1

PDP Handbook
International Foundation Programme
2013-14


2

PDP Handbook
Contents
What is a PDP? Page 3
What is reflective writing? Page 3
Submitting your PDP Page 5
PDP Activities: IFP0100 S2 and S6 Page 6
PDP Activities: IFP0200 S1 and S7 Page 7
PDP Activities: IFP0400 S3, S5 and S9 Page 9
PDP Activities: IFP0500 S4 and S8 Page 10




3

What is a PDP?
PDP stands for Personal Development Portfolio. On many courses you are asked to create a PDP of activities in order to record,
reflect upon and evaluate your learning development.
The IFP seminar and lab activities offer a structured way to reflect on what you are good at and what you need to develop further. You
will learn to review your own skill levels and what you have learned from different situations and environments, including your
studies, part time work, voluntary work and other activities. You will record your reflections and use them to help you think about
and plan your future development. The activities in the seminars and labs ask you to write reflectively. Below there is a brief outline
of what reflective writing is.
Creating a PDP is an important part of your personal development and reflects the working environment where employers encourage
new graduates to assess their own continuous professional development (CPD) using a portfolio. You should keep copies of any
reflective activities you do on the IFP as a personal development portfolio. You can then use your record of PDP as a valuable aid for
marketing your skills to employers in recruitment and selection processes.
This booklet outlines the four pieces that make up your S9 assignment. There is one activity from each module.
What is Reflective Writing?
Reflective writing records reflective thinking: when we think about something that we have done and examine what we have learned
from it.
This often involves description of an event, an analysis of what happened and how this relates to your progress and development as a
learner.
Reflective writing involves recording:
What took place: the seminar activity, group work project, or decision that you made
Analysing that event or decision: thinking about how things went, what was your reaction to the activity, what was good or bad
about the activity, what could you have done differently, what reasons were there for a decision
4

Describing what you have learned: what you learned from the activity, how this will affect your learning in the future, how you
will do things differently from now on, whether you would make the same decisions again



So reflection looks a bit like this:

(Source: University of the West of England: http://hsc.uwe.ac.uk/net/mentor/default.aspx?pageid=117)
Remember that what is important is what you learned from the activity/event and how you will use that in your future learning.
5

Your PDP (S9) for the IFP programme
Your S9 assessment will consist of five entries:
An Introduction
Four reflective pieces: one for each of the IFP modules
Details of the four module reflections are given over the next few pages. Your introduction should be a 150 200 word explanation
which details the purpose of the PDP and explains the four reflective pieces that follow.
Submitting the PDP (S9)
At the end of the programme you will need to submit the four reflective pieces to a dropbox on Unihub. You should submit all four
pieces together in one word document with a cover page, a contents page, the introduction and a bibliography. The deadline for the S9
assignment is 24
th
April (September cohort) or 16
th
July (January Cohort).
6

IFP0100 Academic Writing
PDP: A Reflection of 500 words
For IFP0100 you completed two assignments. One was a timed assessment carried out under exam conditions; the other a piece of
coursework.
Using Gibbs Model of Reflection (see introduction to this booklet), write a reflection on your experience of taking the two
assessments. Examine your approach to the tasks and how this differed, what you learned about your own skills and abilities, and
indicate which of the two methods of assessment you preferred.


7

IFP0200 S9 Reflection My 0200 SWOT analysis
This assignment has a deadline as per S9 IFP0400 instructions and consists of 2 parts:
Part 1: Reflection
Criteria:
Length 500 words (+/-10%)
Writing style as learned in Week 8b Reflective Writing classes
Based on:
o Analysis of previous reflections from Blocks 1 and 2, Blocks 3 and 4 and Blocks 5 and 6
o Personal SWOT analysis from Week 8b
You should write a 500-word reflection focusing on your most relevant strength, weakness, opportunity and threat (see Week 8b for
details) regarding your development as a researcher and presenter. It is essential that your reflection should follow the reflective
writing approach learned in Week 8a. It should be clear to the reader that in each case you have:
Analysed each element
Reflected on it
Worked out a strategy for it in the future
Attending classes in Weeks 8a and 8b will prepare you to write this effectively.
This reflection will count as 25% of your final grade for S9, which is part of the IFP0400 assessment.
Part 2: Evidence of community service
Criteria:
4 hours community service in a non-profit making capacity (ie do not work for a profit-making company, even if you are not
paid this is not community service; this is slave labour!)
Evidence of completion (email/certificate)
8

Evidence appended to reflection
Non-submission of evidence means the reflection will not be marked and a 0% grade will be awarded.
Please note:
If a certificate or email is not available you may use photos showing clearly where you are conducting the service (name of
organization must be in the photo) and you must be conducting the activity. You should caption these photos. If there is any doubt in
the mind of the assessor regarding the validity of your photos, they will be rejected so you are advised to get a certificate or
email.
If you have any questions about Part 2, please consult your module coordinator.
Part 3: Your listening assessment mark
After your reflection, add you listening mark.
Please note:
If you scored 9 or less it is compulsory to reflect on this as part of your 500-word reflection. You should indicate what you have done
since the test to practice your listening skills.


9


IFP 400 Developing Independent Learning
The PDP entry for IFP400 consists of following tasks:
a) You had done two self evaluation exercises for determining your level of independent learning skills in the first block of IFP
400. Do one of these two tests again and record the difference in the score you obtained in the beginning of IFP program and
the score you obtained now. Analyse if there was an improvement in your score or not. Identify the areas you have improved
and the areas you have not been able to improve. You have taken two numeracy tests in this module, one in the beginning and
one towards the end of program. Compare your score in these two tests and identify the areas you have improved and the areas
you have not improved in.
b) In the light of your findings in section a, think about the topics covered in IFP 400 and write a reflective entry on how these
topics have helped develop your independent learning skills (take a reference of the skills tested in the independent skills tests
and the Numeracy tests) and what is your future action plan to continue improving these skills.
Remember! You need to write about specific skills you learnt/improved in IFP 400 module and how these skills have helped
you become a better independent learner. Writing generic content will not lead you to securing good grades.
Word Limit: Approximately 500 (Part a 100 words, Part B 400 words), 10% buffer is permitted.

10

IFP 500 Integrated Subject Projects
Over the course of the academic year, you have been introduced to different undergraduate topics as part of the Integrated Subjects
module. Some of the major themes of each subject were outlined in lectures and seminars. On several occasions throughout the IFP
year, you were asked to draw upon material covered in this module to complete tasks in another. One aim of IFP is to aid you in using
information and skills across modules. This PDP activity asks you to consider how the information you have gained in IFP 500 might
affect your choices in undergraduate study.
Write a 500 word reflection on how the IFP 500 lectures fit into your IFP year and on the benefits you have gained from them.
Answer the following questions in your reflection:
Which of the topics do you feel relates best to your future academic career? Why?
Did any of the lectures change (increase/decrease) your desire to study a certain subject after IFP?
Include examples of material that you found interesting/challenging/surprising in your reflection.
This PDP entry should be written in paragraph form and in the first person.


11

IFP Learning Diary PDP marking Sheet - IFP0400 (S9)

Learning Outcomes:
Demonstrate awareness of criteria for employability and Personal Development Planning.
Student Name: Student No:

Note for marker:
For each module there are a number of reflective tasks mark the top item presented in full and then mark for completeness/ quality.
Use this grid to help assess the development of reflection and identification of areas for improvement.

Criteria Below pass level
(0 39%)
20 point scale ( 17-19)
Pass level
(40 59%)
20 point scale (9-16)
Merit Level
(60 69%)
20 point scale (5-8)
Distinction level
(70 100%)
20 point scale (1-4)
IFP0100 Completion of task
and demonstration of reflection -
Evidence of reflective skills
development
Mostly Irrelevant /missing
or incomplete entry
Mostly descriptive
No evidence of
development

Partly relevant/partly complete
Some evidence of reflection in
some tasks
Some evidence of
development
Mostly relevant/Mostly complete
Evidence of reflection in most
tasks
Clear evidence of development
throughout tasks

Completely relevant/excellent
attempt to complete the task
Evidence of reflection in all tasks
Clear evidence of development
throughout tasks
IFP0100 - Identification of areas
for improvement
No real identification Limited ideas for improvement Well considered ideas for areas of
improvement
An excellent use of reflection to
identify areas for improvement
Apply effective strategies for independent learning.
Record, reflect and evaluate their learning development in a portfolio.
12

IFP0200 - Tasks undertaken and
demonstration of reflection -
Evidence of reflective skills
development
Mostly Irrelevant /missing
or incomplete entry
Mostly descriptive
No evidence of
development

Partly relevant/partly complete
Some evidence of reflection in
some tasks
Some evidence of
development
Mostly relevant/Mostly complete
Evidence of reflection in most
tasks
Clear evidence of development
throughout tasks

Completely relevant/excellent
attempt to complete the task
Evidence of reflection in all tasks
Clear evidence of development
throughout tasks
IFP0200 - Identification of areas
for improvement
No real identification Limited ideas for improvement Well considered ideas for areas of
improvement
An excellent use of reflection to
identify areas for improvement
IFP0400 - Tasks undertaken and
demonstration of reflection -
Evidence of reflective skills
development
Mostly Irrelevant /missing
or incomplete entry
Mostly descriptive
No evidence of
development

Partly relevant/partly complete
Some evidence of reflection in
some tasks
Some evidence of
development
Mostly relevant/Mostly complete
Evidence of reflection in most
tasks
Clear evidence of development
throughout tasks

Completely relevant/excellent
attempt to complete the task
Evidence of reflection in all tasks
Clear evidence of development
throughout tasks