ePortfolios and Online Learning: Applying Concepts of Organizational Behavior

Abstract

Higher education faculty are redesigning student learning experiences to expand opportunities for the application of learning. They are also emphasizing the development of cross-cutting learning outcomes valued by employers (e.g., communication, critical thinking, teamwork) and measuring learning in more authentic ways. An increasingly common platform for these engaged learning experiences is the ePortfolio, which entails students creating and compiling artifacts that represent their learning, accompanied by reflections about what and how they learned. This qualitative study explores the student learning outcomes of a team ePortfolio assignment in face-to-face and online sections of an organizational behavior course. The purpose of the assignment was to help students demonstrate their learning and apply organizational behavior concepts such as communication, conflict resolution, appreciation for diversity, and teamwork. Students reviewed and commented on other teams’ ePortfolios and wrote reflections about their learning in the course. Findings indicate that students exhibited learning outcomes reflecting UNESCO’s four pillars of learning: learning to know, learning to do, learning to live with others, and learning to be.

Keywords

• ePortfolio
• high impact practice
• learning outcomes
• organizational behavior
• schools of business