IDT 603 Portfolio Guidelines
Each MS degree candidate
must select and complete a capstone (culminating) project. The Graduate
Advising and Degree Planning section of the Graduate Manual provides an
overview of the three available options (portfolio, applied project, and
thesis). This document describes in detail the portfolio option.
The purpose of the
portfolio is to serve as a capstone project allowing the student to integrate
and apply the knowledge and skills gained through the Instructional Design and
Technology (IDT)
M.S. program. The
graduate portfolio is intended for those students interested in creating and
assembling instructional materials that demonstrate professional quality skills
beyond entry-level areas of expertise. Students who choose this option may wish
to create a showcase of their skills for career advancement or to demonstrate
their skills for a career change. Some choose this option because they envision
the need for a variety of products that they can use in their present career, or would prefer taking more courses and developing
instructional products rather than doing a research, evaluation, or an applied
project. The portfolio option does not require collection of student data.
The learning
outcomes for the portfolio are:
•
Students
will engage in and share their reflections on procedures, concepts, facts,
applied skills, and professional practices that they acquired throughout their
progress in the IDT graduate program;
•
Students
will share their transformative journey as IDT professionals, both before and
after admission into the graduate program, including how their past experiences
and training shaped that transformation;
•
Students will demonstrate mastery of skills and knowledge in
instructional design and development;
•
Students
will show a range of instructional products that clearly 1) demonstrate the
wide range of competencies in instructional design and technology gained during
the program, and 2) demonstrate that they can clearly and accurately explain
the instructional design process they followed, such as the ADDIE model, in developing each project;
•
Students
will display a range of skills and achievements through portfolio projects that
demonstrate professional mastery in several areas. The demonstrated mastery
within the portfolio should demonstrate concepts and skills drawn from at least
four IDT courses in their degree plan, and the relationship of the project to
the courses should be noted in the project annotation; and
•
Students
will, through the defense, clearly and accurately present their projects, field
questions about how the projects were developed, clearly discuss their own
professional development in the program, and share suggestions for the IDT Program.
The portfolio committee
consists of a committee chair from IDT and at least one committee member from
the IDT Program. The chair of this committee will also be the portfolio advisor.
A student’s Request for
a Graduate Advising Committee form must be approved and then the IDT 603
Enrollment form must be approved by the committee chair and the IDT Program
Coordinator. Permission
to proceed with the production, assembling, and defense of the portfolio is
dependent upon the completion of all requirements for the IDT degree. In
general, this means that all incomplete coursework that appears on the
student’s graduate degree plan should be finished, and that the student has
completed 35 hours of coursework with a GPA of at least a 3.0. If necessary, a
student may take one or two classes along with IDT 603 during the last semester
or the following semester.
All
portfolios must include a reflection paper, one or more portfolio projects that
build on skills from a minimum of four classes
in the student’s graduate degree plan, and annotations of the design and
development process for each project. The portfolio projects may be:
•
Items
begun by the student in an IDT class and later polished to professional
quality,
•
Professional quality items created on the student’s job, while
that student was an IDT graduate student, that demonstrate skills learned in
IDT classes.
•
New
items created from scratch that demonstrate skills learned in IDT classes.
•
Items that use any delivery system, e.g., print, video,
electronic, etc. The purpose of the portfolio is to showcase the student’s
acquired skills, not to report on work done in the program.
A student’s
Request for a Graduate Advising Committee form must be approved by the IDT
Program. Permission to proceed with the production, submission, and defense of
the portfolio is dependent upon the completion of all requirements for the IDT
degree. In general, this means that all incomplete coursework that appears on
the student's graduate degree plan must be finished, the student must complete
35 hours of coursework with the required GPA, and a completed Request for a
Graduate Advising Committee Form must be submitted to the IDT Program.
The steps are
described below:
1.
After
completing 15 to 18 hours of coursework, the student initiates a discussion of
ideas for the portfolio with the IDT Program Coordinator. For example, options may be explored about the student’s purpose
in doing a portfolio, its focus, possible audiences for its content, a
potential time frame, and some beginning ideas of what project annotations
might be included. Final determination of the projects to be used will be made
by the portfolio committee chair.
2.
The
student submits a completed Request for a Graduate Advising Committee Form to the IDT Program Coordinator. The form must be submitted the semester
before the student plans to register for IDT 603. The form must be submitted at
least four weeks before the last day of the semester. The student will be
notified when a portfolio committee chair and a committee member have been
assigned.
3. The student contacts the assigned
portfolio committee chair to identify a more detailed plan for the portfolio such as types of projects, major tasks, time
lines, and completion dates.
4.
The
student submits a completed IDT 603 Portfolio Form to the committee chair the semester before the
student plans to register for
IDT 603.
5. The committee chair will
then submit the form to the IDT Program Coordinator who will review the form
and contact you that the material is approved. At that time, you can register
for IDT 603.
6.
The student and committee chair should next establish a
specific action plan and timeline for completion of the portfolio. It is the
student’s responsibility to maintain dialogue, written and/or oral, with the
committee chair while the work is in progress. The committee chair will share
the plan with the other committee member for approval. If a student does not complete the defense by the end of the planned
semester, the student
must register for the one-credit hour course, UNIV 695. See the Continuous
Enrollment in Thesis, Dissertation or Exit Option section at http://www.wiu.edu/graduate_studies/catalog/academic_guidelines/.
7.
The
portfolio option does not require collection of data. However, if the student
is planning to collect data that involves human subjects, the student must work
with the committee chair to obtain approval from the Institutional Review Board
(IRB) prior to collecting data from any human subjects.
9. The
student should work directly with the portfolio committee chair in
developing the final completed portfolio
(which may require several drafts) to submit to the portfolio committee member.
The final draft must be ready for the committee chair to submit to the second
committee member at least four weeks before the last day of the class of the
semester. The second committee member has at least two weeks to review the
portfolio before the portfolio defense. Any recommendations or communication
regarding the portfolio from the committee member will be communicated to the
student by the committee chair. The student or the committee member should not
communicate about the portfolio unless it goes through the committee chair.
9.
The
student should schedule the portfolio defense through the committee chair.
Defenses must be scheduled at
least one week before the
last day of classes for the semester. Online defenses must be approved by the
portfolio committee.
10.
The
student will defend his/her portfolio in a formal defense meeting with the
portfolio committee. The presentation should focus on the portfolio projects.
The presentation should last approximately 10 to 20 minutes. Allow about 10
minutes for the committee’s questions. Questions may cover your projects and/or
the information you learned in your M.S. program. After the defense and committee questioning,
the student will be asked to leave the room while the committee makes a decision: pass without changes, pass with changes,
or do not pass. The committee will then call in the student to hear the
decision and discuss any needed revisions.
A student
cannot pass the portfolio until his/her committee approves it. If revisions are
requested at the time of the oral defense, such revisions must be completed and
approved by the portfolio committee chair. Other faculty members, students, and
family may attend the presentation but will be asked to leave before the
portfolio committee meets to make a decision.
11.
The
finalized portfolio report and accompanying electronic files must
be submitted to the designated Google drive area. The committee chair will
provide the student a link to their designated submission area. This task must be
accomplished by the designated date determined by the Graduate Office following
graduation each semester in order for a student’s
graduation date to reflect that semester. If this date is missed, the student’s
graduation date will reflect the following semester.
The portfolio
report must be written in APA format, be logically organized, and be
grammatically correct. There must be an orderly presentation of ideas and
smoothness of expression. The report must
show evidence of proficiency in written communication skills. The portfolio
report must be submitted as a Microsoft Word or PDF file unless an alternative
format is approved by the committee chair.
The following
sections must be contained in the report, unless it is stated as optional.
(Check with your committee chair on which of the optional sections are needed.)
1. Title Page – same for all portfolio reports
2. Approval Page – same for all portfolio reports
3. Table of Contents – same for all portfolio reports
4. Acknowledgments [optional] – same for all portfolio reports
5.
Oral
Defense Outline [One page - optional]
6.
Personal
Reflections
•
Goals
for entering the program.
•
Prior
technology experience (if applicable).
•
Your
perception of IDT at the beginning of the program and to what degree your
perception has changed and how it has changed.
•
Four
or five IDT courses that were especially meaningful in the development of the
knowledge and skills learned in the program. A rationale for why the courses
were beneficial should be included.
•
Self assessment of skills acquired during the program.
•
How
you plan to use the IDT skills you developed in your professional and/or
personal life.
•
Closing
reflections (e.g., Were your goals met?).
7. Project Items Annotations
8. References, as needed
9.
Appendices,
as needed. Includes additional information such as surveys and needs
assessments.
10.
Read Me page that contains the names of all the uploaded
electronic files, description of the software programs required to view/run the
electronic items, which filename should be opened first, etc.
11.
Defense
Presentation [optional].
12.
Resume [optional]
Project
Annotation Item components and their order may be changed but your work must
demonstrate use of sound instructional systems design. Check with your
Portfolio Chair for
what categories need to be included for your annotations.
Project Description (What
was done? Under what conditions (class assignment, independent study project,
internship project, work assignment, etc.)? What was the student’s
contribution, especially if it was a group project? How was the project
developed (chronicle the development)?)
Intended
Audience Intended Purpose Date Completed
Deliverables
or Completed Conditions
Improvements
or Changes Made
Areas of
Instructional Technology That Influenced the Project Learner Analysis
Environment
Analysis
Design and
Development Process Achieved Outcomes
Printed
Project Material
Description
of how the committee can access the project for review
Project
Description (What was done? Under what conditions (class assignment,
independent study project, internship project, work assignment, etc.)? What was
the student’s contribution, especially if it was a group project? How was the
project developed (chronicle the development)?)
Intended
Audience Intended Purpose Date Completed
Completion
Conditions or Requirements Development or Design Process Assessment
Achieved
Outcomes or Technology Integration Printed Project Material
Description
of how the committee can access the project for review
Project Description (What
was done? Under what conditions (class assignment, independent study project,
internship project, work assignment, etc.)? What was the student’s
contribution, especially if it was a group project? How was the project
developed (chronicle the development)?)
Intended
Audience Intended Purpose Dates
Objectives
Conditions
Student’s
Role and Contribution ADDIE Process (where appropriate) Printed Project
Material
Description
of how the committee can access the project for review
Project Description (What
was done? Under what conditions (class assignment, independent study project,
internship project, work assignment, etc.)? What was the student’s
contribution, especially if it was a group project? How was the project
developed (chronicle the development)?)
Intended
Audience Intended Purpose
Date Started
and Date Ended Completion Conditions or Requirements
Personal Contributions to
the Project Data Collection and Results
Needs
Assessment Learner Analysis
Learner
Environment Analysis Task Analysis Learning Objectives Development or Design
Process Assessments Printed Project Material
Description
of how the committee can access the project for review
Project
Description ((What was done? Under what conditions (class assignment,
independent study project, internship project, work assignment, etc.)? What was
the student’s contribution, especially if it was a group project? How was the
project developed (chronicle the development)?)
Purpose and Need Intended Audience
Conceptualization Criteria
Application
of Skills to this Project Learned During the Master’s
Program Stakeholders: Contributions and Benefits
The
Development Process Technologies Used Software Used
What was
Learned Printed Project Material
Description of how the
committee can access the project for review
Students need to submit
the following files to their designated Google drive area. The committee chair
will provide the student a link to the area.
•
Portfolio
report file including the appendices and
additional required documentation.
•
All
portfolio project annotation item files. Items must be saved in
runtime versions or with the appropriate players to run the items.