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Personal Development Planning

Section 1.9 -2006 #1
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Contents
In this session you will be covering the
following topics:
1. PDP an overview what it is?
2. Components of the PDP Portfolio;
3. What You Will Gain from a PDP;
4. Building Your PDP
5. Personal Tutors.


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1. What is a PDP?
A reasonable definition of Personal
Development Planning (PDP) is:
'It is a structured and supported
process undertaken by an individual to
reflect upon their own learning,
performance and / or achievements,
then to plan for their future personal,
educational and career development'.
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Why is a PDP needed?
According to Stella Cottrell in the text The
Study Skills Handbook, indicates that you
require:
1. Specific subject knowledge;
2. A range of further skills, such as:
To be able to work with others using people skills;
To be able to solve out of the box problems;
To be able to take on project work;
Competent in self management.
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The Dearing Report recommendations:
The 1997 Dearing Report stated that
students should receive structured
opportunities to become:
More aware of themselves;
More aware of how to learn;
More aware of how to improve personal
performance;
Better able to cope with the transition to
their chosen career
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The Conception of PDP
To meet these requirements, it was generally
agreed that students should put together a a
personal development plan, to cover not only
their main subject area, but also skills in
support of the main subject.
It was also considered important to have a
range of other inter-personal skills.
There was also a need to store all of the
information together in one place, hence the
PDP portfolio evolved.
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2. Components of the PDP Portfolio
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The three parts to PDP Portfolio
These were shown in the previous diagram,
and are reproduced below:
1. A Personal Record of your learning and achievement may
include personal goals, plans, reviews and achievements;
2. A formal institutional Transcript giving information about
your learning and achievement;
3. Your plan to fill the skills & learning gaps that you, the
student, considers necessary (The Actual Personal
Development Plan).
It is intended to embedded the process into most of
the modules in your study programme.
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3. What You Will Gain from a PDP
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Advantages for Your Learning Are:
A clearer focus;
More control over personal motivation;
Developing essential skills in self-
management;
Greater independence and confidence as a
learner;
More enjoyment and less stress from your
learning;
More awareness of how to apply your
learning;
Reflective, strategic, analytical and creative
thinking skills.
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The Benefits of PDP to Professional Life
Gaining strategies to improve personal performance;
Gaining a better sense of what kind of life and work
you want;
Confidence in choices made;
Confidence in skills, qualities and attributes;
A better position to compete for jobs;
Ability to discuss your skills & competences with
employers;
Positive attitude, creative thinking & problem solving
approaches.
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Benefits of PDP to Personal Life
Better understanding of self and what makes
you tick
A better position to make choices;
Better sense of self as individual;
Greater awareness of needs and how to meet
these;
Greater awareness of unique contribution you
can make;
Developing positive, forward-looking
approach;
Developing skills e.g. reflection, strategic
thinking, self-direction & self-evaluation.
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4. Building Your PDP
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The Stages to Produce the Plan
You will already have some of the portfolio
evidence, for instance your official
assessment results (Transcripts).
You will need to put together a review of your
skills.
Then decide from evaluating these two
chunks of evidence, what you should plan to
do to fill any skills gaps that you have. This
then becomes your Personal Development
Plan
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A Skills Audit
Your plan will depend upon YOUR analysis of
YOURSELF plus a great degree of reflection.
Therefore a good starting point is to
undertake a skills audit.
Choose main subject headings, such as:
academic skills, creative thinking, computing,
discussion, leadership, people skills an so on;
Then score yourself in accordance with your
degree of competence. Your tutor can
provide you with a score sheet.
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Personal Records
Education and training, include the schools
you attended and list the qualifications that
you achieved with dates.
If you have an employment history, show it.
If you have undertaken voluntary work,
include this.
If you can show leadership qualities in social
aspects of your life, show these.
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Put it together in a Portfolio
1. Official
Assessment Results
(transcripts)
Do a personal audit
of your skills
Analyse the results &
decide what you need to
do to improve yourself.
3. Convert this to a
plan with
objectives & an
overall goal
Information
held in a
Portfolio
2. Your own personal records of achievement,
for instance, workplace and social
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5. Personal Tutors
Members of academic staff who will support
PDP activities.
Often might be small group meetings as well
as individual sessions.
Can be a compulsory sessions in each
Teaching Block
PT available for further meetings at your
request.
Will provide academic guidance, pastoral
support and referrals to other agencies.
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All that remains, is for you to start
your PDP activities

Good Luck!