Huber and Hutchings (2004) open their definitive piece Integrative Learning: Mapping the Terrain by stating “one of the great challenges in higher education is to foster students’ abilities to integrate their learning across contexts and over time” (p. 1). A number of institutions have tried to address the integration or transfer-of-learning problem through the use of student learning portfolios (i.e., Braid, Palma de Schrynemakers, & Grose, 2012; Klein 2005; and Taylor 2011).  Incorporating portfolios into courses and programs attempts to redress the pervasive “checklist” mentality regarding learning objectives and student participation. Yancey and Weiser (1997) claim, “Classrooms hospitable to portfolios center on partnership and collaboration; they foster active construction of knowledge, student reflection and self-evaluation, and community structures in which students and teachers work together as readers, writers, thinkers, researchers, and learners” (p.4).

A successful plan for scaling up ePortfolio use requires faculty engagement in order to help faculty see the benefits of using ePortfolio with students in their courses despite the additional work required. The faculty professional development workshops developed for this grant strove to help faculty to design courses promoting archival habits of mind with an eye towards public demonstrations of learning. Notably,  as part of the Writing Program requirements, all the faculty participants are familiar with archival portfolios, typically housed in Google Drive. However, many faculty are not aware of “showcase” portfolios, which draw on this archived evidence of learning. As a result, many faculty initially perceived the archival portfolio as being without clear purpose beyond providing material for program assessment (never a popular nor compelling reason to incorporate an assignment). 

As such, we sought to train large groups of (largely contingent) faculty tasked with training students in writing and familiar with archival portfolios. Each semester, we offered a workshop on ePortfolio pedagogy, with an emphasis on transfer between the archive and showcase portfolios, and technology to groups of 10-15 faculty members. From these workshop participants, we solicited 3-5 faculty applicants for participation in the grant. These participants agreed to use the template and take part in assessment measures.

We were able to offer a two-day workshop in Fall 2017, another in Spring 2018, and finally, due to some remaining funds, a third one-day workshop at the beginning of Summer 2018.