Library Science Graduate Degree Program Portfolio Guidelines UK School of Information Science https://ci.uky.edu/sis/lisportfolio
Table of Contents Portfolio Guidelines...2 Purpose... 2 Format... 2 Timeline for Portfolio Development...2 Portfolio Components...4 Checklist of Portfolio Components... 4 Description of Required Components... 4 Artifacts...6 List of Required Artifacts... 6 Learning Outcomes Essay...7 Overview... 7 Matrix Summary of Core Competencies & Learning Outcomes... 8 Student Role... 12 Consultation with Advisor... 12 Faculty Role... 13 Advising... 13 Portfolio Review Committee... 13 Portfolio Grading... 13 Learning Outcomes Essay Evaluation Rubric... 14 Appendix: Summary of Artifacts Form for Advisor... 15 1
School of Information Science Portfolio Guidelines Purpose The portfolio is the culminating experience in the Library Science master s program and serves as the program exit requirement for the MSLS. It provides the student with the opportunity for self-reflection, formative self-evaluation, and synthesis of desired learning outcomes. Students have the opportunity through the portfolio to holistically examine their entire program of study and highlight their accomplishments in the program, reflect on their learning in the context of core competencies, and reflect on how their work in the program has prepared them for their career goals. Format Students will be enrolled in a Canvas course shell for the purpose of portfolio development. A Canvas guided tutorial has been provided for students to submit their portfolios through the eportfolio tool in Canvas (see the Portfolio webpage at http://ci.uky.edu/sis/lisportfolio). Each file should be placed in the corresponding section (i.e., resume.pdf should be placed in the Resume section) when building the portfolio. File names are expected to reflect the contents of the file (e.g. resume.pdf, personal statement.doc, etc.) Throughout these guidelines, we refer to course artifacts; an artifact is the final completed, graded version of the assignment/project for each course. Timeline for Portfolio Development Beginning with the first course: The student is required to preserve the final, graded version of course assignments and projects in preparation for the portfolio; it is not the instructors or the advisors responsibility to provide artifacts that you did not retain. Keeping track of artifacts is especially important for students in online courses; you should gather all needed materials before the course ends because you will not have access to the course shell after that time. Prior to finishing 18 credit hours: The student initiates a conversation with his or her advisor to discuss their portfolio development plan. For most students this should be done early in the second or third semester of matriculation. At this stage the core courses should be complete so questions about artifact selection can be discussed; starting in the Spring 2014 semester, students will not be able to submit a portfolio during the same semester in which they are enrolled in a core course or a technology-fulfilling course. 2
Within the first 30 days of his or her final semester: The student submits graduation paperwork and notifies their advisor that they plan to submit an exit portfolio. Students should complete the online Summary of Required Artifacts chart (see Appendix) and submit it to their advisor. If you are missing required artifacts, you must discuss replacing them with appropriate alternatives with your advisor when you submit this form. You must secure approval from your advisor and the Director of Graduate Studies to make such substitutions. o At this time, you should also arrange the timeline and process for any initial review of your portfolio by your advisor. There may be additional iterations of revision and review of select portfolio components if your advisor allows it, but the policy of SIS is that you can expect a onetime comprehensive review of your completed portfolio draft if you request it. Two weeks before portfolio due date: The final cutoff for any advisor input on draft documents is set at two weeks prior to the due date of the final portfolio, unless you have made approved alternate arrangements with your advisor. Portfolio due date: The student submits and shares the final portfolio by the due date as posted at the beginning of each semester, which is announced on both the listserv and the school website (see Student News for program announcements, https://ci.uky.edu/sis/tags/students). NOTE that once you share your portfolio for review in the Canvas Portfolio shell, it is considered your final submission and it will be graded. Therefore, if you decide you do not wish to have your portfolio graded, do NOT make it available for review and contact Student Affairs (uklis.student.affairs@gmail.com) to state your intention to delay your graduation. A portfolio that is submitted and shared for grading that is missing any required element will be an automatic fail and will count as one of the two attempts permitted for the completing the exit requirement (see checklist of portfolio components). Two weeks after portfolio due date: The student receives final pass/fail grade for the portfolio from the Director. 3
Portfolio Components Checklist of Portfolio Components Portfolios must contain all of the following to be considered complete. A portfolio that has been submitted to the Portfolio course shell and shared for grading that is missing any of the items in this checklist will be an automatic fail: ELEMENT Present Absent Professional resume Personal statement List of artifacts with grading information and/or instructor comments Required artifacts in appropriate formats Learning outcome essay Description of Required Portfolio Components 1. Professional résumé or vita o For resources, videos, and writing samples to use in preparing your résumé or CV, see the Stuckert Career Center s website (https://www.uky.edu/careercenter/resumes). o Don t forget: you can also consult your academic adviser and other professional mentors for examples and advice. 2. Personal statement on overall program experience (1500-2000 words), which should include: o Comments on personal goals or your motivations to seek the MSLS. o Description of area of specialization or interest. o Comments on how well the program met your needs (advising, course availability, areas of interest, etc.). o Statement of goals for continuing education or professional development. o Statement of professional goals and your plans for the next 2 to 5 years. 3. List of the course artifacts or other materials selected for inclusion in the portfolio. This summary list should include a brief description of each artifact provided, the course it came from, the course objectives associated with it, and the assessment (i.e., grade and/or feedback) provided by the instructor. (See the list of required artifacts for the core courses in the Artifacts section below.) List and describe any other supporting documents you have elected to include. 4. Course artifacts you selected in an appropriate format (PDF, Word, PowerPoint, webpage, etc.). Items that are web-based should have BOTH the URL AND a file that captures the content of the artifact. For example, a webpage could be saved as a PDF output or captured in a Word file. 4
Artifacts in a unique format such as a database file should have both the file itself along with Word or PDF files that capture important outputs from the work (i.e. queries or reports). 5. Learning outcomes essay: The learning outcomes essay is the essential graded component of your completed portfolio. In this essay, you must use your program experiences and course artifacts to demonstrate your mastery of LIS core competencies. You MUST make explicit references to ALL nine core competencies and discuss how the artifacts you provided are connected to some or all of the associated learning outcomes. This essay should be at least 10-12 double spaced pages in length and be organized around each of the nine core competency areas. The goal of the learning outcomes essay is to reflect holistically on your education; classes are therefore important both collectively and individually. Specifically, this essay should include discussion of these questions: o Why is each core competency important? o How do the artifacts selected, as well as all other activities in your courses and your program experiences, provide convincing evidence of your ability to apply these competencies? o What specific learning outcomes do your artifacts support, and how are the artifacts compelling evidence of your mastery of them? o What other experiences, such as elective courses, work activities, internships, participation or leadership in student groups, or field experience, provide additional evidence you have attained these competencies? o How will you use this knowledge in future practice? How prepared do you believe you are to enter the profession? Artifacts You are expected to provide artifacts from each of the core courses (LIS600, LIS601, LIS602, LIS603) and the course you used to satisfy the technology requirement (LIS636 for most students). You should also select artifacts from at least one elective course (or others as appropriate) to support your learning outcomes essay. The artifacts should be presented as they were graded in the course with which they are associated; you should provide the final graded version of the assignment, including the grade you received and/or any relevant instructor feedback. (You can comment and reflect upon the instructor s assessment in the learning outcomes essay.) The list below identifies required artifacts for each course, but we recognize there may be the need for substitutions. Questions about artifact selections from core courses should be discussed with both the instructor of the course and your advisor at the start of the portfolio process. You must complete the online version of the chart shown in the Appendix and submit it to your advisor within the first 30 days of your final semester as described in the portfolio timeline section. Note that any exceptions to the artifacts (or the acceptable alternatives included in bracketed statements) must be approved by your advisor and the Director of Graduate Studies. 5
The course artifacts listed below have been numbered and are referred to again in the Matrix Summary of ALA Core Competencies, LIS Learning Outcomes, and Recommended Course Artifacts found in the Learning Outcomes essay section. Required artifacts (if more than one is listed, all are expected): LIS600: (1) Term Paper OR three shorter essays (2) Final Exam OR quizzes [Note: for pre-2013 sections a term paper was required in place of three shorter essays; in some pre-2013 sections, 6 quizzes took the place of a final exam. These are acceptable substitutes for one another; ask your 600 instructor if you have questions.] LIS601: LIS602: (3) Community Resource Audit (Final Paper) [Note: for pre-2012 sections, a pathfinder project, including a pathfinder document or Web page and a report, was required in place of a final paper. These are acceptable substitutes for one another; ask your 601 instructor if you have questions.] (4) Thesaurus Construction (5) Metadata Creation LIS603: (6) Strategic Plan LIS636: (7) Webpage (8) Database Project (9) IT environment scan essay AND/OR Productivity Application project [Note: for pre-2013 sections, a Productivity Application was required instead of, or in addition to, the IT environment scan. Both should be included if you completed both; if you only completed one of them, include the one you completed; ask your 636 instructor if you have questions.] Other IT: If you did not use LIS636 to satisfy the technology requirement, artifacts from LIS637, LIS638, and LIS668 are appropriate; discuss appropriate artifacts with the instructors of those courses. Other course artifacts: You must include artifacts from at least one selected elective or cognate course(s) that support your area of focus or specialization. See Appendix A for the corresponding Summary of Artifacts Form for the required artifacts. 6
Learning Outcomes Essay Overview The learning outcomes essay reflects the major effort of the portfolio and is the only graded component. This narrative should be a minimum of 10-12 double spaced pages and be organized around each of the nine core competencies and their associated learning outcomes; each core competency has 1-7 learning outcomes associated with it (see the table below). Where a core competency has multiple learning outcomes, you do not need to address every single learning outcome. You should focus on the learning outcomes which are supported and demonstrated by your artifacts and program experiences. Although you do not need to address every learning outcome, you do need to address every core competency. The core competencies for a person graduating from an ALA-accredited master s program in library and information science are the basis of our program learning outcomes covered in the core curriculum. The learning outcomes essay should discuss how well you feel you have attained these core competencies as demonstrated by the selected artifacts as well as your overall program experience. In this discussion, you must make explicit reference (for example, by citing the specific learning outcome number) to specific and appropriate learning outcomes and explain how the artifacts you present provide compelling evidence of their attainment. You therefore must make connections among the artifacts, the core competencies, and some or all of their associated learning outcomes. You may elect to group several learning outcomes in your discussion, for example combining ethical issues with ethical responsibilities. Where specific artifacts are not available to support a specific competency, you should address it more holistically; for example, the core area of research could be explored specifically with the research methods (LIS608) elective or more broadly in the context of the research skills learned or utilized throughout your program of study. In the list of core competencies, learning outcomes, and recommended artifacts, some artifacts support multiple learning outcomes; it is up to you to explain how each artifact supports various learning objectives associated with the core competencies. The list of ALA Core Competencies, LIS learning outcomes, and required artifacts is provided below to assist you in making these explicit references. Matrix Summary of ALA Core Competencies, LIS Learning Outcomes, and Recommended Course Artifacts The following table summarizes the relationship of ALA Core Competencies and LIS Learning Outcomes. It also includes the suggested artifacts for demonstrating mastery of the Core Competencies. This table is offered as a guide. We have plotted the required artifacts (numbered 1-9) into this table to demonstrate which learning outcomes they are likely to support, but it is up to the individual student to determine which artifacts, for him or her, do in fact demonstrate mastery of a particular learning outcome; you must utilize the required artifacts but you are also encouraged to utilize additional artifacts as appropriate. Consult with your advisor about any specific questions. 7
Program Learning Outcomes/ALA Core Competencies Map ALA Core Competencies 1. Foundations of the Profession 2. Information Resources 3. Organization of Recorded Knowledge and Information 4. Technological Knowledge and Skills 5. Reference and User Services 6. Research 7. Continuing Education and Lifelong Learning 8. Administration and Management 9. Other Competencies UK LIS Program Learning Outcomes Artifacts Course/Source 1.1 Students will describe the roles of information agencies in curating and preserving the cultural record. 1.2 Students will critically evaluate and apply core principles and theories of library and information science (e.g. the role of information agencies in a democratic and pluralistic society). 1.3 Students will define core ethical principles and describe how they should apply them to the practice of library and information science both as individuals and as part of the collective. 1.4 Students will describe major information policies and analyze how they impact the management, organization and dissemination of information in both national and global contexts. 1.5 Students will describe the symbiotic relationships library and information science shares with other disciplines. 1 & 2 600 1 & 2 600 1 & 2 600 1 & 2 600 1 & 2 600 2.1 Students will employ appropriate methods to match information to users needs through the identification, selection, evaluation and dissemination of information. 3 601 2.2 Students will give special consideration to how information 3 601 8
resources support diverse and under-served populations. 3.1 Students will describe and apply appropriate methods of acquiring information in all formats, physical and digital. 3.2 Students will describe and apply methods of information storage appropriate for various forms of physical and digital information. 3.3 Students will describe and apply appropriate methods and standards for describing information in physical and digital formats, with special emphasis given to the application of metadata standards. 3.4 Students will describe and apply standards for classifying information in physical and digital formats. 3.5 Students will describe and apply appropriate models and methods of information retrieval. 4 & 5 LIS 602 4 & 5 LIS 602 4 & 5 LIS 602 4 & 5 LIS 602 4 & 5 LIS 602 4.1 Students will examine and assess various information technologies and describe how they can be used to meet system and user needs. 4.2 Students will experiment with appropriate technologies and tools to be prepared to implement them in a variety of information environments. 4.3 Students will examine emerging technologies to assess ways those technologies might advance the mission of information organizations. 3,4,5,7,8,9 Across the Curriculum 3,4,5,7,8,9 Across the Curriculum 3,4,5,7,8,9 Across the Curriculum 5.1 Students will identify methods for assessing the needs of the constituencies served by an information organization. 5.2 Students will describe the attributes of high quality, usercentered information services. 3 601 3 601 9
5.3 Students will describe the professional behaviors that contribute to high quality information services. 5.4 Students will apply instructional strategies in the provision of information services. 5.5 Students will evaluate information services, particularly in light of the need to reach diverse and underserved populations. 3 601 3 601 3,6 601, 603 6.1 Students will interpret and evaluate research. 1,2,3,4,5,6 Across the Curriculum 6.2 Students will apply research to the analysis of professional problems. 1,2,3,6 Across the Curriculum 6.3 Students will describe how empirical research advances the knowledge base and practice of library and information science. 3 & Learning Outcomes Essay 601 7.1 Students will describe the role of professional associations in the field of library and information studies. 7.2 Students will describe how professional service advances both their own professional competence and the field of library and information science. 7.3 Students will explain the importance of updating their professional skills throughout their careers and describe their strategies for doing so. 2 & Learning Outcomes Essay 2 & Learning Outcomes Essay 2 & Learning Outcomes Essay 600 600 600 8.1 Students will examine management concepts and identify best leadership practices as they relate to the management of information organizations. 6 603 10
8.2 Students will describe the process of strategic planning. 6 603 8.3 Students will describe methods for integrating needs assessment data into strategic planning. 8.4 Students will demonstrate the roles resource management plays in strategic planning. 6 603 6 603 9.1 Students will communicate effectively in writing. Overall portfolio: Learning Outcomes Essay and all written artifacts 9.2 Students will communicate effectively verbally. 3 601 9.3 Students will apply critical thinking to solve professional problems. 1,2,3,4,5,6, 7, 8, 9 Across the curriculum Student Role The graduate portfolio provides an opportunity to show a collection of work and reflections that represents the student s accomplishments. How these serve as evidence of achieving the core competencies and their associated learning outcomes must be explained in your learning outcomes essay. While there are required artifacts for all portfolios and guidelines for selecting and presenting portfolio materials, students are free to choose other supporting materials within these guidelines. For example, in addition to elective courses, you might have had some other experience such as an assistantship or internship that was relevant to achieving your learning goals. The work selected should be representative of the student s learning (reading, thinking, observations, research, writing and other practical experience) during the master s program. The process of creating the portfolio will encourage the student to review, integrate, and reflect on his or her learning and his or her future goals. Coursework submitted for the portfolio should be original coursework and you should provide the grade or numeric score the artifact received. Other course projects beyond the required artifacts may be selected that support any core competency and reflect the student s attainment of it. Students must retain appropriate artifacts each semester; it would be useful to also make notes about the course and core competency or program learning outcomes they support to use later in your portfolio. The faculty teaching core courses can address questions about appropriate artifacts for their course if they differ from the typical artifacts associated with the core as described in this guide. 11
Beyond the required artifacts, the portfolio must be selective; you should not include every project or activity from your entire program. In deciding what optional materials to include, students should ask him or herself what core competency or learning outcome a particular item demonstrates that is not demonstrated elsewhere in the portfolio. Together, the artifacts and the learning outcomes essay should demonstrate the breadth of the student s professional knowledge. The portfolio documents should undergo thoughtful self-assessment before final submission of the complete portfolio. Thus, none of the documents should be first drafts; all should be polished drafts, revised and carefully proofread. The use of proper English is expected. If you need additional assistance with writing skills, please contact the UK Writing Center http://www.uky.edu/as/english/wc/. Consultation with Advisor The student and advisor will agree on the appropriate timeline for any initial review of portfolios within the general framework described in these guidelines; this is particularly important for students planning to complete the process during the summer as advisor availability may be limited (see timeline details above). All documents in the portfolio should be finished, graded works unless approved by the advisor for inclusion. Faculty advisors are available to offer suggestions and guidance in the portfolio development, but it is the student s responsibility to arrange consultations with his or her faculty advisor and present materials for any initial review in a timely manner in order to meet the announced deadlines. Any request for advisor input to draft components should be made early in your final semester, but NO LATER than two weeks prior to the final due date of the portfolio unless you have made other special arrangements with your advisor. In general, advisors will provide one comprehensive review of your portfolio prior to final submission as long as it is provided within the timeline suggested above. Your advisor expects to receive documents that reflect your best effort draft. The intent of this review is to offer an opportunity for you to address any major issues or deficiencies in your portfolio prior to final grading; it is not intended to be an ongoing process of multiple reviews. Faculty Role Advising Advisors can assist with general portfolio questions and give feedback on your draft prior to final submission. However, the advisor is not serving as your editor and will not do line-by-line corrections and style suggestions. If a draft has significant writing issues, the advisor will recommend the student seek the assistance of the writing center. Advisors can also assist with artifact questions, but the faculty teaching core courses should address specific questions regarding artifact selection for those courses.. Your advisor will provide a onetime comprehensive review of your final draft at your request as long as it is presented at least two weeks before the due date. You should not expect this to be a piecemeal, iterative process. 12
Portfolio Review Committee The student s faculty advisor (assigned upon acceptance into the master s program) and an additional faculty member will serve as the reviewers of the completed portfolio. A three-member Review Committee consisting of three faculty members and the Director of Graduate Studies of the School of Library and Information Science (serving ex officio) will evaluate any portfolio that is not passed by one or more readers. Portfolio Grading The portfolio exit requirement is graded Pass/Fail only. Portfolios submitted and shared for grading that are missing one or more of the items on the checklist will be an automatic fail. Assuming all items are present, the graded component is the learning outcomes essay, which is graded on both content and the quality of the writing as described in the evaluative rubric below. Students will be notified of the result only once the portfolio has been fully reviewed. You will not receive detailed commentary on the result beyond this notification of pass or fail. However, you may seek comments from your advisor prior to the final submission of the portfolio. Students who do not pass will be encouraged to meet with the Director to discuss the issues with their portfolio. Learning Outcomes Essay Evaluation Rubric Evaluative Component Pass Fail 1 Essay is organized around the core competencies which are clearly indicated using the numbering provided in the matrix from the Portfolio Guidelines document. 2 Importance of core competencies is clear and adequately described in context of the provided artifacts. 3 Discussion of learning outcomes in connection with artifacts. 4 Convincing evidence of attainment of core competencies through explicit references to specific learning outcomes. 5 Demonstration of ability to synthesize and analyze Master s degree work within 13
the framework of core competencies. 6 Good discussion of other experiences (including elective courses, work activities, internships, or field experience) that demonstrate mastery of core competencies. 7 Good discussion of how knowledge gained from program will be applied in the future. 8 No or minimal grammatical or spelling errors; utilizes a clear, easy-to-read writing style. 14
Appendix: Summary of Required Artifacts Form for Advisor Student Name: Semester you are planning to submit portfolio: Advisor: Number of Artifact (used in portfolio organization) Course Name of artifact Available for inclusion in Portfolio 1 LIS 600 Term paper OR 3 short essays (see explanation for appropriate alternatives) 2 LIS 600 Final exam OR quizzes (see explanation for appropriate alternatives) 3 LIS 601 Community Resource Audit OR Pathfinder project (see explanation for appropriate alternatives) 4 LIS 602 Thesaurus Construction 5 LIS 602 Metadata Creation 6 LIS 603 Strategic Plan 7 LIS 636 Webpage 8 LIS 636 Database Project 9 LIS 636 IT Environment Scan Essay OR Productivity Application project (see explanation for appropriate alternatives) NA LIS 637, LIS 638, LIS 668 If you did not use LIS 636 to satisfy technology requirement, you must include artifacts from other technology courses. Discuss with instructor and include proposed 636 substitutes with this form. Proposed artifact to substitute for a required artifact* NA ---- Must include artifacts from at least one elective course. See explanation for appropriate alternatives means that the student should refer to the list of required artifacts in the Portfolio Guidelines; specifically, acceptable alternative artifacts for these courses are listed in bracketed comments. *Note: Questions about required artifacts for core courses should be discussed with both your advisor and the instructor of the course in question. In some instances, the required component has changed over time and you may need to include acceptable substitutes. Exceptions regarding omissions of artifacts other than those identified in the Portfolio Guidelines must be approved by both your advisor and the Director of Graduate Studies (within the first 30 days of your final semester). 15