Flourish: the ecpd project

Lead Contact: Sarah Chesney, sarah.chesney@cumbria.ac.uk

JISC Programme: JISC Users & Innovation Programme (JISC Circular 02/07)

Lead Institution and Partners: University of Cumbria

Project Dates: April 2007 - March 2009

This case study illustrates learner perspectives; tutor perspectives; supporting learning processes; continuing professional development (CPD); application to education; institutional perspectives; technologies; employability

Background & Context

What is the background to the e-portfolio initiative?

The Flourish project came about as the result of a bid submitted to the JISC by St Martin's College. The College was one of the institutions (along with the Cumbria Institute of the Arts and the Cumbria campus of University of Central Lancashire) that became part of the University of Cumbria in August 2007.

Prior to Flourish commencing, there was nowhere for St Martin's staff to store their work, privately reflect upon their achievement and then share this with a variety of internal and external colleagues in an appropriate and timely manner. Continuing Professional Development activity was mainly stored hard copy and most staff relied on face-to-face presentations or email with attachments to distribute information on their CPD and professional interests.

When Flourish began in March 2007 a majority of academic staff at the University of Cumbria had not come into contact with an e-portfolio and were, therefore, unfamiliar with the potential benefits that e-portfolios offer.

Flourish has operated in a complex situation where processes from legacy institutions have been adopted as a short-term answer whilst longer-term solutions are sought. The context is complicated by the fact that the university is highly dispersed, with seventy miles separating the two main campuses. Many colleagues were (and still are) therefore unknown to one another, even if they work in similar areas. This context can be seen in a positive light, with an opportunity to do things differently and try new approaches to existing activities.

What were the aims and objectives of the initiative?

Flourish's overall aims were to ease the administrative burden experienced by learning, teaching and research practitioners at Cumbria. Its objectives were to:

• Encourage staff to use an e-portfolio to:
  • store evidence of learning and reflect upon this
  • demonstrate evidence of their development
• raise awareness of an e-portfolio amongst academic staff so that they could consider using an e-portfolio with students
• disseminate Flourish activities and outcomes to the wider Higher Education community
• identify the challenges that arise when an e-portfolio is introduced for staff CPD
• trial and evaluate use of an e-portfolio for CPD activities
• identify successful approaches to designing processes for introducing and embedding the use of an e-portfolio

How was the initiative implemented?

The project sought to achieve its aims through 5 key activities:

• Embedding e-portfolio as a fundamental element within the institution's Post Graduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education (PgCLTinHE)
• Piloting it with staff as part of the appraisal process
• Recording and sharing of experiences of practitioners' attendance at conference through publishing to Conference Gateways, a key component within the chosen e-portfolio system
• Working with professional accreditation bodies (e.g. the HE Academy, SEDA and CILIP) to evaluate the efficacy of applications by e-portfolio
• Implementing e-portfolios to smooth the forging and enhancement of cross-departmental relationships between staff within a newly-formed institution

Flourish used an action research approach, and sought to work collaboratively with colleagues from all parts of the University. It was viewed as an opportunity to scrutinize working practices in relation to the institution and develop the notion that an e-portfolio has the potential to enhance staff CPD. The project used a cyclical approach - enhancing practice by taking lessons learned from each iteration to improve the next stages of the process.

Evaluation was based on Glenaffric's Six Steps to Effective Evaluation.

It was recognised from the outset that success of the project was dependent on senior management support. This support also helped convince other staff of the value of the project.

The implementation was undertaken in work packages. The HR department was keen to encourage staff to use PebblePad in the appraisal process so this was piloted on a small scale in 2007 and then adapted and rolled out further.

Other work packages included the Post Graduate Certificate in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education; Professional Accreditation and Team Building.