Connected portfolios: open assessment practices for maker communities
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/ILS-03-2022-0029 |
| Published date | 30 June 2022 |
| Date | 30 June 2022 |
| Pages | 462-481 |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Librarianship/library management,Library & information services |
| Author | Anna Keune,Kylie Peppler,Maggie Dahn |
Connected portfolios: open
assessment practices for
maker communities
Anna Keune
Department of Educational Sciences, School of Social Sciences and Technology,
Technical University of Munich, Munich, Germany
Kylie Peppler
Department of Informatics and Education,
University of California Irvine, Irvine, California, USA, and
Maggie Dahn
Department of Informatics, University of California Irvine, Irvine, California, USA
Abstract
Purpose –In contrast to traditional portfolio practices that focus on the individual, this paper aims to reenvision
portfolio practices to encompass sociocultural aspects of learning by considering how young makers, both in- and
out-of-school, imbue digital cultural practices into the documenting and showcasing of their work, as well as
observe the extent to which their portfolios are used to build community inside and outside their local settings.
Design/methodology/approach –Drawing from a connected learning approach, the authors engaged in
qualitative and ethnographic study of youth’s digital maker portfolios in an out-of-school and a school-based
makerspace. Through qualitative and thematic coding of portfolio walkthroughs, the authors identified four
underlying characteristics within portfolio artifacts (i.e.personal and shared projects) and capturing practices (i.e.
personal and shared capturing practices) that differently presented projects.
Findings –The analysis showed that portfoliosthat included shared productions and shared portfolios (i.e.
projects and portfolios contributed to by more than one youth) and that were shared in open-ended ways
across communities valued connected learning principles. These connected portfolios made community
building within and beyond maker-educational communities of the young makers possible. In particular,
openly shared and collaboratively captured work showed individual achievements (e.g. projects and
techniques) and made visible connective and social engagement (e.g. opportunities for feedback and
refinement,possibilities to narrate work to multiple audiences).
Originality/value –This paper has implications for the design of portfolio assessment in makerspaces
and expands the role of portfolios as a way to capture individual andcognitive achievements alone toward
connected community-buildingopportunities for youth as wellas maker-centered settings within and beyond
the youth’slocal maker-centered settings.
Keywords Connected learning, Portfolio assessment, Maker education, Connected portfolios,
Makerspaces, Community building, Out-of-school
Paper type Research paper
The work of the project was made possible by generous support from the Gordon and Betty Moore
Foundation. The continuous conversations with and insightful feedback by our actively involved
advisory board members generated a momentum that propelled our arguments forward in ways that
would not have been possible without their critical commentary. In alphabetical order the authors
thank Leigh Abts, Jon-Paul Ales-Barnicoat, Daragh Byrne, Christina Cantrill, Barry Fishman, Larry
Gallagher, Shelley Goldman, Jay Melican, Vera Michalchik, Chris Peterson and Jessica Ross.
Preliminary analyses of the studies in this paper were presented at CSCL 2017.
ILS
123,7/8
462
Received2 March 2022
Revised1 June 2022
Accepted3 June 2022
Informationand Learning
Sciences
Vol.123 No. 7/8, 2022
pp. 462-481
© Emerald Publishing Limited
2398-5348
DOI 10.1108/ILS-03-2022-0029
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
https://www.emerald.com/insight/2398-5348.htm
Introduction
Maker education, a movement adapted fromout-of-school settings (Peppler et al.,2016) that
infuses crafts-based learning with technological inventiveness, offers a compelling context
for exploring how online portfolios can act as powerful tools for building communities
beyond a learner’s setting. Embracing openness (i.e. public-facing) as a design principle of
maker portfolios can help support assessments that track development across longer
periods of time and across multiple digital platforms. Furthermore, recognizing youth
digital culture practices as important motivators for capturing and assessing portfolios can
foster professional community building while recognizing the unique contributions
youth-driven makingcan bring to learning (Keune et al., 2017;Peppler and Keune, 2019).
Traditionally, portfolios are used in educational settings to showcase the cognitive
development of an individual (Mills, 1996;Niguidula, 1993), largely excluding sociocultural
aspects of learning that attune to the collaborativeand contextual factors that contribute to
learning. Connected learning theory, which highlights the interconnections between
supportive relationships, youthinterests and connections to a range of opportunities, offers
a lens through which to understand the more social and community-oriented aspects of a
learner’s development, including the ways youth engage and share their interests within
communities of practice (Ito et al.,2013,2020). To reenvisionportfolio practices in ways that
encompass sociocultural aspects of learning, we need to consider how young makers, both
in- and out-of-school, imbue digital culturalpractices into the documenting and showcasing
of their work, as well as observe the extent to which their portfolios are used to build
community inside and outside their local settings. From this understanding, design
recommendations for moving toward digital maker portfolios that account for the
socioculturalnature of collectively produced work can be drawn.
To theoretically advance the portfolio curation process from a connected learning perspective,
we engaged in ethnographic study of youth’s digital maker portfolios in an out-of-school a nd a
school-based makerspace. We conducted portfolio walkthroughs with youth about th eir
experiences of capturing and sharing hands-on physical projects using digital online tools and
downloaded their portfolios. Through qualitative and thematic coding (Creswell and Creswell,
2018) of portfolio walkthroughs and portfolioentries, we identified four underlying characteristics
within portfolio artifacts (i.e. individual and shared projects) and capturing practices (i.e.
individual and shared capturing practices) that differently presented projects inside and outside
of the school and out-of-school makerspaces. Our analysis showed that port folios that included
shared projects and shared documentation (portfolios owned by more than one youth) a nd that
were shared in open-ended ways across communities made community building within and
beyond maker-educational communities possible, including making visible technical and social
engagement, presenting greater opportunities for feedback and refinement and possibilities to
narrate work to multiple audiences. Peer reviews of youth creative production across online
settings presented rigorous and productive assessments, including constructive sharing of
production processes that went beyond reflections of maker processes by including valuable
comments and resources for future personal and community productions. This has implications
for the design of portfolio assessment in makerspaces and expands the role of portfolios from
community-building tools inside the makerspace to encompass opportunities outside the
makerspace.
Connected learning: making connections across settings and making progress
or achievement visible across settings
Connected learningis a theory of learning that emphasizes how supportive relationshipscan
draw on youth interests to create connections to a range of academic-, civic- and
Connected
portfolios
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