Reflecting on Citizenship: Curating Civic Identities in a Capstone ePortfolio Course

Tom Schrand, Associate Dean for General EducationKatharine Jones, Associate Professor of Sociology and Gender StudiesValerie Hanson, Associate Professor of Rhetoric and Writing

and Program Director, Hallmarks Core

AAC&U: 9th Annual Forum on Digital Learning and ePortfoliosJanuary 27th, 2018

Capstone hypothesis: curating ePortfolios

Can students in a general education capstone course use their completed ePortfolios as the starting point for a new round of reflection and identity-building?

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Our “value proposition” for general education

The Hallmarks Program for General Education at Jefferson empowers

students to:

● Question, based on curiosity and confidence

● Adapt, based on contextual understanding and global perspectives

● Contribute, based on empathy and collaboration

● Act, based on initiative and ethical reflection

with the goal of imagining and realizing better futures.

The Hallmarks Program for General Education

Curiosity Collaboration

Confidence Empathy

Contextual Understanding Initiative

Global Perspectives Ethical Reflection

Organized around 8 shared learning goals:

General education across the curricula

ePortfolio:Artifacts for each of the eight goals

General education core curriculum with “touchstones”

Year One Year Two Year Three Year Four

Debating U.S. Issues

Writing Seminar II Debating Global Issues

Capstone Folio Workshop

Writing Seminar I Ethics Global Citizenship

Mathematics American Diversity Integrative Seminar

Global Diversity

Scientific Understanding

Mathematics

Mathematics or Scientific Understanding

Capstone Folio Workshop & ePortfolios

Reynolds, C., & Patton, J. (2014). Leveraging the ePortfolio for integrative learning: A faculty guide to classroom practices for transforming student learning. Sterling, VA: Stylus.

Reynolds and Patton (2014) p. 13

Reynolds and Patton (2014) p. 13

Reynolds and Patton (2014) p. 13

Reynolds and Patton (2014) p. 13

Connections between artifacts, or meta-reflection

“You’re asking us to reflect on our reflections!”

Nguyen, C. F. (2013). The ePortfolio as a living portal: a medium for student learning, identity, and assessment. International Journal of ePortfolio, 3(2), 135-148. Retrieved from http://www.theijep.com/pdf/IJEP116.pdfYancey, K. B. (2009). Reflection and electronic portfolios: Inventing the self and reinventing the university. In D. Cambridge, B. Cambridge, & K. Yancey (Eds.), Electronic portfolios 2.0: Emergent research on implementation and impact (pp. 5-16). Sterling, VA: Stylus.Yancey, K.B. (2015). The social life of reflection: notes toward an ePortfolio-based model of reflection. In Ryan, M. (ed.) Teaching Reflective Learning in Higher Education. New York: Springer, Cham. 189-202.

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Narrating the self

Nguyen, C. F. (2013). The ePortfolio as a living portal: a medium for student learning, identity, and assessment. International Journal of ePortfolio, 3(2), 135-148. Retrieved from http://www.theijep.com/pdf/IJEP116.pdfRowley, J., & Munday. J. (2014). “A ‘sense of self’ through reflective thinking in ePortfolios.” International Journal of Humanities Social Science and Education, 1(7), 78-85. Yancey, K. B. (2009). Reflection and electronic portfolios: Inventing the self and reinventing the university. In D. Cambridge, B. Cambridge, & K. Yancey (Eds.), Electronic portfolios 2.0: Emergent research on implementation and impact (pp. 5-16). Sterling, VA: Stylus.

Why citizenship in the capstone?

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Reflection, narration, identity

“Curating citizenship” assignment

❖ What has your citizenship journey been?❖ How has your understanding of citizenship changed over time?❖ Who are you as a citizen, either in terms of your university, professional, local,

national, or global citizenship?

Global Citizenship Today

● “Becoming citizens of the world demands that students step away from the comfort of assured truths, from the nestling feeling of being surrounded by people who share one’s convictions and passions” (Nussbaum). Class Reading.

● Belzung defines empathy as, “faculty to identify ourselves with someone and to feel what the other person is feeling”. Outside source.● “All Change comes from the bottom up,” (Parkinson). Outside source.● Lessons from the Buduburam Refugee Camp, NWT using force to stop victims from going to police. Class Reading.

World Puzzle gdcf-0916001bcltd.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/world-puzzle.jpg.

Globe guarantysolar.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/Globe.png.

Initiative & Professional Citizenship-effective therapists transform their knowledge into a real-world application that aims to solve their clients’ problems andenhance the wellbeing of others

Contextual Understanding & Professional Citizenship-effective therapists ensure clear communication of their ideas bycarefully selecting what they say and how they say it in order toprevent offending someone and undermining their wellbeing

https://www.amazon.com/Body-Keeps-Score-Healing-Trauma/dp/0143127748http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-body-keeps-the-score-instaread/1122854680?type=eBook

http://www.veteranstoday.com/2015/11/04/doctors-without-borders-accused-of-espionage-and-drug-

Collaboration & Local Citizenship:Artifact: Business Models

Helping people with projects allowed cooperation with others and being able to communicate with big groups

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Lessons learned: reflecting on reflections

❖ Addressing student resistance to reflection

❖ Giving more guidance to students as they link concepts of citizenship and identity

❖ Continuing ways to make eportfolio work relevant by designing assignments that include Career Services

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Rowley, J., & Munday. J. (2014). “A ‘sense of self’ through reflective thinking in ePortfolios.” International Journal of Humanities Social Science and Education, 1(7), 78-85. Yancey, K. B. (2009). Reflection and electronic portfolios: Inventing the self and reinventing the university. In D. Cambridge, B. Cambridge, & K. Yancey (Eds.), Electronic portfolios 2.0: Emergent research on implementation and impact (pp. 5-16). Sterling, VA: Stylus.

The capstone as curricular vantage point

• First views from the pinnacle• Consistent messaging• Finding our balance• Narrating forward

https://pixabay.com/p-947427/?no_redirect https://designingyour.life/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/BurnettEvans_DesigningYourLife_Book_v5.png

Questions? And thank you!

Valerie Hanson: hansonv@philau.eduKatharine Jones: jonesk@philau.eduTom Schrand: schrandt@philau.edu