PROFESSIONAL SKILLS

DEVELOPMENT STUDENT
INSTRUCTION GUIDE

Year 1
4 Year Bachelor
International Business
2021-2022
Table of Content
Introduction.........................................................................................................................2
Professional Skills Development 1.....................................................................................3
Professional Skills Development 2.....................................................................................6
Professional Skills Development 3.....................................................................................9
Professional Skills Development 4...................................................................................12
Portfolio requirements......................................................................................................15
Assessment criteria..........................................................................................................18
Repair information............................................................................................................19
Reference list....................................................................................................................20
Appendix...........................................................................................................................21

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Introduction

Today’s life and work environments require far more than thinking skills and content knowledge. The
ability to navigate the complex life and work environments in the globally competitive information age
requires students to pay rigorous attention to developing adequate life and career skills (Framework for
21st century learning). The Professional Skills Development program is a learning line throughout the
International Business (IB) Bachelor program that helps you as a student to develop the required 21 st
century skills1.

The purpose of Professional Skills Development 1 to 4 is to help you develop skills needed for your
studies and to help you discover whether this IB program is the right choice. This kind of education
requires full participation of you as a student and therefore it has a 100% attendance requirement. All
classes are split in two and therefore there is more personal attention for each student.

The set-up for each PSD course is the same: three sessions per period, all centered around a theme. The
focus of the PSD courses is about reflection on your personal and professional learning experiences. Each
module has a specific focus. In the first module the focus is on Initiative and Self Direction. In the second
module Flexibility and Adaptability play a major role. In the third module the focus is on discovering your
leadership qualities. And at the end of the first year, in period 4, Productivity and Accountability are
central themes.

In this instruction guide you can find a description of the topics of each course in the first chapter. Each
PSD course requires you to work on an assignment. An overview of these can be found in chapter two.
All PSD courses have so called ‘Do-it-yourself-classes’. These classes are organized by and for students.
The instructions for these are described in chapter three. In the end of each course you are required to
hand in a complete portfolio. How to write this and how it will be assessed is described in chapters 4 and
5. Even though the courses have a full attendance requirement, it can happen that for some reason you
cannot make it to class. In that case read chapter 6 carefully and take action.

Apart from the PSD workshops, there is also a role for Academic Advice. During each period the
Academic Advisor and student will meet on an individual base to discuss students’ study progress and
wellbeing at IB. We have also arranged for peer support during your first period at the IB program. Each
class will have student mentors available for additional support. In the past this has proven to be a
valuable asset in helping freshmen to settle in their new academic environment.

We wish you a wonderful and inspiring course!

Written by D.J. Nieborg & P. Stukker, July 2020

(adapted by S. Orgiu Sep 2021)

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These 21st century skills are linked to the Framework International Business (Sijben, Stoelinga,
Molenaar, & Ubachs, 2017), a document co-created by Dutch Universities of Applied Science and the
business field.

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Professional Skills Development 1

PSD1 Weekly planning

Week Topic Workshop Individual meeting*
1 Introduction to the PSD programme Group 1
2 Group 2
3 Planning and study skills Group 1 X
4 Group 2 X
5 Do it yourself class Group 1
6 Group 2
7 Deadline portfolio

*The individual meeting with AA takes app.15 minutes according to a schedule provided by your AA.
They’re organised in the introduction week, and in week 3/4 there are extra timeslots available on
request.

Session 1 topics
- Introduction game
- Framework International Business and 21th century learning
- Set-up of Professional Skills Development (PSD) programme year 1
- Individual meeting
- The ‘why’ of reflection
- Instructions Do It Yourself session
- Instructions Assignment
- Portfolio requirements
- Re-sit opportunities

Session 2 topics
- Procrastination
- Predictors of study success
- Planning skills
- SMART Learning goals

Session 3 “Do It Yourself”

Introduction

The Professional Skills Development (PSD) courses in the first year follow a similar structure. All third
sessions of the course are so called Do It Yourself (DIY) class because students are expected to take the
initiative by applying 21th century skills; communication, critical thinking, collaboration and creativity by
preparing and participating in this class. The rationale of this form is that class wide peer teaching
promotes active learning (Guido, 2017).

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The DIY classes will be prepared by small teams of students and will be linked to the four themes of the
PSD courses. The Academic Advisor (AA) will be responsible for making the subgroups and will allocate
the topics. This will preferably be arranged during the first session of a PSD course.

Workshop: Initiative & Self direction

In this DIY class you are invited to take initiative, set a goal and prepare a workshop for your fellow
classmates related to one of the following topics:

1. Stress management
2. Time management/planning skills
3. Self-motivation

Task: Develop a workshop, in which you involve your classmates with interactive activities. Deliver this
workshop to your class-mates.

As a team you need to make sure that your class-mates will develop a deeper understanding of the topic
that was allocated to you. Think creatively about ways how you can make your class-mates participate
actively.

Exemplary group activities your workshop can consist of are: a quiz, debate, brainstorm session, game,
challenge, experiment, ...

Duration: 5 minutes introductory presentation (introduction of yourselves, structure of the workshop,

intended goal(s) and procedure) followed by one or two group activities that take 15 minutes.

Requirements: This class requires a team effort and as a precondition each student needs to contribute
actively.

Assignment PSD1 Initiative and Self Direction: TEDx analysis

Introduction

For this assignment you are to choose a topic that is close to your own interest. We have preselected
four topics of which you have to choose two. Please realize this assignment is part of your portfolio. At
the end of this course you need to hand in a complete portfolio.

Instructions

Step 1: Check out the website: http://www.ted.com/talks.

Step 2: Find two lectures that match with the following themes:

a. Stress management
b. Time management/planning skills
c. Self-motivation

Step 3: Explain how you have selected these lectures and which criteria you have used to select (app.
100 words)
Step 4: Give a summarization of the main topics of each lecture (app. 2 x 250 words per lecture)
Step 5: Provide the links to the selected lectures

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Step 6: Describe how the new insights have effected your thinking/behavior/values (app. 300 words).
Step 7: Which core principles –related to the theme(s)- would you recommend a colleague classmate to
implement in order to finish the first year successfully (app. 100 words).

Resources

- Internet
- ‘IBS Report Writing Standards’ that can be found at the IBS Report Writing Hub on BlackBoard.

Products

Please take the following structure of a formal report into account as indicated in the Report Writing
Standards document:

- Introduction – assignment description in own words

- Literature review, if applicable
- Methodology (step 3)
- Findings (step 4)
- Conclusions (step 6)
- Recommendations (step 7)
- References (step 5)
- Appendices, if applicable

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Professional Skills Development 2

Weekly planning
Week Topic Workshop Individual meeting*
1 Meeting skills Group 1
2 Group 2
3 Feedback skills Group 1 X
4 Group 2 X
5 Do it yourself class Group 1
6 Group 2
7 Deadline portfolio
*Individual meeting with AA takes app. 15 minutes according to a schedule provided by your AA.

Session 1 topics
- Information about the assignments for PSD2 and the re-sit possibilities.
- To inform students about the personal meeting in week 3/4 (and how to organize this).
- Information about session 3
- Introduction: Why do business people meet?
- How to run a formal meeting
- How to behave during meetings

Session 2 topics
- Introduction of workshop: learning about their qualities and what others appreciate in them.
- What is feedback and how can it help in learning.
- Practical exercise: giving and receiving feedback effectively.

Session 3 “Do It Yourself”

Role play Flexibility & Adaptability

In this DIY class you are asked to set-up a meeting in which you assign roles to the attendees. Participants
of this meeting will be challenged to improvise and adapt to a dynamic meeting. In order to justify and
set-up this meeting a context description is needed which contains one or more of the following
elements:

- a problematic situation that needs to be solved

- a disagreement between different parties/stakeholders/… that requires some form of agreement

Your problematic situation or disagreement should be based on things you already encountered during
previous group work. Such as:

- a fellow student who hardly contributes to the meeting;

- a fellow student who comes often 5-10 minutes late to the meeting;
- a fellow student who hardly comes to classes and therefore lacks knowledge to contribute;
- a fellow student who hands in work on time, but the quality is poor;

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- a fellow student who promises to do things, but fails to deliver;
- a fellow student did not adhere to the rules as initially agreed upon in the contract;
- a fellow student behaves in a very bossy way;
- a fellow student doesn’t want to meet because of long travel distances / part time job/etcetera;
- sloppy minutes were delivered;
- a problematic scenario you can think of yourself….

Task: The role play will focus on meeting skills and includes giving and receiving feedback.

Instructions:

Step 1: describe the context

Step 2: list the roles of participants and create name tags
Step 3: set agenda point(s) by describing a problematic situation/dilemma
Step 4: describe the roles
Step 5: practice the role play in advance (highly recommended, to check for inconsistencies!)
Step 6: adjust elements in your role play if needed
Step 7: send the final role play proposal to your PSD coach)*
Step 8: develop a reflection form)** as a feedback tool
Step 9: print the needed material for all participants and bring it to session 3

* Students send their role play proposal (including feedback form) to their PSD coach in advance of the
DIY class. Deadline to be determined by coach.

** Reflection form: here the leading question is: how can you determine whether this meeting has been
conducted in an (in)effective way? Which competences are important to be met with regard to the
different roles that are allocated? E.g. a chair-person can be reflected on by observing whether she
managed well: a.) being to the point, b.) summarizes the progress, c.) etcetera. In a similar way
constructive criteria can be developed for the other attendees. Do some research about meeting skills if
needed.

Duration: role play (20 min.) + feedback session (10 min.) = 30 min. in total.

Requirements: This class requires a team effort and as a precondition each student needs to contribute
actively.

See appendix I: Exemplary scenario of a meeting (you are only allowed to use this scenario for
inspiration).

Assignment PSD2 Adaptability and Flexibility: Literature study

Introduction

For this assignment we have chosen two topics for you. In order to learn more about these topics you
need to do a literature research. Please realize this assignment is part of your portfolio. At the end of this
course you need to hand in a complete portfolio.

Instructions:

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Step 1: Check out the Hanze Media Centre (catalogue or databank), or (public) library.
Step 2: Find two academic articles that match with the following themes:

1. Adaptation at the work floor

2. Flexibility at the work floor

Step 3: Explain how you have selected these articles and which criteria you have used to select (app. 100
words).
Step 4: Give a summarization of the main findings of each article (app. 2 x 250 words per article).
Step 5: Provide the details of the article: Source, Title of article, author(s), date of publication, publisher.
Step 6: Describe how the new insights have effected your thinking/behavior/values (app. 300 words).
Step 7: Which core principles – related to the theme(s) - would you recommend a colleague classmate to
implement in order to become a successful future colleague (app. 100 words).

Resources
- Academic article(s), book(s) or video, see: Hanze Media Centre, Internet or private collection
- Personal network
- ‘IBS Report Writing Standards’ that can be found at the IBS Report Writing Hub on BlackBoard.

Products
Please take the following structure of a formal report into account as indicated in the Report Writing
Standards document:

- Introduction – assignment description in own words

- Literature review, if applicable
- Methodology (step 3)
- Findings (step 4)
- Conclusions (step 6)
- Recommendations (step 7)
- References (step 5)
- Appendices, if applicable.

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Professional Skills Development 3

Weekly planning
Week Topic Workshop Individual meeting*
1 Introduction to PSD3 and Group 1
Interviewing skills
2 Group 2
3 Effective habits Group 1 X
4 Group 2 X
5 Do it yourself class Group 1

6 Group 2
7 Deadline portfolio
*Individual meeting with AA takes app. 15 minutes according to a schedule provided by your AA.

Session 1 topics
- PSD3 programme (topics), assignments and the resit possibilities.
- Students learn to consider their network contacts and learn about the network of others.
- How to conduct interviews.
- Planning aspects of interviewing.
- Awareness of own behaviour and the effect it can have on the interviewee.
- Different types of questions in interviews.
- Sequencing questions.

Session 2 topics
- SR Covey and his book ‘7 habits of highly effective people’
- Circle of influence/control – effective behavior

Session 3 “Do It Yourself”

Presentation: Leadership & Responsibility

This DIY class is directly linked to the interview that you undertake with a business professional. Your
time management skills are also key in this PSD3 course because you need to start arranging your
interview soon after session 1, since you need to present during session 3 already!

Each student of PSD3 groups 1 and 2 will pair up with another classmate.

Task: Develop a presentation about your interview and present it to your class-mates. The presentation
needs to follow the following structure:

- Welcome
- Introduction of speakers
- Overview of topics
- Body:
• Information about the international business professional and the company

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 • Interview results
• Recommendations to classmates how they can expand their leadership skills and related
responsibilities
• Reflections on interview process
- Closure

Duration: 10 minutes per presentation.

Requirements: This class requires a team effort and as a precondition each student needs to contribute
actively.

Assignment PSD3 Leadership and Responsibility: Interview with a business professional

Introduction

For this assignment you conduct an interview with an international business professional to expand your
view on leadership and the responsibilities that come along with it. The interview must preferably be
conducted in person, or using skype/facetime (so not per email!). You will be paired up with a classmate.
The interview must be done together.

During the interview you need to find out what views the international business professional has on
leadership. Such as vision on leadership, skills needed to be an effective leader, responsibilities of
leaders, influencing others, inspiring others and how to take ethical responsibility.

Which organization and which manager are you going to approach? Keep in mind that the interviewees
will probably be busy. So plan your appointment well in advance! Make use of your social network. A
successful interview requires thorough planning (i.e. many hours of preparation time), good listening,
good questioning, observation skills and receiving feedback. A bad interview, however, will be very
embarrassing and close the door of that company for you forever.

Instructions

Step 1: Start selecting the interviewee and plan the interview date
Step 2: Develop an interview guide in which you outline the interview questions
Step 3: Conduct the interview
Step 4: Write down your approach, findings and experiences. Mention why you select this
person/company? (app. 100 words) Give information about the company and the interviewee (include
detailed contact information about your interviewee) (app. 150 words).
Step 5: Reflect on the outcomes (app. 400 words) and on the process of interviewing (app. 250 words
per person) and formulate conclusions.
Step 6: Formulate recommendations – what would you suggest a classmate to explore and develop in
the next years in order to become a leader with vision (app. 100 words).

Resources

- Personal network
- ‘IBS Report Writing Standards’ that can be found at the IBS Report Writing Hub on BlackBoard.

Products

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Please take the following structure of a formal report into account as indicated in the Report Writing
Standards document:

- Introduction – assignment instructions in own words

- Literature review, if applicable
- Methodology (step 2 & 3)
- Findings (step 4)
- Conclusions (step 5)
- Recommendations (step 6)
- References
- Appendices: List of interview questions

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Professional Skills Development 4

Weekly planning
Week Topic Workshop Individual
meeting*
1 Introduction to PSD4, Core Group 1
Quadrants and learning goals
2 Group 2
3 The story of success Group 1 X
4 Group 2 X
5 Do it yourself class Group 1
6 Group 2
7 Deadline portfolio
*Individual meeting with AA takes app. 15 minutes according to a schedule provided by your AA.

Session 1 topics
- PSD4 programme (topics), assignments and the resit possibilities.
- Core Quadrants and learning goals.

Session 2 topics
- Workshop about ‘How to prepare for a discussion’.
- Make sure you have read the Introduction chapter and Chapter 1 from the book Outliers by Malcolm
Gladwell as preparation for this session.

Session 3 “Do It Yourself”

Discussion - Productivity & Accountability

This DIY class centers around the theme ‘Success’. A core quadrant is introduced that helps you to gain
insight in your qualities, pitfalls, challenges and allergies. This insight is needed to know yourself and how
you relate to others. Personal learning goals –that can be related to the core quadrants- will trigger you
to think about how you want to develop in the main phase of the studies. Furthermore, by exploring a
book about ‘Success’ and discussing its topics it will become more clear why certain people are more
productive than others and which factors are mainly accountable for it.
PSD4 group 1 and 2 will each have teams of approximately 2-3 students.

Task: Prepare for a discussion about one of the assigned chapters from the book Outliers by Malcolm
Gladwell in a group with a maximum of 3 students.

Instructions

Step 1: read the book completely.

Step 2: prepare an introductory presentation about the assigned chapters that follow up with 3
discussion questions.
Step 3: send your presentation to the PSD coach in advance (deadline to be announced by coach).

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Step 4: lead the presentation and discussion.

Duration: presentation (5 min.) + discussion (10 min.) = 15 min. in total

Requirements: This class requires a team effort and as a precondition each student needs to contribute
equally and actively.

Assignment PSD4 Productivity and Accountability: Book review and 360 degree analysis

Introduction

For this assignment you will be studying literature related to Productivity and Accountability which
provide you the intellectual ingredients to follow up with a 360 degree self-assessment. The aim of this
assignment is to provide you with a better understanding of why Productivity and Accountability related
skills are important.

Instructions:

Step 1: Search for literature by selecting an academic(!) article or book* and find 5 skills that relate to
Productivity and Accountability.
Step 2: Give 5 formal definitions of management skills that significantly relate to Productivity and
Accountability based on the information found in the literature (app. 200 words).
Step 3: Reflect on the extend that you already master the chosen skills; elaborate on this by giving
concrete examples by use of the STARR method (Situation, Task, Action, Result, Reflection) (app. 300
words)
Step 4: Interview 5 people surrounding yourself which you have a unique relationship with (hence the
name 360 degree analysis): 1.) friend, 2.) relative, 3.) a member of your project group, 4.) a sports buddy
and 5.) a business professional (a former or current boss or teacher) to relate the chosen management
skills to you. For all clarity please provide your interviewees with a short definition of the skills in order to
reduce noise in your conversation and findings. Add contact details of interviewees to report (e.g. email
address or phone number).
Step 5: Compare your own reflection of the selected skills with the opinion of the interviewees and draw
a conclusion. (app. 350 words).
Step 6:Write down recommendations that could help you to improve these skills. (app. 150 words).

Resources

- Academic article(s) or book(s), see: Hanze Media Centre, private library, Internet (for instance:
https://HBR.org (Harvard Business Review))
- Personal network
- ‘IBS Report Writing Standards’ that can be found at the IBS Report Writing Hub on BlackBoard.

Products

Please take the following structure of a formal report into account as indicated in the Report Writing
Standards document:

- Introduction – assignment instructions in own words

13
- Literature review (step 2)
- Methodology (step 1 & 3)
- Findings (step 4)
- Conclusions (step 5)
- Recommendations (step 6)
- References
- Appendices, if applicable

14
Portfolio requirements

Introduction
Have you ever asked yourself why thinking like an Albert Einstein or being a ‘walking encyclopedia’ is not
enough for you to succeed in business life? The Professional Skills Development (PSD) line will provide
you the answer. It focuses on adequate life and career skills because today’s life and work environments
require far more than thinking skills and content knowledge alone. This globally competitive information
age requires you to pay rigorous attention to developing adequate life and career skills.

A unique portfolio will be the end product of every period in the first year of study.

PSD 1: Initiative and Self-Direction Period 1 1 EC

PSD 2: Flexibility and Adaptability Period 2 1 EC
PSD 3: Leadership and Responsibility Period 3 1 EC
PSD 4: Productivity and Accountability Period 4 1 EC

Learning outcomes

1. By completing the portfolio you will be able to:

2. Reflect on your learning process, academic and professional skills;
3. Develop individual learning goals and strategies as well as adequate success criteria;
4. Demonstrate the relevant knowledge and skills to pro-actively manage time and organize workload
efficiently (PSD1);
5. Demonstrate the relevant knowledge and skills to changing professional roles with a focus on
collaborating and communicating (PSD2);
6. Identify general and personal leadership skills and principles (PSD3);
7. Develop a personal and justifiable vision on study and business practice (PSD4).

Instructions
The portfolio can be seen as a shared collection of your personal learning experiences during the regular
and Do It Yourself sessions. Furthermore, it contains the completion of an assignment related to the
theme of every period. Is should consist of three different parts: A, B and C. In case you missed one or
more sessions, part D should be added. Below is described what to include for part A, B, C (and D).

Part A: Personal (regular) class reflections (app. 750-900 words)

The objective of the personal learning section is to reflect on the development of your personal skills, on
what you have learned in this course and how this will affect your functioning in the international
business environment. This means that reflection is practically about: a.) asking yourself different
questions and thinking about possible reasons for how you behaved in a certain situation, b.) reasoning
about how your own thoughts/feelings affected your behavior, c.) comparing the opinion of others (e.g.
fellow students) with your own way of thinking in order to arrive at a more objective and valuable self-
evaluation (Cameron, S, 2016). So it is not summarizing of what happened in class. These reflections are
written from the ‘I’-perspective. What did you learn/discover about yourself?

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For reasons of accuracy and efficiency it is recommended to keep track of your learning experiences in a
weekly report (also referred to as: logbook).

Part B: Do It Yourself class experience (app. 500-650 words)

This class needs to be organized together with your class mates. In your portfolio you need to address
the following:

- How did I plan and organize the DIY class?

- How do I reflect on the execution of the activity?
- What did I learn in terms of the theme of the period (check what the theme is!)?

Part C: Assignment (app. 1000-1150 words)

Every PSD course contains an assignment that directly relates to the theme of the period (P) as can be
seen below:

PSD1 Initiative and Self Direction TEDx analysis

PSD2 Adaptability and Flexibility Literature study
PSD3 Leadership and Responsibility Interview with a business professional
PSD4 Productivity and Accountability Book review & 360 degree self-assessment

Part D: Compensation assignment (if applicable, app. 1000 words)

If you missed a session, you should contact your AA and request a compensation assignment for the
missed session. The assignment relates to one of the before mentioned themes and the 21th century
skills: creativity, collaboration, communication and critical thinking.

Resources

The following tools and resources help you to complete the portfolio:

- Experience and content from PSD sessions;

- Database of pre-selected, subject-relevant articles available on Black Board;
- Academic article(s), book(s) or videos, see: Hanze Media Centre, Internet or private collection;
- Personal network;
- ‘IBS Report Writing Standards’ that can be found at the IBS Report Writing Hub on BlackBoard.

Products

Follow the following structure in order to arrive at a complete portfolio.

- Cover page
• Name & student number
• Course name & course code
• Name of AA
• Word count
• Date

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- Table of Contents (use an automatic TOC, include page numbers)
- Introduction
- Chapter 1: Part A Personal reflections
• Reflections on session 1
• Reflections on session 2
- Chapter 2: Part B DIY experience
• Planning and organization
• Execution of activity
• Reflection on themes (e.g. for PSD1: Initiative and/or Self Direction)
- Chapter 3: Part C Assignment
• Introduction
• Literature review (if applicable)
• Methodology (by which methods/sources have you arrived at your information?)
• Findings
• Conclusions
• Recommendations
- If applicable, add Chapter 4: Part D compensation assignment(s)
- Reference list
- Appendices (e.g. material DIY class)
-

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Assessment criteria

Assessment criteria

The following assessment criteria are taken into account in assessing the portfolio:

1 – 5.4  5.5 – 7.9 8 – 10

One or more of the portfolio
assessment criteria below
is/are not met.
1. The portfolio is incomplete
(see: requirements ‘Products’
section);
AND/OR
2. The quality of reflection is
poor in terms of authenticity,
actuality (current
development) and/or
relevance (future
development);
AND/OR
3. The overall English writing
skills are insufficient (e.g.
inappropriate choice of
vocabulary and/or poor
sentence structure, frequent
mistakes in spelling and/or
grammar).
All of the three portfolio
assessment criteria are met.
1. The portfolio is complete
(see: requirements ‘Products’
section);
2. The quality of reflection is
sufficient in terms of
authenticity, actuality (current
development) and/or
relevance (future
development);
3. The overall English writing
skills are sufficient (e.g.
appropriate choice of
vocabulary, proper sentence
structure, incidental spelling
and/or grammar mistakes).
All of the three portfolio
assessment criteria are met.
1. The portfolio is complete
(see: requirements ‘Products’
section);
2. The quality of reflection is
good/above standard in terms
of authenticity, actuality
(current development) and/or
relevance (future
development);
3. The overall English writing
skills are good/above standard
(e.g. appropriate choice of
vocabulary, good sentence
structure, few to no mistakes
in spelling and/or grammar).

PSD1 will be graded as a Pass or Fail.

PSD2, PSD3, PSD4 will be graded with a mark.

Deadline: students need to upload their complete portfolio as one document on Blackboard > Year 1
Period 1 > Uploads.

- PSD1: Friday, 12 o’clock noon, week 7, period 1

- PSD2: Friday, 12 o’clock noon, week 7, period 2
- PSD3: Friday, 12 o’clock noon, week 7, period 3
- PSD4: Friday, 12 o’clock noon, week 7, period 4

Feedback: your Academic Advisor will provide feedback in Blackboard via the assessment rubric (incl.
comments if necessary).

NOTE: The portfolio will be scanned for a plagiarism check. Academic fraud (claiming that the work of
others is student’s contribution, and incorrect referencing) will be reported to the Exam Board.

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Repair information

PSD1-4 has compulsory attendance. This means you have to be present at all sessions. If, however you
miss out on a session, you can compensate for this. You need to contact your AA a.s.a.p. (preferably the
same day, especially if you miss out on session 3, due to time restraints of meeting the first portfolio
deadline) and ask for a compensation assignment. Your AA will then email you a compensation
assignment (for each missed session).

Your compensation assignments should be added to Part D of the portfolio. Make sure it is clearly
described which session you missed out on, and what assignment was done in order to compensate for
it.

If you miss the first deadline for the portfolio hand-in date (Missed Opportunity), or fail to meet the
portfolio requirements (Fail), you may hand in your (improved) portfolio at the second hand-in date.

Repair deadline: students need to upload their complete portfolio as one document on Blackboard >
Year 1 Period 1 > Uploads.

- PSD1: Friday, 12 o’clock noon, week 7, period 2

- PSD2: Friday, 12 o’clock noon, week 7, period 3
- PSD3: Friday, 12 o’clock noon, week 7, period 4
- PSD4: Friday, 12 o’clock noon, week 9, period 4

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Reference list

- Cameron, S. (2016). The Business Student’s Handbook. Skills for study and employment. 6th edition.
Pearson.

- Framework for 21st century learning. (n.d.). Retrieved April 16, 2018, from www.p21.org:
http://www.p21.org/our-work/p21-framework
- Guido, M. (2017, May 18). www.prodigygame.com. Retrieved from Prodigy:
https://www.prodigygame.com/blog/advantages-disadvantages-peer-teaching-strategies/,
Retrieved May 17, 2018
- Sijben, G., Stoelinga, B., Molenaar, A., & Ubachs, M. (2017). Framework International Business.
unknown: unknown.

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Appendix

Exemplary scenario of a meeting (PSD1)

Context description

You are all working on an sustainable project called: ‘Sunshine for all’. In order to come to good results
it’s advised to meet biweekly as agreed upon in the collaboration contract you signed for. The project is
now in its fourth week (total project length is seven weeks) and you are not making much progress. Still a
lot of work needs to be done.

In weeks 1 and 2 your meetings were not very productive and they lasted quite long. In week 3 you only
met briefly and the communication primarily takes place via WhatsApp. The tone of these messages is
changing and gives room for concern.

The Chair of week 4, Mr/Mrs A, has invited all students to come to discuss how the communication can
be improved in order to successfully complete the project.

Main subject for agenda: Communication issues

Roles of participants

1. Mr/Ms A Chairman and student

2. Mr/Ms B Minutes taker and student
3. Mr/Ms C student
4. Mr/Ms D student
5. Mr/Ms E student
6. Mr/Ms F student

* create name tags for the role play in order to facilitate communication before the meeting takes place.

Role descriptions

Mr. / Ms. A – Chairperson

You are an ambitious student and often take the lead in meetings. Also when you are not the
chairperson, you try to push the group forward. You are in favor of working together and also to meet
each day to keep all students involved and updated. You want to do things as professionally as possible
and set high standards.

Mr. / Ms. B – Minute taker

This is the first time you have this task: taking the minutes. You do not see the relevance of this. When
things are being discussed and tasks are divided, people should trust each other. You do not see the
need of this meeting. You would rather work on your tasks at home and send your stuff per email to the
others. That is more effective according to you.

Mr. / Ms. C - student

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You want to meet twice per week together. This is the advice from university and therefore it must make
sense. Even though the first few meetings weren’t that productive, it was nice to get to know each other
better and you also have developed a better understanding of what is asked from you. It would require a
good agenda and a chairperson that actually guides the meetings. So far this hasn’t been the case. You
haven’t been chairing a meeting yourself yet, but think you could do a better job than what you have
observed so far.

Mr. / Ms. D - student

You are irritated that this meeting is scheduled. You had to travel one and a half hours just to come to
this meeting. You have no trouble expressing this opinion. You would actually rather continue to use
WhatsApp. You delivered your work and the quality of your work is good enough as far as you are
concerned. You need to pass this project since you badly need to pass this academic year; your previous
two studies were not a success because of various reasons.

Mr. / Ms. E - student

You find it hard to formulate an opinion about what the most successful approach is to work together.
You agree with student B that students should trust each other. You don’t like to be in the center of
attention because you are a bit behind with your tasks and do not want others to find out. You think you
can still catch up despite other demanding tasks. You do not want to disappoint your fellow students, but
right now, you need a bit of extra time.

Mr. / Ms. F - student

In your view, meetings are an inevitable struggle: not nice but needed. You are against using WhatsApp
as means to communicate university related stuff. You all signed a contract in the first week and all
students agreed to meet twice per week! Strikes should be handed out to all students who do not meet
the rules in the contract. You want to go to Australia in your third year and you want to get a high grade
for this project.

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