Transitions, inventories and aspirations. New learners and their longer-term learning goals

Abstract

In the UK, Personal Development Planning (PDP) is now an important part of a student’s time at university. Its aim is to help students develop skills that will help them at university and in the workplace. However, research has shown that students do not always engage with this element of the curriculum. The aim of this article is to report on an intervention designed to encourage reflection in this area. For this study work was undertaken with a group of new students making the transition to higher education. This article reports on the rationale for making the intervention and the impact, or otherwise, of introducing this cohort to the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI).

Keywords:

• PDP
• transitions
• learning styles
• careers
• MBTI
• employability

Acknowledgements

Thanks to the Teaching Quality Enhancement Fund (TQEF) at the University of Huddersfield (www.hud.ac.uk/tqef) for funding this research. Thanks also to the anonymous referees for their suggestions and comments.