Individual Assignment: LEADERSHIP CAPSTONE E-PORTFOLIO

As Seniors, you will soon be facing a life-altering time of change: The transition from your
undergraduate life to either the workforce or graduate school. In facing our future, it is
worthwhile to assessto thoughtfully examinewhat we have learned from our past and how
we have changed over time. One systematic way of engaging in that kind of self-assessment is
by assembling an electronic portfolio. In general, a portfolio is a collection of documents,
objects, works, and products (we refer to these collectively as artifacts) that constitute a
tangible record of your growth, change, learning, progress, achievements, etc. over the years you
have spent as a leadership major. The portfolio is much more than a resume or a listing of
activities. It should demonstrate, creatively and graphically, what you have learned, where you
are now in your personal and academic development, and where you want to be in the future. In
that sense, reflection is an integral part of the collection.
You will assemble your portfolio on a CD/DVD, or on a website. You may use UDs Copeland
Server for a webpage, Freeweb, MySpace, Blogger or any commercial storage device, but we
recommend that you do not pay any money. Many students, last semester, used Freeweb. You
will decide the contents of your portfoliohowever; all portfolios must contain a concise
statement of your Leadership Credo1.You may be chosen to make a 10 minute
presentation/demonstration of your portfolio to the class and to the Leadership faculty
somewhere between November 26 and December 5. The submission of your e-portfolio,
regardless of your presentation date, is December 5. If you are submitting your portfolio on a
CD/DVD, you must submit six copiesone for each Leadership faculty. Your product will be
evaluated by the faculty, using a rubric that will be shared with you in the near future.
The remainder of this document contains details that you will find helpful as you assemble your
e-portfolio. The contents have been adapted from: Barrett (2000) and Danielson & Abrutyn
(1997). 2

Why create E-portfolios?

To document your progress and growthpersonal and academic over time.

To identify learning in leadership and consumer policy.
To develop your skills in reflection and self-assessment .
To present a holistic picture of your skills and abilities as a leader and as a follower.
To provide stakeholders (future employers or graduate schools) with evidence that you
are prepared to lead and or prepared to further your education.
To provide evidence of your communication and technical skills.

Your Leadership Credo is a brief leadership message (under 20 words) with which you articulate what you know,
how you know it, and why its important. This snapshot should present you in a manner that highlights your
leadership potential to a future employer, collaborator, academic officer, etc
2
Barrett, H. C. (1999, 2000). Electronic portfolios = Multimedia development + portfolio development: The
electronic portfolio development process. Retrieved August 29, 2006 from
http://www.uwstout.edu/art/artedportfolios/evaluating/index.html
Danielson, C., Abrutyn, L. (1997). An Introduction to Using Portfolios in the Classroom. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

Portfolio Contents: What is an artifact?

Many of the artifacts that are in your E-Portfolio will be outcomes of your general education,
other relevant courses and leadership courses. Some examples of these artifacts include, but are
not limited to:

Your current philosophy of leadership (your Leadership Credo which is required)

Your views of followership
Connections among leadership, consumer policy, and social responsibility
Leadership projects that you and or a group created (give credit where credit is due)
Resources you feel are important for leaders
Research papers
Audio taped statements
Photographs or movie files
Internship/international study experiences-field logs and journals
Letters of recommendation
Evaluations, self and peer
Teacher observations
Selected journal entries
Academic transcript
Co-curricular transcript
Service learning or volunteer experiences
Essays or position papers
PowerPoint presentations
Goal statements
Observations and evaluations
What makes a good artifact?

The search for evidence in the form of artifacts is a quest for quality. The reflection process will
assist you in determining how artifacts are collected, selected, and presented. Artifact selection
requires that you place value upon an experience or event. As you develop your portfolio, you
will be gathering 'artifacts' that demonstrate your ability to apply your knowledge of leadership,
consumer behavior and consumer policy with a personal system of values and ethics to mobilize
socially-responsible change. You will also want to include artifacts that demonstrate your
proficiency in the leadership skills of teamwork, effective communication, decision making, and
synergistic and creative approaches to problem solving. Thus your artifacts should be the
following:

Carefully selected
Represent your connections to the goals and philosophy of the Leadership program
Demonstrate your achievement of the Student Learning Outcomes listed on your
syllabus for this course
Presented professionally
Personally meaningful
Paired with a relevant and insightful reflection (reflections can be written, audio or
videotaped

What is Reflection? Barrett, H. (2000)

Integral to your production of a portfolio is the process of reflection. Reflection is not an 'add-on'
piece to your learning process. It is necessary to the complex process of becoming a leader.
Successful reflection enables self-awareness, personal and professional growth and improved
leadership skills.
Reflection may be accomplished individually and collectively. You will have opportunities to
reflect on your experiences and working with others, such as, peers, supervisors and university
faculty. Each will bring a unique perspective to your understanding of yourself as a leader.
Ultimately, self-reflection and dialogue with others will result in insights as to:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

how and why you think the way you do about leadership
what actions you took, what choices you made
the meaning of your actions and choices
what learning and growth has occurred
how you can change your practices in the future
what you believe is the social value of leadership
given your education in leadership, what you believe are your roles and responsibilities as
a professional, an individual, and a citizen.
8. How would you describe your development as a leader and what evidence can you
provide?
9. What do you notice when you review your earlier work?
10. How have your problem solving skill developed over time, compare and contrast?
11. How do you describe yourself as a leader from your first year of study to your last year of
study
12. As a result of your studies, how have you become a change agent?
What is the purpose of reflection?
You will be reflecting on the outcomes from your coursework and experiences. While reflection
suggests recollection and the remembering of events and activities past, it is remembering within
the contexts of analysis, beliefs, and values. Your portfolio can be constantly revised as you
thoughtfully reflect upon your artifacts, and gain new insights. Some questions that can guide
your reflection might be: What do I know about myself and leadership? What are the
connections between leadership and consumer policies and why are the connections important?
What are the most important points for ME (how does it all fit together)? What are my strengths
as a leader (what works best for me)? What is my vision of a socially responsible individual and
organization? What is my plan for putting my strengths to use (immediate and long-term)? How
will I make a difference, i.e., make the world a better place?
Where do you put the reflections in your portfolio?
Your portfolio is an assessment portfolio. Reflections should be infused throughout your
portfolio. One of the advantages of an E-Portfolio is the capacity to integrate text and images and
to cross-reference using links.

What are the steps to putting together the portfolio?

Collecting or developing artifacts. Collect/develop all relevant artifacts and store in a

digital format. Make back up copies.
Selecting [and editing] artifacts. Sufficient care must be taken to select and edit your
portfolio so that it represents your best efforts to achieve the goals of the assignment as
set forth in the beginning paragraphs of this document.
Reflecting on artifacts; reflection gives meaning and value to artifacts. Artifacts must
have personal meaning and significance to you.
Connecting artifacts to reflections and organizing artifacts in meaningful ways.
Assessing your work thus far. Consider whether the current artifacts and reflections
youve chosen to include best demonstrate your competencies and your attainment of
general education goals and the learning goals of the capstone.
Re-selecting and editing your portfolio. Consider whether you have any other artifacts
and/or reflections to add that best demonstrate your growth over time.
Presenting your final version of your portfolio (artifacts and reflections) in a digital
format.

What skills are necessary to develop an E-Portfolio?

Developing technical skills necessary to create your E-Portfolio

Learning appropriate software to create your portfolio (depends on your access, comfort
level and programmatic requirements)
Learning how to compile artifacts digitally through photographing, scanning,
videotaping, editing videos, inserting videos
On-going reflection, selecting, interpretation and evaluation of your E-Portfolio contents
Communication skills
What other skills did you find you needed?