Welcome to Digication Scholars Conversations.
I'm your host, Kelly Driscoll.
In this episode, you'll hear Part Two of my conversation with Tina Abbate, Clinical
Assistant Professor and Coordinator of the Nursing Student Internship Program in
Stony Brook University School of Nursing.
More links and information about today's conversation can be found on Digication's
Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
Full episodes of Digication Scholars Conversations Can be found on
YouTube or your favorite podcast app.
So I was curious when they start creating their ePortfolios, are there specific
templates or prompts that they use?
Uh, you mentioned that.
They're given some requirements on, you know, certain kinds of content,
um, that they should include, but are you utilizing any kinds of templates
or, or prompts as part of that process?
Yes, I think that type of guidance is very important.
Um, so, uh, apart from the rubric, uh, which we pulled from the literature
to decide like what we wanted them to include in their, um, ePortfolio.
So, apart from the rubric, which like I mentioned is very prescriptive, it leaves
very little to subjectivity, um, and then again, we add that, you know, the,
the top tier points for visual appeal.
I also developed a template of my own, um, so that they can have
something to peruse as they develop.
I think that, that's very helpful to them.
Um, so that they know that they know exactly what to expect, um, right
in this e-portfolio assignment.
Yeah.
Okay.
And so with the, the template that you created, does that have, um, was
that kind of personalized for you or is it kind of a sample student?
I've seen different approaches.
Yeah, at this point, I've made it very generalized to the student, um, and,
uh, the nice thing about the template is that you can include notes in there, like
a pro tip, you know, stuff like that.
So I made it very generic and, you know, um, with some hints and, you know, uh, pro
tips in there and suggestions about how to make a particular tab, um, enhanced.
So, yeah, no, no, no.
Mm hmm.
And is that where you're maybe giving them ideas about, so you mentioned in the
kind of welcome page or, um, area where they might be sharing some of their, uh,
background and, and why they're studying what 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 done any kind of video there.
Is that where you're giving them some of those pro tips or have
they started to kind of see other examples that are out there?
I do encourage them to look at Digication's, um, uh, repertoire
of templates that they can't see.
I'd love to see a bit more video and audio.
So, I was thinking about adjusting the rubric and, and just making one part of
it, you know, have, have their welcome page be a video or, or audio recording.
Um, so with the post licensure students, I haven't seen that
much, but I feel like in the pre licensure, I might see that much more.
Um, so I just kind of little thoughts about how to make it a bit more,
um, bring it more to life, you know, instead of too deep, you know?
Mm hmm.
Yeah.
It is really interesting, um, what one 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
camera, that's very different than I think the 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 of writing about themselves, but in a lot
of programs that we work with, for, for some students, it's very hard to
just kind of sit down and, Fill in any kind of welcome or about me, you know,
what, what do I have to contribute?
What, what values and skills do I have, especially in that
kind of undergraduate setting?
Um, and sometimes doing a video or audio recording can kind of open up that
space Doors for them that might not have happened, 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 get people, you know, literally talking.
I think that would be seamless with my pre licensure students because I have them
already do an elevator pitch assignment, so it is literally 30 to 45 seconds,
like it's very short, um, quick pitch about themselves, um, that I think would
work well that they could just take that and just put it into their ePortfolio.
And I do hear anecdotally how hard it is.
And how they re record it several times.
I have them do a peer, a peer assessment on that.
Oh nice!
Yeah.
That they, you know, have that type of feedback.
Um, but it's hard.
It's hard to talk about yourself like that, you know, in a short period of time.
So, I give them all the tools and resources to make a very, You know,
succinct statement about themselves, but that would really fit really
well into their ePortfolios.
Yeah, absolutely.
And, uh, it was funny because as we were talking, I recently had,
uh, a conversation with a student that, uh, did get their dream job
and it involved, he, he, he spoke about it like he had to chase down.
Someone, um, at an event, you know, he had 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 do it in the moment, but he was kind of
speaking about how, you know, if he hadn't been prepared to kind of have
that pitch ready, that he might not have made such an incredible impact.
that person that led to him getting the, the current position.
So even though he was so nervous about it, he was actually quite well prepared
and he, yeah, set him on his way.
So yeah, it is interesting, you know, how preparing things and You know, different
modes and methods, you know, can, can help you in different kinds of experiences
where you may have that opportunity to, 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, you know, all of the kind of requirements
and specifications for what you're looking for in thePortfolio.
And some of that is related to the visual elements.
But what are some of the other kinds of criteria that you have in that rubric?
Very often in working with different schools and programs, they're very
interested in this kind of portfolio pedagogy and reflective learning
and career oriented portfolios.
But when they Um, Kind of sit down to think 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 that rubric as a way to make that process, you
know, straightforward for the students and how they're going to be assessed and
also straightforward for their teachers.
Those that might be reviewing them.
So what are some of the other criteria that you have in that rubric now?
I'm putting on the spot, you know
No, no, I'm thinking back to the rubric I mean we have the welcome page the
nursing philosophy the goals Um, their resume, their, um, poster project, um,
another section would be any awards or 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 great way to professionally present some
of the things that you've achieved.
So that would be a section, um, their contact information.
And that's pretty much it.
We, we don't have a ton of tools because we 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 kind of, uh, You know, yes they did it, no
they didn't, or are there different kinds of levels that they have for
the criteria that are listed there?
There's definitely different levels.
If they want the top tier max points for each criteria, there needs
to be some visual appeal to it.
It needs to look good and the information contained in that
category needs to be clear, you know, succinct, if it's a narrative.
And just present it well and appropriately.
Great.
And then as you're, uh, reviewing their ePortfolios, is that something that
happens, you know, when maybe there's certain kinds of milestones that are set
up, I know in, um, some courses, they may look at them at the middle of the
semester and the end of the semester.
There's other faculty members that have kind of weekly
submissions that are going on.
What's the kind of timeline for when the students may begin their portfolio and
when it's kind of considered completed, at least in the, um, context of your
course or maybe their, their program?
Um, and how often is it being assessed and what's that process like?
We do one assessment at the end of the semester, it's kind of like the
cumulative sort of career development because they've gone through the
simulation for interviewing, they've had their resume reviewed, they do
peer to peer resume review as well.
So we're slowly building up towards this final product that's assessed
one time at the end of the semester.
Okay, and the, you know, from your perspective with that assessment
process, um, is that I'm sure it takes some time, but is that an
enjoyable kind of process for you?
And how might that Process differ from maybe, you know, reviewing a kind of
standard paper or you mentioned the poster presentations that the students do.
It's definitely a fun assignment to grade.
Because again, they just put together this beautiful ePortfolio art, as
I mentioned earlier, and it's, it's enjoyable for me to take that journey
through each ePortfolio because, you know, every student has a different story.
And if they're willing to share it, you can really pick up on that.
In their ePortfolio.
And you get to know, like, some of these students have a very colorful,
um, in depth work histories that this might be a second career for them.
Right, yeah.
So interesting to see where all these individuals 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.
Absolutely not.
I have completely eliminated them.
Um, there's just different ways now with active learning and innovating,
innovative, uh, teaching practices now that, 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, you know, 15 pages of narrative to read.
Yeah.
15 pages from a Word document or a Google Doc or Sure.
Yeah.
And with AI too.
Oh, right.
Yes.
Well, and we really encourage folks to think about, you know, as you're, you
know, it's a space where you can actually do the creation of the work as well.
You know, it doesn't have to be something where you're creating and always, um,
posting it after the fact that it, you know, because of its flexibility and.
Design options and, um, you know, ability to, to, you know, get feedback and have
it reviewed, you know, it can be that space for, uh, creation, uh, not just,
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, you know, even if they are doing writing
about them, themselves or their, um, their history and experiences that
they can do that really within the, the pages of thePortfolio and incorporating
other kinds of media as well.
Yeah.
Um, so I was curious, um, as part of the assessment 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 point in some of the materials that they're
presenting within thePortfolio?
I, you mentioned that there's specific course.
Course learning objectives that they're working towards as well.
So are those being kind of included as part of that process?
I've seen that in some other, um, nursing program oriented portfolio work.
Yeah, actually we are working towards a 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 has set up all of these different
competencies and we're in the process, we'll adopt this next year.
And what we've done is we're mapping 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 in the process of, you know, taking
our assignments, matching them up with the proper competencies.
And, um, I think that's a, a good direction for us to go because
we're really want to be able for 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
more sound critical thinking ability.
So right now we're in the process of doing, doing all of that.
Well, it aligns really nicely with a whole rollout of tools within Digication for,
um, Being able to essentially kind of tag, uh, ePortfolio submissions to specific
learning outcomes, whether they're some of these professional practice,
um, Standards or learning outcomes for various courses that they have.
Um, so if you would like to, you know, start to make use of some of
those tools, we can turn that on for you whenever you're, you're ready.
And it can be a really valuable way to continue to offer the kind of flexibility
for students to tell their, their stories and, 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 really meeting those benchmarks and to, to share
that with accrediting teams as well.
That's what I was just gonna say.
It'd be we have exemplars when they come and, and do our visits and that
would be a great opportunity to show them, 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 exemplars that you have now, you know, when
you have accrediting team visits?
I know that that can be kind of 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, you know, goes into the preparation and then,
you know, when you do have that time to celebrate what your students have
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 are those exemplars, um, shared with the
accrediting teams that are visiting now?
So we choose, you know, we pick and choose what we'd like to share.
And we actually have, um, an area designated within the
School of Nursing where those individuals can be those exemplars.
Um, we do have some that are on paper as well, um, but we, um, have a
repository, if you will, of exemplars that, um, the accreditors can easily
access and visualize and assess.
Yeah.
Nice.
And, um, do you know if the ePortfolios have been, I know
they're kind of including work that they may be doing in other courses.
Do you know if other nursing, um, faculty have created other templates
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 if the graduate, um, faculty use it
in any place in, in any of the programs, but I'm not too sure.
Yeah, well, and we hear about that often, especially in these kinds of
fields where thePortfolios are often naturally private and not shared within
the school's ePortfolio directory.
Um, there's a lot of other disciplines like the writing, Um, program at
Stony Brook that are often shared in more of a public manner because the
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, seen by, by other faculty members.
Yeah, that's definitely a direction to go though to kind of showcase their work
Yeah, as they're getting their To, you know, prepare them for sharing as part of
the internship process and, uh, potential showing them to potential employers.
Having that option to, to make them more visible is, is very helpful.
And they always have that option for password protection too, if they'd like.
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 things that you want Areas of thePortfolio
that they may be most proud of.
I don't know if it's sometimes the, the poster that they did or
maybe it is that welcome page.
Have you gotten feedback from them about that?
The feedback that I've received is more general.
Oh, that they, when they, uh, evaluate the course.
Um, it's more of just a general, you know, comment that they enjoyed putting
the ePortfolio together or, gee, there was a little bit of a learning curve
there, but once I got it, I got it.
Yeah.
Um, but nothing specific to particular aspects.
Okay.
Because we don't ask those like pointed type of questions.
So it's like a general, uh, feedback as part of their course evaluation.
Yeah.
That makes sense.
Um, so when, um, you mentioned that the students right now aren't giving any
kind of peer feedback on thePortfolios themselves, but that they do have
opportunities, um, as part of the Yeah.
Um, kind of interview, mock interviews that they do.
What is that peer feedback process like?
We use a learning management system called Brightspace.
There's the ability, um, for students to give feedback, um, into something
that's been submitted by a student.
Um, so it's something that's built into our LMS system, uh,
that they're assigned a resume to give, 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
the simulation, um, the career center will give them kind of the final.
Feedback on their resume.
So it's, you know, ready and to go off the runway.
Well, that's awesome.
Well, Tina, thank you so much for your time today.
It was wonderful to hear about your experience and.
What brought you to Stony Brook and the wonderful impact that your
work has had on the students there.
It was wonderful to spend some time 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 chatting with JT Torres, Director of the
Center for Teaching and Learning at Quinnipiac University.
Here's a quick preview.
I want everything to be just in time, not just in case.
Right, I want people to be so immersed in the moment that when they run up
against a challenge, and they don't know 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 incorporate that, here's what I need to
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.