Author: S.J. Cotterill, s.j.cotterill@ncl.ac.uk

Author: P.R. Kyle, p.r.kyle@newcastle.ac.uk

JISC e-Learning Activity Area: e-Portfolios

Higher Education Academy Subject Centre: Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary Medicine

This case study illustrates...an effect on learning, an effect on exam results, an effect on student personal development, student satisfaction with e-learning, innovation in learning and teaching, an influence on educational research, staff personal development, a positive effect on recruitment, an influence on policy, use of resources, modifications to learning spaces, management of learning assets, an effect on social equality

Tangible Benefits

What tangible benefits did this e-learning approach produce?

Within Medicine the research studies and programme evaluations indicate there have been real benefits to student learning. For example in the initial evaluation of the e-portfolio process for SSMs 80% of students found it to be a useful learning experience and 72% said it influenced their approach to learning. 93% said it led them to reflect following the end of the placement. Likewise, in the evaluation of the annual appraisal supported by e-portfolio 70% of students found it useful and 58% said it would influence their learning in the subsequent year.

Where the e-portfolio replaced existing paper-based systems there are reductions in printing, copying and other administrative costs. Where the e-learning supports new pedagogy it is possible that these costs may have been prohibitive if it had been paper-based.

There have been significant benefits to the wider institution where the flexible nature of the e-portfolio has meant that it could be applied to support other curricula and a broad range of educational requirements. (Ref 3: Cotterill SJ, Horner P, Hammond GR, McDonald AM, Drummond P, Teasdale D, Aiton J, Orr G, Bradley PM, Jowett T, Heseltine L, Ingraham B, Scougall K. Implementing ePortfolios: adapting technology to suit pedagogy and not vice versa! Proc. ePortfolio 2005, Oxford, 2005). This includes rollout to Bioscience (to support employability and 3rd year projects), Speech and Language Sciences, Dentistry and an institution-wide e-portfolio for postgraduate research students (to promote research and transferable skills).

In addition, the e-portfolio is used at 11 other institutions and has been adapted in a number of JISC projects to develop support for interoperability and the transfer of life-long learning records. For further information see: http://www.eportfolios.ac.uk/ePET and http://www.epics.ac.uk/EPICS/

Newcastle changed to an outcomes based curricula related to the needs of the NHS and professional bodies as defined by the General Medical Council (GMC). The e-portfolio supports these learning outcomes and the growing demand for reflective practitioners who can manage their own continuing professional development as defined by the GMC 'Tomorrows Doctors' report (2002). See: http://www.eportfolios.ac.uk/FDTL4?pid=47

Did implementation of this e-learning approach have any disadvantages or drawbacks?

There are few pedagogical drawbacks because the software has been developed in-house and has therefore been carefully tailored for the various curricula requirements.

The e-portfolio has been gradually embedded in the curriculum over a 4 year period with careful piloting and fine-tuning. It has been designed not to be too onerous to students and the pedagogy was initially developed to have minimal staff impact (e.g. students could print out SSM portfolios for sign-off, rather than all supervisors having to log on). However, the new approaches involving face-to-face appraisal supported by a summary of evidence from the e-portfolio and the grading of the SSM portfolio by supervisors does represent an increase in staff time (though, possibly less than having introduced this new pedagogy supported by paper).

The software has been developed using Open Source products used by the team at the Faculty of Medical Sciences Computing. However, the business services of the central university primarily support systems on Microsoft platforms so collaboration has been problematic, though web service approaches will overcome this.

How did this e-learning approach accord with or differ from any relevant departmental and/or institutional strategies?

This e-learning approach around e-portfolios has accorded well with faculty and institutional teaching and learning strategies. It has helped meet the requirements for PDP within the institution, professional policy drivers in Medicine and Dentistry, employability in Bioscience and the 'Robert's Agenda' for skills training for postgraduate research students.

In the context of Medicine the e-portfolio is fully embedded and used across all year groups. It includes:

• PDP
• Recording meetings with personal tutors
• Clinical logbooks
• CV
• SSC
• Evidencing outcomes for end of year appraisal.

After careful piloting and evaluation it now has a greater role in formative and summative assessment.