Dissertation by Portfolio - A Break from Traditional Approaches

Authors: Paul Crowther, Richard Hill

Abstract:

Much has been written about the difficulties students have with producing traditional dissertations. This includes both native English speakers (L1) and students with English as a second language (L2). The main emphasis of these papers has been on the structure of the dissertation, but in all cases, even when electronic versions are discussed, the dissertation is still in what most would regard as a traditional written form. Master of Science Degrees in computing disciplines require students to gain technical proficiency and apply their knowledge to a range of scenarios. The basis of this paper is that if a dissertation is a means of showing that such a student has met the criteria for a pass, which should be based on the learning outcomes of the dissertation module, does meeting those outcomes require a student to demonstrate their skills in a solely text based form, particularly in a highly technical research project? Could it be possible for a student to produce a series of related artifacts which form a cohesive package that meets the learning out comes of the dissertation?

Keywords: Computing, Masters dissertation, thesis, portfolio

Digital Object Identifier (DOI): doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.1073237

References:

[1] Barrett, B. (2011), 'An Appreciative Inquiry of the Creation and Implementation of E-Portfolios: A Strategic Tool for Learning and Evaluation', Proceedings of the 11th International Conference on Knowledge, Culture and Change, Madrid, June.
[2] Barrett, H. (2000). Electronic Teaching Portfolios: Multimedia Skills + Portfolio Development = Powerful Professional Development. AACE SITE200, San Diego, California (February 2000) accessed 24/08/2010 http://electronicportfolios.com/portfolios/3107Barrett.pdf
[3] Bitchener, J. and Basturkmen, H. (2006). Perceptions of the difficulties of postgraduate L2 thesis students writing the discussion section. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, Vol. 5, pp 4 - 18.
[4] Bruton, A. (2009) Improving accuracy is not the only reason for writing, and even if it were... System, Vol. 37 pp600 - 613.
[5] Chang, C. (2008), Enhancing self-perceived effects using Web-based portfolio assessment. Computers in Human Behaviour, Vol. 24, pp 1753 - 1771.
[6] Edminster, J and Moxley, J. (2002). Graduate Education and the Evolving genre of Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Computers and Composition, Vol. 19, pp. 89 - 104.
[7] Kimball, M. (2005) Database e-portfolio system: A critical appraisal, Computers and Composition (2005), Vol. 25, pp. 434 - 458.
[8] Klenowski, V, Askew, S. and Carnell, E. (2006) Portfolios for Learning, Assessment and Professional Development in Higher Education, Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, Vol. 31 (3) pp 267 - 286.
[9] Pullman, G. (2002) Electronic portfolios revisited: The efolios project, Computers and Compositions, Vol. 19, pp 151-169.
[10] Seymour, D. (2005) Learning Outcomes and Assessment: developing assessment criteria for Masters-level dissertations, Brookes eJournal of Learning and Teaching, Vol. 1(2) accessed 18/08/2010 http://bejlt.brookes.ac.uk/vol1/volume1issue2/academic/seymour.html
[11] Truscott, J. (2007) The effect of error correction on learners' ability to write accurately. Journal of Second Language Writing, Vol. 16, pp 255- 272.
[12] Warshauer, M. (2002) Networking into academic discourse. Journal of English for Academic Purposes, Vol 1, pp 45 - 58.
[13] Woodward, H. and Nanlohy, P. (2004) Digital portfolios: Fact or fashion. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education. Vol. 29(2) pp 227-235.