School of Applied Science ePDP case
study
University of Wolverhampton
Pathfinder project
eportfolio context for University of Wolverhampton ePDP case studies.
It is important to clarify for the purposes of the following case study that ePDP is referring to eportfolio
facilitated Personal Development Planning. There may be interchangeable reference between PDP and
ePDP, whilst PDP may be discussing the broader concept of Personal Development Planning and ePDP will
possibly focus on the enhancement and delivery through the eportfolio system, PebblePAD. It is
important to contextualise that the tool, PebblePAD has in built functionality suited to PDP (that other
eportfolio systems may or may not have). There are tools that allow staff to use criteria and evidence
based audits in a range of skill areas and the ability to adapt these generic templates to create tailored
audits. There are also in built tools and templates that support scaffolded activities such as action
planning and the recording of experiences, abilities, activities etc. There may be reference to these types
of activity within the case study.
For more information go to www.wlv.ac.uk/pathfinder or contact Dr Paul Brett: p.brett@wlv.ac.uk
Megan Lawton: m.j.lawton@wlv.ac.uk Emma Purnell: e.purnell@wlv.ac.uk
Embedding eportfolio at level 1
University of Wolverhampton Pathfinder project: Case study 1
School of Applied Science
Discipline context
School of Applied Science: Psychology
180 students
Students had to…
Complete a bespoke skills audit identifying strengths and weaknesses in finding information,
referencing and essay writing. They were then required to complete an action plan within
PebblePAD, the action plan template in PebblePAD had been adapted with additional prompting
to signpost the learner. After receiving feedback on their action plan, students were required to
respond, reflecting on the feedback itself and the initial planning they completed.
Barriers and enablers experienced at an institutional, school, module or individual level
There was not sufficient time to fully engage in EPDP on Pebble Pad and the philosophy behind
it. Instead, I was led by a more pragmatic and task oriented approach. Therefore time is a
barrier as providing feedback on Pebble Pad, and allowing students to fully benefit from the
experience is time consuming.
The support provided by the university central department, the Institute for Learning
Enhancement was a great enabler, and the project would not have been successful without the
valuable training and support that was provided to me and the module team. Likewise the
support from the module team was essential. Four teaching assistants were employed to
provide initial feedback. With such a large cohort, these teaching assistants were highly
valuable, and integral to the success of the project. The enthusiasm and commitment of all staff
involved on the project greatly enabled the project to be completed successfully.
Learning resources - what learning resources did you make available to your students?
Were they given a template to work to?
Students were given an action planning template, developed from the action plan tool within
PebblePAD. A bespoke Psychology skills audit was developed within PebblePAD specific to skills
development for Psychology students. Students were given interactive help resources which
were housed in the university Virtual Learning Environment.
Learning activities – were there any scaffolded learning activities included in your
session
The aim of the learning activities was to support student development in three key areas. These
were finding information, referencing, and essay writing. These are three of the learning
outcomes for level one. These were targeted for the project as they were identified by staff and
students as areas that were found to be confusing at level 2. There was also an issue the
students raised, which was the notion of what “university level” work entails, and how it differs
from their previous experience of independent learning and assessed work. The learning
activity, therefore also aimed to address this issue.
The learning experience was iterative; students completed 4 activities in total. Firstly students
completed a skills audit to help them to identify areas for development. This then led onto an
action plan. As part of the action plan, students were encouraged to reflect on their current
skills and results of the skills audit. They were then provided with a range of activities, online
tutorials, web resources, and directed reading, from which they selected those that met their
needs. The aim of these activities was to provide support and scaffold their learning towards
completing their first essay. Therefore, the third activity was writing the essay. Feedback on
the essay (but no grade) was added to their action plan by the tutor. The final activity for
students was to respond to this feedback, by reflecting on their initial action plan, and
identifying areas of strength and for development.
Feedback - what expectations of feedback did you set for your learners? Were your
learners encouraged to respond to their feedback?
The approach to student feedback on their essays was an innovative one for the Psychology
department. Feedback was structured according to the learning outcomes that students set
out to achieve, and a template was used to guide responses. The feedback was not restricted
to the template. Instead, the template was used as a starting point for wider comment.
Student feedback was all provided electronically as a response to their action plan. Students
therefore accessed this feedback through Pebble Pad.
Sustainability - what is needed for you to be able to continue and move your work with
e-PDP forward?
With respect to the module, the assessment package will be used next year, with a few minor
changes. Using Pebble Pad is useful for students, as they stated it helps them to organise
their ideas and their work. However, it is time consuming for staff to track the submissions of
students to the gateways, and also to access a high volume of assets. Therefore, from a staff
perspective, Pebble Pad may actually be constraining the type of learning activities that are
offered in future, and completing the PDP through an alternative medium may be preferable.
With respect to wider issues, the concept of completing a PDP is a commendable aim in higher
education. However, it is difficult to sustain motivation amongst students and staff until all are
committed to achieving this aim, and the PDP is well recognised by students as important to
both future employers and for application to higher degrees
Support - what support systems did you have in place for your students?
In previous cohorts, a lack of IT literacy has been recognised by first level module leaders. In
particular, students do not engage well with informal training provided during welcome week.
Some students lack confidence in using technology, and others experience considerable
anxiety at this prospect. It was therefore important to address this. We provided 15 hours
per week of “drop in” time between 5 members of teaching staff. We also provided a “mopup” session on a lunchtime which ran for the first 6 weeks of term. The attrition rate
determined the length of time this ran for. These sessions were to help students will all IT
queries. It was hoped that by increasing confidence in one aspect of IT, this would have an
impact on confidence with completing the EPDP. Further support was provided through 2
dedicated workshops, through email, online tutorials, and one-to-one support sessions.
Lessons learnt - how would you sum up the key lessons learned from the project?
Some students (roughly 40%) failed to meet all deadlines, or submit all parts of the
assessment. This could be interpreted as students not conceptualising online tasks, and
assessments as seriously as the written “traditional” assessment (which all completed and
submitted on time).
Be aware of the time needed to provide feedback
Students do read feedback
Students are positive about feedback
Advice to those starting out - what advice would you give to a colleague who was new
to e-PDP, but wanted to make it part of their teaching
Plan ahead!
With thanks to Dr Wendy Nicholls, School of Applied Science for submitting this case study to the
project.
For more information go to www.wlv.ac.uk/pathfinder or contact Dr Paul Brett: p.brett@wlv.ac.uk
Megan Lawton: m.j.lawton@wlv.ac.uk Emma Purnell: e.purnell@wlv.ac.uk