Avoiding the Abbreviation Swamp

1
Avoiding the Abbreviation Swamp!

• Separating Planning from Portfolio
• and more besides
• Keith Primrose
• Department of Computer Science

2
Background Context

• Department of Computer Science
• 50-60 students in 1st year
• No personal tutor system
• Have implemented 1st year director meetings but
  this is a one off
• not ideal
• British Computer Society
• Accredit degrees
• Require professional practice to be part of the
  curriculum

3
So What is the problem?

• PDP
• What does the abbreviation mean to you?

4
What does the abbreviation mean?

• According to one of my colleagues1
• Essex has had PDPs since 1969 or 1970
• He was of course referring to
• Programmed Data Processors
• specifically the DEC PDP-8 PDP-10

5
Search the "Stuff Swamp2"

• http//www.acronymfinder.com/3
• Program Decision Package
• Programmed Data Processor
• Parallel Distributed Processing
• Packet Data Protocol
• Policy Decision Point
• People's Democratic Party
• Power Dispersion Profile
• Pachydermoperiostosis

6
What is the problem?

• Even within our context there is still room for
  misunderstanding
• Professional Development and Practice
• Professional Development Programme
• Personal Development Planning
• Personal Development Plan
• Personal Development Portfolio
• Also confused/conflated with
• Key / Common Skills

7
Reminder

• QAA definition4
• Policy statement on a progress file for Higher
  Education
• PDP is 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.
• something that an individual does with guidance
  and support the latter perhaps decreasing as
  personal capability is developed so that it
  becomes self-sustaining
• The ultimate responsibility for deriving benefit
  from PDP should rest with each student although
  institutions will influence this.

8
Plan or Planning?

• Plans are of little importance, but planning is
  essential -- Sir Winston Churchill (attrib.)
• Plans are nothing planning is everything.--
  Dwight D. Eisenhower (attrib.)
• Both quoted on Wikipedia5

9
Plan or Planning?

• Without guidance, students may
• Think that producing a plan is enough
• Fake the plan to gain marks!
• This is a danger of stand-alone PDP / Skills
  modules
• Getting students to re-visit and update the plan
  over time requires
• tutoring / support / encouragement

10
Portfolio Product or Process?

• A focus on Product can lead to a tick box
  approach
• It is the process that is important
• A continually refined and revisited plan
• Leading over time to a portfolio
• A Paradox
• Students increasingly seem to want to know the
  'right answer'
• Tick box is more comfortable for them

11
Potential Problems for PDP

• Student Confusion
• Make sure you know what you are talking about!
• Be absolutely clear about purpose and process
• Student Apathy / Resistance
• Be enthusiastic
• Assess it!
• But be very careful about what you are assessing.
• Academic Resistance

12
CS Pilot

• Model in CS
• Driven by a recognition of the impact of
  employability on recruitment.
• Initially two out of eight first year modules
  included elements of PDP
• Intention is to role out to more modules over
  time with support for staff as appropriate.
• First module was Professional Development and
  Practice
• Adapted to include a PDP thread

13
Adapting PDP for PDP

• Professional Development Practice
• Addressed BCS requirements
• Changes made
• Lecture / class material on PDP, SWOT , SMART
  Goals Team work
• Assignments changed
• A1 CV Initial PDP
• A2 Group presentation Individual written
  reflection

14
CS Pilot

• Mistakes made
• Mixing of professional and personal confused
  students
• Not enough clarity
• What PDP is
• What students should focus on
• Lack of re-enforcement from the centre
• Message got diluted
• MyLife did not help (the stuff swamp - in
  spades)

15
Some Thoughts

• PDP is better in the context of personal tutors
• PDP should be introduced from the centre
• PDP should be embedded across curriculum
• Encourage engagement with reflective practice
• Design assignments to educate
• E.g. Group presentation on a given topic

Reminder - From the Latin educere to
lead/pull out and/or educare to bring up or
rear
16

• Come to the edge.
• We might fall.
• Come to the edge.
• It's too high!
• Come to the edge.
• And they came,
• and we pushed,
• And they flew.
•  
• Christopher Logue 6

17
References

• Lyons, D. (2007) private e-mail - David Lyons to
  KP 12/06/2007
• Crawford, Walt (1999). "The Card Catalog and
  Other Digital Controversies." American Libraries
  301 (Jan 1999), 52. Available from
  http//www.indiana.edu/ovid99/crawford.html
  accessed 17th October 2006.
• n.d. http//www.acronymfinder.com/ accessed 10th
  June 2007
• QAA (2001) Policy statement on a progress file
  for Higher Education. Available from
  http//www.qaa.ac.uk/academicinfrastructure/progre
  ssfiles/guidelines/policystatement/default.asp
  accessed 08th June 2007
• anon. Wikipedia (2007) Plan. Available from
  http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plan last updated
  11th June 2007 accessed 12th June 2007
• Logue, Christopher (1996) in Selected Poems.
  LondonFaber and Faber.