About project

The Academic Webfolio project is part of the AFP efforts to promote higher education reforms in the region, which have two strategic foci:

1. Assisting a group of reform-minded university departments to become platforms and models for innovation and reform.
2. Promoting the return, retention and professional development of program Fellows (Returning Scholars) to such departments.

Academic Webfolio Project's Concept

1. To use collective academic expertise of AFP Fellows and partner departments for evaluating program’s progress to date and increasing the effectiveness of its implementation.
2. To open processes of academic development & professional growth of AFP Fellows and departmental reforms for academic community and turn them into an object of open discourse (in "community property" – Lee S. Shulman).

Academic Webfolio Project's Essence

In the course of several academic years, AFP Fellows will develop their Academic Portfolios (or, "Webfolios", because they are placed on the web) presenting the work done as part of  AFP Fellowships ("Fellowship Webfolios"). The content of the Fellows’ Webfolios will be different for various  AFP Fellows reflecting their different roles in the program and, correspondingly, different foci of their Fellowships.

Correspondingly, AFP partner departments will develop Departmental Academic Webfolios presenting departmental curriculum reform and its progress to date.  

The third type of Academic Webfolios - Academic Communities' Webfolios - are being created by various academic groups and present their group efforts aimed at academic issues that are of interest for this particular group (one of the examples - AFP Discipline Groups).

All the Webfolios are open to ongoing peer feedback, analysis and evaluation - peer comments and reviews are placed to the Webfolios along with the original material. 

The Academic Webfolio Project’s website also provides opportunities for scholarly dialogue and collaboration within disciplinary and thematic groups, and serve as an additional instrument supporting other AFP program activities, Fellows' and departmental initiatives.

Academic Webfolio Project's Objectives

AFP implements the Academic Webfolio Project in order to achieve the following objectives at the program level:

1. Creating conditions and stimulating processes of self-reflection, collective analysis and research on individual academic development and departmental academic reform issues ("scholarship of academic development and reform").
2. Creating a framework for and stimulating processes of peer interaction, collaboration, mentoring, etc. within AFP
3. Creating a framework for and establishing processes of systematic internal review, analysis & ongoing evaluation of the program implementation and its progress to date. Collecting authentic information about program's progress, effectiveness of its activities, critical processes, issues, etc.
4. Stimulating open discussion, dialogue, information exchange and cooperation among the AFP partner departments.
5. Stimulating knowledge transfer within AFP and from the program to the universities in the region.
6. Developing showcases that present and thoroughly analyze the most successful examples of individual academic development and departmental reforms (detailed and operational cases, depicting not only "what", but "how" as well)

Modes of Fellows' participation

There are different "modes" of participation of AFP Fellows in the Academic Webfolio Project reflecting the different roles Fellows play in the program and the content of their efforts done as part of their AFP Fellowships.

1. Returning Scholars (RSs)

RSs develop Academic Webfolios presenting their academic and professional development as university teachers and scholars (including their service to the program, university and the discipline).

Presentation of each of these separate directions can follow the general logic: vision/plan – efforts/implementation - results (supported by evidence) – self-reflection/peer feedback/collective analysis – changes in the vision/plan - … Examples of possible RS Webfolio items are provided in Appendix 1.

 2. International Scholars (IS)

The role of ISs within AFP is the one of "experts and consultants". Correspondingly, their Webfolios could present information about their ongoing consultative assistance to the partner departments and AFP Fellows (and provide an additional framework for such assistance). ISs could also provide their perceptions, analysis and evaluation of the processes of individual academic development of RSs as well as the scope, direction and pace of the departmental reforms.

Forms of peer interaction

In addition to the traditional advantage of academic portfolios - an opportunity for in-depth self-reflection and analysis, one of the most important features (and potential advantages) of the AFP Webfolio Project is a possibility to intensify interaction among AFP Fellows on all substantial professional and programmatic matters. Such dialogue can take place in the following forms:

1. expert reviews of the most important RS & Departmental Webfolio materials (for example, syllabi, individual and departmental development plans, etc.) and analysis of the progress in academic development of RSs and departmental reforms to date - implemented periodically by ISs and placed to the RS Webfolios along with the original materials;
2. peer comments and analysis (placed by AFP Fellows to Webfolios of each other and the departmental Webfolios regarding any material) - ongoing, all Fellows and departments take part in this process;
3. peer discussion within Disciplinary or Thematic Groups (in the form of Internet forums initiated by AFP Fellows, departments or program staff - ongoing);
4. "feedback on feedback" - Fellows' responses to and evaluation of the usefulness of input from their peers’ input (presumably leading to professional discussion of issue under consideration at a meta-level)

Structure of Fellows' (Individual) Academic Webfolios

In general, there is no strict unified structure of either Fellows' or Departmental Academic Webfolios. Fellows may choose any format of presenting their academic development, assistance efforts and results to their peers, provided that their Webfolios present a clear picture of their performance in all the important to AFP areas (teaching, research, and "service" or "relations with academic environment") and this picture is substantiated by some evidence.

At the same time, based on the AFP strategic goals and the nature of the AFP Fellowships, we could suggest the following tentative Webfolio structures. Fellows may use them as a basis and introduce any modifications they consider necessary.

The main theme of RS Fellowships is academic development and professional growth of the RSs as scholars and university teachers. In a way, the RSs implement academic development mini-projects with the target audience consisting of one person, and their Webfolios should present the progress of these mini-projects to date.

As in many respects such development processes resemble those occurring at the initial stages of academic careers of their counterparts in the West, we suggest that RSs use for their Webfolios the following structure based on course, teaching and professional development portfolios used in Western universities (with some important modifications reflecting the nature of the AFP Fellowships and opportunities provided by the AFP Webfolio Project - see Appendix 1).

In this section Returning Scholars present the part of their Fellowships relating to their development as university teachers.

In addition to common portfolio items providing substantial contextual information (such as a brief description of their teaching load), Returning Scholars can depict their efforts in development of new courses/revision of existing ones. Their Webfolios can also reflect their approaches to course design, selection of course content and teaching methods, teaching experiments, etc. as well as actual results of course delivery followed by self-reflection, peer feedback, collective analysis and evaluation.

An important element of RS Webfolios is peer feedback to and reviews of the most substantial Webfolio items (such as syllabi, teaching materials, development plans, etc). These reviews are implemented, mostly, by International Scholars and placed to the RS Webfolios along with the original materials, which, in turn, may result in revision of these items by their authors. Eventually, the Teaching section can include, for example, the initial syllabus and all its revisions with peer reviews and consequent RSs’ self-reflections on and explanation of all modifications, thus illustrating the progress made by the RS.

Material in this RS Webfolio section can also present the Fellows' vision of their professional development as university teachers, their efforts and their progress in this direction to date. This part can include Fellows' individual professional development plans, information on their participation in professional development activities focused on teaching, intermediate results of such participation for their teaching and self-reflection & peer feedback on the progress in implementation of these plans (if appropriate).

This Webfolio section presents the process of Fellows' development as scholars and their progress in this direction to date. As in the previous section, the Webfolio presentation could follow the general logic "vision/plan - implementation - results (with evidence, if appropriate) - self-reflection/peer feedback/collective analysis - corrections in vision/plan…"

This section also provides Fellows with an opportunity to present their current research interests, research work completed and in progress, ideas of new joint research projects etc. (see a tentative menu of Webfolio items in Appendix 1)

c) Service (relations with the academic environment - AFP, the university and the academic discipline)

In addition to the standard content of this Webfolio (Portfolio) section (such as information illustrating the Fellow's service to the university and the discipline), this Webfolio section allows RSs presenting their efforts aimed at assisting the departmental reform. Such presentation could include their plans in this regard, activities, their intermediate results followed by reflections and peer discussion, as well as their ideas and proposals for the future.

3. International Scholars

There is be no required structure for Webfolios of ISs. Their Webfolios could provide information (in any format) about their consultative and expert assistance to other AFP Fellows and partner departments in developing their research and teaching potential. It is not required that ISs place any course-related information in their Webfolios, although they may want to place links to their websites containing materials of courses they teach in their home countries (if they want to illustrate some point or provide an example), publications, etc.

The focus in their Webfolios is shifted almost completely to their perceptions, analyses and evaluations of the processes of individual academic development of RSs as well as the scope, direction and pace of the departmental reforms.

Structure of Departmental Academic Webfolios

Development of a Departmental Webfolio is a collective task for all AFP Fellows placed to this department (with input from the Department Chair and non-AFP faculty).

There is no strict required structure for Departmental Webfolios. They should provide information about the department's movement towards implementing their Departmental Development Plan and its progress to date in any format.

In the area of teaching, the Webfolios could draw a broad picture of the department's teaching and present departmental efforts in implementing curriculum reform (supported by evidence, if necessary, for example, by student test performance results or summaries of student evaluations).

In the area of research, Webfolios could provide information about the department's research profile, research interests of faculty, their publications, projects implemented and those underway, etc. Webfolios could also present the department's efforts in developing its research potential (with analysis and discussion of any intermediate results).

Additionally, Webfolios can contain information about such crucial elements of a university department's life as faculty professional development strategy and concrete activities in this area, faculty and student evaluation procedures, class visitation schemes etc.

A tentative menu of items for Departmental Webfolios is given in Appendix 2.

Advantages of Building Academic Webfolios

According to numerous studies, introducing any faculty portfolio system (in the form of course, teaching or professional development portfolios) turns out to be very beneficial to faculty, students, departments and institutions (upon overcoming the traditional initial resistance to yet another activity imposing on precious faculty’s time).

Using Academic Webfolios by Fellows (first of all, RSs) provides a number of new opportunities, including:

• developing holistic strategies of RSs’ academic and professional development and implementing them in practice;
• conducting in-depth self-reflection and analysis of their actual teaching and research activities and their results;
• enlisting peer feedback, assistance and mentoring in a number of ways;
• experimenting with innovations in teaching (course content, design, delivery methods, assessment techniques etc.) (and collective analysis of their results);
• creating an impressive promotional tool supported by thorough evidence;
• as a result - improved teaching, better student performance, increased research productivity, more collaboration, new partnerships, more competitive in job market, etc.

Advantages of creating Academic Webfolios for AFP partner departments are also significant:

• Increased focus on departmental reform issues;
• Opportunity to re-think and systematize departmental approaches to development issues, come up with new strategies, document and monitor their implementation;
• Improved teaching & research potentials;
• Response to internal need and/or external pressure for quality assurance;
• Authentic data for receiving accreditation from professional associations;
• An informative and instrumental Web-site, etc.

Potential Issues

There are the following issues associated with the AFP Academic Webfolio Project's implementation:

a) the language problem;
b) Intellectual property & copyright issues;
c) Sensitive information in Webfolio materials.

AFP addresses these issue areas in the following ways. 

a) Language

The official language of the website is English. All new materials produced by Fellows should be accessible by their peers from all AFP countries, so English is the natural choice. There are a few exceptions from this requirement, for example, pre-existing materials or materials that naturally appear in the local languages (such as student work), which could be placed to the Webfolios in the language in which they naturally appear.

b) Intellectual property & copyright; c) Sensitive information

AFP implement the following protective measures to address these issues.

1. There is no "required" materials that fellows should place in their Academic Webfolios - only a very broad (menu) list of possible Webfolio items that appear in similar projects of their counterparts abroad or items brainstormed by the program itself. It is up to the fellow what items to choose.
2. Within an individual Webfolio item, it is up to the fellow to what extent divulge his or her idea, in what form, etc.
3. There are two layers of the Academic Webfolio website – the public and the internal one. All Webfolio items are placed at the internal level, which is for registered users only.
4. Based on the internal part of the website, AFP will develop showcases depicting the most successful Fellows and departments. Before placing any materials to the public part of the website, AFP (in consultancy with the Webfolio authors) will "clear" them from any undesirable private material (names, personal notes, sensitive comments, etc.)
5. The registration to the website is not automatic: AFP staff decides which categories of users should be given an access to the Webfolio part of the website (as well as to Forums of website users). 
6. There is a system of protected access to the internal part of the website even for registered users: only Webfolio authors (and AFP staff supporting the website) are able to modify in any way any material contained in their corresponding Webfolios. Such modifications is possible only in the form of removing this material as a whole from the Webfolio.
7. The process of uploading materials from users' computers to the website is decentralized and implemented by the Webfolio authors. The only exception are peer comments, which are placed in the Webfolios by other Fellows and peer reviews, which are placed to the Webfolios by website administrators. 
   
   All peer feedback is not anonymous.

The Future of the Academic Webfolio Project

1. Based on the most successful Fellows’ and Departmental Academic Webfolios, AFP will develop showcases presenting processes of individual academic development and departmental reforms.

2. In the future the project will be open to all AFP (including SCOUT) Alumni and non-AFP faculty from AFP partner departments

_____________________________________________________________

• Teaching responsibilities (courses, advising, etc.)
• Teaching philosophy (and its modifications with time)
• Syllabi (and their revised versions after peer review)
• Reading lists (with authors' reflections)
• Assessment approaches, major assignments, samples of graded student work, tests, etc.
• Overview of student supervision/mentoring
• Individual development plan (with reflections)
• Self-evaluation/self-reflection
• Innovations in teaching (idea, description, results, analysis)
• Presentations at AFP events (with peer feedback and the author's reaction)
• Topics for on-line discussion

• Peer feedback on course materials (with Fellow's reflection on it)
• Reports on classroom visits (BY AFP or non-AFP peers)
• Department’s feedback Summary of student evaluations
• Results of teaching Samples of student work (graded papers, open-ended answers to tests, etc.)
• Comparison of pre- & post-course test scores
• On-line discussion (on topics suggested by the Fellow)

II. RESEARCH

Materials from the RS

• Research interests
• Publications (lists & links), PhD abstracts, annotations etc.
• Reports on participation in scholarly activities Proposals for new projects
• Peer views on the fellow's scholarly work,
• IS advice & mentoring

Materials from peers

• Reports on projects implemented (with summary of participants' feedback)
• Applications to AFP DDP Fund
• Information reflecting any major input of the fellow in his/her AFP disciplinary group work (for example, drafts of documents )
• Reports of extracurricular and outreach activities

Reports on projects implemented (with summary of participants' feedback)

• Applications to AFP DDP Fund
• Reports on classroom visits (FROM other RSs and local faculty)
• Information reflecting any major input of the fellow in his/her AFP disciplinary group work (drafts of documents, main points of discussion, etc.)
• Reports of extracurricular and outreach activities

________________________________________________________

Appendix 2

Menu of Items for a Departmental Webfolio

I. TEACHING

A. Materials presented by the department

• Departmental Development Plan (and its revisions)
• Mission statement, goals and objectives (and their updates). Description of the overall curriculum design approach (and its updates)
• Description of the student evaluation procedure (and its updates)
• Description of the peer evaluation procedure (and its updates)

B. Materials presented by peers

• Description of the overall reform efforts and progress to date Analysis of the department's approach to curriculum design Analysis of the department's approach to faculty professional development
• Analysis of student and peer evaluation procedures
• Department's reflections on the analysisReports on classroom visitations (AFP fellows and local faculty)

C. Results of teaching

• Information regarding student performance Other information illustrating department's progress in developing its teaching capacity

II. RESEARCH

• Description of faculty's research interests Publications (links), PhD abstracts, annotations, book reviews, etc.
• Reports on academic events organized (with summary of feedback )
• Information on academic events attended by faculty
• Proposals of new projects (including those open for cooperation)
• Overall evaluations of the department's research profile and its progress in developing faculty's research capacities

III. POLICIES, PROCEDURES, PROCESSES

• Analysis of departmental approaches regarding strategic development issues
• Analysis of its efforts in this regard and first resultsSelected departmental policies (with their updates)
• Department’s initiatives and efforts in this area at the university level
• etc.