Seeking Evidence for Impact: Lessons from the Inter/National Coalition for Electronic Portfolio Research

Since 2003, the Inter/National Coalition for Electronic Portfolio Research has convened research teams from 60 campuses in five countries to research the impact of e-portfolios on learning and assessment. It has yielded wide-ranging evidence on the effective implementation of e-portfolios, which Darren Cambridge will overview. Perhaps more importantly, however, the Coalition offers a model for integrating systematic inquiry about impact into day-to-day learning technology practice, drawing insights from the scholarship of teaching and learning. Most of the campus teams included faculty members and technology directors, academic administrators, and student affairs educators, few of whom had research as a primary job responsibility. The teams were successful in integrating research into practice through having regular, structured engagement with other teams, setting realistic goals, and taking advantage of mentoring from Coalition leaders. Many have concluded that their impact was more pronounced because they approached their task not just as implementation but also as inquiry.