Personal developing planning essay

2 Personal Development Planning Many degrees are concerned with the development and assessment of knowledge and abilities for vocational as well as academic learning. Developing the skill of reflective practice is a fundamental element of being a professional. The Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) in their publication Guidelines for HE Progress Files (2001: 8) define Professional Development Planning as ‘ 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’. There is a drive to include PDP in all degree programmes. It is therefore highly relevant for those of you who are learning at the same time as working, as it is intended to help you to: I I become a more effective, independent and confident self-directed learner; understand how you are learning, and relate your learning to a wider context; improve your general skills for career and study management; articulate your personal goals and evaluate progress towards their achievement; and encourage a positive attitude to learning throughout life. This chapter covers: I I I reflective writing Personal Development Planning (PDP) producing a Professional Development Portfolio 17 Study Skills for Part-time Students Reflective writing Reflective writing provides an opportunity for you to think critically about past events and your own learning journey. We are told by our new degree students that they often find this a difficult task, as it is different from other forms of writing they have done before.

Reflective writing offers the opportunity for you to challenge yourself about what you do. It also gives you the objectivity to do things differently and better, without seeing problems as a result of personal inadequacy. Keeping a reflective journal is challenging, but can help you to develop a scholarly approach to your practice and to learning. This is an essential feature both for being effective as a workplace professional and for studying for your degree.

Setting the parameters As we suggested above, when used effectively, reflective writing will support you in making personal sense of a diverse set of experiences. This is particularly important if learning is to be incorporated into everyday practice as it is in the workplace. However, because you are writing about your personal experiences, there are some ground rules and boundaries that need to be set at the beginning of the process. In all cases, before you start to write you will need to know who will see your reflective journal, and if it will be assessed as part of your qualification. ACTIVITY 1 Before you begin Check that you have the answers to the following questions before you start your journal: I I I IIs the journal part of my assessed work? If so, what are the assessment criteria? Is there a word limit? Who will see this writing? Will this work be seen by a second marker or the external examiner, or is it just for me? Is it acceptable to present handwritten work? If you use a standard diary it is likely your entries will be handwritten unless you have a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) or use a package like Microsoft Outlook®.

What guidelines are there for content? As you are employed and studying, is there a balance to be struck between reflection on your academic and workplace learning? In the literature regarding reflective practice, the work of Donald Schon (1983) is most often cited. He writes about reflection having two key components: ‘ reflection on action’, a retrospective activity looking back after any particular event or task, and evaluating current skills, competencies, knowledge and professional practice. ‘ Reflection in action’, a more dynamic process which takes place during the task or event, and which helps to 18 Personal Development Planning improve performance by adjusting what we do. What you might term ‘ thinking on your feet’. This work has been extended by Cowan (1998) who adds ‘ reflection for action’, where you reflect on and learn from previous activities to inform the planning for the next.

Consider these ideas in your own journal, and decide at what point you are actually reflecting. What could your reflective writing include? There are many ways of structuring a reflective journal. However, in all cases your tutor is likely to want to see: I I I I an analysis of what went well, why it worked and what you achieved. They will not want a straight description of what happened with no analysis. However, you may need to be descriptive to briefly set the context; what could have been better and how you would achieve this. Here you are expected to be honest, knowing what went wrong shows that you have learned from the situation. Try to explain the issue rather than offering excuses or blaming others; Margaret suggests you ‘ question things objectively as you do them’; any links you can make between the theory you have been studying and what happened in practice; what you have learned and will do differently in the future.

This could be in the format of a formal action plan (see the final section of this chapter). It could be a brief informal note about the changes you would make and how you will know if you have improved. Case Study Susan suggests you try to ‘ think about something after it happened, what you would have done better or differently’, and Julie advises: ‘ Question everything that you do – What? How? Did it work? ’ The important thing is to start to write your thoughts down; you can edit your ideas later. Lara suggests you ‘ look into all aspects of your life. Be clear and write your reflective journal as soon as possible after the incident. ’ To start you off we have suggested an agenda you may like to follow. As you become more familiar with this type of writing, other questions will come to mind and you may prefer to think more creatively.

ACTIVITY 2 Reflect Your first task is to identify something to reflect on. Are you concerned about something at work or at college, or are you particularly pleased or interested in an activity? Does a critical incident stand out? For example, when we did this exercise with our students, a number of them chose to reflect on their feelings on the first day of the course. Now ask yourself a series of questions; these may start you off: 19L Study Skills for Part-time Students I I I I I I What happened? What is the current problem or issue? Here you can briefly describe the context and use descriptive rather than reflective writing. It is useful to consider what you were responsible for. How did you feel? What were your assumptions? Could your assumptions be challenged? How did others feel or react? Did they react in the same way or differently from you? Did their reaction affect you? Reflect on the actual outcome – what worked well? Why did it work in this way? What were the negative points? What were the reasons for them? What could be done differently by you and by others next time? Who could help? How would you summarise what you have learned from this experience? Case Study Christina suggests you ‘ pick an issue and thrash it out. Pick yourself to pieces and argue with yourself.

Put in strategies and evaluate their outcomes in further reflections. ’ Jane advises that ‘ the art of being reflective is to look at yourself, your weaknesses, good points, personal achievements, disappointments and summarise them. This way you create a diary of growth and personal development. Shaping the journal to suit you – possible ideas for structure In the form of a diary Many students find it helpful to buy a large diary or A4 hardback notebook and to write about their work on a regular basis. This idea works well as a personal learning journey, tracking and documenting an evolving understanding of your work and your study. There are advantages to this method.

If you use this as your one and only diary, make sure you have it with you all the time. Robbie suggests you ‘ write your diary at work, get a hardback book and carry it around. However, you do need to ensure that your writing is reflective rather than descriptive. One way around this is to note down incidents as they occur, in your diary, and then critically consider the issues later, following the guidelines in the exercise you have just completed.

Helen advises ‘ don’t be descriptive when writing your journal. Go deep into what you are writing, ask yourself what can you do about this? ’ In terms of issues and themes Another approach would be to see if you could integrate different parts of your degree in a holistic manner. A danger of undertaking any modular qualification is that the subjects are seen separately. This approach could be an opportunity for you to see your area of study as a whole and identify common themes across the modules. 20 Personal Development Planning One interesting way to organise your journal might be to focus on a reading which is part of your course and again use it to identify themes which will give headings for the sections of your journal rather than using dates. You can experiment with this approach by using the following questions to guide your reflection: I I IHow does this connect with an aspect of my practice at work or personal views? What could I change in relation to this? What would happen if I did? An analysis of critical incidents A critical incident is an event which impacted either directly on your professional practice, or indirectly on the way you perceive something about your career. ACTIVITY 3 Analyse events Imagine the organisation you work for is about to come under new ownership and restructuring is inevitable: I I I I I Describe the incident as objectively as possible. What were the assumptions that you were operating with? Is there another way to see this event? How do the two explanations compare? What could you do differently? A reflection on your own personal development A journal could provide a critical reflection on your learning at work, development activities or on the degree itself.

It can be very helpful to focus on feedback you have received on your assignments. Subiratha suggests you ‘ write down your thoughts and feelings after each session, and about anything new you learn in your workplace or from your reading. ’ If you go through a performance review or appraisal at work, reflect on the perceptions of others. If you are keeping a professional development journal for assessment you will probably be asked to produce a separate ongoing action plan, which is described in the last section of this chapter. However, if this is not part of the requirement for your particular degree you may wish to consider the following questions in your journal: I I What do I need to do to improve the quality of what I do? What might I do instead of what I do now? 21 Study Skills for Part-time Students I I I What am I doing well that I could develop further? What innovation could I introduce? What other development activities should I be seeking? Personal Development Planning (PDP) Resources for Personal Development Planning All higher education institutions are expected to provide a form of Personal Development Planning (PDP) for their students, so your first port of call should be your own university. A number of HE institutions have produced electronic PDP systems. There is also a wide range of resources available on the internet which will be discussed further in this chapter.

The sites mentioned in the section on e-portfolios will also provide a useful starting point. In addition you may wish to identify your preferred learning style, as mentioned in the first chapter, by working through the questionnaire on www. learning-styles-online. com. You should also look at the site called Skills4Study which provides PDP resources for students (www. palgrave. com/skills4study/pdp/). Some ideas for developing your own PDP Complete a SWOT analysis SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.

Carry out an initial diagnosis of your strengths and areas for further development. What opportunities exist for you to resolve weaknesses and demonstrate your strengths? What threats are there to prevent your development? ACTIVITY 4 SWOT Analysis Complete a SWOT analysis using the questions below as a prompt and including any more thoughts of your own. Consider what actions you will need to take to maximise your development during your degree programme. Write these down, they will be used in your PDP later. L 22 Personal Development Planning SWOT analysis STRENGTHS What kind of work experience do I have? What qualifications do I have? Do I have any areas of specialist knowledge? What skills do I have? What are my personal beliefs or values? How much support do I have from others? What are my strengths of character? OPPORTUNITIES Who do I know who could help me progress? Are there opportunities at work/college where I could develop further? Could I ask to work shadow other colleagues? Can I see a gap in the market? What opportunities exist after my degree? Can I get sponsorship or a grant for further development? THREATS Is my job safe or are there redundancies at work? Are there any potential family or financial problems? Will there be any significant changes to my support network? Are changes in technology in danger of making my knowledge/skills obsolete? WEAKNESSES What has held me back in the past? Are there gaps in my knowledge, qualifications or experience? In what areas do I lack confidence? Are there any domestic or family circumstances I need to consider? Do I have any health problems or personal concerns? What are the weak points of my character? Define yourself through psychometric testing Psychometric testing is now a common feature of graduate recruitment. It is well worth trying out a range of tests so you are prepared if they are used in a selection process.

They may also give you some insight into areas for development in your Personal Development Plan. The two main types of tests used are aptitude, also known as ability, and personality. Aptitude tests are used to measure suitability for a particular type of job and you may have experienced this type of testing in applying for employment.

Common tests include verbal, numerical and diagrammatic reasoning. Tests should be administered under controlled conditions outlined by the British Psychological Society; they are strictly timed and have definite right or wrong answers. Examples of publishers of selection tests include Assessment for 23 Study Skills for Part-time Students Selection and Employment (ASE) (www. ase-solutions. co.

uk) and Saville and Holdsworth (www. shlgroup. com). Personality tests are intended to gather information about how and why you do things in your own particular way.

They are different from aptitude tests in that there are no right or wrong answers: they are designed to look at your style, not ability, and it is important to answer questions accurately and honestly. You may have heard of the test organisations such as The Morrisby Organisation (www. orrisby. co. uk) that are used for careers guidance, or the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) which is frequently used by employers. A shortened version of this can be accessed at www. teamtechnology.

co. uk. Another popular instrument is by Meredith Belbin which looks at team roles. Most university careers services run practice test sessions, and there are some useful links on the Prospects website (www.

prospects. ac. uk). ACTIVITY 5 Take an aptitude test Log onto the UK test publisher Saville and Holdsworth’s website at www. shldirect. com and practise some aptitude tests.

Look at the feedback you receive. Does this suggest any areas for development? You can also volunteer to take new tests as part of a trial and receive personal feedback. Analyse your job description and person specification If you are currently employed in a role which you wish to extend, look carefully at your job description and accompanying person specification. To what extent do you meet the essential and desirable criteria listed? Consider what current skills need to be maintained or improved. Next consider where you lack confidence or have limitations. Could these be areas you need to include in your own development plan? If possible, ask your personnel department for the details of the post at the next level up. Do these give you pointers as to areas you could usefully develop? Even if you are not in a post that you see as part of your future plan, this may still be a useful exercise.

Analyse your transferable skills Transferable skills are those you possess that can be applied in different situations. Often these are of great interest to your employer as they indicate the innate qualities you will bring to your job. There are several different terms for these; your university may refer to them as key skills, core skills, employability skills, graduate skills, hard and soft skills, personal skills or personal transferable skills.

Providing evidence of these can be difficult as they seem rather intangible. A useful way to audit these key skills can be by 24 Personal Development Planning comparing them to national key skills standards. You could also look at the skills you should be covering in your degree. These will be listed in the appropriate subject benchmarking statement on the QAA website (www. qaa. ac. uk/academicinfrastructure/benchmark). There should be details of this in your course handbook.

ACTIVITY 6 Consider the key skills of numeracy (application of number), literacy (communication skills) and information technology (IT). Have a look at the standards produced by the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) and map yourself against them (www. qca. org. uk). Do you need to develop any of these key skills to progress further? Also look at the level 3 key skill ‘ Improving Own Learning and Performance’: how do you rate against this? Find out if your college offers you an opportunity to be accredited for any of these skills. You will also find a sample portfolio for assessment against these standards on the QCA website.

Drawing up your own Personal Development Plan A sample Personal Development Plan is produced below; however, you can produce your own plan in whatever format you wish. Remember, personal development does not just happen while you are formally studying, but takes place throughout your life. There are lots of ideas of what you can do after your degree in the final chapter, so it is a good idea to keep your plan on a computer so that it can be regularly updated. If you look on the internet you will find a number of examples of templates which could be used. When you are setting goals, do try and make sure they are SMART – specific, measurable, agreed upon, realistic and time-based. However, the acronym SMART can be extended to give a broader definition, and it is worth checking that your development plan is: S – specific, significant, stretching, short M – measurable, meaningful, motivational A – agreed upon, attainable, achievable, acceptable, action-oriented R – realistic, relevant, reasonable, rewarding, results-oriented T – time-based, timely, tangible, trackable. 5 Study Skills for Part-time Students Sample Personal Development Plan Development need Clearly describe what you need to learn here.

Action Results expected Support required to fulfil action The costs in time and money. Whose support do you need to turn this plan into reality – a colleague, manager, mentor, employer, friend? Target dates for completion and review The timescales by which you intend to have achieved this part of your development plan. Be realistic – small successes achieved quickly will provide motivation towards longer-term goals. Detail the specific actions you need to take to meet your need. What will you have learned? This is the measure to show that you have achieved your These could be a objectives. It could mixture of activities: be a qualification, work-based, formal or NVQ units; being development, able to put new informal and skills into practice; self-directed improved learning, and management activities effectiveness, outside work e. g.

meeting all your deadlines. Producing a professional development portfolio Different types of portfolio For assessment purposes a portfolio might be defined as a structured collection comprising labelled evidence of your learning and critical reflection on it. Yet the situation is complicated, and David Baume (2003) identifies a number of different types of portfolio.

You may have already produced a portfolio for a National Vocational Qualification or put together a Record of Achievement (RoA) while you were at school. However, it is important that you are clear about the kind of portfolio you are required to produce for your course. The portfolio as repository This is a portfolio at its simplest level: a collection of materials preferably with a structure and an index.

This could be as simple as a course file, or kept online with the materials stored digitally. If your portfolio is going to be assessed, it is unlikely that a repository style portfolio will be what is required, although you may need to keep some sort of course file. The portfolio for development David Baume describes this type of portfolio as a compost heap, an image which he intends to convey ‘ not darkness and odour, but rather something 26 Personal Development Planning that is refined over time, enriched by addition, reduction and turning over’ (Baume, 2003: 4). In addition to acting as a repository, it can function as our own personal workspace, representing your current state of thinking about your course, collecting materials from a wide range of sources in preparation for production of assignments. This sort of portfolio will be in a constant state of flux, and so needs to be organised and indexed.

Again, this is essentially a private portfolio, and unlikely to be appropriate for assessment. The portfolio for assessment This form may well make use of the contents of the development portfolio and the repository portfolio, but will extend them by commentary and reflection. Your lecturer will expect to see additional annotation of the contents. This may include reflection on feedback from your academic staff on assessed work, mentors, line managers and peers, to demonstrate how knowledge and understanding have been advanced. Case Study To start you off, Niki advises that you ‘ keep anything you think may be useful in a separate box and record all your thoughts in a notebook, no matter how trivial you think they may be’.

ACTIVITY 7 Clarify parameters Before you begin to compile your assessment portfolio you need to ask your tutor: I I I I I I I II Is there advice on the form, structure, size and content of the portfolio? What guidance is there on presentation? Is there a maximum word limit for the critical reflection? Does there need to be a bibliography? Who will see your portfolio? The answer to this question may influence what you want to include. What exactly are the required learning outcomes? What assessment criteria will be used? What opportunities for formative assessment will be provided before the portfolio is due in? Whether it is possible to see assessed portfolios from former students? What to includeClearly each discipline has its own characteristic forms of working records and products. If you are a scientist you may produce laboratory reports; engineering students may produce design sheets; and social science stu27 Study Skills for Part-time Students dents, reports and essays. The main requirement for the evidence in your portfolio is that it is appropriate to the field of study. It is possible that little or no evidence will be produced especially for the portfolio.

You may be able to gather evidence from your work, during fieldwork or observations, and across all modules of the teaching programme. What will be written especially for the portfolio is some form of critical reflection or commentary which is supported by this evidence. ACTIVITY 8 Collect evidence Think about all the possible evidence you could collect that is relevant to your particular area of study. Then look at the suggestions from Early Years Education students below. All these students are employed in nurseries or similar settings while they are studying for their degree.

Are there any items you now want to add to your list, or any you would take issue with? Early Years Education – possible evidence for professional development portfolio CV Person specification for job Copies of educational qualifications Observations of working with children Photographs of children’s work Witness statements Staff development plans and records Copies of e-mails Evidence of using IT Results of school surveys Letters of commendation Thank you notes from teachers and parents Analysis against Early Years Practitioner Standards Job description Probation/appraisal records Assignments from course modules Anonymised photographs of the nursery Anonymised video clips Feedback from peers and tutors Minutes of meetings Staff newsletters References Audio tapes Collecting the evidence When you have completed the activity above, you will have started to formulate your ideas about the contents and structure of your portfolio. It is never too early to begin to collect the evidence. Many of our students started by putting documents into a box file, which is fine, but you do need 28 Personal Development Planning to start sorting it at an early stage. You are not being asked to become filing clerks, but you need to get organised early enough to make the most of the finished portfolio. Remember, selection is more important than collection. Case Study Cathy suggests that you ‘ do not put in unnecessary materials – keep it tight’.

Your evidence needs to be: I I I I I valid, this means it demonstrates what you claim it does; reliable, that you can consistently do what you claim; current, it is something you did recently; ask your tutor to define how far back in time you can go; sufficient, this means it is enough to demonstrate what you claim, and finally; accurate, it is what actually happened. It is important that you clearly label your evidence with, as a minimum: I I I I ts title or name, and what the evidence is, if this is not immediately clear; the date of production; the authors, if you are submitting something produced collaboratively; how to access it, if you are producing a portfolio using information technology. Think about the structure An explicit structure and signposting through an index are vital, both for you and your tutor.

Although you may prefer to be given a template for the structure of your portfolio this is unlikely to happen, as tutors will want to ensure you feel ownership; this includes determining form as well as content. You may find this freedom frustrating, many students do initially. If you would like some further guidance you could consider the following ideas for its organisation: I I I I y time, on a daily, weekly or monthly basis around a reflective diary and cross-referenced to it; around the learning outcomes being demonstrated, with a distinct portfolio section for each learning outcome or assessment criterion to be addressed; around underpinning knowledge, professional values, or occupational standards if they exist; around evidence from each of the modules on your degree. In this case you could include a representative sample of your work, together with a critical commentary showing what has been learned from any poor performances, and how this learning has been applied to improve; 29 Study Skills for Part-time Students I I mapped against various work tasks you carry out or cross-referenced to your job description; around an analysis of the knowledge, skills and attitudes required by the person specification for your post. Writing a critical commentaryThe first part of this chapter has covered writing a reflective journal, and one possible strategy is to cross-reference items of evidence into your journal. However, your assessment may not require a journal, just a portfolio. You should still read the beginning of the chapter because the techniques for writing your critical commentary are the same, but it will not be presented in a diary format. Remember, assessment will generally be of the critical reflection rather than the evidence itself.

The critical reflection is there to make sense of the evidence and to show what you have learned. You should make appropriate referenced use of theoretical sources. This is expected at undergraduate level and is essential at postgraduate level, where you should consider how you apply theoretical or other ideas from the literature to particular topics, either from your work or study. It is a good idea to show your portfolio to your colleagues and peers. This feedback process is very important, and they may be able to give you some useful advice.

It is always helpful to see how other people have structured their portfolio, and to ask them why they have done it in that way. Creating an e-portfolio There are many different ways to produce an e-portfolio. There are dedicated e-portfolio software applications such as PebblePad (www. pebblelearning. co.

k), Elgg (http://elgg. net) and OSP (www. theospi. org). A portfolio can take the form of a blog or social networking site (see chapter 4 for more information). You may prefer a visual site like Flickr (www.

flickr. com) if you wish to put up collections of pictures, or YouTube (http://uk. youtube. com) if your work is performance orientated, or you may prefer a written blog like WordPress (http://wordpress.

org). In all of these cases, clear indexing is particularly important. You should ask for specialist help if you wish to use the university’s Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) facilities, such as Blackboard or WebCT, to create and store your portfolio.

These systems have considerable possibilities, and increasingly you may be able to store and then transfer your data in standard formats between different institutions. 30 Personal Development Planning ACTIVITY 9 Access the web Explore the following websites and consider how you might use them to develop an eportfolio: I I I I I Centre for Recording Achievement ePortfolios. ac.

uk ePortfolios portal PebblePad Open Source Portfolio (OSP) www. recordingachievement. org/eportfolios www. eportfolios. ac. uk http://danwilton.

com/eportfolios www. pebblelearning. co. uk www. theospi. org Checklist for submission of your portfolio You will find the following checklist helpful before you submit your portfolio for assessment: I I I I IIs it clear and tidy enough so that the assessor can rapidly understand, analyse and assess it? A new lever arch file with clear dividers for each section, an index and numbered pages gives a good impression. Does it only contain relevant documentation? Our view is that a portfolio should be no larger than an A4 lever arch file; any more than that and you may not have been sufficiently discriminating about the contents.

Bear in mind your tutor will be assessing a larger number of these portfolios – quality not quantity will earn you good marks. Have you included only photocopies of relevant qualification certificates or items of personal value? Although staff should make every effort to safeguard your portfolio you need to make sure there is nothing in it that cannot be replaced. Do you need to get written permission to use any of the evidence, or should you make any of the evidence anonymous? Particular issues apply when using photographs of children or vulnerable people in a portfolio.

Be aware that evidence from work may be of a confidential nature. Is the portfolio appropriately presented? The details of presentation of written work in chapter 8 will be helpful here. However, you also need to consider visual presentation. Does your portfolio give the impression you want it to give? Using your portfolio after you have finished your degree Portfolios to support presentations for interviews Increasingly employers tell us they want to see what applicants can do as well as what they know. You can use an edited version of your portfolio at an interview for employment, or further study. This will bring to life your 31 Study Skills for Part-time Students experience, qualifications and learning.

It should be a much reduced version of your assessment portfolio, containing only the relevant work of which you are most proud. You should always ask in advance if the employer wishes to see it, and then tailor each presentation portfolio to each interview. An APEL portfolioYou may be able to collate some of your work into a portfolio to claim APEL (Accreditation of Prior Experiential Learning) against occupational or professional standards.

In this case you will need to carefully index your work and provide a commentary and evidence to show that all or some of the particular qualification requirements have been achieved. APEL is a rigorous process and requires reflection, analysis and theoretical underpinning to demonstrate what you have learned from your experiences. If you are going to produce an APEL portfolio you need to clarify the formal requirements of the process and what support is available from your academic institution. A continuing professional development portfolio You may also be able to use an amended version of your portfolio to demonstrate continuing professional development for the purposes of registration, membership or licensing of a professional body or you may be able to use it as part of your appraisal scheme at work. References and further reading www. ase-solutions.

co. uk – the website of Assessment for Selection and Employment. Baume, D. (2003) Supporting Portfolio Development, York: Learning and Teaching Support Network Generic Centre. Centre for Excellence in Media Practice – www. cemp. ac. uk/research/ reflectivelearning is the link for comprehensive information written by Jenny Moon.

It is possible to download information from her books on learning journals and reflective practice free of charge from this site providing the source is acknowledged. Centre for Recording Achievement – www. recordingachievement.

org is the website of the Centre for Recording Achievement and supports the implementation of progress files, professional development planning and e-portfolios. Cottrell, S. (2003) Skills for Success: the personal development planning handbook, Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Cowan, J. (1998) On Becoming An Innovative University Teacher: reflection in action, Buckingham: Society for Research into Higher Education and Open University Press.

ttp://danwilton. com/eportfolios – an e-portfolios portal. 32 Personal Development Planning http://elgg. net – provides e-learning portfolio software. www. eportfolios. ac. uk – provides advice on developing e-portfolios.

www. flickr. com – a social networking site for presenting e-portfolios visually. Gray, D. , Cundell, S. , Hay, D. and O’Neill, J.

(2004) Learning through the Workplace: a guide to work-based learning, Cheltenham: Nelson Thornes. Chapter 7 by Jean O’Neill contains useful information and advice about portfolio building. www. learning-styles-online. com – provides an analysis of learning styles. Megginson, D. and Whitaker, V. 2003) Continuing Professional Development, London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

Moon, J. A. (2006) Learning Journals: a handbook for academics, students and professional development, London: Kogan Page. Moon, J. A. (2004) A Handbook of Reflective and Experiential Learning, London: Routledge Falmer. Moon, J.

A. (1999) Reflection in Learning and Professional Development, London: Routledge Falmer. www. morrisby. co. uk – publishes psychometric tests for careers guidance www. palgrave.

com/skillsforstudy/pdp – provides a range of downloadable PDP materials www. pebblelearning. co.

uk – provides PebblePad software for e-portfolios. www. prospects. ac.

k – provides a wide range of practice tests for graduates. www. qaa. ac. uk/academicinfrastructure/benchmark – contains subject benchmarking statements.

Quality Assurance Agency (2001) Guidelines for HE Progress Files, Gloucester: QAA. Schon, D. A. (1983) The Reflective Practitioner, New York: Basic Books. www. shldirect. com – the website of Saville and Holdsworth which publish selection tests.

www. teamtechnology. co. uk – publishes Myers-Briggs type indicator tests. www. theospi. org – the website of the Open Source Portfolio software for e-portfolios.

http://wordpress. org – for written portfolios. http://uk. youtube. com – social networking site suitable for performance portfolios. 33