Welcome to Digication Scholars Conversations.
I'm your host, Kelly Driscoll.
In this episode, you'll hear Part Two of my conversation with Amy Urbanus,
Assistant Professor in the Dietetics and Nutrition Program at University
of Alaska Anchorage's School of Preventative and Therapeutic Services.
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.
You know, when you were kind of speaking about the, you know, for the students
to have, you know, between 20 and 30 competencies that they're working towards,
I know in when I was teaching was in an education program and I think that maybe
there were Maybe 15 to 20 at the time.
And the language of them is not always crystal clear.
And um, what an incredible, you know, experience for the students to have that
year where they are, you know, as part of that kind of culminating experience,
given the opportunity to work with you to, you know, do that self assessment.
I think that that's huge.
Um, giving them some time to, you know, be really honest about where they feel
like they may still have some gaps, um, to be able to use the ePortfolio
as a reference for where they have been able to achieve various companies
and have competencies and have a record of that with their reflections.
And I'm imagining that there's times when you've been reviewing those with
them where you've said, well, You know, you're, you're communicating to
me that you feel like you have this gap, but when I'm looking at your
ePortfolio and some of your reflections about this experience, it sounds to
me like you've really achieved this.
So what other opportunities might you need?
to have for, you know, you to feel confidence that you
have achieved that competency.
And I'm imagining, you know, for you to be able to work at that with them from the
beginning and starting to kind of learn some of that language in the competencies
and incorporate that into their own kind of thinking about what they're doing
and Why their different assignments and projects and site experiences have been
created for them that you're probably also finding times where you can see, you know,
as students going through this reflective process may not quite understand what the
competency is all about, but you're able to kind of through this trajectory guide
them in that direction, um, So as students are kind of, you know, at either point in
the beginning or at the end, kind of going through this reflective process, have
you identified times where, um, you know, maybe a student discovered that there
was something about their current path that may be revealing either, you know,
where maybe they need to make a hard turn?
Or, um, maybe it's solidifying something, but in a different realm.
So, for instance, you found your dream job working with people that had diabetes.
And I'm imagining that some people coming into your Program, maybe thinking that,
you know, they're pointed at, you know, X.
And as part of this experience end up in different directions.
How have you kind of seen that maybe reveal itself through some of
these experiences and reflections that you have in the portfolios?
So, you know, it's kind of interesting, um, I would say, I don't know if I've
ever seen a student who is like completely pivoting, you know, by the time they're,
um, finishing their undergraduate degree, mostly just because I, we as a department
really try to foster this idea that the world of dietetics is very broad.
And so, you You know, this is now, you know, the next step in where you
have to get a master's degree and you know, do supervised practice is
really where you're going to be able to really decide, you know, kind of what
area you might be most interested in.
But what I will say is that I think students forget like
the work that they've done.
Uh, because, oh my gosh, you know, if you're taking 15, and I forget
too, if I take 15 credits and you're just like, I just have to get through
biochemistry, like, this nutrition thing that I'm doing over here, it's
fine, it's easy, I like, because I like it, I just have to pass biochemistry.
So I think sometimes they forget about the things that they are.
You know, that they've been working on and doing, and so one of the things I do
really like is, you know, they pull out these projects or assignments or things
and really are forced to think about, you know, gosh, you know, I, I like, I think
I, I did really enjoy this clinical case study or, you know, really, as I'm playing
with this portfolio and I'm uploading these education materials I developed
using all of these Fancy software programs that I don't know how to use.
And they realize that they really like, and part of the ePortfolio
that speaks to them the most is the design and all of that.
That there is a whole world of dietetics in education and materials
and graphic design and a lot of things that they can really dive
into and tap into their creativity.
And so I think it, you know, kind of sometimes provides that opportunity
to think about, you know, Because, you know, when you look at a project that
you might have worked on, it will bring up You know, maybe what was going on
in your life at that time or, you know, what they were doing and if they enjoyed
it at all or not, you know, whatever.
And so I think it can provide, you know, additional like thought about, you
know, what they might be interested in.
Where I've seen the most pivoting, um, I also help co-teach
a class called Health 151.
I think you're familiar with it.
It's called "Breaking Trail..."
um, "on your Health and Social Services Career."
And it's an interdisciplinary or interprofessional.
I always say interdisciplinary cause that's hospital speak education.
We say interprofessional.
Um, so it's an interprofessional.
Education type course.
And it is also very much like an entry.
I'm a new student in the College of Health.
Yeah.
Um, and we explore, we use e-portfolio heavily.
Uh, and they build an e-portfolio, but their, their students are
really diving into different career paths, different things.
And it's that where I really do see pivots happening.
Um, and, which is great.
I, I mean, it's fantastic.
I wish somebody had done that for me when I was, you know, starting out,
because you don't know what you want to do, um, you know, you think you know,
um, you know, and a lot of students at the College of Health are in the
Nursing Program, you know, and then they start to learn about other health
care professions and realize, oh, there's more than just nurse and doctor.
You know, I had mentioned a while ago in the beginning of this, uh,
of our discussion, I talked about how much I really like advising.
So, One of the things that I love about this class and then the use of
portfolio where they really are again, um, introduced to the idea of reflection
and, and, um, and in this class, they're not, they're, we're not measuring their
knowledge and their competence, you know, we're, We're asking them to think about
where they fit, um, and what's going to, you know, help them be most successful.
And so it is really fun to read, you know, that I have had a couple students
where I've read their reflections and their personal statements and things
like that and have reached out and said, Hey, you know, like I'm super
excited for you and I'm super happy that you're on the path that you are.
I sense some hesitation, you know, have you thought about
this program or this program?
And, and just to kind of, you know, make that connection, I think all of,
you know, all faculty are looking to.
You know, we just, I mean, I'd love to fill, you know, my seats, uh,
in my classes, but if it's not the right fit, it's not the right fit.
And so, it's a great, it's really nice to use that tool to help
pull some of those things out.
Some students, especially in Alaska, we serve, um, a large rural population.
So we have, especially like in our online programs.
And so that could be a really big, you know, to be a freshman in college,
you know, trying to do some online education, living in a rural community
in a village, um, you know, where maybe a student doesn't know any, you know,
that's been their whole, um, You know, they're, that's their world and they
have professional aspirations and a lot of times it comes from a gap and a
need in their home community and they have a desire to seek this education,
but it can be extremely, scary...
Um, you know, the idea of hopping on zoom and just talking like
this, you know, with somebody is not, you know, super comforting.
So in these reflections, I'm like, Oh my goodness, you're
like, you have so much to offer.
And they, you know, through their writing are able to share all
of these amazing experiences.
Um, and so it.
It does, it can really provide an opportunity to identify a student
that you may want to connect with, um, that you just wouldn't otherwise
see, um, when they're, you know, submitting their assignment by
midnight on Sunday night of the same assignment that everybody else is doing.
So, um, so in that regard, You know, so for that class specifically, I
think that's where I see more, you know, kind of pivots or, um, you know,
changes that they're life changing things that they're thinking about.
Yeah, and it is such a wonderful course and the design of it to really
be this time for discovery, right?
And for so many of the students, many first generation college students,
many, as you mentioned, coming from Rural communities where, um, exposure
and access are so different than what, you know, many would envision
as your typical college student.
Um, and I think what has also just been remarkable.
You know, from, from Digication's perspective and working with the
university too, and you, you mentioned this a little bit and, you know, these
opportunities to use the ePortfolio to learn about their students is they're
just, just seeing this incredible, um, culture and comfort with storytelling
and that when they, the students are given this opportunity to, uh, Talk about
the experiences that they have had in their families, in their communities.
Um, tied to their kind of cultural backgrounds and histories and connections
to the area that, um, I mean, it almost seems like many of the young
people there or people, you know, even those that are older and now coming
to school or coming back to school.
There's this almost need and, um, desire to have this space to share these stories,
and that this technology kind of came to the institution at a time where, you know,
access to the internet, although it's not perfect everywhere, you know, it's
starting to become more accessible and giving people this opportunity to suddenly
be able to share things beyond the, you know, Um, you know, close communities and
individuals within their families in ways that they haven't been able to before.
And um, you know, in our collaboration with the different programs there and
through our wonderful relationship working with Paul Wasco and being introduced to
folks like You and so many of the faculty there, you know, doing the, um, hard
work with the students, it has just been this incredibly inspiring experience to
see all of the different ways that, you know, that are uniquely University of
Alaska very often in ways that you're innovating the use of the, the platform.
So, you know, I think for those that are listening, um, E portfolios have
had a long history in being tied to accreditation and assessment for being
able to gather data for accreditation.
Um, but the way that the institution has been able to, you know, open up
the opportunity for students to really use it as that space for much more.
Personalized storytelling and connections to, you know, the passion that's led
them to pursuing, um, you know, different interests and fields at the college.
It's just been huge.
Um, yeah, so and, and I'll give it something.
No, no, no.
I've been wanting to talk in a while.
I will give a shout out to my, uh, to my colleague here too, Dr.
Walsh.
She, um, teaches a, uh, community nutrition class, which is
one of our capstone classes.
It's a 400 level class.
And she does, uh, you know, does a project using ePortfolio.
So it's not building a portfolio in the sense that we've been talking about,
like, um, you know, for accreditation or for those kinds of things.
Um, but she, you know, it's a multi-step project and one of the coolest things
when she first started utilizing it was she actually gives students the option,
the option to provide in one piece of it, you know, to provide written, uh, written
work or to do verbal and, uh, you know, and record themselves, uh, talking about
stuff and, and gives them the choice.
And she said it's really been, you know, it's really been easy to, to see.
You know, how some students really shine.
When they have the opportunity to provide that, um, you know, the
oral response versus, you know, versus writing and vice versa.
Um, so I think it can, again, I think once, you know, once
faculty and students get over.
The idea of, it's another platform, you know, it's something else, right?
Like it's not, you know, a part of Blackboard or it's not a textbook, it's
not, you know, those kinds of things.
Um, and then I would just say too that, so this is my sixth year.
I make tweaks and do different things.
Not huge, but you know, constantly kind of thinking about how to
make it better or do, you know.
And so, it's okay to start out having it kind of just be, you know, what we would
consider a more traditional portfolio.
I'm going to put, I'm going to put my work in here and then
somebody else can view it.
Um, and I think that that's perfectly fine too.
I think there's purpose in that.
Um, and just having, you know, kind of a, a single place that
somebody can do that outside of, like I said, like a Google Drive.
Um, and so, you know, I think that some faculty Get the sense might be intimidated
by it because they do see these like high level, you know, innovative ways of using
portfolio and it doesn't have to be.
You know, it doesn't have to be that necessarily start with a,
a single, I mean, I, I, I know that Paul does a lot of workshops
around the kind of six word story.
Yes.
We use that a lot.
I love can be the creation space for a, a story.
It can be the creation space for a single project or reflection on an experience.
And that is.
A very different kind of approach than some of the, you know, more
longitudinal, you know, program wide kind of experience portfolios.
And absolutely that, you know, as faculty are learning about different ways and kind
of options that they have and flexibly.
using it in ways that really suit their own needs and, and purposes and, you
know, letting students kind of take the reins in those cases and kind of design
it in ways that work, work best for them.
As you mentioned, it could be the incorporation of video or audio
and, um, and sometimes students are just marrying images and texts
together in ways that, um, Really kind of become their own art form.
I had the opportunity to have, um, Jill from dance, uh, joining me on one of
these conversations and she would often describe the portfolios as almost a dance
in, in her cases, you know, the students are really trying to create an experience.
with the, with the platform.
Um, so there's lots of different ways that it can be kind of
molded and, um, evolve over time.
I love that you spoke a little bit about how, you know, as the years go
by, that you're always kind of making Refinements and iterating on things.
And I think that that's, you know, a very healthy part of
the whole practice in teaching.
Right.
And that, you know, with every group of students that comes in, you know,
every cohort also has its own kind of Needs and aspirations and, you know,
they always teach us something too and from that we, you know, it informs us
and kind of getting ready for the next group to come in so it is something that
I think, you know, it's quite different from one's course shell in a, in a
learning management system because you can so easily take something from a prior
semester and make Adjustments to it as needed and then make it available to the
next, um, group of students that come in that things don't have that kind of hard
stop and end date and then disappear.
Well, and it's interesting.
So I'm building a promotion portfolio right now, um, and which our university,
I'm sure lots of universities do that same thing for promotion and tenure files.
Um, And so, I am not a very, I do not, I, I like clinical stuff, I am not a
super creative person, um, and so that part of it is a little harder for me, um,
but I like things to look aesthetically nice and pleasing, so it's like this,
I'm like, oh, it needs to look better, but I don't know how to do that.
Anyway.
So I just this morning was actually looking in old classes, um, of my
students and I, there's a, there are always these, a couple of students that
I just always pop into my head cause I, they were just, usually they're the
ones that are doing amazing work in culinary nutrition and then they're
just, you know, they're just so in with.
Their environment, and the food, and gardening, and all these wonderful things.
We all love food.
So do I.
I know.
It's so wonderful.
I love culinary art.
Yes.
So I'm thinking of this, so I was like, Oh, I should see what her, you know,
what she used as a background, right?
So I'm thinking of the students, and I'm like, her stuff was always so beautiful.
Let me just see if I can spark my creative juices.
So I opened up her portfolio and she's now a practicing registered
dietitian, uh, so she's finished a master's degree and all the rest of it.
And I opened up her undergraduate didactic program and dietetics portfolio,
um, that I still have access to.
And she had given me permission to utilize it to help, you know, as
like guidelines for other students.
And she has, it's now like a full, like professional portfolio.
Like so she, I still see some pictures.
I see some examples of projects that she was most proud of
probably in her undergraduate work.
Obviously she's now grown.
She has children, you know, things have moved on, um, but it was really neat to
see that she took what she developed and created in DN 492, um, and has built it
into a professional portfolio, got rid of the stuff that she didn't need and,
um, but has continued to utilize it.
So I just saw that this morning and I was, um, that was pretty cool to see
that it's not, you know, it's not, you know, some students, like I said,
are never going to look at it again.
Um, and that's.
Perfectly fine, but it's nice to know that some take it with them and, you
know, continue to build and grow with it.
Absolutely, yeah, and when we were creating Digication, even from the
very beginning, um, you know, we really wanted it to be something where alumni
could take it with them and continue to utilize it in whatever manner, you know,
they really felt like they needed to.
Maybe they just wanted to keep it as a record of what they did during that time.
And then others, you know, really get in there and sometimes create
multiple versions of this, for different employment opportunities.
Some as you mentioned come back, and start filling it out with, you know,
professional practice experience that they have with, um, professional
development kinds of experiences that they've had, um, different certifications
that they may get over the years.
And, you know, at this stage, it might be something that they just Return to every
few years, but they've got all of that history now that they can refer to, things
can get moved around and reorganized.
So, um, and it is very joyful for educators to also be able to look back
at what their Students have done and share it with other students the way that
you're doing it to get them inspired.
Right?
, um, you know, about what that kind of finished product may look like
during their time as a student, right?
This is something that you can strive for or you may present it
differently, but you know, these are the kinds of things reflect Yeah.
Quality of the reflections that we're looking for, and.
Um, maybe, you know, presentation kind of design ideas and things
to think that that's all.
Modeling and um, you know, the fact that you've kind of gone through the process
of creating your own P & T portfolio.
I know that, you know, from, from those being very open and students be
able to take the reins, that the P & T portfolios can be much more structured
because they have a different utility.
Um, but that it does, so again, kind of give you the opportunity
as a teacher to be able to.
Familiarize yourself with different ways that the tools can be used and,
um, and think about how you want to present yourself, right, for audiences.
I've always been, uh, interested in how many, uh, your institution
do choose to share their P & T, uh, portfolios publicly, um, because it
has become something that they use not only for the purpose of, um, promotion
and tenure within the institution.
But something that they're really proud of, that they want to be able
to share with external audiences.
Right.
Well, and the one thing I always tell my students, too, it's like,
um, you know, we all have that memory of trying to apply to jobs the first
time when you have no work experience.
Uh, you know, I mean, beyond, you know, I, I.
Worked to pay the bills while I was in school and that kind of stuff.
And, and how do you compete against, you know, applicants that might have that.
Um, and so to me that's something else as well.
I'm, you know, I always try to tell students that like, you really can
utilize, you know, portions of, or all of, or whatever you can utilize.
Portfolio and providing, you know, and sharing like your depth and breadth of
experience, even though in a resume, it may not jump out at a Um, you know, at
somebody, at somebody who's looking to hire somebody, um, you know, in a resume,
it may not jump out as like, you know, you look at their work experience, you're
like, Oh, okay, well, you're pretty green, you know, it's like, there's not a whole
lot, but in any portfolio, they might have done some amazing project that gives them.
An example of what they're capable of, um, and how they might
fit within their organization.
So um, much information about cultural fit.
Yeah.
And that piece of it.
So, you know, again, maybe one student does that.
I don't, you know, I.
There's really not a whole lot.
You know, we try to track students, um, you know, and, and
their careers and things, uh, you know, even just for our program.
Um, but, you know, I'm hopeful that some students, you know, are able
to, to utilize a little bit of it.
Yeah, absolutely.
Absolutely.
And I think, again, as the, um, as kind of, The time goes by that those
that are doing the hiring, even if a job description said, Oh, you know,
one of the requirements is three to five, three to five years experience
that, you know, that students should have some confidence in the experiences
that they have had as students, you know, these field experiences and, and.
Um, even if they're creating their own kind of fictitious
case studies, an example.
But when they're able to show that, even if they just graduated a few
months ago, when they can show that they've done, they've done the work.
And now, you know, there may be things that they need to be
taught in the field, but those things can be taught when, right.
People that are hiring can see, okay.
They've really done, they've done this.
They've done this, yeah.
Yeah.
We can see that they've got, you know, a mindset or work ethic or, you know,
the profile of this person is really fitting the kinds of things that we're
looking for that very often, even if the job description may have been listing.
You know, X years of experience that the people that are really
making the final decisions.
Yeah.
And especially as we move into so many professions requiring
a graduate degree, their, their experiences are above and beyond.
Like when I was entering the workforce, you know, with a bachelor's degree.
So, um, yeah, so it's nice to be able to showcase that a little bit.
Yeah.
Perfect.
Indeed.
Well, Amy, thank you so much for joining me today.
You're welcome.
It was fun.
We'll chat with you again, and I can't wait to share this, uh, conversation
with our listeners, uh, your experience and perspective is so valuable.
So, thank you for sharing your story with me today.
You're welcome.
Thanks for having me.
It was super fun.
Good.
Bye.