This guide aims to provide a brief overview to Personal Development Planning (PDP) and sign post relevant resources and activities for the Information and Computer Science disciplines.

PDP forms part of the higher education Progress File which was introduced as a result of the National Committee of Inquiry in Higher Education in 1997 ( http://www.leeds.ac.uk/educol/ncihe ). A key desire behind the Progress File was to help ensure that higher education produces graduates with skills and attributes which will readily transfer into further study, training and employment. By making learning outcomes more explicit and integrating personal development with academic study, it is intended that the Progress File will enhance the quality of the higher education experience and encourage students to engage with life-long learning and reflection throughout their study.

There are 3 elements to the Progress File:-

• A transcript or verifiable record of student learning and achievement which follows a common format and is an official record of learning and achievement provided by the institution.
• An individual's personal record of learning and achievement, progress reviews and plans, which can be used as evidence for further study and applications to employers.
• A personal development plan or portfolio which has been defined by the National Committee of Inquiry in Higher Education as a means by which students can “monitor, build and reflect upon their personal development”.

The provision of a system for delivering PDP is to be developed by individual HEIs, which allows a level of flexibility to develop local approaches which are most suited to subjects and departments. It is expected that a range of recording process will be used to create and maintain these records and guidance materials and support structures will be essential to enable and encourage students to participate and benefit from this learning process.

What is PDP?

Personal Development Planning (PDP) is defined by the Guidelines for HE Progress Files ( http://www.qaa.ac.uk/academicinfrastructure/progressFiles/guidelines/progfile2001.pdf ) as “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.” It is intended to improve the ability of students to understand what and how they are learning by encouraging them to review, plan and take responsibility for their own learning. Through the provision of structured opportunities to help them evaluate and improve on a wider range of skills and personal qualities, students can become more effective, independent learners possessing key skills and attributes that will benefit them in life, work and study.

PDP is most effective when it is part of the mainstream academic activity, supported by staff and informal institutional structures as this helps students to understand what they are learning and to relate their learning to a wider context. Individuals should be encouraged to engage regularly in PDP and take responsibility for the development of their own PDP records of learning and achievement.

PDP offers a structure process for:

• Personal reflection
• Independent and self-directed learning
• Self appraisal
• Recognising and valuing transferable skills
• Learning from extra curricular experiences
• Enhancing employability

Responsibilities for this process

Institutions are responsible for providing opportunities for PDP throughout university education. This responsibility includes providing students with structured opportunities for reflection and PDP, enabling students to keep records of their personal progress, and providing formal records of achievement (transcripts).

Departments have a responsibility for the design and implementation of PDP processes which are appropriate to their subjects and their students. Where appropriate this may be influenced by professional bodies such as the British Computer Society (BCS) and the Chartered Institute of Librarians and Information Professionals (CILIP).

Students are individually responsible for deriving benefit from PDP and creating and maintaining their own personal records, with appropriate support from their department and institution.

The Benefits

PDP provides students with a structured way of identifying and applying prior learning and encourages them to take responsibility for their own learning and career development. It provides a means by which to record achievements and evidence success which is invaluable for CV and application writing.

PDP can help students to learn more effectively and develop skills and practices that will be valuable in the workplace. It can encourage students to consider their progress and options to effectively plan for future development.

PDP is an active learning process which reinforces and promotes lifelong learning. It can help students to understand how they are learning and to relate their learning to a wider context; encouraging a positive attitude to learning throughout life.

PDP can benefit students / study by:

• Contributing to the ethos of life-long learning
• Promoting skill reflection, review and planning
• Providing a reference document of achievement
• Helping learners to set goals for future development
• Encouraging learners to take responsibility for their own learning
• Stimulating development of critical thinking and self analysis

PDP can help institutions to:

• Produce more autonomous / independent learners
• Encourage more effective learning in the university and workplace
• Provide a better way of recording student skills and needs
• Offer more effective support and guidance systems
• Enhance the capacity to demonstrate quality support systems
• Improve retention and progression

Resources

Policy / Reports

•  Dearing Report – National Committee of Inquiry in Higher Education 1997 http://www.leeds.ac.uk/educol/ncihe/

•  Guidelines for HE progress files , July 2001.This is the official policy statement of UUK, SCOP, Universities Scotland, the QAA and the LTSN Generic Centre, and were prepared to help institutions develop and introduce Progress Files. http://www.qaa.ac.uk/academicinfrastructure/progressFiles/guidelines/progfile2001.pdf

•  Government White Paper - The Future of Higher Education . Department For Education and Skills. January 2003. http://www.dfes.gov.uk/hegateway/uploads/White%20Pape.pdf

•  Skills Strategy White Paper – 21 st Century Skills: realising our potential . Department For Education and Skills. July 2003. http://www.dfes.gov.uk/skillsstrategy/_pdfs/whitePaper_PDFID4.pdf

•  Measuring and Recording Student Achievement. Report of the Scoping Group chaired by Professor Robert Burgess. Universities UK / SCOP 2004. http://bookshop.universitiesuk.ac.uk/downloads/measuringachievement.pdf

ICS Subject Centre Activity

•  Personal Development Planning – This one day event was held at the University of Sheffield in May 2005 and aimed to provide an opportunity for delegates to share experiences and discuss issues relating to the implementation of PDP. The presentations and other materials from the day are available from the ICS website. http://www.ics.heacademy.ac.uk/events/displayevent.php?id=51

•  Recording Skills Development Portfolio for Library & Information Sciences – The ILS skills portfolio provides a number of skill sets which can be used to help individuals audit, plan and develop skills and build a portfolio of evidence. The complete portfolio is available from http://www.ics.heacademy.ac.uk/resources/links/is_skills.php

ICS Papers & publications

- Brine, A. Continuing professional development: a guide for information professionals . Chandos Publishing. 2005. – Chapter 3 provides a useful section on developing portfolios.

•  Brine, A. & Feather, J. Building a skills portfolio for the information professional . New Library World, Vol. 104 No. 1194/1195 2003. pp. 455 – 563

•  Brine, A. & Feather, J. Supporting the development of skills for information professionals . Education for Information, Vol. 20 (3&4) December 2002. pp. 253 – 60

•  Irons, A. Using personal development plans (PDPs) to facilitate learning for computing students . Presentation given at the 2003 ICS Annual Conference. Alastair Irons.ppt

•  Irons, A. Using portfolios to assess learning outcomes in computing . Paper given at the 2002 ICS Annual Conference. Alister Irons in 2002

•  Using portfolios to assess learning outcomes in computing – A one day workshop held in November 2002. The materials from this event are available from http://www.ics.heacademy.ac.uk/events/displayevent.php?id=108

The Higher Education Academy – Information and Computer Sciences have established a JISCmail list providing a forum for academics to share ideas and resources, and to discuss issues relating to PDP in the ICS disciplines.

http://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/lists/heacademy-ics-pdp.html

Generic

- Higher Education Academy PDP webpage http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/PDP.htm

•  Higher Education Academy Resource Database – contains a variety of briefings, guides and resources on PDP. ( http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/resources.asp ) Including resources such as

•  A systematic map and synthesis review of the effectiveness of personal development planning for improving student learning. D.A. Gough et al. http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/resources.asp?process=full_record&section=generic&id=231

•  Developing an infrastructure to support an evidence informed approach to personal development planning Norman Jackson et al . http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/resources.asp?process=full_record&section=generic&id=550

•  A fresh perspective on progress files – a way of representing complex learning and achievement in higher education . Norman Jackson and Rob Ward. http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/resources.asp?process=full_record&section=generic&id=361

•  Cottrell, S. Skills for success: the personal development planning handbook . Palgrave MacMillian, 2003. 1-4039-1132-0. This book provides a variety of creative and practical activities together with a range of resources to help academic staff and students get to grips with Progress Files and PDP.

•  - Skills4Study: This website from Palgrave MacMillian, provides a variety of PDP resources and information regarding PDP. http://www.palgrave.com/skills4study/html/pdp/index.htm

Bodies/Organisations

Centre for Recording Achievement – supports good practice and the sharing of experience in recording achievement and PDP on a national basis. Also contains details of a number of useful case studies. http://www.recordingachievement.org

SFIA Foundation – Skills Framework for the Information Age - SFIA Foundation is a not for profit body owned jointly by e-skills UK, the British Computer Society (BCS), the Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE) and the Institute for the Management of Information Systems (IMIS).

‘The Skills Framework for the Information Age (SFIA) provides a common reference model for the identification of the skills needed to develop effective Information Systems (IS) making use of Information Communications Technologies (ICT). It is a simple and logical two-dimensional framework consisting of areas of work on one axis and levels of responsibility on the other.'

http://www.sfia.org.uk/

Related projects

•  LUSID – University of Liverpool . This is an interactive web-based PDP tool which supports recording, planning, reflection, and skills auditing. http://lusid.liv.ac.uk/index.html

•  Managed Environments for Portfolios based on Evidence Based Learning – http://www.eportfolios.ac.uk/ This is an FDTL 4 project which builds on previous experience of developing electronic support for PDP. The website provides a variety of information and recourse for those interested in ePortfolios and PDP. Including a number of presentation/papers given at conferences and workshops including,

•  Design, implementation and evaluation of a ‘generic' ePortfolio: the Newcastle experience . Simon Cotterill, Tony McDonald, Paul Drummond, Geoff Hammond http://www.eportfolios.ac.uk/FDTL4/docs

•  Taking the Progress File Beyond Enthusiasts . The project aims to examine resistance to engagement in the use of progress file and personal development planning in Higher Education. Student-centred research will be undertaken at a range of UK Higher Education Institutions to elicit the views of students and staff towards progress file and PDP. http://www.worc.ac.uk/LTMain/NQFProject/Website/

•  Connects - The Higher Education Academy 's Connects services provide quick and easy access to high quality information, resources and networking opportunities for all who work in learning and teaching. Academy Connects Projects database contains over 1000 completed project documents, all relevant to learning and teaching in the HE and FE sector. The projects are nationally ( UK ) funded and usually hosted by a UK HE or FE institution. http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/1590.htm

Tools

•  PebblePad – PebblePad is a Generic System, which has been developed by 2 elearning experts from the University of Wolverhampton . It has been developed to support all forms of learning; to facilitate transition between stages of learning, and transition to employment. It places control of the ePortfolio firmly in the hands of the learner - whilst allowing for authentic and reliable assessment by the teacher. http://www.pebblepad.co.uk/partners_wlv.asp

•  PADSHE - 'Personal and Academic Development for Students in Higher Education'. – PADSHE represents a personal tutoring based approach to Progress files and offers a resource for other Higher Education institutions involved in implementing Progress Files, through consultations, workshops, conferences and collaborative projects. http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/padshe/

•  Recording Skills Development Portfolio for Library & Information Sciences – The ILS skills portfolio was developed by members of the academic community in consultation with CILIP in order to help HEIs address issues including skill development and recording achievement. It provides a number of skill sets which can be used to help individuals audit, plan and develop skills and build a portfolio of evidence. The complete portfolio is available from http://www.ics.heacademy.ac.uk/resources/links/is_skills.php