High-Impact ePortfolio Practice

Book excerpt: Published in association with At a moment when over half of US colleges are employing ePortfolios, the time is ripe to develop their full potential to advance integrative learning and broad institutional change. The authors outline how to deploy the ePortfolio as a high-impact practice and describe widely-applicable models of effective ePortfolio pedagogy and implementation that demonstrably improve student learning across multiple settings.Drawing on the campus ePortfolio projects developed by a constellation of institutions that participated in the Connect to Learning network, Eynon and Gambino present a wealth of data and revealing case studies. Their broad-based evidence demonstrates that, implemented with a purposeful framework, ePortfolios correlate strongly with increased retention and graduation rates, broadened student engagement in deep learning processes, and advanced faculty and institutional learning. The core of the book presents a comprehensive research-based framework, along with practical examples and strategies for implementation, and identifies the key considerations that need to be addressed in the areas of Pedagogy, Professional Development, Outcomes Assessment, Technology and Scaling Up. The authors identify how the ePortfolio experience enhances other high-impact practices (HIPs) by creating unique opportunities for connection and synthesis across courses, semesters and co-curricular experiences. Using ePortfolio to integrate learning across multiple HIPs enables students reflect and construct a cohesive signature learning experience.This is an invaluable resource for classroom faculty and educational leaders interested in transformative education for 21st century learners.