Using Personal Development Plans PDPs to Facilitate Learning for Computing Students

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Using Personal Development Plans (PDPs) to
Facilitate Learning for Computing Students

• 4th LTSN Conference
• Galway August 2003
• Alastair Irons
• Northumbria University

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Objectives of Presentation

• Present the rationale for PDPs in HE
• Discuss pedagogical issues with PDP
• Examine the learning opportunities for students
• Look at the implementation issues with PDPs
• Keep PDP on the computing agenda !

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Personal Development Planning

• PDP is a a structured and supported process
  undertaken by an individual to reflect upon their
  own learning, performance and/or achievement and
  to plan for their personal, educational and
  career development.
• Principle behind PDP is to help students
• become more effective, independent and confident
  self-directed learners
• understand how they are learning and relate their
  learning to a wider context
• improve their general skills for study and career
  management
• articulate their personal goals and evaluate
  progress towards their achievement and encourage
  a positive attitude to learning throughout life.
• 2005/06 start date for PDP for all HE awards.

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Rationale for PDPs in HE

• Stimulus for developing PDPs into a mainstream
  activity in HE came from recommendation 20 of the
  Dearing Report
• Recognition of much of what is being done
  currently in student learning
• Facilitate reflective learning on practice (and
  learning about learning)
• Development of professional skills (link to BCS)
• Can link to guidance tutoring policy and help
  with retention
• Can be used to record development on placement
  year, possibly linked to BCS professional
  development model
• Student ownership of learning

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Rational from student perspective

• PDPs allow students to
• be responsible for their own learning
• have greater control and choice in the way they
  learn
• be creative in how they produce material for
  their PDPs, and therefore by implication for
  their assessments,
• individualise (and discuss) their work,
• potentially helping to alleviate concerns about
  plagiarism
• develop and reflect on their computing skills
• develop skills in reflective practice,
• helping them to prepare for professional careers

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Is it a computing / computer science issue ?

• PDPs are a generic to all HE programmes
• However PDPs are pertinent to computing and
  computer science because
• They need to be integrated into the computing /
  computer science curriculum, so we need to deal
  with the issue
• They lend themselves to the nature of the
  discipline, in particular practical aspects
• They provide an opportunity to make learning more
  student centred

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Pedagogical issues

• PDPs are a learning and teaching issue
• Require culture shift in learning and teaching
• Opportunity to change focus of student experience
• Shift from summative assessment dominance
• Integration of curriculum (move away from
  modularisation)
• Many different PDP models, but consideration of
  PDP given opportunity to review programme
  curriculum, module curriculum and learning and
  teaching philosophy

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Resistance to PDPs in the computing curriculum

• Summative assessment load already too much,
• Effort required for culture change,
• including staff development, administrative
  support
• Effort required to review and change existing
  computing curriculum
• Why change existing assessment methods ?
• Value of PDPs ?
• Student motivation, only engage in activities
  that are assessed
• Confidentiality of PDPs

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On the other hand...

• Irrespective of PDP demands is the process a
  benefit to students and something we should be
  encouraging anyway ?
• Do the activities we already do constitute the
  PDP requirements ?
• Can PDP cut down the amount of work for staff and
  students ?
• Side benefits,
• reduction in plagiarism
• improved retention

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Implementing PDPs

• Opportunity to align ILOs, learning and
  assessment
• Link PDP entries to learning outcomes in a module
• Provide opportunities for authentic learning
• Design learning to facilitate formative feedback
  especially discussion with module tutors
  throughout the delivery of a module.
• Make process transparent to staff, students, and
  other stakeholders?
• Articulate requirements of PDP in programme
  design
• Have procedures for review and evaluation
• Teach students about PDP benefits, and how to
  develop their PDPs
• Bridge between summative and formative
  assessment, e.g though portfolios

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Summary

• PDPs are here to stay
• but there are many ways to implement it
• PDPs require a culture change in learning styles
  to encourage
• reflective practice
• students to identify different learning styles
• the development of skills
• student ownership of learning
• There are issues with participation, ownership
  and assessment which need to be addressed
• Opportunity to align learning outcomes and
  assessment and PDP
• Good learning opportunities promote PDP