Gail Matthews-DeNatale, PhD, faculty member in the graduate programs in education, asked that thought-provoking question in her award-winning presentation at the Sloan Consortium International Conference on Online Learning last month.
In her talk, Matthews-DeNatale described,”… the process and features of the 2013 Northeastern Master of Education curriculum redesign, which includes the articulation of program competencies and authentic signature assignments that provide evidence of progress toward competencies. Each student keeps an ePortfolio for the duration of the program, documenting and reflecting upon signature assignment work, and the Capstone involves turning this learning portfolio into a professional portfolio that can be made public. The portfolio process serves as an engine for cohesion in learning, helping students make connections between the program and workplace-based experiential learning, and allowing the faculty to determine if they are accomplishing what they set out to achieve.”
The presentation, deemed “Best-in-Track,” was streamed live to online attendees of the conference, archived for future viewing and was recognized at the conference awards ceremony.
And, Matthews-DeNatale who leads the concentration in eLearning and Instructional Design, is sharing her work at the forefront of online learning in two chapters she authored entitled, “Social media as a context for connected learning” and “eCommunication that fosters connections between people and ideas” in the 2014 book Innovative Teaching Strategies.