Embedding PDP in a system that doesnt really want it' Jennifer Blumhof Assistant Director Learning a

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Embedding PDP in a system that doesnt really
want it.Jennifer Blumhof Assistant Director
(Learning and Teaching)Centre for the
Enhancement of Learning and Teaching University
of Hertfordshire

• The Higher Education Academy Subject Centre
  Social Policy and Social Work (SWAP)
• Workshop Implementing personal development
  planning challenges and opportunities
• UEL 11th November 2005
• EmailJ.R.Blumhof_at_herts.ac.uk

UH CELT University of Hertfordshire Centre for
the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching UH
CELT
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A system that doesnt really want it?

• Student motivation implications of overload,
  boredom, done it before syndrome
• Staff concerns about time and work overload how
  am I expected to do this on top of everything
  else
• Staff motivation- or lack of it (you are part
  of the.. Bureaucracy and perceived abilities
  or lack of them to do skills development
• Staff supporting students through pdp-major
  concerns about staff student ratios so many of
  them ..so few of us
• IT buy or build-cost and time implications
  didnt work had to trash it and start again

UH CELT University of Hertfordshire Centre for
the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching UH
CELT
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A system that doesnt really want it?

• Optional or compulsory- concerns about curriculum
  design and overload and bigger issues of
  validation and review where am I supposed to put
  it?!!!
• Concerns about assessment how am I supposed to
  mark their reflections?!!!
• Private or shared (ie who owns what?) Is this
  an infringement on peoples privacy?
• Doing something where there is no/weak research
  support
• Concerns about the focus on employability
  producing factory fodder for the ruling class
• I dont think you have involved the Faculties
  enough Could you nominate someone to the
  working group? No-one has time to come along
  

UH CELT University of Hertfordshire Centre for
the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching UH
CELT
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PDP a definition and objective

• Definition 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.
• Objective to improve the capacity of
  individuals to understand what and how they are
  learning, and to review, plan and take
  responsibility for their own learning
• NB 5 years lead in time start date 2005/6
• (Guidelines for HE Progress Files, 2001, page 1)

UH CELT University of Hertfordshire Centre for
the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching UH
CELT
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PDP in a nutshell

• the idea is to provide students with cyclical
  opportunities to review their progress, to plan
  for improvements, to reflect on progress so far,
  plan for the next stage, record progress and so
  on.
• This reflective process is the cornerstone of
  creating independent thinkers who take greater
  responsibility for their own learning. A wide
  variety of skills are required to learn
  effectively and go through this reflective
  process.
• This higher education cycle can be seen to link
  with the lifelong learning concept with students
  building on their school Records of Achievement
  and providing a spring board for Continuing
  Professional Development (CPD) in their future
  careers .
• CELT MATTERS- PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT PLANNING
  SPECIAL May 2005

UH CELT University of Hertfordshire Centre for
the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching UH
CELT
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Burgess Report (2004)

• The Burgess Report (2004) Measuring and
  recording student achievement, raised the
  importance of the different ways students could
  represent and communicate their learning and how
  this relates to PDP.
• Communicating learning is a key theme in
  Burgess. Burgess also reiterated the argument in
  the UK Governments White Paper The Future of
  Higher Education , that HEFCE should review
  current methodologies for recording student
  achievement and to develop more sophisticated way
  of measuring value added- the distance
  travelled by the individual learner.

UH CELT University of Hertfordshire Centre for
the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching UH
CELT
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PDP at Herts is MAPS

• MAPS (My Active Planning System for personal
  development planning) is University of
  Hertfordshires approach to personal development
  planning.
• MAPS system
• planned and structured (cyclical audit, action
  plan, review/re-audit, record)
• staged (level 1 then others)
• supported (staff-student or student-student
  resources support)
• online facilities
• linked to careers development
• monitored and evaluated
• At the heart of MAPS is also a drive to give
  students more opportunities to develop their
  ability to communicate their learning.

UH CELT University of Hertfordshire Centre for
the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching UH
CELT
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The History of PDP at UH lessons learnt?

• 2001-set up Working Group on Progress files and
  PDP sub-group of that (led by colleague and I who
  had had a Hefce Skills integration project).
  Reported to central university committee. Worked
  on Skills Site. Central approach, but cross
  university involvement including Student Union.
  Small amount of funding won from university.
• 2002/3 Ran expert seminar, went to conferences
  (to find out what was happening nationally,
  surveyed existing congruent practices worked on
  a paper-based version, ran pilots in Geography
  and Nursing. Reported to central university
  committee concerns about implementation.
• 2003/4 Ran more pilots, went to more conferences,
  started to design on line version with Learning
  Technology Development Unit. Reported to central
  university committee concerns about
  implementation.

UH CELT University of Hertfordshire Centre for
the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching UH
CELT
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The History of PDP at UH lessons learnt?cont.

• 2004/5 Complete redesign of on-line version as
  too complex and longwinded. Continual improvement
  to Skills site (help from Disability Tutors). Ran
  series of university/Faculty and Departmental
  workshops on MAPS and Reported to central
  university committee concerns about
  implementation but in 2005 paper approved on
  recommended policies on the staged approach to
  implementation. NB Change of direction here.
  Major drive to raise awareness-CELT MATTERS
  SPECIAL, central emailing. Pages prepared and
  disseminated for Student Handbook powerpoint for
  Student Induction Week. Lots of publicity
  ,support, face to face contact and provision of
  materials.
• Change of direction .MAPS (My Active System for
  personal development planning) to be the UH
  approach not just the on-line materials
• 2005/6 Start of staged approach (roll out for
  Level 1-see implementation policies)

UH CELT University of Hertfordshire Centre for
the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching UH
CELT
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The Pedagogic Underpinnings of the UH Approach to
PDP

• Learning as a result of constructive activity of
  the student (Biggs 1999)
• Kolbs Experiential Learning Cycle (Kolb 1984)
• Social constructivism (Cowan 2002)
• Explicit Embedded approach (Hodgkinson 1996)
• The 3 As - Awareness, Articulation, Advancement
  (Honeybone, Blumhof, Hall,Palmer 2001)
• And NB the Imaginative Curriculum Project (LTSN
  Generic Centre 2002- )

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MAPS My Active Planning System for personal
development planningThe Key Components of the
System
Support Materials module learning resources,
StudyNet skills site

• The AUDIT Process
• Initial Audit

• The ACTION PLAN Process
• Formulation of goals
• Preparation of action plan for achieving goals

• The REVIEW (RE-AUDIT)
• Reflection on progress towards goals
• Evidence of achievement- modular and
  extra-curricular activities

Introduction to PDP F2F and online
RECORD
RECORD
RECORD

People Support staff-students
student-student (peer) on-line and F2F
UH CELT University of Hertfordshire Centre for
the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching UH
CELT
13
Recommended policies on the staged approach to
implementation

• The following are the agreed recommended
  policies on the staged approach to implementation
  as amended following discussion at the AQEC
  meeting May 10th 2005.
• I. In 2005/6 the emphasis should be on the use
  of MAPS by all Level 1 students. Faculties and
  departments could adopt a variety of approaches
  to this but they all should include information
  on MAPS in the student handbook, an introduction
  in the induction programme, support and
  monitoring throughout the year, encouraging
  students to synthesise their personal development
  planning work in a CV (at a suitable end point).
  (The new StudyNet part of the MAPS system will
  include a CV template)
• II. There will be an end of year evaluation of
  the MAPS initiative in the AMER (NB more detail
  in the full text) ..
• III. In 2005/6 students from other Levels,
  including postgraduate, should be encouraged to
  use the system as Programme teams think
  appropriate.

UH CELT University of Hertfordshire Centre for
the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching UH
CELT
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Recommended policies on the staged approach to
implementation

• IV. During 2005/6 all Programme teams
  should develop a statement on how they are going
  to integrate MAPS into the curriculum and roll it
  out across all years/levels. The MAPS
  statement. (NB more detail in the full text)
• Student Representatives should be encouraged to
  support the MAPS process through raising
  awareness of personal development planning and
  by running peer support groups (idea suggested by
  the Students Union).
• VI. The PDP Sub-Group should investigate the
  feasibility of developing a MAPS Award that
  could be noted on the Transcript (idea suggested
  by the Students Union).
• VII. The Sub-Group also needs to continue to
  investigate the personal development planning
  assessment issue taking into account approaches
  being developed by other HEIs and to make
  recommendations to the appropriate UH committees.
  

UH CELT University of Hertfordshire Centre for
the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching UH
CELT
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Recommended policies on the staged approach to
implementation

• VIII. There will be continuing CELT and LTDU
  support for the staged implementation of MAPS to
  include the sharing of practice, the development
  of models and the modification of the on-line
  system.
• IX. There will be an annual University-wide
  evaluation of MAPS and action plans for the
  following year incorporated into the Faculties
  Learning and Teaching Plan.
• X. Additional UH funding for MAPS was recommended
  by the AQEC 10 May 2005.

UH CELT University of Hertfordshire Centre for
the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching UH
CELT
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Embedding PDP in a system that doesnt really
want it.

• Overcoming obstacles some ideas
• Get an enthusiastic team together (to support
  each other).
• Try and get some funding
• Plan a bottom up and top down campaign
• Offer people as much help and support as
  possible-do things for them
• Same as students.. tell them tell them and tell
  them again
• Try and build PDP into existing systems
• Expect lots of opposition and disinterest (then
  you wont get too disappointed).
• Expect to change and refine all the time and
  probably simplify change is good
• Get lots of publicity
• OTHER IDEAS PLEASE??????????

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EXTRA SLIDES
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UH CELT University of Hertfordshire Centre for
the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching UH
CELT
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CV Paragraph in Initial Audit and Review/Re-Audit

• When you have completed and saved your Audit,
  you might be interested in writing (or rewriting)
  a CV. Your saved Audit will go to your MAPS
  Record where you will also find a CV template.
• A CV is a Curriculum Vitae which is a brief
  account of a persons previous education, work
  experience and leisure interests. For more
  information on compiling a CV, click in the
  Career Development site http//perseus.herts.ac.u
  k/prospectus/student_support/careers/students/stud
  ents_self_help_leaflets_cv.cfm

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Pettys Self-Directed Learning Cycle
Self-evaluation (where am
I now?)
Action (implement/monitor)
Goal-getting (where do I want to be?)
Action Plan (how to get there)
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Socio-constructivism Peers can enrich the process
Other similar experiences
Experience
Questions
Reflect
Suitable methods
Actively experiment
Generalise
Discuss
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PDP- Research

• A systematic review of empirical research has
  been undertaken on the use of PDP in HE and PDPs
  affect on improving student learning.
• Some Results
• PDP-type processes not easily identifiable by key
  words in the literature
• most studies from outside the UK
• most of the research undertaken on learning logs,
  journals and diaries and studies of reflective
  practice ( less on for eg action planning)
• most common method of measuring outcomes was
  though the participants views
• most studies report a positive effect of PDP on
  learning both on student attainment and on
  approaches to learning.
• Ref D.A.Gough, D.Kiwan, S. Sutcliffe,
  .D.Simpson and N.Houghton February 2003 A
  systematic map and synthesis review of the
  effectiveness of personal development planning
  for improving student learning. LTSN Generic
  Centre in collaboration with The Evidence for
  Policy and Practice Information Co-Ordinating
  Centre, Social Sciences Research Unit, Institute
  of Education, University of London