Heather Pate, Senior Learning Designer from Edith Cowan University on ‘Evidencing learning in Science and Careers.’ This recording is from our 2022 Perth, Australia MiniBash community event.
Heather Pate, Senior Learning Designer at Edith Cowan University, shares how ECU’s School of Science is embedding integrative learning and long‑form portfolios to help students evidence their skills, experiences and employability.
Recorded at our 2022 Perth MiniBash, this session showcases ECU’s course‑wide portfolio initiative, which supports students from first year through to graduation as they collect stories, reflect on learning, articulate competencies, and prepare for Work Integrated Learning (WIL) and employment.
Heather explains how ECU:
- Uses integrative learning principles to help students connect coursework, co‑curricular activities and real‑world experience
- Aligns course learning outcomes with employability skills across all science majors
- Encourages students to gather evidence, stories and reflections throughout their degree
- Helps students build confidence in articulating their strengths, achievements and professional identity
- Incorporates competencies and values (such as resilience, reflection, integrity and courage) to support career development
- Builds structured, scaffolded workbook activities from first year upward—leading to a polished professional portfolio in the final year
Heather also describes ECU’s collaborative approach, developed with the Careers team, to help students understand why these skills matter and how to communicate them authentically to future employers.