PDP and Employability: practice and research @ Birmingham City University

Jo Powell & Rachel Moule

Centre for Enhancement of Learning and Teaching C

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What’s happening with PDP?

• Ongoing support for staff one-to-one and workshops including supporting staff’s own PDP • BCU generic PDP moodle site:

Your Personal and Professional Development

• E-Portfolio Mahara launched with tools and pedagogic framework • Researching academic staff perceptions of PDP • In development- SEDA approved course for staff supporting PDP • Researching student use of e-Portfolio for PDP • 10 step reflective feedback model to support modules

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Status of Employability

• Birmingham City University cited as good example* for ‘

embedding (employability) into all documents that bear on how the organisation works

’ • Also integrated into PG Cert / staff MA Ed modules • NTF project: Creating Future Proof Graduates http://www.bcu.ac.uk/futureproof/ • Graduate Employability Skills Framework for mapping employability skills opportunities to the curriculum • Employability and Entrepreneurship Working group established • In development-BCU Employability Award to include ePDP * UK Commission for Employment & Skills - The Employability Challenge 2009

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PDP NARN research with students

Research project investigated students’ reasons for engaging or not engaging with PDP via e-Portfolio. Focus group with 8 first year non-traditional UG students. Student perspectives confirm the literature: – they really value the opportunities afforded by ePDP – BUT it feels ‘indulgent’ – If given academic acknowledgement they would give it a higher priority – Needs to be very clearly integrated and signposted throughout the course, preferably via personal tutorial system

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PDP NARN research with staff

• Research project investigating staff perceptions PDP and its parts and how valued they are – Questionnaire of 125 cross faculty academic staff – Asked to rate value of PDP and its parts – Asked to define PDP • PDP seen as important – although elements of reflection, self awareness, action planning and employability rated more important separately • Different faculties see different elements as most important

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Interested? Please call us:

Ruth Lawton

University Teaching Fellow for Employability Centre for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching

Jo Powell

Tutor for PDP and Employability Centre for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching [email protected]

0121 331 5126 [email protected]

0121 331 6412 http://www.bcu.ac.uk/celt/employability-personal-development

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