Name: Deirdre Bailey & Kevin Sonico Date: June 13, 2016

Project Title

Using Digital Portfolios To Engage Students and Parents in Communicating and Supporting

Student Learning

Project Description

In this qualitative study, we investigated how students, parents, and teachers used a digital

portfolio app called FreshGrade to engage in meaningful, ongoing conversations about

evidence of learning and opportunities for growth in Grade 5 and Grade 7 classrooms. In

particular, we set out to answer this question, To what extent is FreshGrade as a digital

portfolio and online assessment tool effective in communicating students learning to both

students and parents in a manner that is informative, accurate, fair, and designed to support

learning? We surveyed students to determine their overall perception of FreshGrades

utility in their learning. In addition, we surveyed parents about their level of awareness of

their childs strengths and needs as a result of using FreshGrade. Lastly, we reflected on the

role of digital portfolios as an effective formative assessment tool for teachers. Based on our

observations, reflections, and surveys among our student and parent population, we found

several positive impacts of the use of this portfolio tool along the themes of extending

conversations on learning, developing metacognition, and improving student

autonomy/advocacy.
Primary Findings (Attach relevant artefacts and/or links to blog postings which highlight

key findings from your Research and Innovation project and recommendations for future

consideration)

**See attached report

Outcomes and Merit of the Project

These themes were explored in our final report, which is attached to this document. Here are

the summarized merits our study and their alignment to the Exemplary Teaching and

Learning Frameworks.

Parents as Partners we engaged parents in their childs learning by making them

more aware of what specific areas in their learning they need support in. In addition,

parents and students can have conversations relevant to the school work that is

targeted towards the work, rather than speak in generalities. Lastly, when students

meet expectations, parents can celebrate their childs learning

Student Success and Student Engagement digital portfolios allow students to

collect pieces of learning and when given the proper reflection time, students can

learn from previous experience as well as feedback provided by teachers. If students

were unsuccessful in achieving learning goals, assessment pieces do not mark the end

of the learning. Rather, it provides a direction to where instruction and intervention

need to go. This philosophy encourages advocacy among our students as they seek

ways to further their understanding. Lastly, by making the work transparent, student

accountability is fostered.
 Communication by making assessment pieces more visible and by using

outcomes-based assessment, students can articulate their specific strengths and

challenges in a subject. In addition, by making students learning visible to parents,

hopefully any uncertainties they have about where the students are at in their learning

will be lessened, but more importantly, where they can support them at home will

become more evident as they are able to see specific areas of challenges/needs.

Authentic Assessment - we strived to provide comments on their portfolios by

making it transparent to students and parents; this impacts how students perceive

themselves as learners, that is you are never really done as you continue to evolve in

your understanding. This can be gleaned from expecting students to do some

reflective writing in their portfolios. Further, because FreshGrade permits the

submission of learning artifacts that are beyond the traditional paper-and-pencil type,

we have more flexibility in collecting evidence of work and of understanding that are

going to be more representative of the disciplines we learn.

Technology-Enhanced Learning - by leveraging new technology, we are allowing

students to be able to make their learning more visible for themselves - thus aiding in

their organization skills and in their ability to construct complex descriptions of

themselves as learners through reflection. Parents are also brought into the fold as

digital portfolios, and FreshGrade in particular, have apps that students and parents

can easily access.

Relationships by having enhanced communication about students and their

learning, we solicit their help in ensuring that the student/childs educational needs

are met. This communicates to them that we are in this together. Through this

interaction, we strengthen the connection between the home and school.

 Culture of Innovation - Digital portfolios have been utilized in the past as a means

of collecting student artifacts. We are exploring ways to use FreshGrade not just as a

digital collection of student products but also as an assessment and reporting tool. We

have advanced in technology yet we are still relying on antiquated forms of reporting

learning, i.e. through paper report cards. Through this lens, we are

experimenting/researching how this medium is perceived by parents.

Using Digital Portfolios To Engage Students and Parents To Communicate and Support

Learning

Deirdre Bailey & Kevin Sonico

Abstract

In this qualitative study, we investigated how students, parents, and teachers used a digital

portfolio app called FreshGrade to engage in meaningful, ongoing conversations about

evidence of learning and opportunities for growth in Grade 5 and Grade 7 classrooms. In

particular, we set out to answer this question; To what extent is FreshGrade as a digital

portfolio and online assessment tool effective in communicating students learning to both

students and parents in a manner that is informative, accurate, fair, and designed to support

learning? We surveyed students to determine their overall perception of FreshGrades

utility in their learning. In addition, we surveyed parents about their level of awareness of

their childs strengths and needs as a result of using FreshGrade. Lastly, we reflected on the

role of digital portfolios as an effective formative assessment tool for teachers. Based on our

observations, reflections, and surveys among our student and parent population, we found

several positive impacts of the use of this portfolio tool along the themes of extending

conversations on learning, developing metacognition, and improving student

autonomy/advocacy.
 Table of Contents

I. Introduction

II. Finding FreshGrade: A journey through digital portfolio and online assessment

A. Sonico

B. Bailey

III. Emphasizing student autonomy

IV. Developing metacognition

V. Promoting conversation

VI. Other commendations, recommendations and limitations

VI. Implications for Connect Charter

VII. References

VIII. Appendix A

IX. Appendix B
 I. Introduction

The School Act states that one of the roles of teachers is to regularly evaluate

students and periodically report the results of the evaluation to the students, the students

parents and the board (2000 cS-3 s18(e)). The Guide to Education (2013) states that The

assessment of student progress in relation to outcomes outlined in the programs of study is

important... and ...required for reporting student progress clearly to students and parents.

Engaging both parents and students in the students learning is essential to learning and

success of the student (Jeynes, 2005). Finding meaningful ways to do this is a constant and

significant endeavour for a teacher in that it involves a consideration of philosophies far more

encompassing than a teachers own; it must also be aligned with school and provincial

philosophies. For us, digital portfolios seemed like a medium that had the potential to engage

both students and parents more effectively in the learning of the student.

A digital portfolio or e-portfolio is a curated collection of digitized multimedia

artifacts that reflect the learning of a student (Cooper & Love, 2007). There is generally

believed to be three general uses for digital portfolios in the classroom. For assessment

purposes, e-portfolios include rubrics-based documentations and assessment files, [] for

showcase purposes, e-portfolios present artifacts of accomplishments, [and] for learning

purposes, e-portfolios can be useful for on-going learning and reflection. (Wang, 2009, p.

419) For this action research, we strived to answer the question: to what extent is

FreshGrade as a digital portfolio and online assessment tool effective in communicating

students learning to both students and parents in a manner that is informative, accurate,

fair, and designed to support learning? The question arose as a result of our work with the

Alberta Assessment Consortium and their Dimensions of Sound Assessment Practice so a

major goal of our research was to examine FreshGrade as an effective tool for classroom

assessment1. We identified key themes for effective classroom assessment from a previous

action research project focused on characteristics of effective assessment in the inquiry-based

classroom (Bailey, 2014). These themes identified that effective assessment practice should

focus on emphasizing student autonomy, further developing student metacognition, and

promoting further conversation, between students, student-teacher and student-parent. Our

reflection on the use of FreshGrade in the classroom examines the tools efficacy in allowing

for classroom-based assessment in each of these categories with a specific emphasis on the

participation of students and parents, as well as a reflection on the quality of information, its

accuracy, fairness, and support of further learning. In the reflections that follow, we hope to

provide further practical and philosophical questions and considerations for educators as well

as recommendations for next possibilities.

II. Finding FreshGrade: A journey through digital portfolio and online assessment

Sonico

The shift from 9 years of teaching Grades 8 & 9 students to Grade 5 students proved

to be an immensely transformative experience. This change in my teaching assignment

demanded my consideration of how to involve my younger students in their learning. There is

a wide developmental chasm that exists between Grade 9 and Grade 5, and how to

communicate their learning in a meaningful way deserved careful thought. Further, there was

the substantial question of how to engage their parents. I had numerous experiences with

various forms of medium and all yielded divergent results when it came to recording and

communicating learning. Using agendas proved an individualized format but was simplistic a

1
process of collecting information on student achievement and performance that includes a variety of
assessment tasks designed to monitor and improve student learning
medium in showing learning and feedback; expecting parents to sign documents like tests

proved to be a management challenge as papers would go missing (an obvious fix here was to

keep the originals and send copies home); interim reports, although detailed, were not timely

as they were disbursed in between reporting periods. There were also blogs created and posts

written to inform students and parents about learning activities but these were never

personalized. There was Edmodo too and its functionality for sending notifications for

deadlines and attaching resources to assignments were its highlights. Navigating between

learning activities and collating all feedback, however, were its shortcomings as it was too

cumbersome to perform such important tasks. Then, there was Pathbrite, which was used as

a digital portfolio for both students and teachers. However, the programs confusing

organization and the subsequent experience of navigating through it proved overly

complicated. In recording student achievement, I had used EasyGrade Pro, a software which

allowed flexibility in determining categories, weighting, outcomes, and other customizations

that reflected the variety in my assessment practices. This was a useful software that allowed

me to calculate student progress across multiple outcomes. Shortcomings of EasyGrade Pro

were its lack of transparency, as student progress and achievements resided in my laptop, and

its heavy reliance on a numerical grading system. With this years shift in our reporting

scale, namely the change behind our definition of 4 from excellent to exceeding

expectations, this had impacts on my assessment practices and reporting student

achievement. Doing something very well but within the confines of the learning outcomes

meant that a student was still meeting expectations. This shift in our definition also meant

informing and changing the perspectives of our students and parents. Thorough

understanding of the learning outcomes was required to be able to articulate what exceeding

expectations meant. With these changes in teaching assignment and assessment paradigm, it
was timely then to also consider alternate means of recording student progress. The cognitive

development of my Grade 5 students needed to be considered in deciding the platform to use.

This years experiment into using a FreshGrade as digital portfolio and an assessment tool

was noteworthy, in that by leveraging technology, I attempted to address concerns around

feedback collation and use, student engagement, and parental communication and

involvement.

Bailey

My journey in assessment began in Grade 4 with a strict focus on engaging students

in formative feedback2 in order to work toward involving them more effectively in the

learning process. With an emphasis on teaching them the importance of learning from failure

and keeping all aspects of their thinking visible, I veered away from efforts to constantly

summarize or make conclusive statements about their level of mastery of individual learning

outcomes focusing instead on general growth. I was not deliberately engaged in constantly

collecting tangible evidence of student growth focusing instead on moment-by-moment

interactions with students in the classroom context. Most of these formative assessment

exchanges in the classroom were responsive and undocumented which meant I rarely had

evidence of these interchanges to share with parents or even reflect on with students at a later

date. As a result, my assessment philosophy was much more aligned with a holistic reporting

framework in which student performance was judged globally in both Math and Science on a

term-by-term basis. Though specific feedback was provided to students in the moment on

specific outcomes, detailed artifactual statements reflecting on their general performance on

each outcome was not a part of my practice.

2
experiences that result in an ongoing exchange of information between students and teachers about
student progress toward clearly specified learner outcomes
 With a transition from the Grade 4 classroom to a Physical Education environment,

the difficulty of relying slowly on my intimate knowledge of each learner in the classroom

context began to fail. I had 600 students instead of 50 and the value of capturing tangible

artifacts of students moments of growth and mastery became a necessity in order for me to

provide professionally accurate summative judgements of students learning on a

term-by-term basis. This started with the use of Edmodo to collect video and picture evidence

of student work. It was an effective tool for archiving student work or communicating with an

entire class but it didnt generate the kind of portfolio we had been hoping students might be

able to build over 6 years of physical education at Connect. It also did not provide students

with the opportunity to look back through a collective body of work at the end of a term.

With my most recent shift back to the classroom but in a Division III context in which

the sheer quantity of Math and Science outcomes that students were expected to master had

increased notably, I renewed my investigation into an online tool that would allow me to

maintain an assessment philosophy focused on growth, autonomy, metacognition and

conversation, but one that would also capture or summarize student learning in way that

provided a clear understanding of where they were with respect to individual learning

outcomes. In conversation with teachers from other schools I started the year using Sesame

on a trial basis. This digital portfolio tool had been adopted school-wide by the Calgary Arts

Academy and was taking the place entirely of their rigorous, narrative-based reporting

process with a lot of positive feedback. I really appreciated that Sesame allowed student work

to be archived visibly on their individual pages and that my assessments could be attached

and were not limited to quantified feedback as Edmodos had been. I quickly became

frustrated with their assessment scale however, which automatically converted descriptors

of student work to percentage-based indicators. In conversation with Kevin Sonico and the
Grade 5 team, we realized that FreshGrade provided many of the same benefits as Sesame

with the added advantage that their Mastery scale included outcomes our school already

used on our summative report cards and did not automatically convert these outcomes to an

arbitrarily assigned percentage-based equivalent. As a result of this conversation and some

further investigation, we started term 2 in Grade 7 with a shift to FreshGrade.

III. Emphasizing Student Autonomy

The cultivation of student autonomy in an inquiry-driven space suggests that students

should both understand their learning goals and be able to assess what they need to do to

reach them (Chappuis, 2009, Black & Wiliam, 2004). In both our classroom contexts, we felt

that this statement clearly supported the adoption of an outcomes-based assessment

philosophy, which is rooted in the evaluation3 of a students mastery of curricular objectives

regardless of the tasks by which they are accomplished. The outcomes-based assessment

philosophy is also typically associated with positive behavioural and attitudinal shifts among

students (Sonico & Cheng, 2014), in addition to an increase in student autonomy. A critical

advantage of FreshGrade for this purpose is that outcomes for all Alberta curriculum subjects

are embedded in the software, allowing teachers to select individual or multiple curricular

objectives for each assigned learning activity and allowing these to be visible to both parents

and students (Figure 1).

3
making decisions about the quality, value or worth of a submission for the purpose of providing
descriptive feedback (formative) and marks (summative)
Figure 1: Curricular outcomes are easily attached to learning tasks.

By attaching clearly stated learning outcomes to each learning task, students often had

the opportunity to reflect in advance on how they might best represent their understanding or

skill in the given context. In both Grade 5 and Grade 7, we found that this often meant

students were able to elect to demonstrate their achievement4 in a more flexible manner.

Perkins (2009) writes that for students to engage effectively with an intellectual task, [they]

must have the opportunity to demonstrate their understanding by thinking and acting flexibly

with what they know about it, not just through the regurgitation of information and execution

of routine skills. The digital nature of FreshGrade permitted variety - ranging from

paper-and-pencil to digitized work to performance-type assessments - as evidence of

understanding (Figure 2). Many students were also able to advocate for the opportunity to

represent that understanding in different ways, often reflecting an increase in their

engagement and autonomy through the task.

4
a students demonstration of knowledge, skills and attitudes relative to grade level learner outcomes
Figure 2: Grade 5 students use a variety of media to demonstrate their ability to identify

and describe adaptations that make certain plants and animals suited for life in a wetland.

Some considerations for allowing such a diverse range in format for submissions in

both Grade 5 and 7 classrooms were that a delicate balance between student- and

teacher-designated types of submissions still needed to be managed in order to both

encourage student choice and advocacy, while minimizing the difficulty of assessing what

could become a significant myriad of differently formatted submissions.

A second advantage of FreshGrade as an assessment tool designed to encourage

student autonomy was that the onus was quite clearly placed on the student to meet learning

objectives. This is supported by Wall et al.s (2004) findings which suggest that digital

portfolio [have] the potential to create independent learners who are responsible for the

collection of their own evidence of achievements across the curriculum (p. 271). As

teachers, we found that the constant transparency and visibility of all student work required

by the digital portfolio format meant that there was no longer any question of what had and
had not been invested by students throughout the term. This idea that students could not hide

a lack of effort or engagement as effectively on FreshGrade was supported by majority of

student and parent respondents to our end-of-year surveys. Both reported a lower incidence

of work avoidance due to FreshGrades accessibility on the web (Figure 3). One parent

wrote, My child isn't always forthcoming about what is going on at school and FreshGrade

kept me updated and allowed me to ask about specific assignments.

Figure 3: Student and parent respondents regarding work avoidance.

It is important to acknowledge that it could be argued that transparency of this digital

portfolio format, particularly to parents, did not foster true student autonomy because it has

the potential to allow too much participation in the work from parents in terms of editing,

updating, and/or redoing their childs work with them at home. It should also be

acknowledged that it had the potential to exacerbate differences between student learning

environments, as parents acknowledged that they provided varying degrees of support and

encouragement of their childs portfolio work, some checking FreshGrade regularly and
reviewing it at home, some only checking it with a follow-up discussion, and some not

checking it at all. However, while many students identified parents viewing their portfolios as

a strong motivating factor for engaging more actively in their work in Grade 5, this was less

of a reported factor among Grade 7 students. Grade 7 students also experimented for an entire

semester with FreshGrade in which their work was completely private unless they

independently elected to share it externally, and many still reflected that having everything

visible in one place made it more difficult to avoid engaging in the work.

Ultimately, we both felt that cultivating student accountability to the intellectual

demands of the work was supported by the use of FreshGrade as a digital portfolio tool. We

also felt that, while the goal is to develop student autonomy in learning that is not dependent

on either teacher or parent monitoring, developing student accountability required continual

support for some students, and inviting parents into the space provided that additional,

valuable support for many.

A final worthy note on the topic of student autonomy is that through the use of

FreshGrade in both Grade 5 and Grade 7, we noticed students increased involvement in their

work evolved naturally into increased student advocacy throughout the term. In many cases,

the visual evidence of their achievement in relation to specific learning goals encouraged

many students to seek ways in which to improve the quality of their work and depth of

understanding. These generally came in the form of tutorials, extra resources, one-on-one

conferences, re-evaluations and/or re-submissions (Appendix A). As teachers, these

secondary opportunities for students to show evidence of achievement or growth were easy

to manage as FreshGrade allowed us to assign activities to individual groups of students who

were looking for this opportunity and to tag it with an individual outcome that they were still

working on. (Figure 4)

Figure 4: This Grade 7 student was assigned a supplementary task that invited them to

demonstrate their understanding of a single outcome that they had missed demonstrating

mastery of on an earlier assignment.

Both students and parents expressed interest and gratitude in the idea that students

would consistently be provided with multiple opportunities to show growth in understanding

with respect to individual outcomes. Increased accountability was consistently demonstrated

as students actively sought help more openly. Advocacy was cultivated when all artifactual

submissions were viewed not as the end of a students learning but as a means to that end

such that when students fell short of meeting outcomes, they were able to seek support to

refine their understanding.

Because we both regularly make use of sports analogies in the classroom, the best

way to describe how FreshGrade furthered our ability to foster this growth mindset (Dweck,

2015) in the classroom is to share a variation of an anecdote that we both shared with

students where we described the strengths and weaknesses of a tennis player whose forehand

is far more developed than their backhand. Students readily understood that surrendering all

use of the weaker stroke is not an option; rather, continued effort would be needed in order to
develop it. Similarly, our distinct abilities and intelligences continue to develop over time;

and should be considered a constant work in progress (Dweck, 2015). FreshGrades

chronological portfolio format and ability to create multiple submission options encouraged

students to see their individual assessments as snapshots of growth through time, rather than

fully conclusive final statements about their overall ability, helping us facilitate a growth

mindset in a more visual manner.

IV. Developing Metacognition

An inquiry-based approach cultivates meaningful learning experiences that are

personally constructed in relation to particular situations, particular places, in community

with others, (Clifford & Friesen, 2008b, p. 181) where understanding is negotiated in

relation to historical perspectives and larger ideas (Perkins, 2009). An important

consideration, therefore, is that a key criterion of understanding in an inquiry-based

classroom has to involve students in thoughtful personal judgment on performance relative to

what is expected within a particular discipline. Although the use of FreshGrade as a digital

portfolio for assessment purposes was a primary focus of our research, the use of the tool for

encouraging students to continually engage in critical thinking about themselves as learners

(Greenberg, 2004) quickly became inextricably linked to the process.

According to Flavells (1979) substantial work on the topic, metacognition involves

active monitoring and consequent regulation and orchestration of cognitive processes to

achieve cognitive goals (p. 252). Monitoring, regulation, and orchestration can take the form

of checking, planning, selecting, and inferring (Brown & Campione, 1977), self-interrogation

and introspection (Brown, 1978), interpretation of ongoing experience (Flavell & Wellman,

1977), or simply making judgments about what one knows or does not know to accomplish a
task. Engaging students in this work within the classroom context requires them to be

supported in carefully analyzing their experiences (or artifacts of learning), to observe some

patterns in their own learning, and to develop subsequent learning goals (Rickards, Diez,

Ehley, Guillbault, Loacker, Hart, & Smith, 2008).

To some extent, the ways in which FreshGrade fostered this process in our classrooms

has already been described through our discussion of the ways in which student autonomy

evolved to include increased student advocacy. We were able to further integrate deliberate

metacognitive thinking in our students using FreshGrade by requiring that students add

reflective comments either on individual tasks (Figure 5), on the significance of their

scientific study and their engagement in the topic (Figure 6), on their strengths, weaknesses,

and different applications of their mathematical work (Figure 7), or on their term as a whole

(Figure 8).

Figure 5: Grade 7 students reflect on individual learning tasks in the comments below their

submissions.
Figure 6: A Grade 5 student reflects on: 1) In your opinion, why was it important to learn

weather in science? 2) What topics did you find most interesting? Why? 3) What topics did

you find most challenging? How did you become better in this topic?

Figure 7: A Grade 5 student reflects on: 1) Why is division important to learn? Give some

real life examples. 2) Write about a time when you struggled even a little bit or a lot. How
did you overcome this challenge? What did you do to become better at it? Who was there to

help you along the way?

Figure 8: Grade 7 students review their collection of artifacts on FreshGrade to provide

subject-specific reflections on their work throughout the term.

By requiring that they observe certain patterns or tendencies in their experiences,

reflective learning allowed the students individual growth, patterns, and nuances to add a

complex and personalized picture of each learner than what might have been possible with a

strictly teacher-driven, outcomes-based assessment approach to evaluating students

performance. In this sense, FreshGrades flexibility to function simultaneously as an

assessment tool and a showcase of learning portfolio was another strength of the tool.
 Although developing metacognitive practice with students was a worthy objective,

there were some significant limitations that needed to be addressed on an ongoing basis in

order to foster deep reflection among all students. First, student responses were generally

quite limited when prompts were vague or general. This was aligned with Rickards et al.s

(2008) findings that to ask a student to simply reflect on or write about a learning

situation could be very ineffective (p. 35). Although considered to be open-ended, simple

prompts such as Describe your role, What were your thoughts/feelings/actions? and

What did you learn? (Goodyear, Bindal, & Wall, 2013, p. 72) required some specificity in

student responses and could elicit deeper thinking about their learning experiences. Second,

we found that the expectation that students be able to develop and appreciate complex

cognitive pictures of themselves as learners were ambitious goals, even with the opportunities

provided by FreshGrade. In Grade 5, many students struggled to process the information

provided by a reflection on their strengths and weaknesses without direct support or

intentional scaffolding. Often, the prompts needed to be read aloud and discussed before

reflections were attempted. Third, the time that these reflective processes required was

significant and had to be intentionally embedded into our practice regularly in order for them

to be effective. Expecting students to reflect on their own time yielded minimal success, and

if it was done at all, it was often superficial. Finally, we both felt that expecting these

reflections, particularly as a follow-up to larger learning activities and in response to teacher

feedback, should have been more frequent in order to be more effective. When students

began a task that was in some way reminiscent of a previous activity, they should have been

more frequently required to revisit previous reflections. Through this, they might have

intentionally begun to make connections and generalizations about themselves as learners

before a task and not just following its completion. Perhaps more pronounced changes to

learning behaviours and habits might have followed.

V. Promoting Conversation

Inquiry-based practice acknowledges that learning is most effective if embedded in

social experience (Gilbert, 2005; Jardine, Clifford & Friesen, 2008; Black & Wiliam, 2004).

The simple act of uploading artifacts online was not in itself a social experience, but there

was an inherent and subsequent interaction among stakeholders when student work and

achievement became transparent. Whether these interactions occurred face to face or by

digital means, FreshGrade facilitated many discussions among parents, students, and teachers

by providing multiple topics and purposes for a conversation to occur.

In particular, dialogue between student and teacher was magnified more visibly

through the use of FreshGrade. Whether or not an assignment was submitted was no longer

debatable. The layout of students portfolios was arranged so that individual artifacts were

attached to teachers evaluation, and the extensive feedback the teacher provided was

permanently visible and could not be mysteriously misplaced (Figure 9). According to

students, the quantity of teacher feedback that could be attached to each task also

significantly enhanced students awareness of strengths and areas of growth (Figure 10).

Consequently, discussions at home could be framed around students next plans. When

conversation is part of learning, students become more active as participants and come to

realize that learning may depend less on their capacity to spot the right answer and more on

their readiness to express and discuss their own understanding (Black & Wiliam, 2004, p.

27). Through FreshGrade, questions teachers asked as part of the formative assessment
process could also be responded to and students had the opportunity to create further meaning

through discourse (Figure 11).

Figure 9: Teacher feedback on student work. This is visible to both parents and students.

However, the tags like Difficulty and Rewrite can only be seen by the teacher.

Figure 10: A distribution of student responses to the question of whether they have a good

understanding of what they need to work on in Math/Science because of FreshGrade.

Figure 11: Grade 7 student responds to teacher comment on an artifact they have uploaded.

As a showcase portfolio, FreshGrade also promoted dialogue between students and

parents. Because FreshGrade was often utilized as a means of sharing learning en masse

through announcements, video clips of discussions, or even snapshots of notes from the

board, it provided some insight into their childs day in the classroom when their child was

reluctant or too tired to share. One parent described that, [in] two minutes, I [had] a better

idea of what [my child did] and a view of your feedback than I...managed to get out of

Edmodo. For some parents, the tool helped establish communication connections.

FreshGrade was helpful...especially [to] those who do not see me or talk to me on a regular

basis, wrote a parent. Moreover, parents indicated that due to the transparency of reporting

through FreshGrade, it provided them with additional opportunities to celebrate in their

childs achievements and progress. A parent also expressed gratitude in having a clearer

direction in supporting their child at home. It [gave] me the visual of the board or the test,

and then I knew exactly what sort of problems they [were] supposed to [solve]. Sometimes,
with only an explanation, I go off into a wrong direction, described a parent. When

surveyed if FreshGrade influenced conversations at home around our work in Math and

Science, most parent survey respondents (about 80%) either agreed or strongly agreed to this

statement (Figure 12).

Figure 12. A distribution of student and parent responses to the question of whether they talk

more about Math/Science at home because of FreshGrade.

When it came to frequency of visits, it is noteworthy that parents and students

reported marked differences. Parents reported visiting their childs portfolio less frequently

than their child, with only about visiting it once a day. (Figure 13) It is also important to

note that the ability of FreshGrade to foster parent-student dialogue was reported as notably

lower among Grade 7 respondents. In part, this is likely to the fact that the portfolio was only

opened to Grade 7 parents for the final term of the school year and many parents felt either

frustrated by the change in technology or overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of information

that was being shared. As well, it is a reflection of the students developmental age and their
increased reluctance to share work at home. Furthermore, it is a result of more parents

allowing Grade 7 students to take additional responsibility for their learning without constant

check-ins. At the end of term 3, about 35% of Grade 7 parents had not connected with their

childs FreshGrade portfolio at all.

Figure 13: Respective results from students (n=48) and parents (n=24) responding to the

question: On average, how often do you visit you/your childs portfolio?

VI. Other Commendations, Recommendations & Limitations

A major advantage of the FreshGrade tool that has been touched on briefly above but

merits further discussion was its ability to allow for the attachment of specific curricular

outcomes to key learning tasks. FreshGrade also provided for flexibility in customizing

outcomes to include foundational skills, such as visualization, reasoning, communicating and

problem-solving. The ability to generate and include these front matter learning goals in

addition to the more traditional, knowledge and skill specific outcomes was a pedagogically

valuable aspect of the FreshGrade template.

FreshGrade also automatically generated reports about student learning relative to the

outcomes that had been attached to the tasks rather than just to the tasks themselves. If

outcomes had been addressed through multiple tasks, we were able to efficiently collate them

through FreshGrades reporting feature. This meant that it was always clear which tasks had

been associated with a particular outcome (Figure 13). It also meant that in cases where

student success with an outcome varied depending on a task, their most recent work was

leveraged more highly in reporting on the outcome (Figure 14) and resubmissions could be

created that would enable an assessment of their success with an outcome to be adjusted

(Figure 15). These features encouraged students to articulate areas of strength and growth

with respect to specific skills rather than with respect to an activity in general. Students were

more likely to ask questions like, Can you help me with my strategy for multiplying

two-digit factors?, rather than Can you help me with that assignment? It also allowed

teachers to analyze students learning more accurately with a focus on specific outcomes that

either the class as a whole or individual students needed the opportunity to revisit.
Figure 13: FreshGrade summarizes each of the learning tasks that have been associated with

this single Grade 5 Mathematics Outcome, along with all of the feedback provided by the

teacher for each task.

Figure 14: For a single learning outcome, all assessments are collated with most recent

work was leveraged more highly in reporting on student success the outcome.
Figure 15: Resubmissions can be created and attached to a single outcome that a student is

struggling such that their summative assessment for that single outcome can be updated .

FreshGrade also allowed teachers to create interim report cards, to which we referred

as progress reports so as not to confuse them with our schools tri-yearly, more holistic

(general) report card format. The progress reports generated by FreshGrade were simple lists

of the individual outcomes addressed throughout a specified period, along with a visual

displayed of how each student performed on every outcome covered (Figure 16).
Figure 16 - A report card or progress report generated through FreshGrade. The report

focuses on discrete outcomes and the level of achievement that a student has reached per

outcome.

Based on a survey regarding the value of progress reports, the majority of students

and many parents indicated that it was informative and accurate in communicating what had

been learned and what needed to be learned (Appendix B). The reports were not only

designed as a communication piece but also intended to further understanding. About 3/4 of

those surveyed said that they took extra effort in enhancing their work and improving their

understanding (Figure 17) and in Grade 7, all students were required to write a reflection

following their progress report, outlining an action plan based on the information it had

provided. The way in which these progress reports were utilized in the classroom was aligned

with one of the Dimensions of Sound Assessment Practice (Alberta Assessment Consortium,

2015), which specified that a teacher who is an effective assessor reports the results of

student learning to students, parents...in a manner that is informative, accurate...and designed

to support learning.
Figure 17: A distribution of student and parent reflecting on the degree to which the

FreshGrade progress report was followed by a decision to further their learning at home.

Additional advantages to using FreshGrade in the classroom can be more succinctly

summarized. First, the tool allowed teachers to quickly and visually assess how the class as a

whole was performing on an individual task (Figure 18). This was instrumental in deciding

next steps as a teacher. Collectively, did the class need further support or could they move

on? Second, the interface of the student portfolio was a single document, cleanly and simply

organized into individual posts. Third, the convenience offered through FreshGrades filter

feature made for selectively viewing parts of a students portfolio simple as the volume of

assessment tasks and artifacts accumulated over the year. Fourth, there was a Keep Private

function that allowed teachers to add notes to student work that would remain visible only to

the teacher at the teachers discretion as needed. Fifth, the variety of assessment tools that

existed and the ability to customize such tools were also benefits. Within FreshGrade,

creating an assessment task permitted the teacher to select not only outcomes, but also

resources, categories, labels, and students (Figure 19). Lastly, parent and student

respondents of our survey reported improved student organization as a result of using

FreshGrade (Figure 20).

Figure 18 - The colour coding below each task represented levels of achievement for that

task and outcome in a class. Green signified meeting expectations while orange meant

approaching expectations, and, in some cases, red denoted not yet meeting expectations.

Figure 19 - Assessment task allow for choices in objectives, categories, labels, resources,

assessment tools, and students

Figure 20 - A distribution of student and parent responses to the statement: FreshGrade has

helped me/my child become more organized.

From the reflections discussed here, our experiences with FreshGrade have been

generally positive. Students and parents clearly indicated that the tool was helpful (Figure

18). We observed improved advocacy among our students, encouraged deep reflection about

their learning, and improved communication between teachers and students and between the

school and home.

Figure 18: A distribution of student and parent responses to the statement: Using

FreshGrade is helpful for students.

As with new endeavours, there were some parts of our experience and the platform

itself that could have been more seamless and better implemented. One feature that was

absent from the tool was a clear notification for due dates, which is an inherent feature of

some other learning management systems like Edmodo. One parent reflected that it [was]

not at all clear what the upcoming assignment would be due or if it was late. I greatly

prefer[ed] Edmodo for the ability to discuss/remind students about projects before they were

due. A significant number of students also commented that they disliked not having clear

notifications or alerts from FreshGrade letting them know when due dates were approaching

or past. Though these due dates were consistently posted to students agendas, the onus was

completely on students to stay on top of deadlines as the tool did not do it for them. A

potential but hopefully only temporary solution to this frustration would be for the teacher to

send out a FreshGrade announcement a day prior to the task being due.
 A second limitation of FreshGrade was that, because learning outcomes were

generated based on Alberta curriculum documents, at times these outcomes were too vague

for students to be able to clearly identify their specific areas of need. For instance, if the

specific objective relate decimals to fractions and fractions to decimals (to thousandths)

was selected by a teacher, what was visible to both parents and students was only the general,

overarching objective of develop number sense. Another concern with attaching curricular

outcomes to tasks was that in many cases, the outcomes included words such as such as

compatible, annexing, symbolic, pictorial, concrete, coefficients, and referents, that at first

glance were too technical for many students to decipher. This, however, allowed for

discussion and contextual use of this kind of vocabulary with students, which made it more

meaningful and memorable. An example of a positive result of this difficult language was

that most students in our math classes grew to understand what it meant to show pictorial and

symbolic representations as these terms came to be utilized extensively in our lessons.

From the teaching perspective, the most significant shortcoming of FreshGrade was

its inability to allow teachers to differentiate between the evaluation of multiple outcomes

within a single activity. If, within a specific task, a student was able to demonstrate that they

were able to divide decimals, but not to multiply decimals, as a teacher it was not possible to

distinguish between these two distinct outcomes within our evaluation. Though we could

comment on the students varying degrees of understanding, we would then have to decide

whether as a whole, the student should be approaching or meeting expectations for the

task, and that assessment would be assigned to all selected objectives even though the student

would have achieved different levels of understanding of with each. As a teacher, this

experience proved frustratingly problematic as not all assessments on an individual outcome

could be considered wholly accurate in reporting students abilities. Ultimately, the only
solution that we were able to reach was to input an activity multiple times but aligned with

only single objectives each time. Although this was an inefficient workflow for recording

student achievement, it ensured that communicating student strengths and weaknesses were

more accurate.

A final concern expressed by parents and students with regards to our use of

FreshGrade was that as an online tool it assumed and demanded, first, access to the

technology and, second, the proficiency of both parents and students in navigating the

interface. A parent wrote, Personally, I do not have a mobile device or a home computer. I

did not check FreshGrade very often because of this. If I did have a device, I think I would

have checked much more frequently and had benefited more and in turn my child too.

Familiarity with any technology platform required experience with continued

experimentation and navigation. Although our school philosophy of research and innovation

through the intentional, ubiquitous use of technology suggests that navigating this space of

initial difficulty with new online tools is expected and worth continuing to explore, one

parent suggested that specific training at the start of the year or term would be very useful.

It is also important that we continue to be mindful not to let the technological novelty of the

product overshadow the purpose of the portfolio (Woodward & Nanlohy, 2004, p. 227).

VI. Implications for Connect Charter

This study was underpinned by many of Connect Charters framework of exemplary

teaching and learning: relationship, culture of innovation, parents as partners,

technology-enhanced learning, authentic assessment, collaboration, communication,

engagement in learning, and student success. As we continue to adopt new practices in our

repertoire and delve into reflection and research of these practices, we empower ourselves as
professionals and greatly impact the stakeholders with whom we engage in this work. In

particular, the ability to focus on examining best practices for assessment in the classroom

context through the use of digital portfolios allowed us to act out our charter mandate of

promoting a culture of innovation and inquiry.

Within Albertas current pedagogical climate, there exists a diversity of opinion as to

which approach is the most effective way to report student learning to stakeholders. Factors

such as the manner in which assessments are designed; the way evidence is collected, stored

and recorded; and the amount of information parents want/need from the significant quantity

of information that is regularly exchanged between teachers and students will inevitably

impact the decision as to which reporting format is selected. Our research explored a single

classroom-based possibility for how we might more effectively communicate students

learning to both students and parents in a manner that is informative, accurate, fair, and

designed to support learning. We feel confident in stating (with the limitations described

herein notwithstanding) that FreshGrade is an appropriate tool for this task and should be

worthy of further consideration for the entire school community, particularly as the

technology continues to update in response to the feedback it receives from various

stakeholders in the coming years.

A few additional considerations for Connect are that the FreshGrade tool does have

the ability to generate all of the same information that is typically provided on one of our

current report cards through a significantly less onerous process. The progress reports

generated online through FreshGrade can also be printed as PDF documents and tailored to

include a summary of both curricular learning outcomes, teacher comments, and evaluations

for each individual student. The tool can also be tailored to reflect collaboratively developed,

school specific assessment outcomes. Another key consideration to discuss as a school

community as we continue to investigate how to more effectively communicate about student

learning on an ongoing basis is whether, if this is increasingly achieved, there could be the

argument for fewer formal reporting periods, to be replaced by conferences related to the

feedback provided via a tool like FreshGrade.

In conclusion, we both found that steady accumulation of artifacts by students via

FreshGrade for showcase, assessment, and learning purposes was an effective reflection of

our school philosophy in that it forced us to constantly engage in thinking critically about our

pedagogical efficacy (Buzetto-More, 2010). Experimenting with a new assessment tool

forced us to evaluate our practice with respect to clearly defined aspects of our assessment

philosophy (instilling autonomy, developing metacognition, cultivating a growth mindset)

and to engage with parents and students in evaluating its strengths and weaknesses (extending

conversations, promoting advocacy).

We feel strongly that Connect should continue to encourage cross-grade and

cross-curricular exploration of various assessment tools and practices as this is part of our

mandate. In order to guide this exploration, however, we also recommend that the Connect

professional community clearly and collaboratively establish some key characteristics of a

school-wide assessment philosophy within which our research should proceed. We also

recommend that this ongoing investigation into effective assessment be formalized through

deliberate engagement with parents and students pre- and post- surveys and conversations in

order to continue push our assessment practice as a school community toward more

innovative pedagogical possibilities.

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 Appendix A

Grade 5 student responses (n=48) to the question: If your marks did NOT meet expectations
on FreshGrade, what did you do? Be SPECIFIC.

I asked him in the comments to re do that part

I read the comments and do what they say to or just upload the assignment.
Read in coments what needed to be completed, and the do it.
I edited it by reasearching on different websites
I asked what I had to do to make it better. Or what I needed to work on. So this helped me to fix it or work on something that I was struggling in.
Try to do it again
Try again.
I would ask to redo my test so I can get a better mark.
I asked if I could retry the check in or test whatever it is but when I felt more confident about it.
I redo my work or finish it, then I email Mr. Sonico to change the mark.
I'd answer them again
I either took a restest, or I read a comment explaining what I need to work. After reading the comment I would , study and ,answer the comment.
I would first ask if he made a mistake.If he said "no" then I would study and ask for a rewrite.
I either re-did it or finished it
I re-did the assignment and posted onto fresh grade
Fix it
I would study the topic and retake the test or whatever it is
I either did the assignment again or I uploaded something so I could get meeting expectations .
In would go home and work on it but I am always really busy so I'm not at my house that often and freshG needs wifi so I can't work on it then.
I would go and see what I need to catch up and take some time to work on it and don't stop until it's done.
I fixed it with description.
I redid the assignment
I worked on it at home and made sure it was finished before the next day.
I looked at the comments and did what the comments say
Try to fix it and ask the teacher
I would redo or just do it.
I worked hard at home and or re did the assignment
I practiced or I tried to redo the thing that it did not meet expectations.
I sometimes asked mr.Sonico, or I did it myself.
I would go back after studying and ask to re-do the assignment.
If you weren't there wile we did the assignment you do it by yourself and put in pictures or right a comment at home or when you have free time or if Mr. Sonico
told you.
I would take my PROGECT and do every thing that I could do make it my very best
I will come and talk to you to see what I need to do to make it meeting expectations.
Looked at the question again tried to figure out what I did wrong and fixed that problem.
I fix some but not all.
I try to update the work
I worked harder there and then asked if I could change my mark.
I practice that thing then showed Mr. Sonico. So he would change my mark.
I tried to when I had class time to
I made changes to what I did wrong then emailed Mr. Sonico.
Try again and do some homework
Tell my mom and get it done to try harder
I tried to apload as much as i can every day
Do it again
I read your comment and used the coment to help me to do better
 I would redo my work and sometimes mr.sonico would change my mark.
I started over and did it over again and went online
I asked Mr Sonico to help me complete the assignment and then change the mark.

Grade 7 student responses (n=85) to the question: If your marks did NOT meet expectations
on FreshGrade, what did you do? Be SPECIFIC.

When I did not meet expectations on my first number sense check in, I practiced on khan and took screenshots of the work I did that was on
the check in. When I did not meet expectations on the structures and forces, I printed practice tests to get ready for the exam/ re- do.
I used all chances I could to try and advocate if I didn't understand, and if I could I resubmitted it so that I could not have negative marks on
a permanent record.
I started to do a math sheet to get the marks up
I asked my teacher what I could do to make my marks meeting expectations.
I either made sure that that didn't happen in the first place or I would ask what the make-up solution was. In this case, I didn't meet the
science expectations so I will take the mini exam when it happens.
nothing because all of mine were good
I would demonstrate my understanding in a different assignment or check in or i would re do a check in.
Most of my assignments were meeting only 1 did not and I revised my work cause my teachers comments told me what I needed to do
I would probably see what assignment I needed help with. In my case the standard it did not reach was Measurements and such. I would first
go to a schooling website and find the specific curricular standard to see what I am required to fulfill. Depending on the information I will
create a question or quiz entailing the contents of the curricular standard.
sometimes I would retake the test, or redo the certan thing i needed to do
I would sometimes go back and revise it but sometimes I would look at what I did on my assignment and try to revise my work mentally and
know what I would do differently next time.
I revised my work and added extra insights and more to prove I know the stuff.
I usually would not do anything about it, but previously I have tried to improve my grades and show my knowledge.
I would practice the topic ether on Khan academy for math, or seek support fro the teacher. I would defiantly do something about it, I don't
like not meeting expectations.
i would repost a better copy
If my marks did not meet expectations then I would talk to my teachers and see what I could do to improve my marks.
I had them at least all meeting so I didn't need to do anything but on some of the things if I had a little bit of struggle then I would review it
on khan
I asked for help with the the thing I didn't meet expectations with. Or ask the teacher if I could make my own problem and show that I can
do it.
I would ask the teacher for a redo, if one was not available i would video myself doing the problem or project.
I would talk to my teacher on what I would need to improve/ work on. Or I would work on some khan recommendations with what I wasn't
meeting on.
I have resubmitted assignments to make sure they meet expectations
For example, when my perform and describe transformations was approaching, I did the resubmission and had a detailed explanation about
the transformations.
My marks were lit so I just kept up the dank work.
I went an checked to see what I did not do well on and I usually go and ask the teacher but if i don't ask I go and practice it at home.
I would re-submit my assignment without looking at the comments, or seeing very little of it.
If I was struggling or confused with the concept I would ask the Teacher for support or figure it out on my own, ask Parents, Classmates or
search online for practice that I can do there.
resubmit it.
I usually asked for support or I worked on Kahn recommendations for the topic
I didn't need to do anything because I met expectations.
resubmit it but make up my own questions
My marks all met or exceeded expectations
I mostly didn't do that much about it but now I am working on coming up with a problem in math and solve it to prove that I understand.
i would do maybe khan academy recomadentions and maybe get more help from the teacher to support me with the things i don't understand
If my marks didn't meet expectations, I would resubmit if I was offered the chance. Otherwise, I would practice on khan or do more research
so that I would do better next time.
I know what I need to work on and try to find the time to practice, either with my mom or an Khan.
I asked what I could do to bring it up and reviewed what I did not get.
If that ever happened, I would ask for help.
I would go home, and if there was practice sheets on freshgrade or edmodo, I would go to them, and practice them. I also used Khan
Academy, and often searched what would I would need to help improve my work. If I didn't understand one bit, I would ask my uncle for
help.
 I had one mark at the beginning that was not meeting expectations. I asked Mrs. Bailey about it and then I understood how to do it.
Use khan to practice that certain task
If my marks on freshgrade was not meeting expectations ten i would practice them ( sometime on khan but mostly at home on different
websites or from my parents or workbooks )
I resubmitted, and emailed Mrs. Bailey to see if I could get it re assessed
I resubmitted my work to get a better mark.
I would redo the entire assignment.
I felt that my marks generally met my expectations.
I am studying the science recommendations like crazy
Well, it depended on what it is. If there was a time that the teacher gave us to do better I would study and I would try and figure what I did
wrong how to do it.
I have not had a project on fresh grade that I got under meeting expectations. Although if I did, I am sure that I would try re-do it and study
it more. This almost did happen with the bloop problem so I went home and when I had time I worked on it until I felt better with the
subject.
I did the practices that were provided like with the algebra check-ins.
I worked and used the practiced provided by the teachers, or asked if I could resubmit after practice.
Right now I am doing the resumption
I worked on Khan.
I met al expectations
I would try to resubmit but if it was a check in I would know that I can't re-do it so then i hope i do better next time.
I told my parents and filled out the reflection. Then I know what I have done well to continue doing.
I would do the Khan recommendations, find out what I did wrong.
I worked harder to show my understanding elsewhere and to make sure I understood.
I commented on the assignment (not all of them) and advocated for some things. I often ask questions about some assignments, although the
GeoGebra scavenger hunt was still confusing. I started to do it for future assignments.
I am redoing the math (use direct and indirect measurement to solve problems) and science (Structures and forces). I will read the link that
Ms. Monteith gave me for the science and I will write the answers down in my book. For math, I will advocate when I need it and I will look
back on previous practice sheets that we have done.
I resubmitted and am resubmitting where I can and try to meet expectations.
I asked for a second chance to complete it, in a different way, and on the next assignment, I did the best work I could do.
Sometimes I fixed it but other times I was just lazy and decided not to and realize that was a bad choice.
If I did not meet expectations in math I tried to find the concept on khan and master it.
Sometimes I would ask for a recheckin, but most of the time i didn't do anything except use the feedback for my next similar assignment.
I resubmitted the stuff I did bad at
I would probably comment about it and ask I can show my understanding in the topic some other way.
I would read comments and try to practice more on khan or asking my parents about it, but also sometimes i wouldn't do anything.
all the math work I was supposed to do to up my mark
I simply would try to do better next class/check-in.
resubmit
I did it it again and re submitted it
Most of the time I would leave it but if there was something I could do I would do it.
I am currently trying to do the resubmissions, so that I might be able to get a better mark.
I haven't done anything about it but i believe i only have 4 so i still shoud have but didn't.
sometimes I would redo it or go on khan to practice more that topic
I would go on Khan Academy and practice what I need to work on.
I am completing the resubmissions on my math.
i did the math resubmissions
I talked to the teacher and I tried to understand what elements of my work were missing and then I attempt to apply that to my future work.
If I feel like I can do better then I will usually fix it.
i try to practice more but it doesn't work most of the time
what i did was most of the time was ignore it or work on it sometimes
I guess i only do them if they were really bad.
I looked at my assignment also with the feedback and figured out what I did wrong in the assignment to get not meeting expectations. I
would go back to the assessment fix what I had missed and hopefully resubmit and get meeting expectations.
 Appendix B
Students and parents (n=69) respond to a survey in a variety of prompts regarding regarding
the value of interim progress reports generated through FreshGrade