Progress Files for Retention

National context of

Personal Development Planning (PDP)

and HE Progress File

Helen Richardson

University of Manchester

November 14th 2003

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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 PDPLearning

plan

implement

review

record

academic discipline: knowledge, contexts,

understanding, abstraction of meaning

skills: transferable,discipline specific

self: attitudes, values, personal development

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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 assessmentRaise 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 self-

directed 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 throughout

life

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How does PDP relate to HE Progress File?Progress File combines 3 elements

Transcript PDP process PD Records

Institutional records of a student’s learning and achievement

(Information owned by HEI)

Personal development

planning

An individual’s own records of his/her learning, achievements, plans and goals

(Information owned by student)

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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

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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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Fit for purpose e-PDP?

systems which reflect processes

they seek to support

Differentiation

conflict? - some elements most effectively managed electronically, others by

human intervention

Institutional Embedding

conflict? - commonality vs diversity

IT systems emphasise commonality, PDP works best with local context,

‘ownership’

Contextualised Technology

conflict? - who has access to which record

systems?

Interoperability

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?