Following the lead of other Australian universities who had already transitioned to online portfolios for clinical assessments and recording of experiences, the Clinical and Health Sciences nursing and midwifery programs at the University of South Australia (UniSA) decided to make the change away from paper methods, the first university in the state to do so. With UniSA having a large student cohort in their nursing and midwifery programs (approximately 3500 students), and the midwifery program having very specific requirements to enable students to meet the National Registration Standards in a highly regulated profession, this truly is a case of high-stakes learning, teaching and assessment. Following a successful rollout of PebblePad, midwifery students now engage with a series of digital workbooks, while nursing students work with a single workbook in the PebblePad space, where the original content of the assessment tool has been condensed and the importance of reflection has been emphasised. Overall student feedback has been positive, particularly in relation to ease of use, reduction in cumbersome paper-based records and the safety of data. From the academic perspective, the ability to review students’ works in real-time has been of significant benefit.
The above case study is just one of twenty-five brilliant examples from our 2020 'Charting new courses in learning and teaching' conference. With case studies spanning degree apprenticeships, clinical assessment, interprofessional education, showcase portfolios, and many other contexts and disciplines, they are real stories of trailblazing innovation. If you'd like to download all 25 exemplars of pedagogical goodness, click the link below.
