March 27, 2024 • 24 mins
In Part 2 of the Digication Scholars Conversations, host Kelly Driscoll continues discussing with Tina Abbate, Clinical Assistant Professor and Coordinator of the Nursing Student Internship Program at Stony Brook University School of Nursing.
They delve deeper into the role of ePortfolios in nursing education, exploring the use of templates, prompts, and rubrics to guide students. Tina shares insights into the assessment process, student feedback, and the integration of ePortfolios with a competency-based curriculum.
Join us in this insightful conversation about nurturing careers through innovative teaching practices in nursing education.
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#NursingEducation #ePortfolios #InnovativeTeaching #CompetencyBasedLearning #StudentSuccess #PeerFeedback #ActiveLearning #Agency #HigherEducation #NurseLife
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:01):
Welcome to DigicationScholars Conversations.
I'm your host, Kelly Driscoll.
In this episode, you'll hear Part Two ofmy conversation with Tina Abbate, Clinical
Assistant Professor and Coordinator ofthe Nursing Student Internship Program in
Stony Brook University School of Nursing.
More links and information about today'sconversation can be found on Digication's
(00:25):
Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
Full episodes of Digication ScholarsConversations Can be found on
YouTube or your favorite podcast app.
So I was curious when they start creatingtheir ePortfolios, are there specific
templates or prompts that they use?
(00:47):
Uh, you mentioned that.
They're given some requirements on,you know, certain kinds of content,
um, that they should include, but areyou utilizing any kinds of templates
or, or prompts as part of that process?
Yes, I think that type ofguidance is very important.
Um, so, uh, apart from the rubric, uh,which we pulled from the literature
(01:14):
to decide like what we wanted themto include in their, um, ePortfolio.
So, apart from the rubric, which like Imentioned is very prescriptive, it leaves
very little to subjectivity, um, andthen again, we add that, you know, the,
the top tier points for visual appeal.
I also developed a template ofmy own, um, so that they can have
(01:38):
something to peruse as they develop.
I think that, that's very helpful to them.
Um, so that they know that they knowexactly what to expect, um, right
in this e-portfolio assignment.
Yeah.
Okay.
And so with the, the template thatyou created, does that have, um, was
(02:02):
that kind of personalized for youor is it kind of a sample student?
I've seen different approaches.
Yeah, at this point, I've made it verygeneralized to the student, um, and,
uh, the nice thing about the template isthat you can include notes in there, like
a pro tip, you know, stuff like that.
(02:24):
So I made it very generic and, you know,um, with some hints and, you know, uh, pro
tips in there and suggestions about howto make a particular tab, um, enhanced.
So, yeah, no, no, no.
Mm hmm.
And is that where you're maybe givingthem ideas about, so you mentioned in the
(02:44):
kind of welcome page or, um, area wherethey might be sharing some of their, uh,
background and, and why they're studyingwhat they're studying, that they're not
just using writing to communicate that,that they're sometimes incorporating.
I don't know if they've doneany kind of video there.
Is that where you're giving themsome of those pro tips or have
(03:09):
they started to kind of see otherexamples that are out there?
I do encourage them to look atDigication's, um, uh, repertoire
of templates that they can't see.
I'd love to see a bitmore video and audio.
So, I was thinking about adjusting therubric and, and just making one part of
(03:32):
it, you know, have, have their welcomepage be a video or, or audio recording.
Um, so with the post licensurestudents, I haven't seen that
much, but I feel like in the prelicensure, I might see that much more.
Um, so I just kind of little thoughtsabout how to make it a bit more,
(03:53):
um, bring it more to life, youknow, instead of too deep, you know?
Mm hmm.
Mm hmm.
Yeah.
It is really interesting, um, whatone can kind of learn about an
individual and what they, you know,the way that they kind of communicate
who they are and what they know.
When they're speaking, whether they're,you know, just speaking into a mic or on
(04:16):
camera, that's very different than I thinkthe kind of mode that folks might get in
when they sit down to, to write something.
And, um, we've often found that for,you know, your students may be a little
more experienced in the process ofwriting about themselves, but in a lot
of programs that we work with, for,for some students, it's very hard to
(04:39):
just kind of sit down and, Fill in anykind of welcome or about me, you know,
what, what do I have to contribute?
What, what values and skillsdo I have, especially in that
kind of undergraduate setting?
Um, and sometimes doing a video oraudio recording can kind of open up that
(05:03):
space Doors for them that might not havehappened, you know, as quickly as if they
just had to sit down and write about it.
So it can be a great, um, way to getpeople, you know, literally talking.
I think that would be seamless with mypre licensure students because I have them
(05:24):
already do an elevator pitch assignment,so it is literally 30 to 45 seconds,
like it's very short, um, quick pitchabout themselves, um, that I think would
work well that they could just take thatand just put it into their ePortfolio.
And I do hear anecdotally how hard it is.
(05:47):
And how they re record it several times.
I have them do a peer, apeer assessment on that.
Oh nice!
Yeah.
That they, you know, havethat type of feedback.
Um, but it's hard.
It's hard to talk about yourself likethat, you know, in a short period of time.
So, I give them all the tools andresources to make a very, You know,
(06:10):
succinct statement about themselves,but that would really fit really
well into their ePortfolios.
Yeah, absolutely.
And, uh, it was funny because aswe were talking, I recently had,
uh, a conversation with a studentthat, uh, did get their dream job
(06:30):
and it involved, he, he, he spokeabout it like he had to chase down.
Someone, um, at an event, you know, hehad the opportunity to, to get in front of
them and, um, you know, try to hook them.
And he was very, he was scared to doit in the moment, but he was kind of
speaking about how, you know, if hehadn't been prepared to kind of have
(06:56):
that pitch ready, that he might nothave made such an incredible impact.
that person that led to himgetting the, the current position.
So even though he was so nervous aboutit, he was actually quite well prepared
and he, yeah, set him on his way.
So yeah, it is interesting, you know, howpreparing things and You know, different
(07:20):
modes and methods, you know, can, canhelp you in different kinds of experiences
where you may have that opportunityto, to make a connection with someone.
And I know earlier in the conversation,you mentioned that, uh, you are using
this rubric that, uh, outlines, youknow, all of the kind of requirements
(07:41):
and specifications for what you'relooking for in thePortfolio.
And some of that is relatedto the visual elements.
But what are some of the other kinds ofcriteria that you have in that rubric?
Very often in working with differentschools and programs, they're very
interested in this kind of portfoliopedagogy and reflective learning
(08:04):
and career oriented portfolios.
But when they Um, Kind of sit down tothink about, you know, how they're going
to assess them, may not already have,uh, tools in place, and it sounds like
you've spent some time creating thatrubric as a way to make that process, you
know, straightforward for the studentsand how they're going to be assessed and
(08:25):
also straightforward for their teachers.
Those that might be reviewing them.
So what are some of the other criteriathat you have in that rubric now?
I'm putting on the spot, you know
No, no, I'm thinking back to the rubricI mean we have the welcome page the
nursing philosophy the goals Um, theirresume, their, um, poster project, um,
(08:50):
another section would be any awardsor honors that they have received.
I think that's a great opportunity,you know, sometimes it's hard to
toot your own horn, but it's a greatway to professionally present some
of the things that you've achieved.
So that would be a section,um, their contact information.
(09:10):
And that's pretty much it.
We, we don't have a ton of tools becausewe want whoever to read it to be able
to do so in a short period of time.
So we just keep it as concise as possible.
Right, right.
That makes sense.
And then are there, um, is it kindof, uh, You know, yes they did it, no
(09:30):
they didn't, or are there differentkinds of levels that they have for
the criteria that are listed there?
There's definitely different levels.
If they want the top tier max pointsfor each criteria, there needs
to be some visual appeal to it.
It needs to look good and theinformation contained in that
category needs to be clear, youknow, succinct, if it's a narrative.
(09:56):
And just present itwell and appropriately.
Great.
And then as you're, uh, reviewing theirePortfolios, is that something that
happens, you know, when maybe there'scertain kinds of milestones that are set
up, I know in, um, some courses, theymay look at them at the middle of the
(10:19):
semester and the end of the semester.
There's other faculty membersthat have kind of weekly
submissions that are going on.
What's the kind of timeline for when thestudents may begin their portfolio and
when it's kind of considered completed,at least in the, um, context of your
(10:40):
course or maybe their, their program?
Um, and how often is it beingassessed and what's that process like?
We do one assessment at the end ofthe semester, it's kind of like the
cumulative sort of career developmentbecause they've gone through the
simulation for interviewing, they'vehad their resume reviewed, they do
(11:05):
peer to peer resume review as well.
So we're slowly building up towardsthis final product that's assessed
one time at the end of the semester.
Okay, and the, you know, from yourperspective with that assessment
process, um, is that I'm sure ittakes some time, but is that an
(11:29):
enjoyable kind of process for you?
And how might that Process differ frommaybe, you know, reviewing a kind of
standard paper or you mentioned theposter presentations that the students do.
It's definitely a fun assignment to grade.
(11:51):
Because again, they just put togetherthis beautiful ePortfolio art, as
I mentioned earlier, and it's, it'senjoyable for me to take that journey
through each ePortfolio because, youknow, every student has a different story.
And if they're willing to shareit, you can really pick up on that.
In their ePortfolio.
And you get to know, like, some ofthese students have a very colorful,
(12:17):
um, in depth work histories that thismight be a second career for them.
Right, yeah.
So interesting to see where all theseindividuals have come from and have
landed into the nursing profession.
So, I, um, have to tell you,unless my course has a writing
requirement, I don't have papers.
(12:39):
Absolutely not.
I have completely eliminated them.
Um, there's just different ways nowwith active learning and innovating,
innovative, uh, teaching practices nowthat, uh, You know, unless you have a
writing requirement, I can understand,but there's different ways to present
an assignment, um, that's not, youknow, 15 pages of narrative to read.
(13:02):
Yeah.
15 pages from a Word documentor a Google Doc or Sure.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And with AI too.
Oh, right.
Yes.
Yes.
Well, and we really encourage folks tothink about, you know, as you're, you
know, it's a space where you can actuallydo the creation of the work as well.
(13:24):
You know, it doesn't have to be somethingwhere you're creating and always, um,
posting it after the fact that it, youknow, because of its flexibility and.
Design options and, um, you know, abilityto, to, you know, get feedback and have
it reviewed, you know, it can be thatspace for, uh, creation, uh, not just,
(13:49):
you know, sharing individual documents.
So it's wonderful to hear that you,you know, Have that approach with your
students and are open minded about, youknow, even if they are doing writing
about them, themselves or their, um,their history and experiences that
they can do that really within the, thepages of thePortfolio and incorporating
(14:12):
other kinds of media as well.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Um, so I was curious, um, as part of theassessment process, I know with Nursing.
There's a lot of, um,professional practice standards
that they're working towards.
And are those mentioned at any pointin some of the materials that they're
(14:40):
presenting within thePortfolio?
I, you mentioned thatthere's specific course.
Course learning objectives thatthey're working towards as well.
So are those being kind ofincluded as part of that process?
I've seen that in some other, um,nursing program oriented portfolio work.
(15:01):
Yeah, actually we are working towardsa competency based curriculum now.
So our accrediting body Has, um,switched from, you know, most of
us have a content based curriculum.
Now, our accrediting body hasset up all of these different
competencies and we're in theprocess, we'll adopt this next year.
(15:24):
And what we've done is we'remapping out all of our competencies.
The competencies type, you know,relate to the student learning
outcomes, the program outcomes,everything is all like a giant matrix.
Yeah, well, so right now we're inthe process of, you know, taking
our assignments, matching themup with the proper competencies.
(15:46):
And, um, I think that's a, a gooddirection for us to go because
we're really want to be ablefor students to demonstrate.
Core competencies that are important,you know, so that we can graduate,
um, nurses at different levels, um,with different abilities and maybe a
(16:09):
more sound critical thinking ability.
So right now we're in the processof doing, doing all of that.
Well, it aligns really nicely with a wholerollout of tools within Digication for,
um, Being able to essentially kind of tag,uh, ePortfolio submissions to specific
(16:34):
learning outcomes, whether they'resome of these professional practice,
um, Standards or learning outcomesfor various courses that they have.
Um, so if you would like to, youknow, start to make use of some of
those tools, we can turn that on foryou whenever you're, you're ready.
And it can be a really valuable way tocontinue to offer the kind of flexibility
(16:59):
for students to tell their, their storiesand, and share what they've done and
have this other kind of, Layer for your,um, for the school of nursing to be
able to see how the students are reallymeeting those benchmarks and to, to share
that with accrediting teams as well.
(17:20):
That's what I was just gonna say.
It'd be we have exemplars when theycome and, and do our visits and that
would be a great opportunity to showthem, this is how, you know, this
assignment is linked to this competency.
Yeah.
Student Learning Objective.
And it's an innovative way, I think.
Yeah.
So how are you able with the exemplarsthat you have now, you know, when
(17:44):
you have accrediting team visits?
I know that that can be kindof a stressful time, but It's
also somewhat celebratory.
Maybe the deep breath with it.
Yeah, for sure.
I know a lot of time and effort, youknow, goes into the preparation and then,
you know, when you do have that timeto celebrate what your students have
(18:07):
done with external audiences, you know,maybe it'd be nice to have a little less
scrutiny, but it's there for a reason.
But, so I was curious, how arethose exemplars, um, shared with the
accrediting teams that are visiting now?
So we choose, you know, we pickand choose what we'd like to share.
(18:28):
And we actually have, um, anarea designated within the
School of Nursing where thoseindividuals can be those exemplars.
Um, we do have some that are onpaper as well, um, but we, um, have a
repository, if you will, of exemplarsthat, um, the accreditors can easily
(18:49):
access and visualize and assess.
Yeah.
Nice.
Nice.
And, um, do you know if theePortfolios have been, I know
they're kind of including work thatthey may be doing in other courses.
Do you know if other nursing, um,faculty have created other templates
(19:12):
that they might be using or if they,um, ever see the kind of final results
that the students have created?
Uh, I'm not too sure.
Okay.
I'm not, I would like to know ifthe graduate, um, faculty use it
in any place in, in any of theprograms, but I'm not too sure.
(19:36):
Yeah, well, and we hear about thatoften, especially in these kinds of
fields where thePortfolios are oftennaturally private and not shared within
the school's ePortfolio directory.
Um, there's a lot of other disciplineslike the writing, Um, program at
Stony Brook that are often shared inmore of a public manner because the
(20:01):
students are interested in having their,their writing viewed for their roles.
But yeah, often in healthcare,they're, um, they're more private.
So often they're not, um, seenby, by other faculty members.
Yeah, that's definitely a direction togo though to kind of showcase their work
(20:25):
Yeah, as they're getting their To, youknow, prepare them for sharing as part of
the internship process and, uh, potentialshowing them to potential employers.
Having that option to, to make themmore visible is, is very helpful.
And they always have that option forpassword protection too, if they'd like.
(20:47):
Yes.
Which is great.
Yeah.
So when the students are kind of,um, getting near the completion,
uh, of thePortfolio for your course,um, do you ever get feedback from
them about if there's certain thingsthat you want Areas of thePortfolio
(21:07):
that they may be most proud of.
I don't know if it's sometimesthe, the poster that they did or
maybe it is that welcome page.
Have you gotten feedbackfrom them about that?
The feedback that I'vereceived is more general.
Oh, that they, when they,uh, evaluate the course.
(21:30):
Um, it's more of just a general, youknow, comment that they enjoyed putting
the ePortfolio together or, gee, therewas a little bit of a learning curve
there, but once I got it, I got it.
Yeah.
Um, but nothing specificto particular aspects.
Okay.
Because we don't ask thoselike pointed type of questions.
(21:52):
So it's like a general, uh, feedbackas part of their course evaluation.
Yeah.
That makes sense.
That makes sense.
Um, so when, um, you mentioned that thestudents right now aren't giving any
kind of peer feedback on thePortfoliosthemselves, but that they do have
opportunities, um, as part of the Yeah.
(22:15):
Um, kind of interview, mockinterviews that they do.
What is that peer feedback process like?
We use a learning managementsystem called Brightspace.
There's the ability, um, for studentsto give feedback, um, into something
that's been submitted by a student.
(22:36):
Um, so it's something that'sbuilt into our LMS system, uh,
that they're assigned a resume togive, um, feedback on based on.
Certain criteria, which is, you know,like a rubric and the student can
use that to improve their resume,for example, and then when they have
(22:57):
the simulation, um, the career centerwill give them kind of the final.
Feedback on their resume.
So it's, you know, readyand to go off the runway.
Well, that's awesome.
Well, Tina, thank you somuch for your time today.
It was wonderful to hearabout your experience and.
(23:19):
What brought you to Stony Brookand the wonderful impact that your
work has had on the students there.
It was wonderful to spend sometime chatting with you today.
Same.
Thank you for having me.
I really appreciate this.
Absolutely.
Take good care.
You too.
Coming up next, we'll be chattingwith JT Torres, Director of the
(23:43):
Center for Teaching and Learningat Quinnipiac University.
Here's a quick preview.
I want everything to be justin time, not just in case.
Right, I want people to be so immersedin the moment that when they run up
against a challenge, and they don'tknow how to respond to that challenge,
The faculty member swoops in with,here's what you need to know right now.
And then I can incorporatethat, here's what I need to
(24:04):
know to overcome this challenge.
That develops into schema, right?
That develops into long term memory.
That's what we call active learning.
And that's also what we call agency.
Welcome to DigicationScholars Conversations.
I'm your host, Kelly Driscoll.
In this episode, you'll hear Part Two ofmy conversation with Tina Abbate, Clinical
Assistant Professor and Coordinator ofthe Nursing Student Internship Program in
Stony Brook University School of Nursing.
More links and information about today'sconversation can be found on Digication's
(00:25):
Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
Full episodes of Digication ScholarsConversations Can be found on
YouTube or your favorite podcast app.
So I was curious when they start creatingtheir ePortfolios, are there specific
templates or prompts that they use?
(00:47):
Uh, you mentioned that.
They're given some requirements on,you know, certain kinds of content,
um, that they should include, but areyou utilizing any kinds of templates
or, or prompts as part of that process?
Yes, I think that type ofguidance is very important.
Um, so, uh, apart from the rubric, uh,which we pulled from the literature
(01:14):
to decide like what we wanted themto include in their, um, ePortfolio.
So, apart from the rubric, which like Imentioned is very prescriptive, it leaves
very little to subjectivity, um, andthen again, we add that, you know, the,
the top tier points for visual appeal.
I also developed a template ofmy own, um, so that they can have
(01:38):
something to peruse as they develop.
I think that, that's very helpful to them.
Um, so that they know that they knowexactly what to expect, um, right
in this e-portfolio assignment.
Yeah.
Okay.
And so with the, the template thatyou created, does that have, um, was
(02:02):
that kind of personalized for youor is it kind of a sample student?
I've seen different approaches.
Yeah, at this point, I've made it verygeneralized to the student, um, and,
uh, the nice thing about the template isthat you can include notes in there, like
a pro tip, you know, stuff like that.
(02:24):
So I made it very generic and, you know,um, with some hints and, you know, uh, pro
tips in there and suggestions about howto make a particular tab, um, enhanced.
So, yeah, no, no, no.
Mm hmm.
And is that where you're maybe givingthem ideas about, so you mentioned in the
(02:44):
kind of welcome page or, um, area wherethey might be sharing some of their, uh,
background and, and why they're studyingwhat they're studying, that they're not
just using writing to communicate that,that they're sometimes incorporating.
I don't know if they've doneany kind of video there.
Is that where you're giving themsome of those pro tips or have
(03:09):
they started to kind of see otherexamples that are out there?
I do encourage them to look atDigication's, um, uh, repertoire
of templates that they can't see.
I'd love to see a bitmore video and audio.
So, I was thinking about adjusting therubric and, and just making one part of
(03:32):
it, you know, have, have their welcomepage be a video or, or audio recording.
Um, so with the post licensurestudents, I haven't seen that
much, but I feel like in the prelicensure, I might see that much more.
Um, so I just kind of little thoughtsabout how to make it a bit more,
(03:53):
um, bring it more to life, youknow, instead of too deep, you know?
Mm hmm.
Mm hmm.
Yeah.
It is really interesting, um, whatone can kind of learn about an
individual and what they, you know,the way that they kind of communicate
who they are and what they know.
When they're speaking, whether they're,you know, just speaking into a mic or on
(04:16):
camera, that's very different than I thinkthe kind of mode that folks might get in
when they sit down to, to write something.
And, um, we've often found that for,you know, your students may be a little
more experienced in the process ofwriting about themselves, but in a lot
of programs that we work with, for,for some students, it's very hard to
(04:39):
just kind of sit down and, Fill in anykind of welcome or about me, you know,
what, what do I have to contribute?
What, what values and skillsdo I have, especially in that
kind of undergraduate setting?
Um, and sometimes doing a video oraudio recording can kind of open up that
(05:03):
space Doors for them that might not havehappened, you know, as quickly as if they
just had to sit down and write about it.
So it can be a great, um, way to getpeople, you know, literally talking.
I think that would be seamless with mypre licensure students because I have them
(05:24):
already do an elevator pitch assignment,so it is literally 30 to 45 seconds,
like it's very short, um, quick pitchabout themselves, um, that I think would
work well that they could just take thatand just put it into their ePortfolio.
And I do hear anecdotally how hard it is.
(05:47):
And how they re record it several times.
I have them do a peer, apeer assessment on that.
Oh nice!
Yeah.
That they, you know, havethat type of feedback.
Um, but it's hard.
It's hard to talk about yourself likethat, you know, in a short period of time.
So, I give them all the tools andresources to make a very, You know,
(06:10):
succinct statement about themselves,but that would really fit really
well into their ePortfolios.
Yeah, absolutely.
And, uh, it was funny because aswe were talking, I recently had,
uh, a conversation with a studentthat, uh, did get their dream job
(06:30):
and it involved, he, he, he spokeabout it like he had to chase down.
Someone, um, at an event, you know, hehad the opportunity to, to get in front of
them and, um, you know, try to hook them.
And he was very, he was scared to doit in the moment, but he was kind of
speaking about how, you know, if hehadn't been prepared to kind of have
(06:56):
that pitch ready, that he might nothave made such an incredible impact.
that person that led to himgetting the, the current position.
So even though he was so nervous aboutit, he was actually quite well prepared
and he, yeah, set him on his way.
So yeah, it is interesting, you know, howpreparing things and You know, different
(07:20):
modes and methods, you know, can, canhelp you in different kinds of experiences
where you may have that opportunityto, to make a connection with someone.
And I know earlier in the conversation,you mentioned that, uh, you are using
this rubric that, uh, outlines, youknow, all of the kind of requirements
(07:41):
and specifications for what you'relooking for in thePortfolio.
And some of that is relatedto the visual elements.
But what are some of the other kinds ofcriteria that you have in that rubric?
Very often in working with differentschools and programs, they're very
interested in this kind of portfoliopedagogy and reflective learning
(08:04):
and career oriented portfolios.
But when they Um, Kind of sit down tothink about, you know, how they're going
to assess them, may not already have,uh, tools in place, and it sounds like
you've spent some time creating thatrubric as a way to make that process, you
know, straightforward for the studentsand how they're going to be assessed and
(08:25):
also straightforward for their teachers.
Those that might be reviewing them.
So what are some of the other criteriathat you have in that rubric now?
I'm putting on the spot, you know
No, no, I'm thinking back to the rubricI mean we have the welcome page the
nursing philosophy the goals Um, theirresume, their, um, poster project, um,
(08:50):
another section would be any awardsor honors that they have received.
I think that's a great opportunity,you know, sometimes it's hard to
toot your own horn, but it's a greatway to professionally present some
of the things that you've achieved.
So that would be a section,um, their contact information.
(09:10):
And that's pretty much it.
We, we don't have a ton of tools becausewe want whoever to read it to be able
to do so in a short period of time.
So we just keep it as concise as possible.
Right, right.
That makes sense.
And then are there, um, is it kindof, uh, You know, yes they did it, no
(09:30):
they didn't, or are there differentkinds of levels that they have for
the criteria that are listed there?
There's definitely different levels.
If they want the top tier max pointsfor each criteria, there needs
to be some visual appeal to it.
It needs to look good and theinformation contained in that
category needs to be clear, youknow, succinct, if it's a narrative.
(09:56):
And just present itwell and appropriately.
Great.
And then as you're, uh, reviewing theirePortfolios, is that something that
happens, you know, when maybe there'scertain kinds of milestones that are set
up, I know in, um, some courses, theymay look at them at the middle of the
(10:19):
semester and the end of the semester.
There's other faculty membersthat have kind of weekly
submissions that are going on.
What's the kind of timeline for when thestudents may begin their portfolio and
when it's kind of considered completed,at least in the, um, context of your
(10:40):
course or maybe their, their program?
Um, and how often is it beingassessed and what's that process like?
We do one assessment at the end ofthe semester, it's kind of like the
cumulative sort of career developmentbecause they've gone through the
simulation for interviewing, they'vehad their resume reviewed, they do
(11:05):
peer to peer resume review as well.
So we're slowly building up towardsthis final product that's assessed
one time at the end of the semester.
Okay, and the, you know, from yourperspective with that assessment
process, um, is that I'm sure ittakes some time, but is that an
(11:29):
enjoyable kind of process for you?
And how might that Process differ frommaybe, you know, reviewing a kind of
standard paper or you mentioned theposter presentations that the students do.
It's definitely a fun assignment to grade.
(11:51):
Because again, they just put togetherthis beautiful ePortfolio art, as
I mentioned earlier, and it's, it'senjoyable for me to take that journey
through each ePortfolio because, youknow, every student has a different story.
And if they're willing to shareit, you can really pick up on that.
In their ePortfolio.
And you get to know, like, some ofthese students have a very colorful,
(12:17):
um, in depth work histories that thismight be a second career for them.
Right, yeah.
So interesting to see where all theseindividuals have come from and have
landed into the nursing profession.
So, I, um, have to tell you,unless my course has a writing
requirement, I don't have papers.
(12:39):
Absolutely not.
I have completely eliminated them.
Um, there's just different ways nowwith active learning and innovating,
innovative, uh, teaching practices nowthat, uh, You know, unless you have a
writing requirement, I can understand,but there's different ways to present
an assignment, um, that's not, youknow, 15 pages of narrative to read.
(13:02):
Yeah.
15 pages from a Word documentor a Google Doc or Sure.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And with AI too.
Oh, right.
Yes.
Yes.
Well, and we really encourage folks tothink about, you know, as you're, you
know, it's a space where you can actuallydo the creation of the work as well.
(13:24):
You know, it doesn't have to be somethingwhere you're creating and always, um,
posting it after the fact that it, youknow, because of its flexibility and.
Design options and, um, you know, abilityto, to, you know, get feedback and have
it reviewed, you know, it can be thatspace for, uh, creation, uh, not just,
(13:49):
you know, sharing individual documents.
So it's wonderful to hear that you,you know, Have that approach with your
students and are open minded about, youknow, even if they are doing writing
about them, themselves or their, um,their history and experiences that
they can do that really within the, thepages of thePortfolio and incorporating
(14:12):
other kinds of media as well.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Um, so I was curious, um, as part of theassessment process, I know with Nursing.
There's a lot of, um,professional practice standards
that they're working towards.
And are those mentioned at any pointin some of the materials that they're
(14:40):
presenting within thePortfolio?
I, you mentioned thatthere's specific course.
Course learning objectives thatthey're working towards as well.
So are those being kind ofincluded as part of that process?
I've seen that in some other, um,nursing program oriented portfolio work.
(15:01):
Yeah, actually we are working towardsa competency based curriculum now.
So our accrediting body Has, um,switched from, you know, most of
us have a content based curriculum.
Now, our accrediting body hasset up all of these different
competencies and we're in theprocess, we'll adopt this next year.
(15:24):
And what we've done is we'remapping out all of our competencies.
The competencies type, you know,relate to the student learning
outcomes, the program outcomes,everything is all like a giant matrix.
Yeah, well, so right now we're inthe process of, you know, taking
our assignments, matching themup with the proper competencies.
(15:46):
And, um, I think that's a, a gooddirection for us to go because
we're really want to be ablefor students to demonstrate.
Core competencies that are important,you know, so that we can graduate,
um, nurses at different levels, um,with different abilities and maybe a
(16:09):
more sound critical thinking ability.
So right now we're in the processof doing, doing all of that.
Well, it aligns really nicely with a wholerollout of tools within Digication for,
um, Being able to essentially kind of tag,uh, ePortfolio submissions to specific
(16:34):
learning outcomes, whether they'resome of these professional practice,
um, Standards or learning outcomesfor various courses that they have.
Um, so if you would like to, youknow, start to make use of some of
those tools, we can turn that on foryou whenever you're, you're ready.
And it can be a really valuable way tocontinue to offer the kind of flexibility
(16:59):
for students to tell their, their storiesand, and share what they've done and
have this other kind of, Layer for your,um, for the school of nursing to be
able to see how the students are reallymeeting those benchmarks and to, to share
that with accrediting teams as well.
(17:20):
That's what I was just gonna say.
It'd be we have exemplars when theycome and, and do our visits and that
would be a great opportunity to showthem, this is how, you know, this
assignment is linked to this competency.
Yeah.
Student Learning Objective.
And it's an innovative way, I think.
Yeah.
So how are you able with the exemplarsthat you have now, you know, when
(17:44):
you have accrediting team visits?
I know that that can be kindof a stressful time, but It's
also somewhat celebratory.
Maybe the deep breath with it.
Yeah, for sure.
I know a lot of time and effort, youknow, goes into the preparation and then,
you know, when you do have that timeto celebrate what your students have
(18:07):
done with external audiences, you know,maybe it'd be nice to have a little less
scrutiny, but it's there for a reason.
But, so I was curious, how arethose exemplars, um, shared with the
accrediting teams that are visiting now?
So we choose, you know, we pickand choose what we'd like to share.
(18:28):
And we actually have, um, anarea designated within the
School of Nursing where thoseindividuals can be those exemplars.
Um, we do have some that are onpaper as well, um, but we, um, have a
repository, if you will, of exemplarsthat, um, the accreditors can easily
(18:49):
access and visualize and assess.
Yeah.
Nice.
Nice.
And, um, do you know if theePortfolios have been, I know
they're kind of including work thatthey may be doing in other courses.
Do you know if other nursing, um,faculty have created other templates
(19:12):
that they might be using or if they,um, ever see the kind of final results
that the students have created?
Uh, I'm not too sure.
Okay.
I'm not, I would like to know ifthe graduate, um, faculty use it
in any place in, in any of theprograms, but I'm not too sure.
(19:36):
Yeah, well, and we hear about thatoften, especially in these kinds of
fields where thePortfolios are oftennaturally private and not shared within
the school's ePortfolio directory.
Um, there's a lot of other disciplineslike the writing, Um, program at
Stony Brook that are often shared inmore of a public manner because the
(20:01):
students are interested in having their,their writing viewed for their roles.
But yeah, often in healthcare,they're, um, they're more private.
So often they're not, um, seenby, by other faculty members.
Yeah, that's definitely a direction togo though to kind of showcase their work
(20:25):
Yeah, as they're getting their To, youknow, prepare them for sharing as part of
the internship process and, uh, potentialshowing them to potential employers.
Having that option to, to make themmore visible is, is very helpful.
And they always have that option forpassword protection too, if they'd like.
(20:47):
Yes.
Which is great.
Yeah.
So when the students are kind of,um, getting near the completion,
uh, of thePortfolio for your course,um, do you ever get feedback from
them about if there's certain thingsthat you want Areas of thePortfolio
(21:07):
that they may be most proud of.
I don't know if it's sometimesthe, the poster that they did or
maybe it is that welcome page.
Have you gotten feedbackfrom them about that?
The feedback that I'vereceived is more general.
Oh, that they, when they,uh, evaluate the course.
(21:30):
Um, it's more of just a general, youknow, comment that they enjoyed putting
the ePortfolio together or, gee, therewas a little bit of a learning curve
there, but once I got it, I got it.
Yeah.
Um, but nothing specificto particular aspects.
Okay.
Because we don't ask thoselike pointed type of questions.
(21:52):
So it's like a general, uh, feedbackas part of their course evaluation.
Yeah.
That makes sense.
That makes sense.
Um, so when, um, you mentioned that thestudents right now aren't giving any
kind of peer feedback on thePortfoliosthemselves, but that they do have
opportunities, um, as part of the Yeah.
(22:15):
Um, kind of interview, mockinterviews that they do.
What is that peer feedback process like?
We use a learning managementsystem called Brightspace.
There's the ability, um, for studentsto give feedback, um, into something
that's been submitted by a student.
(22:36):
Um, so it's something that'sbuilt into our LMS system, uh,
that they're assigned a resume togive, um, feedback on based on.
Certain criteria, which is, you know,like a rubric and the student can
use that to improve their resume,for example, and then when they have
(22:57):
the simulation, um, the career centerwill give them kind of the final.
Feedback on their resume.
So it's, you know, readyand to go off the runway.
Well, that's awesome.
Well, Tina, thank you somuch for your time today.
It was wonderful to hearabout your experience and.
(23:19):
What brought you to Stony Brookand the wonderful impact that your
work has had on the students there.
It was wonderful to spend sometime chatting with you today.
Same.
Thank you for having me.
I really appreciate this.
Absolutely.
Take good care.
You too.
Coming up next, we'll be chattingwith JT Torres, Director of the
(23:43):
Center for Teaching and Learningat Quinnipiac University.
Here's a quick preview.
I want everything to be justin time, not just in case.
Right, I want people to be so immersedin the moment that when they run up
against a challenge, and they don'tknow how to respond to that challenge,
The faculty member swoops in with,here's what you need to know right now.
And then I can incorporatethat, here's what I need to
(24:04):
know to overcome this challenge.
That develops into schema, right?
That develops into long term memory.
That's what we call active learning.
And that's also what we call agency.
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