Ethnographyof the University Initiative

University of Illinoisat Urbana-Champaign

I/NCEPR, 21 July 2007

Overview

• Program recap• Program update• Research report• Discussion• Questions?

Program Recap

• EUI engages undergraduates in ethnographic research on the university as an institution.

• Research takes place in EUI-affiliated courses or in special projects.

• Students’ electronic portfolios—containing field notes, findings, and reflections—are archived and (ideally) widely accessible.

• The archive contains evidence of student learning.

Program Recap

• EUI is a faculty-led initiative.• It received a one-time grant from the

Chancellor.• It serves the campus, but is no longer

charged to do so.

Program Update

Personnel:• New co-director, Catherine Prendergast• New project coordinator, Tim McDonough• New cohort of instructors

Technology:• Archive (IDEALS, campus digital

repository)• New platform (Moodle?)• New EUI website (beta)

Research Report

• I/NCEPR research amounted to a project evaluation.

• Question: Can we reliably capture evidence of student learning in a manner that is legible and accessible to students and instructors in future EUI-affiliated courses?

• Why: Project integrity; EUI cannot sustain itself unless this happens.

Research Report

Method:• Survey of archived electronic portfolios

(conducted by EUI staff).• Ethnographic study of selected EUI courses

(conducted by EUI students).• Content analysis of EUI electronic portfolios

(conducted by EUI students and faculty).• Interviews with EUI students (conducted by

EUI students).• Survey (conducted by faculty and graduate

students external to the project).

Research Report

Analysis of electronic portfolio content:• Examined reflective statements by

students, looking for awareness that their research led them to understand that the university is constituted by multiple, competing, and incomplete narratives.

• Examined EUI students’ links to other EUI students’ electronic portfolios, a demonstration of commitment to intellectual community.

Research Report

Context for student learning:• Instructor case study (Pamela

Gauthier, EDUC 300).– Embraced mission– Embraced technology

Research Report

Student learning:• Student case study (Samantha

Wilson).– Reflection

• Fall (EDUC 300): articulating personal and institutional narratives

• Spring (EUI Internship): understanding institutional narratives

– Linking• Form question, then link, or vice versa?

Research ReportReflection:• After interviewing LR I found that certain aspects

of being a transfer student that upset me. Just from writing up my reactions, I have noticed the development of strong defensive feelings towards individuals who talk about their experience in the campus community and then question my involvement. [. . .] After reading Astin ([“Student Involvement,” Journal of College Student Personnel 25.4 (1984): 297-308] p. 303), I am also more aware of my own involvement in the university. This awareness has caused me to write in ways I do not want my fellow classmates to see as of yet. Perhaps after I better understand this new awareness I’ll be able to share.

Research Report

Another perspective:• External evaluation (survey)

– Students perceived rigor and appreciated it?

– Students sustained interest in subject (cultural diversity at the university)?

Research Report

Finding:• We can capture evidence of student

learning, and we can make it legible and accessible.

Challenge:• Doing so repeatedly, reliably, and

for multiple audiences.

Research Report

Next steps:• Access. More exit interviews to

better understand what’s in the archive and how to use it.

• Legibility. Continue developing alternative representations of archive content that incorporates images and sound.

Discussion

Accessibility + Legibility = Transparency?

• How much is enough? How much is too much?

Discussion

Further adventures in transparency:• NSSE: Augmenting findings with EUI

research• Accreditation • CASTL – Cohort on Undergraduate

Research: Focus in part on EUI role in faculty development

Discussion

• Can the EUI archive have life beyond (orafter) EUI?

Questions?

Ethnography of the University Initiative

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

http://www.eotu.uiuc.edu