Stapleford, J., Beasley, B. & Palmer, S. (2006) ‘Developing PDP to Support Employability: an Institutional Perspective’ In Personal Development Planning and Employability (2006) Learning and Employability Series 2, The Higher Education Academy

Stapleford, J., Beasley, B. & Palmer, S. (2006) ‘Developing PDP to Support Employability: an Institutional Perspective’ In Personal Development Planning and Employability (2006) Learning and Employability Series 2, The Higher Education Academy

An implementation toolkit approach is taken to address institutionally identified challenges of initiating PDP and reflection. The toolkit is made up of activities in: learning journals and diaries; storytelling; portraits; dialogue; sent letters; unsent letters; visualisation; altered points of view. The article reports on practical implementation but provide methods for generating reflective content through modes beyond traditional journalistic text-based approaches having identified the need for representation of multiple intelligences. “Emotional intelligence is seen as an increasingly evident aspect of employability that student need to develop.” (p.37)

Edwards, G. (2005) Connecting PDP to Employer Needs and the World of Work, The Higher Education Academy

Edwards, G. (2005) Connecting PDP to Employer Needs and the World of Work, The Higher Education Academy

The author summarises research undertaken in 2000 and refers to the research question, “In what ways can personal development planning be implemented in HEIs to be of maximum benefit in recruitment processes and later career mangement?”

Indications reported are that employers are interested in seeing the documented process that has been facilitated by PDP, not the outputs, suggesting that this mode (PDP) is not an intrinsic desirable. Nonetheless, the report begins to define competencies based on responses from graduate employers. These are generic, and at the top of the list come flexibility, adaptability and capacity to cope with change; self-motivation and drive; analytical ability and decision making; and communication and interpersonal skills.

Drew, S., Stevens, A. & Haughton, P. (2007) Electronic PDPs for Art, Design and Media: Their Use and their Assessment, Sheffield Hallam University

Drew, S., Stevens, A. & Haughton, P. (2007) Electronic PDPs for Art, Design and Media: Their Use and their Assessment, Sheffield Hallam University [Online report] Available at: www.shu.ac.uk/research/cre/Electronic%20PDP/Website/base%20model/CasestudyD&T%20amended.doc (accessed July 20 2007)

The focus on electronic personal development portfolios is made clear from the outset, and the case studies that have driven the research findings acknowledge this. The work identified some key findings from consultation with employers in relevant fields. This included the emergence that there was an increasing trend for applicants to make first contact via email, but that employers do not view a portfolio until interview.

It also emerged from the employer perspective that portfolios needed to be focussed in order for them to stand out from the crowd, show individuality and emphasise originality and creativity. It was also suggested that PDP content was, although not expected by employers, generally found to be occurring in employees and was seen as a personal activity. A tension also emerged between worked presented being of potential commercial value.

There is some ambiguity about the role of PDP for employability, and although the report does discuss PDP with employers, it highlights the gap between PDP in education and for employment purposes, stating, “E-PDP tends to be located on professional practice modules.”

James, A. (2004) ‘Autobiography and Narrative in Personal Development Planning in the Creative Arts’ Art, Design and Communication in Higher Education, 3 (2), pp103-118

James, A. (2004) ‘Autobiography and Narrative in Personal Development Planning in the Creative Arts’ Art, Design and Communication in Higher Education, 3 (2), pp103-118

The article examines PDP in a creative arts context, exploring the tension between uses, the “external, sociocultural role (the demonstration of skills and assets to others) and capacity to enhance internal, individual understanding.” (p.103) – reflective and presentational facets.

The discussion concludes that PDP is neither discrete to academic or professional goals. But it does suggest that it is a record of a learning journey that has multiple applications for the synthesiser, acknowledging the learner centred nature of the PDP activity by stating; “This sense of self is both represented by and defined in various modes of expression”.

James, A. (2007) ‘Reflection Revisited: Perceptions of Reflective Practice in Fashion Learning and Teaching’ Art, Design and Communication in Higher Education, 5 (3), pp179-196

James, A. (2007) ‘Reflection Revisited: Perceptions of Reflective Practice in Fashion Learning and Teaching’ Art, Design and Communication in Higher Education, 5 (3), pp179-196

Taken from a fashion design context, the article explores (by case study report) the tension derived from the predominantly text-based reflective practices of PDP, and the non-text based modes of learning prevalent in art and design disciplines. The findings suggest two courses of action; “pedagogic research into greater understanding of the effect of non-textual reflection on learning, behaviours and assessment, and as curriculum practice which experiments with different non-textual activities and explicit modes of teaching reflective practice which can be measured.” (p.195)

Tarnowski, M., Knutson, M., Gleason, E., Gleason, C., & Songer, E. (1998) ‘Building a Professional Portfolio’ Music Educators Journal, 85 (1), pp17-20+38

Tarnowski, M., Knutson, M., Gleason, E., Gleason, C., & Songer, E. (1998) ‘Building a Professional Portfolio’ Music Educators Journal, 85 (1), pp17-20+38

The article is a nearly a decade old but iterates some of the key needs for a professional portfolio (music teacher). The author describes this type of portfolio as needing three facets: 1) professional development, 2) teaching abilities, 3) personal and professional attributes. There is also an indication for the need for audio elements within the music educator’s portfolio, digital portfolios lending themselves to this multimedia requirement.

Butler, P. (2006) A Review of the Literature on Portfolios and Electronic Portfolios

Butler, P. (2006) A Review of the Literature on Portfolios and Electronic Portfolios [Online] Available at: https://eduforge.org/docman/view.php/ 176/1111/ePortfolio%20Project%20Research%20Report.pdf (accessed 23 July 2007)

2006 review of literature on e-portfolio research with some focus on art and design specific e-portfolio use. The most significant points emerging relate to the purpose and use of e-portfolios and from where these are driven. (Purposes: what an e-portfolio is designed for. Uses: What e-portfolios are actually used for.) Although there are several interpretations of the purposes of e-portfolios, they essentially range from, at one end of the scale, a process / learning portfolio to, at the other, representational / showcase.

Art and design specific analysis is based on a relatively small sample of literature but indicates a subject-oriented preconception that is also evident in other fields. For art and design this is that the portfolio is fundamentally a collection of visual work, often supported with reflective / explanatory information.” (Blaikie et al., 2004)

The review highlights benefits associated with electronic portfolios: skill development; evidence of learning; feedback; reflection; psychological benefits; assessment; artefacts; maintenance; portability and sharing. (p11)

Ball, L. (2007) Electronic PDPs for Art, Design, Media and Communications. Workshop at HEA-ADM e-PDP conference, 21 May 2007, Sheffield Hallam University

Ball, L. (2007) Electronic PDPs for Art, Design, Media and Communications. Workshop at HEA-ADM e-PDP conference, 21 May 2007, Sheffield Hallam University

Workshop exploring the employer and professional perspectives towards the use of electronic PDPs for art, design, media and communications facilitated by Linda Ball. The session highlighted a number of key issues, including the crossovers between e-portfolios and PDP, essentially steering away from the constraints inherent with close-knit definition.

The data shared for the workshop provides a flavour of the feedback from employers in the fields of product design, film and media production, metalwork and jewellery, and multimedia and communication design. This information demonstrates the simliarties and divergences between recruitment processes in diverse vocational fields.