THE E-PORTFOLIO – KEY TOOL FOR DEVELOPMENT AND ASSESSMENT OF MASTER STUDENTS

1. International Conference “E-Portfolio for Your Future” Sofia, 22 September, 2009 THE E-PORTFOLIO – KEY TOOL FOR DEVELOPMENT AND ASSESSMENT OF MASTER STUDENTS MSc Programme “ Management for Organisational Excellence” Prof. Y. Alkalay, G. Jadkov New Bulgarian University – School of Management

2. Agenda • The Environment – Master Programme MOE • Competence approach • The new leaders’ competence profile • Needs for revolutionary changes in MD • Curriculum redesign – the role of the e-portfolio • Function • Structure • Process • Environment • Summary

3. MSc Programme Mission • To develop managers / leaders, inspired and capable to apply the concepts of TQM and OE in their management practice; • To research, develop and promote approaches, methods and culture for TQM and OE, creating value for students and organisations, independently of their scale.

4. New Leaders’ Competence Profile • Dealing with change management • Visionary, strategic and systemic thinking • Knowing himself and helping others to knowthemselves • Communication and interpersonal skills • Innovator's and entrepreneur's skills and attitude • Ability for continuous professional and personal development • Analytical, synthetic and problem solving skills • Work in virtual and international teams • Designing and managing processes, process thinking, etc.

5. Competence Competence Knowlege Attitude Experience Competencies Personal values Organisational culture

6. Achieving results Managing self and personal skills Using resources Facilitating change Working with people Providing direction IT and virtual communication skills Assessment of Student’s Competence Competence standards, e-portfolio evidences

7. How to Develop the New Leader? “We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them” Albert Einstein “If you got a new contribution, you’ve got a whole new preparation” Stephen Covey

8. Personal development Systems thinking Mindset Learning skills knowledge & skills Org. architecture, HRM, QMS, MIS, CSR CRM, BPM, KM, OM, IM, RM Leadership, strategy, FM International summer school Practical skills Master thesis Academic research CPD plan “Managerial initiative” MSc “MOE” Content and Structure

9. Learning Methodology (“Directed Self-Development”) • Students – playing the role of “Process Owners”; • Personal profile; • Personal development plan. Habits for CPD; • Transformative learning (Mezirov); • E-portfolio – reflection, evidences’ collection; • Learning process intensified– Web 2.0 • Work based assignments; • “Managerial initiative” development • Coaching, mentoring

10. Personal plan for continuous professional development Colleagues (university, work place) Managerial initiative Alumni (community of practice) Exams, tutor marked assignments Module case studies Seminars Library Student Professionalstandards Academics, advisors, couches Books Virtual studyingenvironment Self-evaluation and e-portfolio Learning and personaldevelopment skills Multicultural dimension Master thesis The new students’ role

11. We are looking to achieve: PManagement of own learning outcomes & processes; PRecognition and development of competences; PEnhanced learning experience: personalisation of provision; ownership of process; continuity of support; PUse of reflection, review, self-evaluation and assessment to improve the learning process; • Enhanced assessment experience through: selection of own evidence; rapid feedback; improved objectivity;

12. We are looking to achieve: • Monitoring of progress & appropriate feedback; POpportunities for planning, review and guidance. • Improved planning of individual and group learning; • Recognition for value-added aspects of teaching and learning (capacity to record learning outcomes in relation to competence, motivation and engagement, self-awareness and progression)

13. E-portfolio roles Provides an environment where students can: • collect their work in a digital archive; • select specific pieces of work (hyperlink to artifacts) to highlight specific achievements; • reflect on the learning demonstrated in the portfolio, in either text or multimedia form; • set goals for future learning to improve; • present achievement through sharing this work with an assessor (peers), whether real or virtual.

14. Other roles of the portfolio The portfolio might be useful for other reasons than the course/program requirement. Family, friends, potential employers were ideas of other audiences for their work. As the idea of audience expanded, other ideas for extending the portfolio beyond the boundary of requirements grew.

15. What is Reflective Thinking? • “…the process of creating and clarifying the meaning of experience (past or present) in terms of self (self in relation to self and self in relation to the world.)” Boyd & Fales . Reflective Learning: Key to Learning from Experience. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 1983 • Reflective thinking is a part of the critical thinking process referring specifically to the processes of analyzing, evaluating, and making judgments about what has happened.

16. Reflective Thinking Dimensions • Identify the reasons and the evidence • Identify the author's conclusion • Identify vague and ambiguous language • Identify value assumptions and value conflicts • Identify descriptive assumptions • Evaluate sampling and measurements • Identify omitted information • Gathers available information of reliable sources • Evaluate logical reasoning • Synthesizes the information and opinions from all perspectives • Makes appropriate judgements • Articulate one's own values in thoughtful, fair-minded way

17. How to become a Reflective Thinker? • Good reflective thinking is a process where an individual: • determines what information is needed for understanding the issue at hand • accesses and gathers the available information • gathers the opinions of reliable sources in related fields • synthesizes the information and opinions • considers the synthesis from all perspectives of reference • creates some plausible temporary meaning that may be reconsidered and modified as one learns (Cynthia Mazow: Learning, Design, and Technology Stamford University)

18. Discussion Questions, Ideas, Suggestions!!! Thanks for your attention! yalkalay@nbu.bg gjadkov@nbu.bg