Title: Personal Development Planning for transition, retention and graduate employment: evaluating crossfac
1Personal Development Planning for transition,
retention and graduate employment evaluating
cross-faculty curricular change implementation in
the Faculty of Business, Environment and Society
at Coventry University (UK) 2006-2009.
- Anne-Marie McTavish (Associate Head, Strategy and
Applied Management) - and
- Marina Orsini-Jones (Principal Lecturer English
and Languages/PDP Faculty Coordinator).
EFYE 2009 Groningen
2Faculty of Business, Environment and Society
about us
- Wide variety of subjects
- Dept of Human Resource Management
- Dept. of Economics, Finance and Accounting
- Dept. of Marketing
- Dept of Strategy and Applied Management
- School of International Studies and Social
Science - Coventry University Law School
- Department of Geography, Environment and Disaster
Management - Department of English
3Numbers 2008
- Home and EU students Coventry University
undergraduate roughly 12000 Full Time and 2000
Part Time - Faculty 3720 undergraduates
- Undergraduate students take 120 credits per year
(60 ECTS credits) for three years - Most modules are long and thin they run over
two terms normally 2 hours contact per week - First year academic and professional skills
module 10 credits (5 ECTS)
4EU nationalities in BES (new students 2008-2009)
- Austria 1, Belgium 7, Bulgaria 25, Cyprus 7,
Czech R. 2, Denmark 3, Estonia 3, Finland 5,
France 94, Germany 13, Greece 7, Hungary 9, Italy
9, Ireland 4, Latvia 6, Lithuania 2, Netherlands
16, Poland 49, Portugal 6, Rumania 72, Slovakia
2, Spain 24, Sweden 7.
5PDP Personal Development Planning
- Dearing (1997) Quality Assurance Agency
Guidelines for the Higher Education Progress File
(QAA 2001) all students in HE to be offered the
opportunity to engage in PDP from academic year
2005-6. - PDP 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.
63 main elements to PDP
- REFLECTION
- RECORDING
- PLANNING
7CU PDP Policy
- At Coventry University the main institutional
implementation guidelines are that - - Personal development planning should be a
formative, student-centred process. - - The process should be integrated into the whole
of the student experience and include academic,
personal, career and professional skills inputs. - - The implementation should take into account,
build upon and be complementary to existing
expertise and practices.
8BES approach to PDP
- Addvantage modules (run by careers unit).
-
- 10 credit faculty professional and academic
literacies module promoting employability (one
per year in each course) starting in induction
week. - Careers support staff working with faculty
staff (normally the departmental employability
tutor who also leads the skills modules). - Employability Placement Unit to encourage
students to apply for placements while at the
University. - Student mentors.
- Year tutors and not all subjects personal
tutors.
Refer to PProDeGE Guide
9Typical module aims of Academic and Professional
Methods and Approaches
- to prepare students for academic study at degree
level, to illustrate the nature and processes of
research in humanities and to introduce students
to research methodology. The module will also aim
at providing practical experience of applying
these skills in actual case studies relevant to
their study programme. Extensive use of
information and communication technology will be
made in the learning, teaching and assessment of
this module. The module will include elements of
online assessment, both summative and formative,
such as a test on information retrieval skills
and weekly contributions to online discussion
forums. Students will be given the opportunity to
reflect upon and record their Personal
Development with the e-portfolio PebblePad
10Skills/Academic and Professional Literacies
covered
- academic essay writing and avoidance of
plagiarism - literature review writing
- referencing using the CU Harvard style
- information retrieval from a variety of sources
such as databases interpreting and evaluating
data research strategies and associated
methodological issues - presentation skills and working in a team
- reflective skills and engagement with the
professional narratives of Personal Development
Planning and career planning.
Blended learning delivery f2f supported by VLE
11Choice of PebblePad based upon action research
carried out in previous academic years
- Evidence (Moon 200486 Hauck 2005) that
metacognition can enhance learning and be
conducive to the understanding of difficult
concepts. - Evidence that most students benefit from sharing
their work, seeing it in a public arena and
discussing it. - Evidence that using specific tools in PebblePad
can help with reflecting on difficult concepts
and structuring ideas. - Evidence that carefully structured
socio-collaborative e-learning environments can
support students with their learning.
12E-portfolio PebblePad
13Variety of entries
Ability
View
Achievement
Comment
Create
Shared
Action Plan
Copy
Collaborate
to a Gateway
Published
Experience
Edit
Asset
Printed
Meeting
Review
Thought
WebLog
Scans
WebFolio
Pictures
Files
Movies
Sounds
ePortfolio Asset Store
Transcript
14Growing Asset Store
15Variety of suitable reflective e-tools in
PebblePAD (can be either private or public)
Blog
Webfolio
16Shared subject-specific metacognition in
PebblePad reflecting on grammar in the Gateway
17Use of the Virtual Learning Environment too
(WebCT/Blackboard Vista)
18PDP for transition - successful induction week
activities that are part of the skills modules
business example
- Students work in group, are given a coffee
voucher and are asked to go into the city centre
and choose a product they would like to market - They are then asked to write a group report on
their experience - The report is a required asset for their
portfolio - Each member of the group with the best report is
awarded vouchers
Outcomes bonding, getting to know each other,
report writing, team work, getting to know the
new environment, feedback on work in week 1
19PDP for transition activity 2 English
- Students are asked to come to a group activity
prepared they have to tell a interesting short
story about their induction experience - They are then asked to form groups and have 1
minute to summarise the story to one member of
the group, that member has to then tell them
their story - When everybody has told their story, a group
discussion follows and the best story in each
group is told by a speaker (not the person who
told it) - Students are then asked to write a new story with
elements of the stories they have heard for a
shared blog (formative) - The stories are peer-evaluated and the best story
is awarded a book voucher
Outcomes bonding, team work, story-telling,
peer-evaluation
20Feedback on induction week collected via the
VLES blog tool
21Transition success in BES case study Strategy
and Applied Management (SAM)
- 272 Year One students (2008-2009)
- Only 6 have withdrawn
- 1 to return to London (Coventry tiny)
- 1 through illness
- 4 to Eastern Europe
- (This compares favourably with statistics from
the two previous academic years)
22But
- In SAM 25 students came from Eastern European
countries - mainly Romania and Bulgaria - 4 left within the first four weeks of their
course - 18 of the remaining students have sought advice
on adapting to their courses
23They tell is the issues are(semi-structured
interviews/phone interviews/focus group
interviews 2006-2009)
- Theyve come from a full time taught education
every hour of the school day is scheduled with
teaching. - Self-directed learning is new to them (difficult
to meet tight deadlines early in the course). - Reflective practice is new to them.
- The intensive use of ICT tools is new to them.
- Students not expected to engage in debates with
lecturers in their home education. - Plagiarism authors/tutors are the experts, not
them (stark contrast in attitude towards plag. In
comparison to UK students).
24Those EU students who stay like
- The friendliness and approachability of tutors
(We are not allowed to talk to our lecturers in
Poland and/or use their first names when
addressing them) - The Library and its resources
- The ICT infrastructure (no technology on this
scale at home) - The careers opportunity offered internally to
students (e.g. mentors, receptionists,
ambassadors, volunteer teachers) - The financial/academic/professional advice
provided.
25UK students problematic first year experience
- University life is not at all what I expected,
it was a huge change from the 6th form. I do
admit that I felt as though I was on my own
during these past few months, because I was used
to having teachers spoon feed me in a way
(student from a local school in Coventry,
semi-structured interview)
26UK students problematic experience 2
- The one thing that comes as a big shock first is
the amount of individual studying that you take
on. There are advantages to this, such as you get
more control over your spare and study time, but
also the disadvantages such as you have to learn
to study yourself and the teacher isnt always
over your shoulder telling you the deadline. You
have to go and see your lecturers and tutors
instead of them coming to you.
27However, research evidence collected shows that
- Recording achievement helps level 1 students
(mainly school or college leavers) and
international students to adapt to the level of
independent study required at university. - Engaging in PDP from the first year allows self
motivated students to practise a form of
double-loop learning the more effort and
energy they put into developing their portfolios,
the more they appear to gain from their own
reflections.
28BES past and present first year studentslack
of motivation for PDP and portfolio anxiety
- Some students perceive reflection as a waste of
time, they dont like the link with skills
learning (I know this already, It
underestimates my prior knowledge) - Many fail to appreciate the links between
reflective practice and the world of work, even
if this is highlighted with examples from real
settings and practised with problem-based
learning - Some on the other hand become very conscious
about the above links and become stuck,
petrified by the idea that they need to show
professionalism so early in their academic career.
29But positive feedback on skills module in
English, students feedback
- Sharing assets with the outside world (our
Webfolio could be published on the Web without
password protection and shared with potential
future employers) - Transferring work we do to our CV
- Improving our ICT skills
- Transferring skills across modules/course
- Engaging in online leadership for the group
(managing files/communication) - Working in a multicultural and multinational
group both face-to-face and online.
30More positive feedback (anonymous module
evaluation online). Further details
athttp//www.english.heacademy.ac.uk/explore/publ
ications/casestudies/technology/eportfolio.php
- This module makes me evaluate my strengths and
weaknesses and helps me to understand what I need
to do to improve. - The module tries to orientate our future, helps
to see further than just our studies. - Prepares
us for the cruel world of work, by explaining how
to sell ourselves. - This module has helped me ease into academic
study, and to transition from A level to
university standards it has created a base to
start writing academically the group work and
presentation area of the module has helped
improve skills I was quite weak in.
31Emerging data
- First year students engage in PDP more willingly
if tutors introduce it as a subject-specific
activity. - PebblePad would appear to cater for the
reflective needs of both advanced reflectors
(e.g. journal entry) and less advanced ones (e.g.
opportunity to structure reflection in
structured entry). - The possibility of personalising PDP entries with
colours/different interfaces in PebblePad appeals
to most students. - PebblePad encourages students to present work in
a more professional way. - The most reluctant reflectors will resist using
PebblePad and shift the blame for their PDP
resistance to the software (difficult to use,
cumbersome) when in fact they have an
ontological resistance to engaging with
independent learning refusal to become
autonomous learners.
32Honest with students Cousin (2006)
- Learning often involves encounters with
troublesome knowledge (Perkins 1999) or a sense
of immobility in stuck places (Ellsworth 1989). - We need to convey to learners that disconfort and
uncertainty are normal dimensions to learning
(different from Maslow, Rogers and Freiber)
unsafety unavoidable part of the learners
journey.
33And finally institutional engagement necessary
for successful PDP implementation
- Academic alignment
- Presence of PDP champions (students in
particular) - Management commitment (resources for ICT and
personal tutorial support) - Supporting infrastructure and clear allocation of
duties for its daily management/running - Suitable tools (e.g. PebblePad)
- Real links with the world of work/careers
34Any questions?
- m.orsini_at_coventry.ac.uk
35Selected Bibliography/References
- Allen, D. The PDP Handbook (2002)
- http//www.economicsnetwork.ac.uk/handbook/pdp/
- Cottrell, S. (2001) Teaching Study Skills and
Supporting Learning. Basingstoke Palgrave
Macmillan. - Cottrell, S. (2003a) Skills for Success the
Personal Development Planning Handbook.
Basingstoke Palgrave Macmillan. - Cottrell, S. (2003b) 2nd edition The Study Skills
Handbook. Basingstoke Palgrave Macmillan. - Cousin, G. (2006) Threshold Concepts old wine
in new bottles? plenary paper given at the
Threshold Concepts in the Disciplines Symposium,
30/8-1/9, Glasgow, University of Strathclyde. - Edwards, G. (2005) Connecting PDP to employer
needs and the world of work. London/York HEA. - Hauck, M. (2003). Exploring the link between
metacognitive knowledge, efficient strategy use
and learner autonomy in collaborative virtual
language learning environments. Paper presented
at the EuroCALL conference New literacies in
language learning and teaching, University of
Limerick, Ireland, September 2003 - Martin, P. and Gawthrope, J. (2004) The study of
English and the careers of its graduates. In P.
Knight and M. Yorke (Eds.) Learning, Curriculum
and Employability in Higher Education. (London
Routledge). - Moon, J. (2004) A Handbook of Reflective
Learning Theory and Practice. (London
Routledge/Falmer). - Orsini-Jones, M. (2004) Supporting a course in
new literacies and skills for linguists with a
Virtual Learning Environment Results from a
staff/ student collaborative action-research
project at Coventry University. ReCALL 16
(1)189-209. - Orsini-Jones, M., Kurowska, M., McTavish A.M. and
Mills, S. (2007) Personal Development Planning
Perspectives from theFaculty of BES (Business,
Environment and Society) Conference Proceedings,
Internationalisation ELATE (Enhancing Learning
and Teaching Environments) Conference, 26-27
June, pp.65-72. - Orsini-Jones, M., Adley, D., Lamari, C., Maund,
N. and Paruk, K. (2007) Integrating PDP
(Personal Development Planning) and PebblePAD
into the curriculum Students perspectives in
Deepwell, F. (ed.) Proceedings of the ELATE
(Enhancing Learning and Teaching Environments)
Conference 2007. Internationalisation.
Coventry Coventry University pp.31-35. Summary
also available online at http//www.english.heaca
demy.ac.uk/explore/publications/casestudies/techno
logy/eportfolio.php - Pebble Learning (2005), PebblePad online
Available from www.pebblelearning.co.uk 31 March
2009 - Quality Assurance Agency - QAA, (2001)
Guidelines for HE Progress Files Available
onlinehttp//www.qaa.ac.uk/academicinfrastructur
e/progressFiles/guidelines/progfile2001.asp 03
April 2009