RAPPORT
Volume 3 Issue 1 (2018)
Figure 1: Coghlan and Brannick’s spiral of (action) cycles (2001, p. 19).
The following sets out how the 4-step
cycle was developed, from the first step of
diagnosing that e-portfolios might provide
an improved method of assessment,
through the second and third steps of
planning the introduction of e-portfolios
and assessment materials, and acting (i.e.
implementing the plan), to reviewing or
evaluating any intended or unintended
outcomes during implementation.
Step 1: Diagnose
From a teacher perspective, the intended
purpose of incorporating e-portfolios into
the course assessment was primarily as a
mode of assessment. It was thought that it
would also help improve professional
practice by introducing a new technology-
enhanced learning tool to teaching,
learning and assessment. Without prior
personal knowledge of e-portfolios as a
mode of assessment and considering the
very recent DCU-wide introduction of
learning e-portfolios on Loop Reflect 2017,
learning by (and while) doing was the
experiential learning approach we adopted
to test e-portfolios as a method of
assessment.
Step 2: Plan
We discussed how to introduce the e-
portfolios to students prior to the start of
the second semester of the academic year
2017/18. To facilitate a comparative
evaluation of student learning outcomes
we decided to keep the same reflective
journal exercises. Lisa Donaldson, a
learning technician with the Teaching
Enhancement Unit (TEU) at DCU with
responsibility for promoting and
implementing use of e-portfolios, provided
advice and support. Our discussions on
planning the introduction of e-portfolios
would provide another evaluation element
of reviewing how well the plan worked
(intended outcomes) and what else
emerged during implementation
(unintended outcomes). Working closely
with Lisa we developed the following
supports for students.
1. Revise the assignments so that they
would be ‘e-portfolio friendly’
As the exercises were reflective already,
they appeared to be a good fit with the e-
portfolio format. Some minor changes
were made to the assignments to match
the templates (for example the videos in
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