The school worked with MSED to develop an electronic portfolio that captures and records both clinical activity, and personal reflections for BDS students. The personal reflections are able to be tagged with domains, facilitating the construction of a personal development plan which forms the basis for each tutor meeting. Student concerns can be logged against individuals on the system by members of staff, and followed up with their personal tutor.
The eportfolio (iDentity) is used by all BDS students and staff
The portfolio is available online – we provide basic training for new staff. Students are encouraged to enter reflective logs into the system, guided by their clinical teachers or academic lecturers. Tutor meetings occur twice a year as a minimum, and a template online allows students to draw on reflections across the term in order to construct a SWOT analysis and personal development plan. Tutors can work through this and use it as a basis for discussion. It also allows tutors to set a number of action points or goals, with time-related boundaries that the students can sign off once completed.
The system provides an opportunity for the students to engage with reflective practise, which forms an important part of their professional development. Once captured, it also allows them to draw on this information across the whole term to form a summary of their experiences. The system also facilitates the tutor meeting, making the content specific to that individual student and guiding the tutor towards any specific areas of concern.
The system works very well, and our students are very supportive of it. It takes a while to engage effectively with reflective practise in the early clinical stages, but we now provide a fairly comprehensive introduction to reflection in Stage 2 which the students can build on throughout the remaining years.
Personal Tutoring using an e portfolio
Student Engagement
Undergraduate (all Stages)
Dental Sciences
ePortfolio
Individual students
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