Transcript 14/11/03 seminar at University of Ulster at Jordanstown

Progress Files for Retention
National context of
Personal Development Planning (PDP)
and HE Progress File

Helen Richardson
University of Manchester
November 14th 2003
Background to PDP
• NCIHE (1997): Dearing Review:
Recommendation 20 directed HEIs to develop
the means by which students can monitor, build and
reflect upon their personal development
– this recommendation built on Recording
Achievement practices and documentation that had
been growing in HE over many years
– it led to the concept of PDP, now defined as:
– a structured and supported process undertaken by an
individual to reflect on their own learning, performance
and/or achievement and to plan for their personal,
educational and career development.
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Key concepts in PDP
• Structured and supported process
• Learning
• Reflection
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Key concepts in PDP
• Structured and supported process
– Personal tutorial: tutor-student dialogue,
reviewing progress, guidance, planning
– Academic tutorial: encourage peer
discussion/information sharing
– PDP module - e.g. York Award
– Career Management module
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Key concepts in PDP
Learning
academic discipline: knowledge, contexts,
understanding, abstraction of meaning
skills: transferable,discipline specific
self: attitudes, values, personal development
plan
record
implement
review
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Key concepts in PDP
Learning
Support process?
induction workshop : learning styles, and how
students can use their understanding of learning
styles to improve performance;
Give recognition and value to processes that
promote active, ‘deep learning’
EBL (enquiry based learning)
Give guidance/ feedback/ use formative
assessment
Raise awareness of/encourage reflection on
learning
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Key concepts in PDP
• Reflection
Process: learner self-review
–
–
–
–
–
–
What have I learned from doing this?
What went well/not so well?
How am I doing? What are my targets now?
What are the next steps I need to progress?
How do I reach those targets?
How will I know I have achieved those targets?
• Structured support for reflection?
– e.g. dialogue about learning & progress with tutor
and/or peers
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Key concepts in PDP
Structured and supported process
– e.g. for improving skills
• Pre-entry self-audit of skills
• Make skills explicit
– within and outside curriculum: what? where? how?
when?
• Repeated opportunities to practise curricular
skills, e.g. through presentations, research
project and dissertation work
– Give feedback to encourage improvement and
self-review of skills performance
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Aims of PDP
• Improve capacity of individuals to
understand what and how they are
learning
• help students to review, plan and take
responsibility for their own learning
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PDP objectives
Help students to:
• become more effective, independent and selfdirected learners
• understand how they are learning and relate
learning to a wider context
• improve skills for study and career
management
• articulate skills and learning to third parties
• encourage positive attitude to learning
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throughout life
How does PDP relate to
HE Progress File?
Progress File combines 3 elements
Transcript
PDP process
Institutional
records of a
student’s
learning and
achievement
Personal
development
planning
(Information
owned by HEI)
PD Records
An individual’s own
records of his/her
learning,
achievements,
plans and goals
(Information owned
by student) 11
Timetable for HE Progress File?
• Transcript that includes a consistent data set
by 2002/3
• PDP element of the policy operational across
whole HE sector and for all HE awards by
2005/6
12
Who benefits from PDP ?
How?
• Students
– improved: performance, self-esteem,
employability
• Tutors
– more competent, confident students
– workload may even reduce (fewer resits?)
• Department/Institution
– improved student retention
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Implementing PDP (1)
• What doesn’t work well in PDP for students?
– lack of feedback about a student’s performance
– providing a ‘PDP booklet’ or ‘e-PDP’ with forms to
complete and telling student to ‘do it’
– institutional ‘one size fits all’ approach
• What works well in PDP for students?
– dialogue - students with a tutor, students with
students
– drip-feeding (timeliness of support materials/
guidance/skills practice)
– making curricular skills explicit
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Implementing PDP (2)
• What doesn’t work in PDP for academic staff?
– institutional ‘one size fits all’ approach
• What works well in PDP for academic staff?
– ownership: suggest ways to implement, then staff
adapt to suit discipline context
– dialogue: tutors with tutors, CPD team with
management/ CPD team with tutors
– drip-feeding (support materials/guidance)
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Differentiation
Institutional Embedding
conflict? - commonality
vs diversity
conflict? - some elements
most effectively managed
electronically, others by
human intervention
IT systems emphasise
commonality, PDP works
best with local context,
‘ownership’
Fit for purpose e-PDP?
systems which reflect processes
they seek to support
Contextualised
Technology
Interoperability
conflict? - who has
access to which record
systems?
conflict? How to
ensure records are
transferable between
systems
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Quality assurance issues
• Monitor use
• Evaluate fitness for purpose
– student feedback, e.g. focus groups
– staff feedback
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Questions for consideration
What are the principles underlying your PDP practice?
How will you implement PDP/Progress File?
How will you engage staff in the process?
How will you engage students in the process?
How will you evaluate the system’s efficacy?
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