JCPSLP Vol 16 no 3 2014_FINAL_WEB

Engagement Students answered questions eliciting their level of engagement (perceived value, learning achieved and time invested) with the ePortfolio and the results are shown in Table 5. Students were positive about the value and usefulness of the ePortfolio but fourth years felt the workload was excessive and not a worthwhile investment

Table 7. Students’ perspectives of the My reflection part of the ePortfolio Student cohort 2nd 3rd 4th Reflection is a difficult concept to understand 2.0 2.7 2.4 Reflection on my practicum enables me to reflect deeply about my learning in clinic 3.7 3.2 4.0 The ePortfolio allows me to exemplify increasing depth of reflection 3.7 3.1 3.1 Average of positive statements: 3.4 Note. 5-point Likert scale from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (5). The shaded statement is negative therefore scores are interpreted differently. Table 8. Students’ perspectives regarding their development of skills Student cohort 2nd 3rd 4th My evidence of competency 3.7 3.2 The reflections helped me identify my strengths and areas for improvement on prac (the clinical practicum) 3.7 3.4 3.1

Table 5. Students’ level of engagement

Student cohort

2nd

3rd

4th

In general the ePortfolio is of value and a useful experience The ePortfolio is a worthwhile investment of my time Average of positive statements: The ePortfolio involves excessive work

3.3 3.1

3.1

3.5 2.8 3.4 3.0 2.8 3.5

3.0 3.1

Table 6: Students’ perspectives of the educational value of the ePortfolio Student cohort 2nd 3rd 4th The ePortfolio helped me to focus on my training 3.3 2.5 2.9 The ePortfolio helped me to achieve learning objectives 3.7 2.8 2.7 Average: 3.5 2.7 2.8 Note. 5-point Likert scale from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (5). not see the educational value of the ePortfolio. Many students recognised the ePortfolio was useful as an organisational tool rather than a learning tool: “It is a great way to collate and organise your evidence” (third year). Reflection Statements relating to the Reflections section of the ePortfolio (Table 7) suggest that although SP students understood the concept of reflection they did not perceive that the ePortfolio contributed to the development of reflection. Some students thought reflections were one of the most useful things but others felt there were too many: “helping me learn how to reflect on my learning” (third year); “completing too many reflections to meet assessment criteria that I don’t get much out of” (third year). of time. There were several comments about the excessive time required to manage the technology of the software platform as well as the requirements of the task itself: “This system is too time consuming and requires far too much effort” (third year). Educational value Within the questionnaire, educational value statements explored how students perceived the ePortfolio as an enabler for developing skills and achieving learning objectives. Table 6 shows the students in the later years of the course did 4.3 Note. 5-point Likert scale from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (5). The shaded statement is negative therefore scores are interpreted differently.

The ePortfolio allows me to analyse the competencies I need to be a graduate entry level Speech Pathologist as detailed in CBOS and COMPASS ® The ePortfolio allows me to construct a repository for the selection of evidence towards gaining competency The ePortfolio allows me to evaluate the evidence I collect The ePortfolio helps me generate specific short-term personal learning outcomes (goals) relating to the competencies My records Records enables me to see how I’m progressing towards covering all range indicators and units of competency The records allow me to record my clinical experiences so future placements/experiences can be planned to build on these and fill in any gaps Average:

3.7 3.4

3.9

3.7 3.5

3.4

4.0 3.1

3.7

4.0 3.3

3.4

3.9 3.3

3.6

3.7 3.6

3.9

4.0 3.7

3.7

Average: 3.8 Note. 5-point Likert scale from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (5). Development of skills Students’ perceptions of the use of an ePortfolio to accomplish specific tasks varied, with students being positive in second year, less positive in third year, then more positive in fourth year, as shown in Table 8. 3.9 3.7

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JCPSLP Volume 16, Number 3 2014

Journal of Clinical Practice in Speech-Language Pathology