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Personal Development Plans (PDPs)

Subject-specific PDPs in Economics

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Background

• QAA recommends that HE institutions develop a progress file consisting of two main elements:

– Transcript

– “A means by which students can monitor, build and reflect on their personal development”

• The opportunities for PDP in student programmes will be made clear in the programme specification and through any other means the institution considers appropriate

• PDP originally to be in place by 2005/6: now to be fully operational within 5 years from 2005/6

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QAA Requirements

On completion of their programme, students will have: – participated in PDP in a range of learning contexts at

each stage or level of their programme;

– demonstrated that they can access and use the aids and tools provided by the institution to help them reflect upon their own learning and achievements and to plan for their own personal, educational and career development;

– with support, created their own learning records containing information on the qualities and skills they can evidence which can be drawn upon when applying for a job or further study.

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• PDP is likely to be most effective when it is

– a mainstream academic activity

– linked to the learning objectives/outcomes of programmes

– undertaken regularly

– supported and valued by staff

– supported by institutional structures, resources and expertise

– owned by the learner

– seen to be valued by society (e.g. employers)

QAA Views

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Creatingan inventory of Targets for the student

Focus- Personal- Career- Academic- Skills

Monitoring Progress in achieving targets

Activities- Recording- Reflecting- Planning- Discussing- Accounting for

Reportingon Progress in achieving targets

End products- Progress reports- Progress files

PDP: three Aspects

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PDPs in Economics

• What are the implications for:– curriculum?

– teaching/assessment methods?

• Philosophy of PDPs– encouraging reflective learning

– making degrees more vocational?

– subject / module specific PDPs?

• Resistance by students to PDPs?

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Module PDP at UWE

1. Introduction

– This sets the scene and locates the topic in the overall syllabus

2. Learning objectives (L/obj)

– Up to 12 learning objectives are devised for each topic and students are invited to evaluate and rate (1= fairly weak to 5 = good) their ability in each learning objective.

All units are constructed using an Excel spreadsheet. There are 6 worksheets in each unit.

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Module PDP at UWE

3. Multiple-choice questions

– There can be up to 60 multiple choice questions. All questions are ‘batched’ according to the learning objective being evaluated.

4. Data response questions

– There can be up to 15 questions and are based on the kind of calculation questions used in an exam or a workshop. Where appropriate students can manipulate an equation to alter the lines and curves found in the question’s diagram.

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Module PDP at UWE

5. Essay planning task– Here students are invited to draw up a rough

answer plan to a typical exam style question and compare it to what the tutor thinks would make for a good answer

6. Summary sheet– Here the student’s ‘score’ in the self-test

questions are revealed, enabling them to compare it to their self-rated ‘score’ per learning objective. They are then encouraged to offer some general reflection on their abilities in the unit’s topic – setting out any strategies for improvement if the wish to.

First name Last name Student number

EPA Sem grp 3

3.33 s.d. 0.9854.33 s.d. 0.979

5656 100%55

98%98% 1

31

23 74%

7

30%

23% 1

4 1 1

4 1 3

4 1

12 3 credit 1

a

493 1

CREDIT FOR THIS FOR THIS UNIT 4 2.5%

I am confident when structuring my essay plans but find I miss the point of the question often. I also need to develop my skills in relation to data response, through having a deeper understanding of the question and the formulae used to come to an answer. Multi choice poses no problem as I find it easy to pick aprt the wrong answers and leave myself with a plausible one. My strengths tend to be on the simpler parts of the unit, where knowledge is prevailent over analysis and evaluation.

attempted

(b) Show how this economic knowledge may have changed your perspective of the world around you. Please indicate which perspective you have chosen to adopt: type a or b

Thank you

Essay question 1attempted

attempted

Unit 1 is complete, thank you, remember to print this page out and hand it to David Allen also save it as a text file and send it to me (David.Allen@uwe.ac.uk)

Contribution to your final mark

tasks complete

Total number of questions in this sectionNumber of questions attemptedNumber of correct questions Precenatge correct (attempts)

SUMMARY Essay planning tasks

Overall percentage

Essay question 2Essay question 3

04971859CraneLewis

Unit 1: Supply and Demand, Elasticity

Use this space to comment in more general terms on the unit’s specific topic (100 words maximum). You are invited to adopt one of two perspectives:(a) Identify your strengths and weakness in the topic, and any plans to improve on these weaknesses

SUMMARY Multiple Choice Questions

Overall percentage

Your average rating for the learning objectives is

Your average 'score' per learning objective

Number of questions attemptedNumber of correct questions Precenatge correct (attempts)

Total number of multiple choice questions in this section

credit

Task attempted, well done

credit

SUMMARY Data response Questions

Task attempted, well done

Comparing your evaluations with your test scores

0

1

2

3

4

5L|obj 1

L|obj 2

L|obj 3

L|obj 4

L|obj 5

L|obj 6

L|obj 7

L|obj 8

L|obj 9

L|obj 10

L|obj 11

L|obj 12

Your abilities as rated by you Your actual self-test score

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Making a start:Teaching & Assessment

• Teaching

– Identify Key Skills and Discipline Skills already being developed by students in seminars

– Draw the students’ attention to these skills (e.g. put footnotes in seminar handouts, etc.)

• Assessment

– Again, identify Key Skills and Discipline Skills already being evaluated in current coursework.

– Amend feedback forms to highlight the skills needed to complete the assignment

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Developing theDepartment’s PDP

• Incorporate a wider range of relevant skills (generic and specific) and improve the student’s awareness of them

• Encourage students to self-evaluate their work prior to hand-in

• Start thinking about and developing ‘targets’ that suit you and, your own module (i.e. take control!)

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• Devise new assessments that might involve ‘behavioural targets’– (e.g. planning and evaluation, group work,

problem solving)

• Devise new seminar tasks, ones which: – are more closely linked or reliant on key skills

and discipline skills

– encourage students to review and organise their learning (to date)

– encourage greater self-evaluation

• Design a process that is semi-automatic?

Developing theDepartment’s PDP

1. Examine 3 documents

– Section 5 of Bioscience audit

– Skills from Economics benchmarking statement

– Extract from Careers benchmarking statement

2. Individually consider ways in which skills can be integrated into a particular module or unit

3. In small groups consider amendments to one particular module chosen by the group

4. Plenary

Discussion