ENHANCEMENT OF STUDENT LEARNING THROUGH SELF-REFLECTION

Abstract

Recent accreditation requirements by the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board (CEAB) have forced engineering educators to focus on the outcomes of their teaching efforts. Faculty members are rapidly gaining expertise in the assessment of the 12 graduate attributes, and it is envisioned that emphasis on outcomes-based assessment will improve both the quality of the overall curriculum and individual course instruction. 
 Nevertheless, the ultimate goal of any educational activity is to foster student learning. It is anticipated that students will gain a better understanding of the graduate attributes being covered in their courses if they are given the opportunity to self-reflect upon their educational experiences and achievements.
 The portfolio is the tool most often used to achieve this goal of self-reflection. A project has been undertaken in the Department of Biosystems Engineering at the University of Manitoba to assess the impact of self-reflection on student learning. During the fall of 2018, a series of voluntary workshops were organized
 i) to introduce Biosystems Engineering students to the purpose and art of self-reflection,
 ii) to describe self-reflection in the context of the Canadian Engineering Accreditation Board graduate attributes,
 iii) to introduce the e-portfolio tool,
 iv) to develop the skill of self-reflective writing, and
 v) to demonstrate the link between e-portfolio development and career success.
 The purpose of the paper is to describe the workshop series, the focus groups that followed the workshop series, and the theoretical framework within which the work is positioned.