Welcome

Those of you who have just started the Part-time Foundation Degree, welcome to the blog. The information for Semester 1 is all on here and most of Semester 2 (although you will need Moodle access to get all of the information). I do check this fairly regularly so please comment on here or email me (k.hazlewood@lct.ac.uk) if you need any questions answered etc.

You need to work through the tasks sequentially. Just start at the bottom of the blog and work through the entries. You should also set up a blog of your own to reflect on your experiences at work and on the course - blogger is very easy to use so I'd recommend using this.

Thanks
Kerry

Final Deadlines

Dear all,

The end is in sight! We're finally coming to the end of PPD 1 and 2. Hopefully, you've all had a chance to read through the material for PPD2 and realised that it doesn't require that much work. The Development Plan, with the exception of the target setting bit, is really just to ensure that your portfolio is well organised. If you complete the bits and pieces and submit them, either through your blog or in hard copy, I can structure your portfolio for you. Also, if you've begun the short report and want me to proof-read, offer some guidance etc. then I'll be happy to do that. I'll put an example assignment up on Moodle for you to see what kind of thing is expected.

The final deadline for the module will be week commencing May 7th. I've set this slightly early as it will allow me to get feedback to you, chase up any work that is missing and give you some time to make amendments if needs be. I want to ensure that you get the best grade you possibly can so please try to meet this deadline.

As ever, email me or contact me via Moodle if you've got any problems and I'll see what I can do.

Ta
Kerry

Semester 2

Dear all,

Thanks to those of you who managed to get the work from semester 1 submitted and out of the way. There are still a few of you who need to get this done. If you’re struggling with it, please email me (kerry_h@btinternet.com) and I’ll either arrange to see you individually or email you some guidance etc. if you can’t get here. Don’t panic too much about the presentation if you are yet to do this – it can wait until the end of semester 2.

Semester 2 work is now posted. This is not too complicated and, as before, consists of three separate parts. The requirement for each of the parts is as follows:

1a – The Development Plan

This is a means for you to gather information and demonstrate the ways in which you are managing you own learning. It asks you to create short and long term targets (as you did in semester 1) and to monitor your progress against these. Many of the sections of the Development Plan are actually just dividers to support the building of your portfolio e.g. Section 2 - Careers task (this is task 2 on the assignment brief) or Section 3 – Work Based Problem Solving (this is task 3 on the assignment brief) and by completing the work from the assignment brief you’ll have generated most of the evidence for your Development Plan.

The main thing you have to do is to set the targets and to monitor them. You will also need to attach a copy of your CV and to complete a Progress Review towards the end of the year

1b – Reflective Journal

You need to keep your reflective journal going. On the plus side, you should be able to use this for your Work Based Learning unit too so it should save you work in the long run. Also, it does you good to think about the positives and negatives of your job and helps you to evaluate your career progression

2 – The Careers Assignment

This task requires you to carry out some research into careers in the computing area. It is the first formal essay you’ve been asked to produce and you need to make sure that you abide by academic writing conventions. The assignment should be between 800-1000 words and should incorporate graphs / images as appropriate.

In the Study and Research Skills booklet (in the Semester 2 file), you need to look at pages 10 – 13 for guidance on Harvard Referencing and maintaining a Bibliography.

3 - Scenarios

As part of your ongoing reflections, you are asked to identify three specific situations that required you to use your interpersonal skills and to demonstrate how effectively you are able to communicate in the work place.

The three situations you need to explore are:

· Interaction with a client in which you needed to resolve potential conflict
· Interaction with one of your colleagues in which you needed to negotiate a solution to a work-based issue
· Interaction with your line manager in which you needed to be assertive

For each scenario, you need to describe what happened, explore the interpersonal skills you used and evaluate the outcome – consider particularly how things could have been done differently. Do bear in mind that this isn’t just about situations you didn’t feel you handled as well as you could. It is also an opportunity for you to show how you experience and skills allow you to succeed in work.

If you are not currently working, then focus on college situations.

I suggest that you spend the next week or two reading through these tasks and undertaking some research for Task 2. It is also a good idea to establish what your targets are for the up coming semester and beyond. You should record these in your own blogs – make sure I have the links so I can comment on these.

Thanks
Kerry

General Information and Deadlines

Dear all,

This is just a quick update on the work you need to be completing and where you’ll find it. As you are aware, I have inputted all of the work for the semester on this blog. If you work through the tasks below and prepare for you presentation, you'll have completed the unit. If you’ve finally received information from PebblePad then you may like to use this as the tool to record your responses and your reflections.

Given that not all of you have responded to the blog (and in response to Andy’s request below) I’ve distributed a hard copy of the assignment. The blog is much more explicit in guiding you through what needs to be done and I would recommend that this is what you refer to to support your work.

The final deadline for completion of the reflections and the portfolio responses is January 19th 2007 with presentations taking place on January 8th and January 15th (These dates are negotiable but you must deliver a presentation before January 19th). There is not a vast amount of work to be done. As long as you work through the tasks online and compile some reflections on your work / college experiences you can easily complete the PPD unit to a good standard. The presentation is very straight forward. It merely asks you to comment on your targets and how you’ve achieved them. It just serves to round off the semester and look to the next one. The guidance in the assignment takes you clearly through each stage of what's expected and the mark sheet for the presnetation is attached to the hard copy

Please email me if you have any concerns and I’ll get back to you. Don’t panic – there isn’t that much to do.

Thanks
Kerry

k.hazlewood@lct.ac.uk

Equal Opportunities

The life of a college is enriched by the diversity of it's students and staff. In order, to guarantee that diversity is valued and recognised as positive and valuable, Leeds College of Technology has the following Equal Opps statement. This can also be found in your handbook.

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Our Students

Leeds College of Technology positively welcomes people from as many and as varied backgrounds as possible.
The college has students and staff from every ethnic community in the region. We have students who are wheel-chair users or who have other disabilities.
We have students who are married; who are single parents; who are gay; who are bisexual. Our students' ages range from 16 to 70.
So college gives you the opportunity to get to know a whole range of people who you may not have a chance to meet in your everyday life. We hope you make the most of it. We know that it will make your education richer and more exciting.

Our Equal Opportunities Commitment

The college's services will be equally given to all whatever their race, religion, gender, class, marital status, sexual orientation, age or disability.
This means that:
- you will receive equal treatment with everyone else. At the same time, as far as possible
- you will not be indirectly discriminated against because your personal circumstances do not allow you to fit in with the general rules
(Some examples of what this means : The college will avoid setting examinations during important religious festivals; The college will take into account childcare commitments when arranging timetables.)
- all reasonable steps will be taken to make sure that a physical disability does not stop you from taking a course
- you will not suffer from discrimination or harassment when at college (for details of the college's Harassment policy, look under the heading ‘Harassment’)
- classroom materials (handouts, books used) will be unbiased
- you will be assessed fairly and your special needs will be taken into account (e.g. if you are dyslexic, you can ask for extra time for your examinations)

What do you need to do if you think that you have been unfairly treated?

In the first instance, talk to your course tutor. His or her job is to help you sort out these problems. If you have tried this and are still not satisfied or if you do not wish to talk to your course tutor, then
- At the city centre site ,speak to Vivian Lister in room C23 ( tel. 2976474)
- At South Leeds , speak to Anne Reed .( Tel. 2979430)
- At East Bank , speak to Bill Lynch (Tel. 2977290 )

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This provides a snapshot of the Equal Opps work the college does - clearly, it's far more wide ranging than this short statement illustrates.

Your place of employment must also have an Equal Opps policy and statement - it's the law.

Get hold of a copy of your Equal Opps policy and add it to your portfolio. Note down anything that surprises you by being included or being missed out. Consider also the additional work and staff training your organisation carries out to ensure that equal opps procedures are followed.

You can post your comments below if you wish.

Thanks
Kerry

Communication in the Workplace

Communication is important because it is about how information is sent and received within an organisation. The way information is communicated is often governed by how organisations are structured.

Equally, management styles have a profound effect on the way in which you work and the opportunities afforded to you.

Management Styles:

Democratic / Laissez Faire

• Individuals and teams are given responsibility to make decisions.
• Manager requires regular feedback on results
• S/He must trust implicitly the judgement of employees
• Found in Flat organisations and indicates high level of democracy

Autocratic Management

• Culture is determined by hierarchical status and the ‘role’ an individual occupies
• Tall organisations often suffer from a power culture where the heads of the hierarchy dictate to those lower down the rankings
• Authoritarian with limited flexibility

Business Structures

Entrepreneurial

• Decisions made centrally
• Lack of traditional hierarchy
• Flat
• Democratic

Pyramid

• Staff have a role
• Some shared decision making
• Specialisation and Progression is possible
• Hierarchical
• Tall
• Autocratic

In a pyramid environmemt, Management make the decisions and pass these down through middle management to the teams at the bottom.

Channels of Communication

• Communication in organisations follows paths or channels
• Communication between managers and workers is known as vertical communication
• This is because the information flows up or down the hierarchy

In the light of this very brief summary of how businesses are structured, consider the environment you work in. What sort of structure does your company have and how is it managed? How is information communicated to you? How do you feedback to management?

Create an organisation chart showing the structure and use arrows to indicate how communication occurs. I'll provide an example for you based on the structure here. It's too big to post on here though - sorry.

Thanks

Kerry

Job Descriptions

The PPD module is designed to try to encourage you to draw together your work life and your study life. As part of your portfolio, you need to include a copy of the job description that your place of work maintains for you. You should then add to this an evaluation indicating the tasks you take on that are above and beyond your identified responsibilities and what you understand to be the 5 key responsibilities you have.

Thanks
Kerry

Time Management

The key to successful achievement on the Foundation Degree is effective time-management. There are many ways in which you can manage you time. It certainly isn't the case that one size fits all and you'll have to work out for yourself how you can make time management work for you.

There are 3 main questions to ask yourself:

How can I balance conflicting priorities?
How can I deal with surprises in time scheduling?
What level of commitments can I handle?

Setting effective SMART targets will support you but you'll need to work out methods of managing your time too.

Consider some of these tips:

• A time log to find out how you spend your time. Write down every task, including eating, sleeping, leisure time, etc, and the amount of time it took. Then analyse how you spend your time and where you could have made your time usage more efficient
• Make a list of everything you have to do in a week and the amount of time that you need to accomplish this, include everything (sleeping, eating, studying, working, relax time, movies, class, exercise, going out with friends, travel time, etc.) Then total the amount of time for these activities.A week only has 168 hours in it (7 days X 24 hours).Most individuals will find that they are committed to more hours of week than there are actual hours.This requires the individual to prioritise the activities in their life.
• Make a “to-do list” everyday, and make it a goal to accomplish everything on your list
• Use a daily/weekly planner to keep track of what you need to accomplish.
• Use a long-term calendar to record test dates, important due dates, things that you need to plan ahead for.

Managing your time will give you more free-time - if that doesn't motivate you, then nothing will :)

Time Management Ideas:

• Many effective schedulers take 5-10 minutes, either in the morning or before they go to bed, to plan their day
• Allow larger blocks of time for grasping new and/or difficult concepts.
• Keep up with your schedule daily.Letting you get behind allows work to build up and it may take longer periods of time to get the work done if this happens
• Concentrate on learning material the first time around.Then work on reviewing and refreshing material.This will allow you to determine where you need to do more studying instead of reviewing material you are already strong in
• Avoid marathon study sessions.Most individuals’ attention spans range from 20-50 minutes in length depending on the subject matter.Be willing to take short breaks in order to refresh your attention span and recognize your own attention span.
• Use waiting time effectively! Many times you can accomplish a great deal of work in the short bits of time you have before or after class, while you wait for appointments, etc. This is valuable study time that allows you to distribute information over time
• Divide and conquer. Divide large projects into manageable sections and prepare a schedule for each section - you could even approach work as part of a team, sharing responsibility between you

Now investigate different methods of time management and choose one that works for you.

Write a short evaluation / summary of the different systems people employ to manage their time and why you've chosen the one you've chosen (You could even design it yourself)

Use your plan for a week or two and write a second comment on how effective it has proven to be.

Thanks

Kerry

Reflective Practice

It goes without saying that we learn from our mistakes. When something goes wrong in our work or personal life we endeavour to take steps to avoid it happening again. These steps are often subconcious and the better we get at reflecting on our successes and failures, the less formalised the process becomes.

As part of the PPD Module, you are required to record your reflections on your experiences in work and how aspects of the Foundation Degree are changing and effecting the type of practitoner you are.

You need to:

· Discuss your experiences at work, relating these to your study at college
· Identify areas for continuing professional development
· Explore recent innovations in Computing
· Discuss any issues that are of interest to you

There are all manners of ways that you can do this - a blog is certainly a very effective tool in facilitating this. As I've said, we should be using the PebblePad system and once the logins make there way to you, I'd certainly recommend using it. For the time being, it maybe that you open an account here. It's free and easy to use (it must be if I'm managing it) and will enable you to start gathering your thoughts.

If you're stuck for ideas or aren't currently working, then concentrate on the 'recent innovations in computing' section - look for articles in newspapers and write summaries of these highlighting what opportunities may open up to you in the future because of these innovations.

I've provided a short reflective extract provided by a student I taught on a teacher training programme. Hopefully, this reveals the sort of information required:

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23 / 09 / 04

GCSE groups finally sorted out and up and running. Managed to get to the room 15 minutes before start, which was lucky because there weren’t enough chairs for such a large group. Seems trivial but it was the first session they’d had where the whole group could be accommodated. It set the tone for the session and ensured that we got off to a good start. Also, used an Ice-Breaker to learn names – students commented on this and said that it made them feel valued as people.
Although not necessarily a spectacular lesson in terms of content, certainly made me appreciate that I had made appropriate decisions regarding approaching the needs of the learners

Actions

1. Knew that this was a large Access group (hence the need to check that there was space for everyone) but had inadvertently brought too few copies of the handbook. Managed to get around this by writing the key points on the board and discussing them but shouldn’t have had to

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The key to reflective practice is little and often - don't feel that you always have to write huge weighty responses. You should aim to put together approximately 10 short reflections. Do remember that it's MUCH easier to get this done if you get into the habit of a writing a short response each week. You should never need to spend more than 15 minutes typing up your thoughts and the actions you'll take as a response.

Do make sure you meet the criteria with your reflections. You need to:

1. Form links between work and study
2. Show how you apply what you learn in college in work and work in college
3. Identify courses you could go on / professional qualifications you could get to progress
4. How computing is changing

If you post these on your own blog (and tell me where it is!) I'll add my own responses / guidance to your comments.

Thanks

Kerry

Target Setting Continued

Having completed the previous task, you have started the process of identifying the personality traits you admire in others and aspire to yourself, whilst simultaneously identifying your career goals.

Career goals are clearly much more long term - you have a variety of hoops to jump through before you get there and by the time you've got there, you've set your sights higher still.

As part of the PPD module, you'l need to look at more short term targets. These will support you through the Degree but will also feed directly into your final presentation in January.

Using the SMART target criteria outlined below, set yourself 5 targets for this year. These can be generic targets (e.g. related to time management or motivation) or could be more specific academic targets (e.g. related to specific aspects of specific modules). Record your responses for your portfolio or post them here if you wish.

SMART targets are definied as:

Specific
Measurable
Achieveable
Realistic
Time-related

The time-related aspect is vital as it enables you to track your progress and thus, keeps you motivated.

A common mistake made by students is to confuse GOALS with targets

• A GOAL is an end point and a statement of ambition
• TARGETS are quantifiable things to be done on the way to achieving the goal, will be on a much shorter time scale & are usually sequential

Look at the following targets set by students - which are SMART and which aren't?

1) To work harder
2) To pass my course
3) To learn the theory for the driving test exam in four weeks
4) To hand in all my work on time for the next six weeks
5) To improve my behaviour
6) To learn how to use spreadsheets by the end of June
7) To improve my time management
8) To do a revision schedule for my mocks by the end of this week
9) To improve my key skills
10) To turn up on time for all my lessons this half term
11) To do more revision
12) To get a part time job

Having read through the information above, set yourself 5 SMART targets for Semester 1.

Thanks

Kerry

Target Setting

In order to develop a clear sense of what you're aiming for on the course and beyond, you need to get into the habit of setting short and long term targets. As an introduction to this, complete the following task:

• Identify your ideal (but realistic) job goal and list the 5 steps (or more if necessary) you would need to take to get there. These steps should include training, qualifications and experience
• Identify your role model – a person you aspire to be like based on their achievements, their success, their personality, something they’ve contributed to the world as a whole etc. They need not be connected to computing. They could be from any field and you are of course, free to include members of your family, friends, partners etc. Explain why they inspire you and exactly what it is about them you aspire to be like.

Write down you ideas and retain them for your portfolio.

Alternatively, if you wish others to read your thoughts, post them in response to this post.

Thanks

Kerry

Learning Styles

In order to manage your learning effectively, you need to identify the ways in which you learn. You've already begun to do this in completing the Self-Evaluation pack and seeing where you are aligned on the Belbin Index. You now need to take this a stage further by investigating other methods of assessing learning styles.

The most famous of these is Honey and Mumford's learning styles questionnaire. Information on this is readily available online BUT to take the test can cost upwards of £10! We have a licence to administer the test in college and have some paper copies - I'll hand these out to you - but do recommend that you investigate what Honey and Mumford were doing before taking the test.

Other methods of identifying the way in which you work best can be found on www.vark-learn.com These tests are very quick and easy but all help to formulate an overall impression of you as a learner.

Write a short evaluation of what you found out through doing this - do you agree or disagree with what these tests tell you? How can you use what you have learnt from these results to change the way you work and maximise you potential?

Why not post some of your ideas here?

Thanks
Kerry

The Assignment

The asignment is typed below. The grade criteria has not been attached yet - but don't panic - you'll definitely get that before you submit all of your work and you'll get feedback on each chunk you send to me that will give you an indication of the level you're performing at. Provided you do all the bits that are asked for, it's very easy to get a decent mark here.

Assignment Reference : Personal and Professional Development 1

Assignment Title : Identifying opportunities for Personal and Professional Development

Tutor : Kerry Hazlewood

Student Name :

Date Issued : October 2006

Submission Date : January 2007

Learning Outcomes

To achieve this unit a learner must:

• Adopt different approaches to learning and the resolution of problems
  
• Recognise and use techniques and methods of practice common to organisations in the computing sector
  
• Develop a range of methods to communicate effectively orally, by demonstration and in writing in a clear and effective manner on limited and well-defined topics
  
• Demonstrate an ability to select an appropriate range of skills and employ those skills in a particular context
  
• Demonstrate the need to be self-critical and reflective in extracting learning, knowledge and skills from the experience in the computing sector

This Assignment Booklet is to be used by you and your tutor to record your progress.
Do not lose this and ensure you hand it in with any completed work.

Assessed by

Date

Assignment Specification Internally Verified By

Name

Assignment Submission
Assignments should be handed in on the above submission date. If the deadline is not met, a deduction of 5% of the total mark will be applied for each day the work is late (excluding weekends). Should 5 days pass without submission a grade of zero will be recorded. Interim guidance may be obtained prior to submission. Where mitigating circumstances apply, the student must state these in writing with appropriate evidence.
Presentation of Assignment
Use transparent-fronted folders and ensure that this assignment booklet is included at the front. Ensure that it includes your name and Leeds College of Technology ID number.
All sections must be firmly attached within the folder and should include a contents page. All pages should be numbered.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is taken very seriously. Any work found to have been plagiarised from another student, manual, textbook, internet, intranet or any other source will be handed back to the student for resubmission. If there is a repeat occurrence, the work will be zero marked.
Assessment Information
The Personal and Professional Development assignment is in three parts. All three parts must be achieved to successfully this unit.
Interim deadlines for each section may be set.
No grade can be awarded if no evidence is submitted due to work being lost or damaged.

Task 1

Portfolio

You will need to develop a portfolio containing the following:

· Evidence that diagnostic tests have been undertaken and a response to these
· An indication that you have identified your learning style and analysed the significance of this, including the characteristics of other learning styles you wish to develop
· Identification of your strengths / weaknesses and areas for development
· Identification of the way you study and how this can be developed
· Evidence of problem solving techniques
· Evidence of target setting and action planning and the steps that will be taken to achieve these
· Evaluation of progress against the action plan
· An exploration of methods of practice common to the computing sector, including specific case studies

This will consist of the exercises and tasks you undertake throughout the course and will be supplemented with your own research and reflection.

Criteria Covered: Learning outcomes 1, 2 and 3

Task 1 Deadline:

Tutor feedback

Tutor Signature: Date:


Task 2

Reflective Journal

You will need to maintain a reflective journal throughout the course. In this, you will be expected to:

· Discuss your experiences at work, relating these to your study at college
· Identify areas for continuing professional development
· Explore recent innovations in Computing
· Discuss any issues that are of interest to you

You will present this information in an appropriate format to this level of study. However, we encourage you to use the PebblePad, e-portfolio tool. Please refer to the PebblePad handbook

Criteria Covered: Learning outcomes 1, 2 and 5

Task 2 Deadline:

Tutor feedback

Tutor Signature: Date:

Task 3

Presentation

This will be an individual presentation. Your audience will consist of your tutor and peers.

Within your presentation you should:

· Draw together the information you have gathered for your portfolio and your PebblePad reflections on your working practices
· Demonstrate your progress against your action plan

Below is a more detailed plan outlining the specific sections the presentation must contain.

Section 1 - Introduction

§ Introduce yourself
§ Explain your reasons for opting for the Foundation Degree

Section 2 – Your career

§ Explain what your future career goals are and the time limit you have set yourself to achieve them
§ Explore specific training, qualifications etc. you will need to undertake to achieve your goals and how you will access this

Section 3 – Your targets

§ List the specific study targets you set for yourself at the start of the year
§ Assess how well you have met those targets and what exactly you did to facilitate this
§ Explain some strategies for time management and the ways in which you plan and manage your time to ensure you achieve in your units
§ List each of your units and what you have gained from them in terms of technical and non-technical skills - Refer to the diagnostic tests and your skills audits
§ Comment on how these skills will support you in your future career

Section 4 – The ways we learn

§ Comment on the different ways in which people learn and can take ownership of their own learning e.g. Visual / Auditory / Kinaesthetic learning styles, the Belbin index and anything else you have learnt about through your research
§ Make reference to Honey and Mumford – more specifically how a knowledge of the ways we learn can improve our ability to achieve in college and beyond
§ Comment on the type of learner you are and how this can support you

Section 5 – Assessment of Progress

· Provide a thorough analysis of your progress against the action plan you established
· Make explicit the targets you will set for yourself for the coming semester

Criteria Covered: Learning outcomes 3, 4 and 5

Task 3 Deadline:

Tutor feedback

Tutor Signature: Date:

Thanks

Kerry

Diagnostic Tests / Self Evaluation Pack

You should all have had the details about the diagnostic tests and the evaluation pack you need to complete. I mailed the latter out and gave some paper copies to those of you who requested them. Just incase you haven't had these, you can find the diagnostic tests here:

www.lct.ac.uk/bksb

Having taken both the numeracy and communication tests, you also need to write a brief evaluation of the results explaining what they've revealed to you and what you need to do to address any of the issues they have raised.

The self evaluation pack is too awkward to be pasted below - email me and request a paper copy if you still need one kerry_h@btinternet.com

The PPD Module

Hello Gang,

Having spent time emailing work to you and (inevitably) getting email addresses wrong, I figured I'd embrace modern culture and use a blog as a means to get stuff to you. Pebblepad still seems to be a little slow in coming forward and I suspect that nobody has yet received their login details - please let me know if you have - so thought I'd resort to plan b and find my own blog spot.

I'm going to use this to post details of tasks that need to be completed, allowing you to respond immediately and ask questions of me (and each other). This can be accessed from anywhere and should therefore mean that I don't have to interupt you in Dominic's sessions so often. That's not to say that you will be entirely left to your own devices and I will still make a point of dropping in to check how things are going. I hope that this will be useful?

The posts that follow this will each detail a particular aspect of the work that you need to complete, including the assignment. This may be subject to some changes (LMU are still dragging their heels on verifying it) but won't change that drastically and you really need to see what you're aiming for. As I said at the beginning of the course, there are three parts to the PPD module:

• Portfolio of tasks completed and evaluations of these
• Reflective Journal (should be PebblePad based but if they don't send details soon we'll have to all shift onto here)
• Presentation outlining targets set and how well you've achieved against these

The assignment provides more detail on each of these tasks, especially the presentation - but this won't take place until the end of semester 1.

Thanks
Kerry