Handbook for the Comprehensive Reflective Portfolio - Maryville ...

Handbook for the
Comprehensive
Reflective Portfolio
Doctor of Education in Higher Education Leadership
www.maryville.edu/edgrad
Created 9/13

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Rationale
The Comprehensive Reflective Portfolio is designed as a culminating reflection to
connect program coursework, the capstone research project, the internship experience,
the professional leadership growth plan, and other relevant leadership experiences. As
depicted by its name, the Reflective Portfolio documents learning, providing a
progressive record of growth in becoming a more reflective practitioner. Differing from a
traditional artifact-based portfolio, the Reflective Portfolio may but does not need to
include documents highlighting work completed throughout the program. The goal of
the Reflective Portfolio as indicated by the name is reflection: reflection of thoughts,
feelings, and experiences throughout this educational journey. You are encouraged to
enjoy the process of creating the portfolio product. In the spirit of self-evaluation, the
Reflective Portfolio promotes individuals to critically think about what has been gained
throughout this seven-semester leadership development program, communicating to the
Higher Education Leadership Program faculty and to the university, in general, the
growth you have experienced during this professional academic endeavor. This
reflective practice enables you to think, question, analyze, and assess. Since a deep
level of refection is needed to complete this type of writing, reflective writing is
compared and contrasted with other types of writing.
Descriptive, Analytic, and Reflective Writing Comparison
Please keep these differences in mind when writing the reflective pieces for your
Comprehensive Reflective Portfolio:
• Descriptive: A retelling of what happened in a course, internship, or other
experience. This kind of writing is meant to re-tell WHAT has occurred.
• Analytic: Analysis deals with reasons, motives, and interpretation and is
supported by concrete evidence. Analytic writing includes the thought processes
you used to arrive at the conclusions made about a course, internship, or other
experience. This kind of writing is meant to offer insights about WHY you think
something has occurred.
• Reflective: Reflective writing includes the thought process that occurs after an
event or experience. This is the kind of thinking that allows deep contemplation
about what occurred or did not occur during a particular experience to make
informed decisions about how you would approach similar situations in the future.
Although reflective thought and writing may occur in many places, the
Comprehensive Reflective Portfolio is where you must show how you have used
what you learned from your educational experiences to inform and improve your
practice in the future. This kind of writing is meant to offer your thoughts on your
learning and HOW you will use your learning to inform your future practice.
• Analytic and Reflective Overlap: Analytic and reflective writing do overlap,
although they are not identical. Analysis involves the interpretation and
examination of elements or events supported by evidence. Reflection, a
particular kind of analysis, suggests self-analysis and retrospective consideration
of your learning and the implications of that learning for your practice.

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The following prompts are designed to promote reflection:
‣ What does it all mean?
‣ What have you learned about yourself and how does your learning influence your
practice?
‣ How have you and your practice changed throughout the course of the program?
‣ What are you most proud of and why?
‣ Where do you go from here and why? What experiences have led you to want to
take these next steps?
‣ What would you do differently?
‣ How do you synthesize the coursework and other program components?
‣ How have you applied theory to your practice?
‣ In what personal, professional, or leadership growth areas are you still interested
in developing?
Program Themes
Candidates should include the Three Program Themes in the Reflective Portfolio:
Theme 1. The Nature and Ethics of Leadership in a Democratic Society
Higher Education Leaders:
• Understand the history, philosophy, and sociology of higher education in a
democracy and take reasoned positions on issues and international models of
reform and innovation in higher education;
• Have a clear understanding of the nature of leadership, of themselves as
leaders, of the moral and ethical imperatives of leadership, and a clear grasp
of the environment in which higher education leaders function;
• Possess knowledge of human differences domestically and globally, relate
and lead across differences, and recognize and confront injustice at the
institutional and societal level.
Theme 2. Leaders as Agents of Positive and Sustainable Change through
Democratic Management
Higher Education Leaders:
• Have the skills to initiate, build, and maintain positive human interactions,
develop human potential, build systemic learning communities, build
collaborative relationships, operate in rich and diverse cultural settings, and
view others as worthy and valuable individuals;
• Possess the knowledge and understanding necessary to generate and
manage human and fiscal resources effectively; apply appropriate legal and
accountability oversight; evaluate programs, faculty, and staff; and
comprehend the environmental forces, political directions, and institutional
governance processes necessary to successfully lead higher education within
its current and changing environment;

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• Demonstrate an ethic of care for colleagues and students by building effective
visions and working relationships across multiple functional areas within
higher education institutions;
• Promote student learning through articulating and assessing learningcentered
practices and linking curricular and co-curricular learning.
Theme 3. Leaders as Reflective Learners Who Appreciate the Value of Formal
Inquiry in Understanding the Context of Schools in a Democratic Society
Higher Education Leaders:
• Understand, and continuously reflect upon the critical nature of valid data in
the decision-making process; apply sound inquiry methodologies and
effective technologies; analyze complex data sets, draw strategic conclusions
and develop strategic plans, build collaborative work teams, formulate
effective implementation plans and evaluate results;
• Have a firm grasp of student developmental theory with an emphasis on
student resilience, persistence, and retention and acquire and practice the
skills, concepts, and techniques to structure effective instructional
environments and interventions that maximize student learning and success;
• Demonstrate the ability to perform effective program assessment and
strategic problem solving.
Format
The design of the items submitted to the Comprehensive Reflective Portfolio is yours to
make since this should best suit your individual learning and style. Possibilities for the
format of the reflections include: a written narrative, a video response, or an illustration.
All the elements of the Portfolio should be submitted in the designated Dropbox for the
EDL 744 “Capstone and Final Experiences” course.
Contents
Regardless of individual format, portfolios must contain, but are not limited to, the
following elements:
Part I
A summative reflection on each program theme integrating coursework, your individual
pre- and post-assessment data, the internship experience, and the capstone research
project. These reflections about each theme will serve as the initial pages of the
portfolio with the six (6) items below used to build this comprehensive reflection.
Part II
1. Professional Leadership Growth Plan (PLGP)
a. A copy of your PLGP submitted in the Fall of the first year.
b. Since the PLGP is a living document, amendments to the plan should be
included.

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c. A reflective component about the PLGP documenting what was completed
from this plan and creating goals for continued leadership growth following
graduation.
2. Internship Experience
a. A proposal identifying the site(s), area(s), and mentor(s) for the internship
experience(s).
b. Three (3) reflections on the internship experience connecting to the
program themes and coursework.
c. Evaluation(s) from mentor(s).
d. A summative reflection on the internship thinking about how this
experience has enhanced your professional and/or career development.
3. Capstone Research Project
a. The Abstract from the Capstone Research Project.
b. Brainstorms for further research on this project and implications for
practice as a leader in higher education as detailed in Chapter V of your
Capstone Research Project.
c. Two (2) reflections describing what you have learned about research and
how research can be used in your professional practice. (Reflections
about the research experience are typically completed each Spring
semester.)
4. Course Reflections: You will have completed reflections during the program
documenting learning in each individual course; these should be included.
5. An updated resume/Curriculum Vitae (CV) marketing your internship experience,
capstone research project, and other leadership skills developed throughout the
program.
6. A one-page descriptor of how the cohort experience has affected your learning in
the program.
Timeline
The Comprehensive Reflective Portfolio initially needs to be submitted to your advisor at
least three (3) weeks prior to the scheduled Professional Conversation. Your
advisor will provide timely feedback on the document and then the revised version of
the Portfolio is due to your advisor one (1) week before the scheduled Professional
Conversation. The Professional Conversations will occur during the 7 th semester of
the program with faculty members within the School of Education. You should be
prepared to discuss the portfolio and to address questions posed in relation to this
document during the Professional Conversation.