{"id":2029,"date":"2016-02-08T18:48:09","date_gmt":"2016-02-08T22:48:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/ebuckhor\/?page_id=2029"},"modified":"2016-02-08T18:48:09","modified_gmt":"2016-02-08T22:48:09","slug":"constructing-a-narrative","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/reporter-winter2016\/features\/constructing-a-narrative\/","title":{"rendered":"Constructing A Narrative"},"content":{"rendered":"

Online portfolios capture the liberal arts experience
\n<\/strong>By Rhea Hirshman<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Mimi<\/a>

Mimi Warner ’16<\/p><\/div>\n

Carolyn Kimmick \u201915 admits that she didn\u2019t know exactly what she was getting into when she signed up for \u201cCOLL 199. The Trinity Portfolio Program\u201d in the fall of her senior year. \u201cI was interested in doing something a little different,\u201d she says, \u201cand had heard a lot of positive comments about Rachael and Sue.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now, having graduated with a double major in Hispanic studies and international studies and well into her work as a financial research analyst, Kimmick says that the quarter-credit course \u2014 known as \u201cthe portfolio class\u201d \u2014 was instrumental in helping her to understand and to communicate the totality of her college experience and to see herself as someone who could be a valuable asset to an employer. \u201cI learned to communicate the value and applicability of everything I had experienced in my life, inside and outside of classes. Most important was learning to show how courses seemingly unrelated to my future career provided me with an advantage over others looking to do the same job.\u201d<\/p>\n

Guided by \u201cRachael and Sue\u201d \u2014 Rachael Barlow, social science research and data coordinator, and instructional technologist Sue Denning \u2014 students in the course develop online portfolios. These portfolios are individualized websites that connect and showcase their activities and accomplishments. The course culminates each time in a \u201claunch party\u201d to which students are required to invite one faculty member, coach, or other adviser, as well as two friends. \u201cThe launch party adds to the conversations that students have about the narratives they are constructing,\u201d Barlow says.<\/p>\n

The idea for a portfolio program was one of several proposals presented at a Mellon grant-funded faculty retreat held in the fall of 2011 to discuss how to enhance both academic and nonacademic life in preparation for Trinity\u2019s 200th birthday in 2023. Developed by engineering professors Dave Ahlgren and John Mertens, the original concept was for an \u201cadvising portfolio\u201d created in a course that would give selected students the opportunity to work closely with a faculty member in small-group settings over their four years at Trinity. The goal would be to build an electronic portfolio containing examples of students\u2019 best academic work that could be sent to potential employers.<\/p>\n

Broadened Scope\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

\"portfolio4\"<\/a>

Rachael Barlow, social science research and data coordinator. Photo: Richard Bergen<\/p><\/div>\n

Since its initial run led by Mertens in the spring and fall of 2013, the portfolio program has been developed into a course taught every semester by Barlow and Denning; about a dozen students are enrolled each time.<\/p>\n

In addition, the concept of \u201ca portfolio\u201d has changed. With the idea that a portfolio should highlight the core liberal arts competencies of critical thinking, problem solving, and communication, Denning says, two insights developed. \u201cThe first was that to make a difference in students\u2019 lives, the portfolio process should be reflective; students need to be thinking about why they are doing their work, what it means to them, and how it factors into their development.\u201d<\/p>\n

The second insight was that focusing a portfolio only on classroom work excludes a great deal of the learning that happens on a liberal arts campus. \u201cThere is sociological evidence to support the idea that what students do outside of the classroom is as important as what they do in it,\u201d notes Barlow. \u201cAthletics, internships, Greek life, clubs and organizations, community service, travel abroad \u2014 students need to be able to think critically about and articulate how what they do outside of the classroom links to their academic lives.\u201d
\n<\/strong><\/p>\n

In and Beyond the Classroom<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Sue<\/a>

Sue Denning leads a class session.
Photo: Richard Bergen<\/p><\/div>\n

Monica DiFiori \u201916 describes those links becoming clear as she engaged in the portfolio process. A neuroscience major and Italian studies minor, DiFiori took the course as a sophomore and then again in the fall of her senior year (students may enroll up to four times during their Trinity careers). \u201cAs a sophomore,\u201d she says, \u201cI hadn\u2019t really thought about my college career as a whole. Working through the course with Rachael and Sue, I began to see how I could build a story.\u201d Now in the process of applying to medical school to pursue a career in sports medicine, DiFiori is developing her portfolio to reflect not only her academic accomplishments but her love of travel, her success as a varsity soccer player \u2014 she hopes to play on a semi-pro team while taking two gap years after graduation \u2014 and her passion for Italian food and culture. \u201cBuilding a portfolio made me think more deeply, not only about what I was doing,\u201d DiFiori says, \u201cbut about how I want to present myself to others, especially to medical schools and future employers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jett McAlister, associate director of Trinity\u2019s Career Development Center (CDC), notes that a major focus for the CDC staff is helping students like Kimmick and DiFiori articulate to employers the value of their liberal arts experience. At the same time that creating the portfolios helps students discover for themselves how everything fits together, McAlister says, \u201clooking at portfolios can show us in the CDC something we may not have known, allowing us to further individualize the coaching we give our students.\u201d<\/p>\n

Increasing Interest<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Renee<\/a>

Renee Olsen \u201916
Photo: Richard Bergen<\/p><\/div>\n

Currently, there are about 150 Trinity student portfolio sites, with many created through enrollment in the portfolio program course and the remaining developed independently or through other programs. Going forward, because of increased interest and the need to cap the number in the class, many additional students who create portfolios will not be enrolled in the course. Currently, portfolios are being built by students doing theses in economics, and the intent is to bring in other thesis programs. In addition, more first-year students are being encouraged to start portfolios. Portfolio sites are particularly encouraged for those in HPAP, the Health Professions Advising Program, to demonstrate core competencies desired by medical schools. And while the portfolio program course offers ongoing tech help, structure, and peer interaction, Barlow and Denning also run specific workshops for the associated programs and provide support to those working independently.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe students who build portfolios are making the most of a liberal arts education,\u201d Denning says. \u201cEveryone has an interesting story; students who build portfolios learn how to tell it. They don\u2019t have to win an award or be in a certain program to have pride in their accomplishments.\u201d<\/p>\n

Barlow adds, \u201cI run Trinity\u2019s senior exit interview project. One of the most common comments we hear is that seniors wish they had \u2018done more\u2019 outside the classroom earlier in college. They regret not getting \u2018more involved.\u2019 Our hope is that students who start on portfolios as first-years, particularly when they are in contact with juniors and seniors working on theirs, might be more likely to begin that involvement.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more information about the program, including a showcase of student portfolios, please visit portfolios.trincoll.edu<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Online portfolios capture the liberal arts experience By Rhea Hirshman Carolyn Kimmick \u201915 admits that she didn\u2019t know exactly what she was getting into when she signed up for \u201cCOLL 199. The Trinity Portfolio Program\u201d in the fall of her senior year. \u201cI was interested in doing something a little different,\u201d she says, \u201cand had […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":34,"featured_media":0,"parent":1464,"menu_order":5,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-full-width.php","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/reporter-winter2016\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2029"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/reporter-winter2016\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/reporter-winter2016\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/reporter-winter2016\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/34"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/reporter-winter2016\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2029"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/reporter-winter2016\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2029\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/reporter-winter2016\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1464"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/reporter-winter2016\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2029"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}