Developing Civic Identity and Assessing Civic-Mindedness Using ePortfolios
Kristin Norris Bill PlaterCathy Buyarski
July 2011 ePIC Conference, London, England
Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI)
How many of you…..•Are familiar with the
concept of ePortfolios?
•Currently use ePortfolios?
•Use ePortfolios in the context of service-learning and civic/community engagement?
Session Goals•Discuss implications of civic learning in
higher education
•Introduce civic learning at IUPUI
•Define a ‘civic-minded graduate’
•Provide you with a suite of tools to assess civic-mindedness, including ePortfolio application
Civic Learning in the context of Higher EducationWhat is the purpose of civic learning?What are the implications of civic learning on higher education?
Lumina Degree Qualifications Profile•Preparing students for responsible
citizenship is a widely acknowledged purpose of higher education.
•Higher education is experimenting with new ways to prepare students for effective democratic and global citizenship.
•In developing civic competence, students engage in a wide variety of perspectives and evidence and form their own reasoned views on public issues. http://www.luminafoundation.org/publications/
The_Degree_Qualifications_Profile.pdf
High-Impact Practices (by Kuh, AAC&U, 2008)•First-Year Seminars & Experiences•Common Intellectual Experiences•Learning Communities•Writing-Intensive Courses•Collaborative Assignments & Projects•Undergraduate Research•Diversity/Global Learning•Service Learning, Community-Based Learning•Internships•Capstone Courses & Projects
Lumina Degree Qualifications Profile•The objectives of Civic Learning rely
considerably on students’ out-of-classroom experiences and their development of a capacity for analysis and reflection.
• http://www.luminafoundation.org/publications/The_Degree_Qualifications_Profile.pdf
The Intellectual Commons—Musil (2009)
Intellectual Commons
Civic Engagemen
t
Global Learning
Diversity Education
Essential Questions for Students
• Who I am? (knowledge of self)
• Who are we? (communal/collective knowledge)
• What does it feel like to be them? (empathetic knowledge)
• How do we talk to one another? (intercultural process knowledge)
• How do we improve our shared lives? (applied, engaged knowledge)
Students should be able to:• Gain a deep, comparative knowledge of the world’s peoples and
problems;• Explore the historical legacies that have created the dynamics and
tensions of their world;• Develop intercultural competencies to move across boundaries and
unfamiliar territory and see the world from multiple perspectives;• Sustain difficult conversations in the face of highly emotional and
perhaps uncongenial differences; • Understand – and perhaps redefine – democratic principles and
practices within an intercultural and global context; • Secure opportunities to engage in practical work with fundamental
issues that affect communities not yet well served by their societies; and
• Believe that actions and ideas matter and can influence their world (Hovland, 2005)
Civic LearningAt IUPUI and your campus
Defining Civic Engagement•Civic engagement is the acting on a
heightened sense of responsibility to one’s communities that encompasses the notions of global citizenship and interdependence, participation in building civil society, and empowering individuals as agents of positive social change to promote social justice locally and globally. (Musil, 2009)
Definition of Civic Engagement at IUPUI•Active collaboration that builds on the
resources, skills, expertise, and knowledge of the campus and community to improve the quality of life in communities in a manner consistent with the campus mission (http://csl.iupui.edu/About/5c.asp) .
Service Learning Defined•Service learning is a course-based, credit-
bearing educational experience in which students:▫Participate in an organized service activity
that meets identified community needs, and▫Reflect on the service activity in such a way
as to gain further understanding of the course content, a broader appreciation of the discipline, and an enhanced sense of personal values and civic responsibility .http://csl.iupui.edu/about/5b.asp
Institutional Context•Campus Culture•Campus Assessment
Culture - Principle-based approach to general education
•Campus ePortfolio development
Campus Commitment Civic Engagement
Sam H. Jones Community Service
Scholarship Programs
Community-based Work-Study
Alternative Spring Break
DOMESTIC AND INT’L SERVICE
LEARNING COURSES
George Washington Community
Schools Partnership
Campus Challenge for Civic Learning•Demonstrate the value-added
dimensions of SL/CE to multiple audiences
• Critically assess how SL/CE experiences contribute to civic learning
Civic-Minded GraduateA developmental model for looking at student development of a sense of civic purpose
Civic-Minded Graduate• Civic Mindedness refers to
a person’s inclination or disposition to be “mindful” of the community and to his/her duties as a citizen of that community. This includes being aware of community strengths, weaknesses, issues, organizations, and individual people.
• A civic-minded graduate is skillfully trained through formal education (bachelor’s degree or equivalent), and has the capacity and desire to work with others to achieve collective public goods.
Steinberg, Hatcher, & Bringle (in press)
How do you assess Civic Learning?
CMG can be used to assess:•Civic identity•Understanding how social issues are
addressed in society•Active participation in society to address
social issues•Collaboration with others (includes
diversity issues, interconnectedness, mutuality, and respect)
•Benefit of education to address social issues
Tools CSL has developed to assess civic-mindedness•SL Course Evaluation
•CMG Scale
•CMG Narrative, sub-prompts, and Rubric
Why Civic Learning ePortfolios? Why Now at IUPUI?
Value of ePortfolios for Service Learning•Most assessment tools are self-report
instruments (nationally and locally)•Eportfolios provide “authentic” assessment
evidence/data•Draw on strengths of Service Learning
▫critical reflection•Eportfolios are not just for research
▫also for course use and program assessment▫designs can be simple or complex
Various forms of Portfolios at IUPUI•Course-based (ex - First Year Seminars ,
capstone)•Process (Matrix)•Assessment/Evaluation (Matrix with
Evaluation tools and report functionality)•Presentation (both students and faculty)
Service Learning Assistant
Process Matrix within Portfolio site
•Questions????
Kristin Norris ([email protected])www.csl.iupui.edu
ReferencesAdelman, Cliff, Peter Ewell, Paul Gaston, and Carol G. Schneider (2011).
Degree Qualifications Profile. Lumina Foundation: Indianapolis, IN. http://www.luminafoundation.org/publications/The_Degree_Qualifications_Profile.pdf
Hovland, K. (2005). “Shared futures: Global learning and social responsibility”. Diversity Digest, 8(3), 1, 16-17.
Kuh, G. D. (2008). High-impact educational practices: What they are, who has access to them, and why they matter. Washington, DC: Association of American Colleges and Universities.
Musil, C (2009). Educating students for personal and social responsibility: The civic learning spiral. In B. Jacoby, Civic engagement in higher education: Concepts and practices (pp. 49-68). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Steinberg, Kathryn S., Julie A. Hatcher, and Robert G. Bringle (2011). “A North Star: Civic-Minded Graduate.” Paper submitted to Michigan Journal for Community Service Learning.