students also made good use of the learning journal functions in MyPortfolio, including feedback and thinking to inform their next steps.
Implications for future teaching include providing opportunities for increased student feedback in response to essays and writing from peers. Consequently, the teaching as inquiry cycle will continue to focus on co-constructing success criteria with students and utilising the online tools to support teacher actions that will promote student learning.
