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Avoiding the Abbreviation Swamp

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Department of Computer Science. 50-60 students in 1st year. No personal tutor system ... British Computer Society. Accredit degrees ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: Avoiding the Abbreviation Swamp


1
Avoiding the Abbreviation Swamp!
  • Separating Planning from Portfolio
  • and more besides
  • Keith Primrose
  • Department of Computer Science

2
Background Context
  • Department of Computer Science
  • 50-60 students in 1st year
  • No personal tutor system
  • Have implemented 1st year director meetings but
    this is a one off
  • not ideal
  • British Computer Society
  • Accredit degrees
  • Require professional practice to be part of the
    curriculum

3
So What is the problem?
  • PDP
  • What does the abbreviation mean to you?

4
What does the abbreviation mean?
  • According to one of my colleagues1
  • Essex has had PDPs since 1969 or 1970
  • He was of course referring to
  • Programmed Data Processors
  • specifically the DEC PDP-8 PDP-10

5
Search the "Stuff Swamp2"
  • http//www.acronymfinder.com/3
  • Program Decision Package
  • Programmed Data Processor
  • Parallel Distributed Processing
  • Packet Data Protocol
  • Policy Decision Point
  • People's Democratic Party
  • Power Dispersion Profile
  • Pachydermoperiostosis

6
What is the problem?
  • Even within our context there is still room for
    misunderstanding
  • Professional Development and Practice
  • Professional Development Programme
  • Personal Development Planning
  • Personal Development Plan
  • Personal Development Portfolio
  • Also confused/conflated with
  • Key / Common Skills

7
Reminder
  • QAA definition4
  • Policy statement on a progress file for Higher
    Education
  • PDP is 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.
  • something that an individual does with guidance
    and support the latter perhaps decreasing as
    personal capability is developed so that it
    becomes self-sustaining
  • The ultimate responsibility for deriving benefit
    from PDP should rest with each student although
    institutions will influence this.

8
Plan or Planning?
  • Plans are of little importance, but planning is
    essential -- Sir Winston Churchill (attrib.)
  • Plans are nothing planning is everything.--
    Dwight D. Eisenhower (attrib.)
  • Both quoted on Wikipedia5

9
Plan or Planning?
  • Without guidance, students may
  • Think that producing a plan is enough
  • Fake the plan to gain marks!
  • This is a danger of stand-alone PDP / Skills
    modules
  • Getting students to re-visit and update the plan
    over time requires
  • tutoring / support / encouragement

10
Portfolio Product or Process?
  • A focus on Product can lead to a tick box
    approach
  • It is the process that is important
  • A continually refined and revisited plan
  • Leading over time to a portfolio
  • A Paradox
  • Students increasingly seem to want to know the
    'right answer'
  • Tick box is more comfortable for them

11
Potential Problems for PDP
  • Student Confusion
  • Make sure you know what you are talking about!
  • Be absolutely clear about purpose and process
  • Student Apathy / Resistance
  • Be enthusiastic
  • Assess it!
  • But be very careful about what you are assessing.
  • Academic Resistance

12
CS Pilot
  • Model in CS
  • Driven by a recognition of the impact of
    employability on recruitment.
  • Initially two out of eight first year modules
    included elements of PDP
  • Intention is to role out to more modules over
    time with support for staff as appropriate.
  • First module was Professional Development and
    Practice
  • Adapted to include a PDP thread

13
Adapting PDP for PDP
  • Professional Development Practice
  • Addressed BCS requirements
  • Changes made
  • Lecture / class material on PDP, SWOT , SMART
    Goals Team work
  • Assignments changed
  • A1 CV Initial PDP
  • A2 Group presentation Individual written
    reflection

14
CS Pilot
  • Mistakes made
  • Mixing of professional and personal confused
    students
  • Not enough clarity
  • What PDP is
  • What students should focus on
  • Lack of re-enforcement from the centre
  • Message got diluted
  • MyLife did not help (the stuff swamp - in
    spades)

15
Some Thoughts
  • PDP is better in the context of personal tutors
  • PDP should be introduced from the centre
  • PDP should be embedded across curriculum
  • Encourage engagement with reflective practice
  • Design assignments to educate
  • E.g. Group presentation on a given topic

Reminder - From the Latin educere to
lead/pull out and/or educare to bring up or
rear
16
  • Come to the edge.
  • We might fall.
  • Come to the edge.
  • It's too high!
  • Come to the edge.
  • And they came,
  • and we pushed,
  • And they flew.
  •  
  • Christopher Logue 6

17
References
  • Lyons, D. (2007) private e-mail - David Lyons to
    KP 12/06/2007
  • Crawford, Walt (1999). "The Card Catalog and
    Other Digital Controversies." American Libraries
    301 (Jan 1999), 52. Available from
    http//www.indiana.edu/ovid99/crawford.html
    accessed 17th October 2006.
  • n.d. http//www.acronymfinder.com/ accessed 10th
    June 2007
  • QAA (2001) Policy statement on a progress file
    for Higher Education. Available from
    http//www.qaa.ac.uk/academicinfrastructure/progre
    ssfiles/guidelines/policystatement/default.asp
    accessed 08th June 2007
  • anon. Wikipedia (2007) Plan. Available from
    http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plan last updated
    11th June 2007 accessed 12th June 2007
  • Logue, Christopher (1996) in Selected Poems.
    LondonFaber and Faber.
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