PDP Context

Had a quick chat with a colleague about this PDP process and how it is contextual. Personal development planning is such a high level concept and can be applied to all contexts be it work, school, higher education, sport... any area where the individual needs to develop. Im considering if one of the reasons for the lack of uptake with PDP is people are confused who owns it, what is is for and therefore what it should contain.

My 3 pdp contexts...

In my organisation we force employees (including me) to create a personal development plan, Ive been questioning and pondering if this is really a 'PDP' or is it just an organisational development plan. There is very little benefit for the individuals, whereas the organisation uses it for needs analysis from which we can purchase training. Individuals consider it as an organisational tool, for the organisation and not for them.

For the H808 course we have engaged with the PDP process by assessing out levels of competence against an 'e-learning professional' and set some development goals for the rest of the course. I don't particularly feel much ownership with this process as my personal goal is not to become an 'e-learning professional'.

In sport I will use a form of PDP to prepare for a race, I will test where i am now and develop a plan to move me towards where I need to be. I feel fully in control of this process, it is mine, ive

Personal Development based on context

Starting to question the different types of personal development in relation to control by the individual. Brought about because the definition of PDP which we have been studying on this course in the context of the student does not transfer to the corporate context. In my work context the PDP is not currently employee lead, its driven by the organisation, enforced by the manager. In the corporate world you are often required to show your competence for compliance reasons, training is forced upon you. Im therefore thinking that the definition of PDP is contextual.

In an ideal world all areas of personal development will align, meaning that you are heading in a clear direction with every part of your development. Because each part of the development level can and ideally should be linked problems occur when you are forced to learn something that is misaligned.

Activyt 4.1 take 2

Activity 4.1

Here is an example of how I can use video as a form of evidence.

Lack of engagement with the PDP process

Few notes on PDP in my organisation.

We call a Personal Development Plan a Personal Development Review.

The process is broken down into 3 parts;

1. Review against competencies (evidence based)
2. Review against objectives – individual business objectives
3. Personal Development plan – Developmental needs

The definition of a Personal Development Plan is:

“a structured process undertaken by the individual to reflect upon their own learning performance and/or achievement, to support personal, educational and career development” (Higher Education Academy)

This definition suggests it is an individual lead process. Our process in contrast is very much organisation lead. The organisation sets the competency framework and objectives; also personal development is restricted to organisational funding and management support. The portfolio system is designed for assessment and accountability and does not directly promote individual learning.

The Review process within in my organisation is something that should happen to people twice a year. Visibility of this process at an organisation level is limited; we can only report on who has accessed, and entered data to a portfolio/review system. The content of the review is viewable by individuals and their managers.

In addition people moan about the tool, admittedly its not a great tool, its clunky and looks like it was built 10 years ago (it was actually built 10 years ago). I cant see that the tool is really the problem, the tool is just the storage box. I believe its more about attitude and culture.

The benefit in the current process is very limited.

How could it be made better? Make the portfolio more about learning and give more ownership of the process to individuals.


• Allow people time to think and reflect, perhaps a few ½ days a year.
• Create a culture where the review process is rewarded and recognised as a direct way for internal progression.
• For internal recruitment ask for a portfolio submission, or evidence from the system.
• Devolve the training budget to teams, giving them a greater sense of control/ownership.
• Have a more structured link between the personal development plan and the formal training courses offered.
• Promote best practice examples of the review process.
• Bring employee groups together base on profession; create opportunities for networking and collaboration. This will give individuals a stronger sense of identity against other professional colleagues, therefore flush out development needs.

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Higher Education Academy, Personal Development Planning, http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/ourwork/learning/pdp

Core activity 3.4: Your own template for PDP

It’s a lot easier to have a personal/professional development plan if you have a professional identity and you know where you need to be. I wouldn’t say that I have a professional identity, which is partly why im doing this course. I don’t expect the course to give me an identity; I want to explore what’s out there around my current field of work. It will give me a better idea of where I want to be, or don’t want to be. This activity is very relevant and also very difficult to complete at the moment. Its relevant on a personal development level, however less relevant on a professional front.I guess this makes me reflect once more on, what does it mean to have a professional identity, what does it mean to be a professional? If I can simply tick that I have a list of competencies will I consider myself to be a professional? Im thinking that being professional is also about the feeling of belonging to a group with a clear identity. Maybe I should look to network more with people doing similar roles to me. Perhaps I am a professional and I just don’t know or feel it yet?

I’ve plotted a quick PDP template based on some of the competencies given in the activity and marked myself; I think that’s all I can do at the moment.

From the H808 course I would like to develop the following

• Experience of podcasting; I want to have a better understanding of both the practical and theory behind their use.
• Ease of communicating on line; I want to improve my writing skills, and overcome my hesitation so that its easier to communicate online.
• Better understanding of e-learning models; I have very basic experience of this at the moment. I would be interested to understand more theory.
• I want to get a flavour of would it would be like to ‘be’ an e-learning professional

Goals

• Get involved with all activities, learn and document
• Have confidence to write, make mistakes, learn and improve
• Keep blog posting, read and comment on others blogs
• Reflect on my own personal development, and what profession I would best suit.
• Reflect on how H808 activities relate to my work context
• Ensure that im working towards the TMA/ECA

Is e-KSF an eportfolio?

Background…

e-KSF is a nationally procured electronic system that holds a suit of tools to support the NHS personal development review (PDR) process. The PDR covers 3 main areas;

1. Review against the KSF - The KSF is a competency framework. The employee needs evidence to support their competency level.
2. Review against objectives - The objectives are usually work related business goals.
3. Personal development plan (PDP) – A development plan, can be based on KSF review, and Objective outcomes.

What can the eKSF system hold?

Both the employee and the manager can upload 1MB files; I don’t believe that there is a limit to the number of files. You cant tag the files which is frustrating.

• The employee has a free text box to write their evidence against each competency, there is a 4000 character word limit.
• Both the employee and manager have a space for additional comments. This is an area for more reflective and personal comments.
• In the PDP the employee has a record of all past and future development requirements. There is no place to record reflections after the activity has been completed.
• The individual also has a record of their objectives, with a single comments box.

The system is not a great eportfolio.

A few notes on how it could be made better…

• The emphasis of the system is the collection of evidence to support the competency framework. The system could be improved if it broadened it scope and gave more emphasis on learning, both formal and informal. This would potentially be more valuable for the employee, and they may be more inclined to use it.
• The system is viewable only by the manager or designated reviewers. It is not an employee centred system; the manager/administrators have control in who can view the evidence.
• The employee needs more control, a sense of ownership. At the moment it forms part of a formal review process. The system should be controlled by the employee and the content should ideally be accessible on their terms. The obvious down side to this is that the organisation will loose organisation wide progress reports.
• In general the e-KSF system needs bringing up-to-date. If it looked better and was easier to use, then more employees would be encouraged to use it.
• Unlike other eportfolio systems you can not present artefacts in different ‘views’ you can only refer to them within the written text which is not helpful. Having multiple views would allow the employee to use the evidence for more than just their KSF review.
• If employees could connect with using the system create communities, share learning and experiences. This would help embed a culture of learning.

Core Activity 2.5

How adequate is this advice, in your opinion, to assist students in writing the kinds of reflection that teachers and other assessors would recognise as evidence of development?

Based on Penn State University guidance to reflective writing.

I think that it is adequate to introduce the topic of reflective writing for those that are new to the process. I don't think that it should be used as a generic process to reflect. I feel that this formal structure goes against the natural process of reflection, I consider it to be more organic process. If I were given the following steps to use on this OU course it would just inhibit and constrict my thinking:

1) Select a specific incident, event, experience, project, etc. that strikes you as particularly interesting or that highlights a personal quality.

2) What happened? Fill in enough context to give the event meaning. Answer the question in away that makes sense to you. Don't interpret here - just tell the story.

3) What might this mean? There is no one answer. Explore the possible meanings rather than determining the one true meaning.

4) What implications are there for future practice? Consider how your practice might change given any new understandings that have emerged.

Reflection is a personal process its different for every individual. I think that using this structure will result in weak generic surface level reflections.

With reference to the ‘Reflective Narrative Style’ guidance on the website:

"In terms of style, your readers will be happier if your information is clear and your ideas fluid. Therefore, as you compose your annotation or analysis, employ the following stylistic benchmarks:"

I wonder if the student will be more concerned with how their reflection is written than the actual content. Is the student writing it for the benefit of assessment, for the benefit of the tutor, or are they doing it to develop themselves? I would argue they should be reflecting to support their own individual learning. As soon as you start to enforce reflection within a framework it dilutes the impact. I'm not a great writer so If I spent my time conforming to the suggested ‘stylistic benchmarks’ then I wouldn't have the time to write the blog and reflect at a deeper level.

Core Activity 2.4

Read Moon and Creme articles as part of core activity 2.4. Really enjoyed both articles actually, hit upon a lot of themes that ive been considering over the last few days.

Reflection is bring the sub-conscious into the conscious. Donald Schon touched upon this in the Moon (2001, p3) article when describing some theoretical approaches to reflection. Schon saw that reflection converts tacit knowledge into something more tangible; making subconscious competence explicit.

I also thought the idea that reflection comes before learning interesting. I had always considered it to come after learning. I guess this depends on the definition of learning and the depth of learning (Moon 2001, p3). Like most things for me its not that clear cut, learning and reflection are non-linear, and takes place on multiple levels.

I had not before considered how important assessment was in driving learning for the student. So being clear on the assessment method and how its communicated is important. On the H808 course one of the first things ive done is read the assessment criteria, it completely influences how I participate with the course. Is this a good thing? im not so sure, I guess it depends on why im doing the course, my desired outcomes will be different from others on the course.

Should we assess a learning journal?

Creme gives some really good arguments for and against the assessment student’s reflective work. Reflective writing is a personal process that is complex and individual. I don’t thin we should be assessing it, Instead I think that we should encourage the use reflective practice and create a culture of reflection throughout the learning process. Students need the value in reflection and how it can help them develop and grow as individuals, it should be self driven. This is bigger than assessment; it’s about becoming a better learner, not achieving a pass mark.

My own attitude to reflection and how is blogging useful as a means of doing it?

A go at defining ‘Reflection’…

Reflection is a natural process of questioning and considering a past experience. It is an active activity that brings subconscious practice into the conscious.

Blogging is useful in the sense that it provides a space to jot down thoughts and reflections. Others can see these posts and then comment, which in turn may provide deeper thoughts. Blogging forces the individual to consider their thoughts both before and after they post. There is no right or wrong answer with blogging, the final outcome is sometimes less important than the process the individual takes to get there.

I usually need to go through a reflective process in order to embed any learning. As I have little contact with other students the blog provides an important outlet for me. I’m not really concerned if anybody reads it (although it’s great if they do), or if its not that well written (because it usually isn’t), its simply part of my thinking process.

Can you reflect on something in the future?

I posted this question on Twitter, I can’t remember why now…

Can you reflect on something in the future?

In response to my question Les, another H808 student kindly offered his thoughts on his blog which in turn helped me consider my thoughts.

I think that reflection can influence future action, however for me it sits better in the past and the present (In action / on action). I think you can only reflect on the future based on a past/current experiences. For example im off to Poland tomorrow, I can’t reflect on what its going to be like as I know almost nothing about the place, ive never been there. My Polish reflections will begin tomorrow the moment I pick up one of those dodgy Jet2 brochures.