Music Education e-Portfolio Program Makes Strides
April 27, 2007
The music education e-portfolio initiative at Penn State, which began five years ago as a tool to showcase graduating students to prospective employers, has grown to become a program with seemingly unlimited possibilities, according to Norene Ferris, coordinator of the music education student teaching program. The current student teachers are the first group to have experienced four years of electronic portfolio training and inclusion in their coursework, and Ferris says the music education faculty are looking forward to seeing their final portfolios in May.
The e-portfolio process has continuously evolved over the past five years, with changes made each semester based on the students’ needs and skills levels. The main purpose of the e-portfolio is no longer to showcase a student’s work to prospective employers, but rather to serve as a tool in a student’s preparation for a life in teaching. According to Ferris, the e-portfolio process now emphasizes assessment for learning rather than assessment of learning, with a focus on guiding the students in self-reflection. Ferris and Linda Thornton, assistant professor of music education, recently presented at Columbia University’s Teacher’s College on the addition of tracking student reflection in the e-portfolio process in music education.
While many other education e-portfolio programs around the country are standards-based and used to demonstrate how students fulfill requirements for certification, the Penn State music education e-portfolio program is flexible and personalized. “Given the nature of music, allowing students to be creative with their technology technique is more consistent with their personalities and goals. For the students to conform to a set ‘package’ seems contrary to the nature of themselves as artists,” Ferris says, noting the evolution of the student as an individual is more apparent in this format.
In addition, while standards-based portfolios connect teaching, planning, assessment and reflection together through links, the music education format generally has the students placing all such aspects on the same Web page, with links to the evidence. The complete picture of a teaching episode is clear, immediate and personal. “This makes the process of documenting evidence for certification agencies much more difficult for the faculty, but our faculty believe the intrinsic value each student feels about the personalized e-portfolio is a benefit they need to receive,” says Ferris.
Glenn Johnson, instructional designer and project manager for Penn State's e-Portfolio Initiative, says e-portfolios are a win/win proposition. “This is a powerful vision of student-centeredness, which builds upon a strong foundation of students' self-reflective understanding of themselves. The music education program here at Penn State has become a model other programs, both at Penn State and elsewhere, look at as a successful example of implementation.”
Current music education students and recent graduates report that the e-portfolio process has been beneficial. “This process helped me reflect and really analyze all that I have done since graduating with my bachelor's degree six years ago,” says Susan Bilich, who earned her M.Ed. in music education at Penn State in 2006 and is now a teacher in the Huntingdon School District. “The experience allowed me to compile information from many different jobs and placements that I have had into one place … Regardless of whether or not I was hired because of the e-portfolio, I believe having one made me look technologically advanced.”
Nathan Reed, who is student teaching during the spring 2007 semester, made an unexpected connection through his e-portfolio, in which he included a study guide for a piece of music. He later discovered that the composer linked from his own Web site to Reed’s e-portfolio, citing the study guide as a tool to aid students preparing that piece of music. According to Ferris, Reed’s experience demonstrates that “the community involved with e-portfolios is unexpected and encouraging for our direction in the future.”
Ferris says one of the ultimate goals of the e-portfolio initiative has been to generate a community of learners among students, faculty, school districts and others. “The communication possibilities between faculty and students seem boundless, and through Nate’s story we realize the boundaries are limitless. Allowing the students to design creative, unique portfolios retains their individuality,” she explains. “Establishing guidelines and requirements for evidence steers them toward a professional product. The sharing of coursework content, achievement of the students and a central ‘story’ of the students’ progress through our program connects us all. We are excited for the next steps!”
A brief summary of the four-year music education program and student work samples can be found athttp://www.music.psu.edu/musiced/e-portfolio.html.
Contact: Norene Ferris, ncf3@psu.edu