case studies of pdp in practise

8/7/2019 'Case studies of PDP in Practise

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LTSN Generic CentreA Series of Case Studies highlighting examples of PDP practice

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A Series of Case Studies highlighting examples ofPDP practice

Contents:

Page

2. Case Study 1Dr Jayne Stevens, Principal Lecturer in Performing Arts, De Montfort University

5. Case Study 2Dr Alan Maddocks, Loughborough University, Civil and Building Engineering degreeprogrammes

7. Case Study 3Dr Rosie Stacy, Senior Lecturer in Medical Sociology, Department of Primary HealthCare, Medical School, Newcastle University

8. Case Study 4Dr Sue Prince, University of Exeter, Law

10. Case Study 5Val Humphreys University of Central England, Law

11. Case Study 6Elizabeth Rouse London College of Fashion, Art and Design

13. Case Study 7Della Fazey, University of Wales Bangor, Sport Science

15. Case Study 8Dr Angela Smallwood, University of Nottingham, English

19. Case Study 9Andrew Holmes, University of Hull, Centre for Lifelong Learning


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Case Study 1

Framework for describing PDP practice

Author: Jayne StevensInstitution: De Montfort UniversitySubject/programme context: Dance & Performing ArtsKey words that capture your approach: Learning from experienceEmail address: [email protected]

Description of practice/process

I am a Principal Lecturer in Performing Arts and, since 1992, Subject Leader for Dance at DeMontfort University. I am a Teacher Fellow of De Montfort University and a National TeachingFellowship Award holder. I direct an FDTL Phase 3 project which is investigating the use ofreflective practice in Dance and Drama education.

At De Montfort University Dance is a subject in its own right and part of programmes inPerforming Arts on three university campuses and at two associate colleges. It is taught fromHND through BA and MA level to research degrees. I provide academic leadership andoperational management for the subject. My role includes developing the curriculum andpromoting innovation in teaching, learning and assessment within the subject. I teach on abroad range of undergraduate and postgraduate modules in Dance, Theatre and PerformingArts.

At De Montfort dance aims to equip graduates with practical, creative, critical and interpersonalskills to enable them to approach a broad range of careers both within and beyond thePerforming Arts. Many of those who do work within performance might be described as portfolioworkers putting together a variety of projects and employments and having responsibility for

designing their own career development. Dance therefore encourages flexible, interdisciplinaryand creative approaches to enable graduates to change direction in response to changingdemands and opportunities. Practitioners need to be able to learn from their experience andapply the outcomes of that learning to future activity. My own aim, therefore, is that studentslearn how to learn; that they should be informed, adaptable and capable of independent, criticalthought and action. I also want students to be taught and guided by those who are open to newideas and who clearly demonstrate that they themselves are continuing to learn and investigate.I do not use the term Personal Development Planning as such but much of what I try to do as ateacher and supporter of learning is akin to PDP.

Students will learn more effectively and be able to take control of their own learning if they aremade aware of the processes involved and enabled to manage these processes for themselves.

Learners need support and guidance in doing so and opportunities to practice reflection andfurther experimentation. They do not necessarily find the transition to more reflective andprocess based learning obvious or easy.Two examples might serve as useful illustrations.

Published research suggests that many students new to dance in higher education come frombackgrounds in which the products of their dance experiences took precedence over theprocess of creative development. I noticed that many students saw creative work as anessentially private, mysterious activity. They felt abashed at showing work before it was fullyformed and they expected that they ought to be able to get it right first time. As a way of


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tackling this I tried inviting professional artists to be interviewed in front of students about howthey made their last piece of work. I discovered that students were often taken aback at thetraumas, mistakes and reworks which, given the right circumstances, professionalchoreographers do admit to. This had a very positive effect on student choreographers. Theywere encouraged and reassured. They also began to identify processes, which they were notaware of. This was also useful in establishing an environment in which these processes couldbe opened up to non-judgmental observation and discussion.

Traditionally the acquisition of technical dance skills has required that learners be dependent,relatively passive recipients of largely repetitious teaching. Within higher educationenvironments a more student centred, interactive approach, designed to enable student dancersto take greater ownership of their learning is being developed. With colleagues I have revised aseries of modules in contemporary dance practice in order to engage the student dancer inmore active, independent and collaborative learning and to introduce methods of critical andreflective thinking. As part of these essentially practical modules students are asked to prepareshort papers and to engage in small group discussions. These consider for example, technicalcharacteristics and principles and the individuals own strengths and weaknesses. This is not

how dance class is traditionally taught. Students say they have found this valuable because ithas focussed their observations and sharpened their thinking. It has helped them articulate andunderstand their own practice. It has been interesting to see how, as individual students gainexperience of this kind of learning, they become less dependent on staff feedback as a sourceof information and more able to reach their own insights based on their own experience. Wealso began to involve students more in assessment procedures as a way of helping them tounderstand and achieve learning outcomes. Second year contemporary dance practice studentsformally assessed their own performance alongside the staffs assessment. Together we viewedthe video record of the students performance and used the student and the staff assessment ofthis performance as a basis for exchange and discussion. In preparing for this performancestudents were asked to rehearse in pairs so that each could give the other feedback and so gainexperience of reaching an assessment of performance. In ways such as these students are

learning how to acquire skills not via repetitive, habitual practice led by a teacher but byinvestigating the basis of their own technique, by reaching their own understanding ofunderlying principles and by beginning to set their own targets.

What skills and capabilities are you setting out to develop?

Described above

How has it worked for you?

Students generally respond positively. Graduates supply evidence of the ways in which theycontinue to apply reflective learning to different situations. A recent graduate asked by the

universitys marketing department about why he chose the course and what he gained from itwrote the course enabled me to examine myself as a being that moves, maintaining myindividuality as a mover, having something unique to offer a prospective employer because ofnot fitting into any particular mould. More importantly, the self examination on the course at DeMontfort provided me with a tool for personal development that I continue to apply today. This isparticularly important for me when I am not working as a dancer, which inevitably does happen.It enables me to continue to investigate how I use myself and challenge the ideas I have ofmyself as a physical moving being. De Montfort did not develop me into a particular type ofdancer but one with scope to accomplish many different styles. I believe this is demonstrated bythe diversity of jobs I have had since graduation, from the very pure styles to physical theatre,


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martial arts and the more commercial work. I do wonder though if this is more about my attitudeas an individual - one that the course enabled me to develop.

Generic principles

A key principle which underpins effective improvement of performance is the recognition thatreflection of itself, though necessary, is insufficient. Learners need to be able to act on insightand this requires help in developing conscious awareness and direction of ourselves. In my ownlearning and in that of the specialist dance course at De Montfort this is made possible by theapplication of the Alexander Technique.

Costs and benefits

These processes take a considerable amount of time and ongoing attention to set up and

implement. They do involve students directly in independent learning and in decision makingand both of these require more support and individual feedback than I think is frequentlyacknowledged.


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Students have responded very favourably to RAPID, partly because it is Web-based (andtherefore a fairly novel means of recording achievement), and partly because it provides aframework for their personal and professional development through University and into theworld of work (leading onto membership of the Professional institution that accredits theirrespective degree programmes). Staff have been more circumspect but are beginning torecognise its potential to enhance the learning experiences of their students.

The main facilitator has been the support of the Professional Institutions. This has enabled us tomore effectively promote RAPID to staff and students alike.

Generic principles

Relevance (e.g. to professional development)

Emphasis on developing process skills (e.g. action planning skills)

Simple and straightforward framework / template to audit and develop skills

Costs and benefits

As RAPID has been developed (and continues to be developed) as a result of external funding itis easy to place a monetary cost on this. The benefits (at this stage) are much more difficult toquantify. However, if RAPID achieves its potential to become a benchmark model for PDPactivity both within HE and the construction industry, then the benefits will far outweigh thecosts.


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Case Study 3Framework for describing PDP Practice

Author: Dr Rosie Stacy, Senior Lecturer in Medical SociologyInstitution: Department of Primary Health Care, Medical School, Newcastle UniversitySubject/programme context: Medicine in Society course (years 1and 2 of MBBS medicaldegree)Key words that capture your approach: Reflective learning, community-based medicaleducationEmail address: [email protected]

Description of practice/process :Context/practice: Medicine in Society course, first year 6 month Family Study project, and asecond year similar Patient Study project. Students write reflections section as part of theirassessed report. Seminar tutors facilitate discussion of what is reflection?, students alsoreceive handouts (definition) and worksheets with examples from previous reports, andquestions which encourage reflective thinking.

Purpose: to go some way to producing doctors who have self-awareness and who have thecapacity of self-audit, in line with the GMC report Tomorrows Doctors.

Initiative: mainly limited to this component of phase 1 (years 1 and 2) but it is integrated withother activities, particularly through the ethics teaching, in later years of the curriculum.

Subject: Medicine in Society is an integrated course comprising primary health care/generalpractice, medical sociology, health psychology, public health and the life cycle (infantdevelopment through to ageing, death and dying from biological and social perspectives). MiSlinks closely to another strand of the curriculum, Personal and Professional Development. Thiswork on reflective awareness crosses the two strands but is facilitated within the MiS seminar

groups.

Time: It has been done for 6 years

Student numbers: 220/year, 440 across the 2 years of Medicine in Society

Voluntary or compulsory: It is compulsory and assessed. The report within which thereflective section is placed comprises half the continuous assessment in year 1, (slightly less inyear 2) and the reflections section is one of 6 categories on the marking grid.

Support materials: handout, worksheet

Inst. context: policy for this across whole 5 year curriculum under discussion

What skills and capabilities are you setting out to develop? Some evidence that studentshave learnt (or at least know what they should have learnt!) through qualitative analysis of theirassessed work, notably in relation to awareness of their own prejudices.

How has it worked for you? It has been evaluated (theme analysis of the qualitative data ofthe reflections sections of Family and Patient Study reports, coded and quantified againstBlooms taxonomy. Evidence of increased range and level of reflection with increasededucational input to students.


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Case Study 4


Author: Sue PrinceInstitution: University of ExeterSubject/programme context: LawKey words that capture your approach: Responsibility, accountability, employabilityEmail address:[email protected]


PESCA is an electronic profiling system created and developed over a number of years at theUniversity of Exeter. PESCA is an acronym for the five key areas of development that sit withinthe profile. These are: Personal, Employment, Social, Career and Academic.

It is a tool to encourage students to record their achievements, skills and goals, to provide

evidence of their development and to assist them to analyse and evaluate their own strengthsand weaknesses in each of the specified areas. Although records are created within each of thepersonal, employment, social, career and academic categories, because PESCA is a databasesystem it can easily create different ways of reporting the information it holds. Thereforestudents can generate their own curriculum vitaes, reports for their personal tutor, action plansand career plans which can be shown to other individuals or agencies such as careers advisors.PESCA was trailed in the School of Law at the University of Exeter for an academic year 99/00.The aim was to encourage its use by students as a tool for their own personal development andalso as an element of their degree relating to their feedback to their personal tutor.

PESCA enabled students to keep a record of the skills they were developing in each of their firstyear subjects, namely Criminal Law, Contract Law, etc With regard to their personal

development, PESCA clearly relates to the need for autonomy outlined in the law benchmarks(QAA, 2000). The capacity to develop independent learning skills was also clear within the aimrelated to the law degree. At the end of each term they could generate a report, which wasemailed to the Personal Tutor, detailing their progress; their own individual strengths andweaknesses, which the personal tutor could then compare to feedback from subject tutors todraw a clear picture of where a student needed direction and guidance. Students could thendiscuss their PESCA termly profile during meetings with their tutor.

PESCA was given to over 200 first year law students at the beginning of the September term.Students were asked to enter basic information about themselves, their school, qualifications,hobbies, work experience and their degree programme onto their PESCA disc.


The academic section of PESCA required students to consider their own skills development inrelation to the learning outcomes for each module. They could therefore see what the moduletutor was expecting and relate this to their own personal development. A summary of thedevelopment of these strengths and weaknesses was then generated on a termly basis by thestudent for discussion with their personal tutor.

In order for PESCA to become a compulsory element of the degree programme in Law but notto be formally assessed it was decided to place it in the personal tutor system. Students are


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asked to consider more generally their progress in terms of strengths and weaknesses on atermly basis. This report is emailed to the Personal Tutor in advance of the termly meeting eachPersonal Tutor is required to have with their tutees.By the time of the termly meeting the Personal Tutor should have been able to consider twodocuments which will help to inform his/hers discussion with the student. These documents arethe evaluation report which is from the perspective of the student and the internal report basedon workshop / tutorial performance. The Personal Tutor is therefore able to have a constructivediscussion based on a comparison of both perspectives.


During the academic year students were asked for feedback on their use of PESCA. The end ofyear questionnaire found that 91% of students had used PESCA at some point during the year.Whilst approximately 30-40% had used it to record their skills, information for their curriculumvitae and their personal strengths and weaknesses by far the greatest usage had been of thoseaspects which related to the termly evaluation which was required by their tutor. Almost 90% ofstudents questioned had used the package to help with this requirement. The termly evaluation

was the only aspect of the package which was seen to be compulsory. Therefore it seems thatthe majority of first year students were driven by assessment when using PESCA.

Students were divided on the usefulness of PESCA those that had difficulties tended to be putoff by the IT before being put off by the requirement to reflect - over half of students usingPESCA experienced technical difficulties.

We received some very positive student feedback which went directly to the main aims of thePESCA package: "I am updating PESCA on a weekly basis. I find it useful with regards keepinga check on my progress ... It is surprising how fast time is going here. If I were not to keep aweekly record I am sure I would not be able to remember all that happens. It is certainly helpfulto set personal goals and then work towards them"

The immediate aim is to overcome the technical problems and the frustrations associated withthem so that students are not put off as soon as they encounter PESCA. Work has also beencontinuing on the development of the tool, in the light of student feedback, so that the reflectionrequired is clear and students can see their own progress and development. Time has alsobeen spent on determining how PESCA can be most appropriately supported and moreimportantly valued by academic staff.

Generic principles

The idea that thinking reflectively requires you to think about the significance of the things thatyou do at many levels social and educational John Dewey.

Costs and benefits

There are huge costs associated with setting up the system and ensuring that it workseffectively it involves a change of culture. We have been developing this system at Exeter forat least the last three years and are still continuing with developmental issues at every level.Clear benefit is that it provides a structure to things that might be happening anyway or maybeare not happening but need to.


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Case Study 5


Author: Val HumphreysInstitution:University of Central EnglandSubject/programme/learning context: LL BKey words that capture your approachEmail address: [email protected]


In 2000/01, we have piloted the use of Student Progress Files by our Year 1 students (ft and pt approx. 220 in total). These have taken the form of a learning log, and underpin our PersonalTutorial Processes. Students meet regularly with their tutor, individually and as a group andrecord achievement, based on the Law benchmarks, in their file. The File is designed toencourage reflection on the learning process, and planning for personal and career

development. The activity is compulsory, and the File is intended to remain with the studentthroughout her/his time with us.


Using the process is a learning activity in itself, and we feel demonstrates in particular, skills ofcommunication (oral and written), reflection and self-awareness, and time-management. It forms15% of the assessment of a 24 credit module.


Students have been very positive and have broadly supported and enjoyed the process.

Reaction from staff has been mixed, but most believe it to be a useful adjunct to our othersupport systems. There is a general feeling that assessment of the process is essential for it tobe taken seriously!

The main barrier has been the additional workload on already over-burdened academic staff

Costs and benefits

There is a high resource cost in terms of staff time both in developing and monitoring theprocess, and in staffing it. However, there is a widespread feeling that the benefits outweighthese costs, in terms of student support and, hopefully, retention.


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Case Study 6


Author: E. RouseInstitution: The London College of FashionSubject/programme context: Undergraduate framework in art and design, communicationsKey words that capture your approach: Integrated, Visible and explicit, ParticipatorylearningEmail address: [email protected]


Our approach is currently undergoing further development, We are in the process of revalidatingour undergraduate courses within a common credit framework. As part of that initiative we areintroducing a common approach to PPD (Personal and professional development) PPDencompasses PDP, career management and key skills.

It builds on an initiative the Learning to Learn unit first introduced in 1995 into two courses forwhich I was responsible. This was delivered as a one term package and provided a participatorylearning experiences in which students focused on the following areas: approaches to learning,peer and self assessment, communication, working in teams and visual language. Studentfeedback and evidence form assessment showed that students developed a greater awarenessof effective learning and teaching, developed strong peer relationships and team working skills,were able to identify their strengths and weakness and develop a mature approach to their ownstudents ship. Originally this was delivered as separate area of the curriculum to small groups of10-12, but resource pressure eventually pushed group sizes up to 20. It was not explicitlyassessed. It was supported by a staff development program but its success was dependent onthe commitment of the team and was adversely affected by staff changes.

When we developed a part time course this programme was expanded into 3 units - one at eachstage - Induction to learning, Developing learning skills, and Personal /career development Unit.This has combined some element of the learning to learn approach but added a focus oncareers and was delivered by non-course team members. It has been successful in preparingstudents for assignment but has been hard to timetable effectively. As the first session of anevening programme, it has suffered from poor punctuality. It has been assessed via a learningjournal and the learning journals are becoming very effective means of students developing andrecording a reflective approach.

This development was also informed by work on career management skills undertaken at LCF.This focused on the personal and transferable skills that will be required by students to access

the work place and to manage their careers throughout their lifetime. In conjunction with theCareers Service LCF had developed a Careers Education and Guidance policy, and as part ofthe implementation plan we ran a pilot of three different models of career education. A keyfinding of the pilot was that careers education, and career management skills in particular, thatare integrated into mainstream learning have greater success and that students show morecommitment to this area of work if it is assessed. Many existing components of the curriculumcan become vehicles for developing careers management skills in our subject areas: teamprojects, industrial placements, study skills, diagnostic assessments, live projects, studentpresentations, business orientation projects, research projects, and degree shows.


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We have also carried out key skills mapping exercises on all programmes as part of thepreparations for subject review. The nature of our subject disciplines and the vocational focus ofthe courses means that it has been a matter of identifying and making explicit the developmentand assessment of key skill rather than the introduction of key skills into the curriculum.Building on these initiatives and work done in key skills we are now developing a model ofintegrated delivery and assessment. This has already been implemented in one course and isnow being introduced to all courses in the undergraduate framework. The are of curriculum isentitled Personal and Professional Development. Although it is not a separate unit of study, thetitle and description in student handbooks spells out for students that there is a strand whichruns through their programmes that specifically addresses their development in preparation forfuture study, work placement and employment. Delivery is integrated but not invisible andparticular sessions will be signposted to students so they are aware of its purpose, as isassessment.

A reflective approach to learning is underpinned by the tutorial system, and students arerequired in tutorial to use their learning experiences and to discuss, develop and change theirapproaches to learning, and to develop action plans and learning goals.

Currently 200 students involved, by Oct 2001 500, and by Oct 2003 1,500.


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Case Study 7


Author: Della FazeyInstitution: University of Wales BangorSubject/programme context: Sport ScienceKey words that capture your approach: accessible, flexible, supported, student-ownedEmail address: [email protected]


1st year students within my School are introduced to the Personal and Professional Portfolioduring Welcome Week. The purpose is to provide students and tutors with a means ofevaluating and recording progress within the degree programme and to provide students with ameans of organising and planning activities more generally for personal development. Studentsare given a folder which contains some pro-forma and the purposes and process is explained in

a workshop. Following this there is a series of individual tutorial meetings with their personaltutor, which occur at certain times of the year. At each meeting different forms are filled in by thestudent in preparation for the meeting (e.g. an introductory, CV-based form for the first meeting)and at each meeting a carbon-backed report is agreed that indicates what was discussed andwhat actions were to occur on the basis of the discussion. Sensitive, private information is notrecorded on these forms although it may have been discussed. The tutor retains a copy of thereport. Students are advised to build up their portfolio to demonstrate what they can do /experiences they have had. Discussion with the tutor also includes consideration of feedbackfrom work and opportunities that are available for achieving personal goals. In year 1 there is nocredit awarded for the activity but students assume that this is what is required for universitystudents. Effectiveness at this stage depends on an interaction between the commitment of boththe tutor and that of the students.

In year 2, this year, the portfolio work has been continued but is less structured with theresponsibility being handed over to the students to a greater extent. In the portfolio are recordedactivities that the student wishes to present for his/her skills module (10 credits). In this modulestudents have to complete 5 units of work of approximately 20 hours each. Categories for theseunits include qualifications (e.g. First Aid, Coaching qualifications) and professional placements(e.g. shadowing a physiotherapist, teaching in school, Camp America). Students arrange theirown experiences or sign up for those that are offered. A student chooses activities that arepersonally relevant. The portfolio, however, is not there just for the reflection and planning of theskills module but asks students to consider their academic progress in relation to aspirationsand expectations (e.g. what overall grade do you want to achieve this year? In which moduleswill you achieve this grade and in which might you struggle? Why? What can you do about it?

Discussions about career options also arise and these often raise questions about the best useof the skills module for CV purposes.

In the final year of the degree we do not, at present use a portfolio though the present 2nd yearswill continue to develop one if they wish. On the basis of their record they will be asked to writea brief statement of their achievements which will be left with personal tutors to use forreference purposes.

Future developments include: within the School next year a new Level 2 module has beencreated which is called Personal and Professional Development (10 credits). This is a core


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module for Single Honours students in the School. The learning outcomes includedemonstrating the ability to plan appropriately for personal and professional progress and theportfolio will be assessed accordingly. Within their portfolio students will have to provideevidence that they have planned for and completed units similar to those in the Skills moduledescribed above. They will also be expected to demonstrate reflection and planning in theiracademic work and for employability. The process is still embedded within the personal tutorsystem and there will be a minimum requirement for tutor-student contact during the year. 1stand final year students will use the portfolio as is envisaged at present with a requirement inyear 1 and an option in the final year of study.

Future developments at university level: a working group is, at present, considering the use of apan-university IT based system that was initially developed (but never entirely complete) duringa project from 1994-1996. With the advent of new technologies and a new student recordsystem it is believed that an up-dated version of the original can be developed. This may bedependent on funding. The student will be able to download information from the central recordsystem which will also support the tracking of their progress within the year. The ProFile willcontain all the usual elements at different levels of the system e.g. CV-based information (the

record) at the top level with the second level being reflective (e.g. assessment of key skills usinginformation from the record to provide evidence and evaluation and a third level which will bethe long and short term planning, identification of opportunities, requirements etc. To beeffective, support from personal tutors or similar will be required. The development of auniversity system for students is part of the teaching & learning strategy. As yet no source offinancial support has been identified.

Within the Scholl of Sport, Health & Exercise Sciences the present scheme is in its second yearalthough individual tutors have used systems that are less- formalised for a number of years.There are approximately 100 students in each year with 10 fully active personal tutors (i.e.about 30 students per tutor).


See above


Some students are very positive about the process whilst others dont value it. I suspect that thisis largely an interaction between student pre-dispositions (organised & intrinsically motivated vs.disorganised & extrinsically motivated) and staff attitudes (committed to student development/dont see student development as part of their role &/or lack interpersonal skills). In this Schoolstaff are largely supportive & are involved at a professional level in PDP work. We teach aboutgoal-setting, motivation, self-efficacy etc. so have an academic background that supports the

work. There are, however, staff who cant/wont deal effectively with students problems withequality of opportunity for students!

The process is amended each year on the basis of staff & student feedback.

Costs and benefitsNo real evidence but its debatable as to whether or not the benefits outweigh the costs inmeasurable terms but then we cant measure, except in the very short term, the positiveoutcomes for students. For staff it appears to be an additional burden.


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Case Study 8


Author: Dr Angela SmallwoodInstitution: School of English Studies, University of Nottingham; Director of the University ofNottingham PADSHE Project (Personal and Academic Development for Students in HigherEducation)

Context: Personal and Academic Records system (PARs) were developed first in the Schoolof English Studies and were then customised in a wide range of further disciplines atNottingham and, through the PADSHE Project, in 6 further UK universities. They will beimplemented institution-wide at Nottingham for all first-year undergraduates in October 2001. Atthe moment they are mainly in paper form but some schools are piloting Internet-PARs (seebelow) and Nottingham is likely to go entirely electronic over the next few years.Key words: Personal tutoring; quality assurance; academic feedback; modularised courses;reflection; skills; IT

Email address: [email protected]


PARs were developed to quality assure personal tutoring and to provide support for studentsacademic progress after the modularisation of courses fragmented students contact withacademic staff. They were first used in 1993 and the University adopted a policy to developthem for the whole institution in 1996. There is a very high level of take-up by students becausethe use of PARs is integral to the workings of academic departments. PARs are not assessed.

The PADSHE approach to PDP can be summarised in six points

Institution-wide guidelines with scope for individual interpretation by discipline Academic-led, via a pro-active, equal-entitlement approach to academic support and guidance Dual-purpose records providing

-- PDP for students-- QAA documentation for departments

Staff-student partnership in one-to-one discussions-- academic feedback and progress overviews-- option choices and forward plans

Quality-assured personal tutoring-- published calendar of PAR-related events in every department-- published baseline agendas for tutor-tutee meetings, agreed by staff and students

Holistic developmental component: opportunities for students to record and plan-- skills and career development-- work experience-- extra-curricular activities.

Institutional policy is set out in the Universitys Quality Manual. Guidelines for departments arepublished on the PADSHE website at http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/padshe.

Since 1998 the PADSHE team has been working in partnership with C&IT developers in theFaculty of Medicine at the University of Newcastle on the Newcastle-Nottingham Internet-PARs


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Project, a web-based development of the PADSHE principles. Internet-PARs are not intended toreplace the face-to-face meetings between tutors and tutees, but to transfer the records on tothe web and develop the potential of the web to support reflective tools to help the studentprepare for progress meetings and develop forward plans afterwards. Access to ademonstration version of the tool for managing personal tutorials is available via the projectwebsite at http://info-pars.ncl.ac.uk. A second phase of the project is running 2000-2002providing:

consultancy for other HEIs on the practicalities (logistics, resource implications, strategies formanaging change) of implementing PDP on paper or electronically

a feasibility study on harmonising PDP in HE with the new Progress File in schools

a development of Internet-PARs for CPD in Medicine and Education.

Skills and capabilities

From the beginning, vocational subjects regulated by PSBs (public and statutory bodies) haveincorporated the evidencing of skills and capabilities into their PARs. Examples include UrbanPlanning, Nursing, Physiotherapy, and Radiography. Some non-vocational subjects haveincorporated study skills elements. For students on non-vocational courses transferable skillshave so far been highlighted mainly through voluntary, bolt-on sessions delivered by careeradvisors. This area of the PAR at Nottingham will now be complemented by further academic-led activities arising out of the introduction of programme specifications.

How has it worked?

PARs work well where staff and students work together to customise the concept for adepartment individually, creating a version of PARs which is immediately relevant to them and

which picks up on their existing good practice. It works well where it is perceived as integral toteaching and learning. It works much less well where an existing PAR is imported into a newdepartment and imposed without revision, or where it is presented primarily as an administrativechore, the record-keeping made to dominate over the educational value of the process which itshould serve.

Evaluation has shown that students responses are very strongly influenced by the attitudes(positive and negative) adopted by their tutors. In the main, students respond to theopportunities which PARs offer them but they emphasise the importance of how induction ishandled, of just how PDP is introduced to them.

Staff identify a range of positive points including:

the value of PARs in defining a minimum standard of tutorial support

the opportunity to re-evaluate existing provision, to build on strengths and weaknesses

the value of enabling students to recognise the benefits of all their activities, academic andextra-curricular.

Staff also appreciate the challenges still to be met:


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accommodating the differing needs of different student cohorts (mature students, part-timestudents, international students, etc)

changing the culture for students and staff

ensuring that students engage with the process

meeting the staff training needs, e.g. in providing developmental feedback to students, inhelping students become more reflective learners

recognising the time commitment required from staff to support a high quality experience.

Generic principles

The key idea behind PARs for academic staff is to build upon, not displace or duplicate, existingprocedures and documentation as the basis for PDP. In consultation with students, staff reviewtheir departments existing good practice in providing academic support and guidance for

students, bring it all together in a streamlined, standardised system, enhance it in any furtherways needed to meet the requirements of all external bodies (QAA, PSBs), make the provisionfully transparent and the documentation which concerns individual students available to them asthe basis for PDP. In this way, PDP for students is based either in what the department wouldhave wished to do anyway, or would have recognised the need to do; it brings economies ofeffort and a visibility to the departments system of student support which inspires confidence.

Under PARs, the chief motivators for students are:

students interest in feedback from tutors. Wherever possible, the personal tutor is a lecturerwho also teaches the student and who can discuss the students academic progress in aninformed way.

the idea of having someone to whom to address their reflective writing, in this case theirpersonal tutor. Most students who would not be interested in keeping a learning diary forthemselves welcome the chance to have an academic sit alongside them in a one-to-onemeeting, however briefly, ready to give them individual attention and to join them in taking stockof their progress, looking at their performance across the array of modules which they happen tobe studying and across the totality of learning experiences which they have chosen to engagewith while at university.

Costs and benefits

Time costs: An initial investment of staff time is required to customise the PAR concept within a

department. The University of Nottingham has appointed an academic-related PARsImplementation Manager to co-ordinate development work in departments and provide supportthrough workshops etc. The ongoing development and updating of PARs, once they areestablished, falls within the routine administrative responsibilities of a departments Senior Tutoror PARs Co-ordinator, assisted by the school administrator.

The minimum standard time investment for personal tutors using PARs is three 10-minute one-to-one progress tutorials, per personal tutee, per year. A staff-student ratio of 1:25 is emergingas the upper limit for effective operation of the current system. Because the meetings arestructured and the students prepare for them, the agendas cover a number of essential matters


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at one time and represent a streamlining and enriching of staff-student interaction, althoughthere is clearly the potential to develop the process much more, if time could be made available.Internet-PARs will facilitate further ways in which students can be supported to work reflectivelyaround their personal tutorials, as well as ways in which quality time in personal tutorials can befurther enriched.

Time savings: anecdotal evidence suggests that because the system of academic support isprovided for all, is so integrated and so visible, fewer students than before claim time from staffon an ad-hoc basis. There are also considerable efficiency gains.

Costs of materials

Paper-based system: The cost per student, per three year course, is up to 8.00, including acustomised, printed ring-binder and photocopying of year-specific sets of documents. Somedepartments have attracted business sponsorship to cover the cost of materials provided forstudents.Web-based system: As yet, we have no data on the cost to departments of using Internet-PARs,

as we are running only fairly small-scale pilots during 2000-2001. The University has so farcreated two 2-year C&IT posts, one senior, one junior, in our Information Services department,to interface Internet-PARs with the Universitys central data systems and to support the needs ofpilot departments customising the tool.The University has made these investments in the interests of providing a quality-assuredsystem for student academic support and guidance across the institution. As more and moreHEIs develop networked learning environments, the support of student learning through the kindof human contact provided by personal tutoring looks like becoming crucially important. This,after all, is the point.


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Case Study 9


Author: Andrew HolmesInstitution: University of Hull, Centre for Lifelong LearningSubject/programme context: Student Voluntary Work Skills Development ModuleKey words that capture your approach:Email address: [email protected]


The student union voluntary work skills development module provides a structured frameworkwhereby students who participate in voluntary activity are given the opportunity to reflect upontheir existing skills base, identify skill areas for current and future development, and developenhanced skills through their voluntary work. It is a pilot programme that started October thisyear in conjunction with the University of Hull student union sabbatical officers. The aim of the

course is to recognise the transferable skills which students development through their voluntarywork activity and provides them with a framework for reflecting upon their existing skills andplanning their future skills development. The module is articulated against the September QCANVQ Key skills at level 4. Skill areas covered; students have a choice from one or more of thefollowing: 'Problem Solving', 'Working With Others', 'Communication - Oral', 'Communication -Visual', 'Communication - Written'.

There are 25 students registered on the pilot project. It is offered to any student that is currentlyinvolved in voluntary work through the University of Hull Student Union. Students who aresuccessful in achieving the learning outcomes gain credit towards the Centre for LifelongLearning's Foundation Award programme, which is an initial higher education qualification.Students receive a study pack (paper based, but can be available on floppy disc or CD) which

contains reading material, pro formas, a skills audit, information/diagnostic test for their learningstyles (based on Honey and Mumford's /Kolb's) plus VAK (visual, auditory, kinaesthetic)learning style tests, and guidance on how to critically reflect. Students have access to a mentorand regular tutorial support.

This is a module I developed at the request of the student union. There is a reference within theUniversity's mission statement to the accreditation of student voluntary work, but at the presenttime no real institutional interest. Colleagues have shown interest in the module.


What skills and capabilities are you setting out to develop through PDP?

How do these relate to the outcomes for academic programmes? What evidence do you requireto demonstrate that students have learnt through the process? Does it gain credit? Is itassessed? If so how is it assessed?

'Problem Solving', 'Working With Others', 'Communication - Oral', 'Communication - Visual','Communication - Written' and the skill of becoming a critical self reflector. I also hope that thestudents who work their way through this module will become more autonomous learners andwill become more aware of existing skills they have and the skills they need for their futureprofessional careers.


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Students produce a written learning portfolio of evidence, which is assessed against the overalllearning outcomes for the module, which are:

Be able to identify how skills are learnt

Have reflected upon their existing skills base

Have identified skill areas for current and future development Have developed appropriate skills through their voluntary work

Be familiar with and have engaged in the process of becoming a more reflective learnerin terms of their individual skills development needs.

There are also specific outcomes for the transferable skill the student chooses to develop. Forexample, Skill Area - WORKING WITH OTHERS (extract below).

You should provide evidence for one category of working with others, either:

Working with another person on a one-to-one basis, or

Working with other people in a group situation(s) *

If you wish you may provide evidence for both categories you may do so.

Your evidence should show that you can:

Identify and develop a strategy(ies) for using skills in working with others over a period oftime

Establish opportunities for using skills in working with others and identify the outcomesyou hope/aim to achieve

Plan how you will work with others, and reflect upon how you have done this.Negotiating responsibilities, methods and working arrangements for achieving youridentified outcomes, as required

Monitor your progress over time and improve your skills in working with others

Take a lead(ing) role in managing an activity in ways that help you and others to beeffective and efficient in meeting your responsibilities

Establish and maintain co-operative working relationships and, where required, agreeways to resolve any difficulties

Monitor and critically reflect on your use of skills when working with others

* For 'Working with other people in a group situation(s)' take a lead(ing) role in managingat least one complex group activity.

And that you have:

Improved your skill in working with others Self Awareness of the role that your own actions have in affecting the effectiveness, or

otherwise, of the working relationship

And that you able to:

Reflect critically on your overall strategy for working with others

Reflect critically on your overall skills improvement/development in working with others

Identify ways of further developing your skills in working with others


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Response from students and the student union so far has been very positive. It is difficult toanswer the other questions until the pilot has finished

Generic principles

Critical self reflection, externally referenced - guided and supported, goal setting and planning.

Costs and benefits

Students are charged a 20 fee (which is being waived for the pilot). In terms of my own time ithas taken quite a while to develop the materials. I do genuinely believe that it helps students tobecome better learners; hopefully evaluation of the pilot will prove this.

case studies of pdp in practise

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