Dissertation by Portfolio - A Break from Traditional Approaches
Much has been written about the difficulties students
have with producing traditional dissertations. This includes both
native English speakers (L1) and students with English as a second
language (L2). The main emphasis of these papers has been on the
structure of the dissertation, but in all cases, even when electronic
versions are discussed, the dissertation is still in what most would
regard as a traditional written form.
Master of Science Degrees in computing disciplines require
students to gain technical proficiency and apply their knowledge to a
range of scenarios. The basis of this paper is that if a dissertation is a
means of showing that such a student has met the criteria for a pass,
which should be based on the learning outcomes of the dissertation
module, does meeting those outcomes require a student to
demonstrate their skills in a solely text based form, particularly in a
highly technical research project? Could it be possible for a student
to produce a series of related artifacts which form a cohesive package
that meets the learning out comes of the dissertation?
[1] Barrett, B. (2011), 'An Appreciative Inquiry of the Creation and
Implementation of E-Portfolios: A Strategic Tool for Learning and
Evaluation', Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on
Knowledge, Culture and Change, Madrid, June.
[2] Barrett, H. (2000). Electronic Teaching Portfolios: Multimedia Skills +
Portfolio Development = Powerful Professional Development. AACE
SITE200, San Diego, California (February 2000) accessed 24/08/2010
http://electronicportfolios.com/portfolios/3107Barrett.pdf
[3] Bitchener, J. and Basturkmen, H. (2006). Perceptions of the difficulties
of postgraduate L2 thesis students writing the discussion section.
Journal of English for Academic Purposes, Vol. 5, pp 4 - 18.
[4] Bruton, A. (2009) Improving accuracy is not the only reason for writing,
and even if it were... System, Vol. 37 pp600 - 613.
[5] Chang, C. (2008), Enhancing self-perceived effects using Web-based
portfolio assessment. Computers in Human Behaviour, Vol. 24, pp 1753
- 1771.
[6] Edminster, J and Moxley, J. (2002). Graduate Education and the
Evolving genre of Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Computers and
Composition, Vol. 19, pp. 89 - 104.
[7] Kimball, M. (2005) Database e-portfolio system: A critical appraisal,
Computers and Composition (2005), Vol. 25, pp. 434 - 458.
[8] Klenowski, V, Askew, S. and Carnell, E. (2006) Portfolios for Learning,
Assessment and Professional Development in Higher Education,
Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, Vol. 31 (3) pp 267 -
286.
[9] Pullman, G. (2002) Electronic portfolios revisited: The efolios project,
Computers and Compositions, Vol. 19, pp 151-169.
[10] Seymour, D. (2005) Learning Outcomes and Assessment: developing
assessment criteria for Masters-level dissertations, Brookes eJournal of
Learning and Teaching, Vol. 1(2) accessed 18/08/2010
http://bejlt.brookes.ac.uk/vol1/volume1issue2/academic/seymour.html
[11] Truscott, J. (2007) The effect of error correction on learners' ability to
write accurately. Journal of Second Language Writing, Vol. 16, pp 255-
272.
[12] Warshauer, M. (2002) Networking into academic discourse. Journal of
English for Academic Purposes, Vol 1, pp 45 - 58.
[13] Woodward, H. and Nanlohy, P. (2004) Digital portfolios: Fact or
fashion. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education. Vol. 29(2) pp
227-235.
[1] Barrett, B. (2011), 'An Appreciative Inquiry of the Creation and
Implementation of E-Portfolios: A Strategic Tool for Learning and
Evaluation', Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on
Knowledge, Culture and Change, Madrid, June.
[2] Barrett, H. (2000). Electronic Teaching Portfolios: Multimedia Skills +
Portfolio Development = Powerful Professional Development. AACE
SITE200, San Diego, California (February 2000) accessed 24/08/2010
http://electronicportfolios.com/portfolios/3107Barrett.pdf
[3] Bitchener, J. and Basturkmen, H. (2006). Perceptions of the difficulties
of postgraduate L2 thesis students writing the discussion section.
Journal of English for Academic Purposes, Vol. 5, pp 4 - 18.
[4] Bruton, A. (2009) Improving accuracy is not the only reason for writing,
and even if it were... System, Vol. 37 pp600 - 613.
[5] Chang, C. (2008), Enhancing self-perceived effects using Web-based
portfolio assessment. Computers in Human Behaviour, Vol. 24, pp 1753
- 1771.
[6] Edminster, J and Moxley, J. (2002). Graduate Education and the
Evolving genre of Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Computers and
Composition, Vol. 19, pp. 89 - 104.
[7] Kimball, M. (2005) Database e-portfolio system: A critical appraisal,
Computers and Composition (2005), Vol. 25, pp. 434 - 458.
[8] Klenowski, V, Askew, S. and Carnell, E. (2006) Portfolios for Learning,
Assessment and Professional Development in Higher Education,
Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, Vol. 31 (3) pp 267 -
286.
[9] Pullman, G. (2002) Electronic portfolios revisited: The efolios project,
Computers and Compositions, Vol. 19, pp 151-169.
[10] Seymour, D. (2005) Learning Outcomes and Assessment: developing
assessment criteria for Masters-level dissertations, Brookes eJournal of
Learning and Teaching, Vol. 1(2) accessed 18/08/2010
http://bejlt.brookes.ac.uk/vol1/volume1issue2/academic/seymour.html
[11] Truscott, J. (2007) The effect of error correction on learners' ability to
write accurately. Journal of Second Language Writing, Vol. 16, pp 255-
272.
[12] Warshauer, M. (2002) Networking into academic discourse. Journal of
English for Academic Purposes, Vol 1, pp 45 - 58.
[13] Woodward, H. and Nanlohy, P. (2004) Digital portfolios: Fact or
fashion. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education. Vol. 29(2) pp
227-235.
@article{"International Journal of Business, Human and Social Sciences:58754", author = "Paul Crowther and Richard Hill", title = "Dissertation by Portfolio - A Break from Traditional Approaches", abstract = "Much has been written about the difficulties students
have with producing traditional dissertations. This includes both
native English speakers (L1) and students with English as a second
language (L2). The main emphasis of these papers has been on the
structure of the dissertation, but in all cases, even when electronic
versions are discussed, the dissertation is still in what most would
regard as a traditional written form.
Master of Science Degrees in computing disciplines require
students to gain technical proficiency and apply their knowledge to a
range of scenarios. The basis of this paper is that if a dissertation is a
means of showing that such a student has met the criteria for a pass,
which should be based on the learning outcomes of the dissertation
module, does meeting those outcomes require a student to
demonstrate their skills in a solely text based form, particularly in a
highly technical research project? Could it be possible for a student
to produce a series of related artifacts which form a cohesive package
that meets the learning out comes of the dissertation?", keywords = "Computing, Masters dissertation, thesis, portfolio", volume = "5", number = "11", pages = "1584-5", }