At the April Community of Practice meeting we heard what Dr. Karen Gardner has been doing within the Faculty of Dentistry. Five years ago Dr. Gardner started exploring how to use ePortfolios as a way to help students keep track of their acomplishments. As part of the Operative Dentistry Course students are given a choice of completing an ePortfolio, a special project or an International Peer Review (IPR) project. The session looked at the eportfolio and the IPR project. Both choices required students to present work they have done, and reflect on the process and end product. What was most interesting in the IPR project was the impact of peer feedback in expanding students’ understanding of the diversity of their profession. I was impressed by the ways students were interacting with each other, building relationships and learning from each other. It led me to think about the role of feedback within ePortfolios, not just as summative assessment but as part of the formative assessment process. I wonder how people on campus are providing and encouraging feedback within their ePortfolio projects.
You can download Dr. Gardner’s narrated PowerPoint slides, and the assignment rubric for the ePortfolio and the IPR Projects.
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