STUDENT GUIDE

STUDENT GUIDE

PebblePad

- RDF-Training Needs Analysis Workbook - Evidencing the DDP Workbook

- Data Management Plan Worksheet

- ePortfolio

If you require assistance, please contact:

Scharr-pgr@sheffield.ac.uk or CiCS PebblePad Support: https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/apse/digital/pebblepad tel@sheffield.ac.uk

ScHARRv1 February 2019

ScHARR

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SECTION 1 – Logging In

PebblePad is an online application which can be accessed from any PC or Mac with internet access. It can also be accessed via a web browser on tablet PCs and Smartphones. PebblePad is accessed via the University’s portal, MUSE (http:www.shef.ac.uk). Login to MUSE via the link at the top left hand of the University of Sheffield web page, using your username and password:

Once logged into MUSE choose ‘My Services’ from the top menu and then ‘View all services’. A link to PebblePad can be found under ‘P’ on the service A-Z.

Once you have successfully logged into PebblePad you will be presented with the main screen below:

You can also log into PebblePad directly via URL: http://www.pebblepad.co.uk/sheffield

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Section 2 – The Researcher Development Framework-Training Needs Analysis (RDF-TNA) Workbook and 1st Year Development Plan

The Framework for higher education qualifications in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (2008, p23-25) states that students graduating with a doctoral degree should also possess ‘the qualities and transferable skills necessary for employment requiring the exercise of personal responsibility and largely autonomous initiative in complex and unpredictable situations, in professional or equivalent environments’. To ensure our students meet this expectation the University of Sheffield has created the Doctoral Development Programme (DDP). As part of this, the Researcher Development Framework-Training Needs Analysis (RDF-TNA) helps you assess, plan and reflect on your skills and development activities throughout your programme of study. It allows you to record and track your progress against nationally agreed skills and attributes. It is based upon the Vitae Researcher Development Framework (http://www.vitae.ac.uk) and identifies the knowledge, behaviour and attributes of successful researchers, helping them to maximise their potential by developing these attributes throughout their career. Together with your supervisor, you will undertake an initial assessment of your current skills at the start of your programme and agree on the training and development activities you are to undertake in your first year. Thereafter, the RDF-TNA can be updated at any time, evidencing any developmental and training activities you undertake throughout your programme.

How to access your RDF-TNA in PebblePad The RDF-TNA Workbook can be accessed via ‘Custom Resources’ in the ‘Work On…’ panel on the PebblePad homepage:

Go to ‘Workbooks’ and select the ‘RDF-TNA’ template.

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You will see the following notification informing you that the template will be automatically submitted to a workspace when saved. Click continue.

First steps with the RDF-TNA Navigate the pages of the RDF-TNA template by clicking on the horizontal menu at the top of the Workbook. You should start by filling in ‘Your Details’ on the first page. Background information on the Researcher Development Framework and the RDF Lenses is also given.

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Lenses on the Vitae Researcher Development Framework (RDF) focus on knowledge, behaviours and attributes that are developed or acquired through, or used in, the broader contexts of being a researcher. Looking at professional development through a lens can help researchers strengthen their academic profile or prepare for transition into a new area of work.

For the Doctoral Development Programme it is suggested that you initially engage with the attributes described under the ‘Getting started in research’ and ‘Employability’ lenses. In each lens page you will find links to specific attributes in the RDF-TNA which you will need to assess yourself against. To guide the assessment of your capabilities, each attribute has detailed descriptors of the qualities expected of an individual for each of the 5 career phases that might be associated with that particular professional attribute.

Let’s take a look at an example. A1.1 – Subject Knowledge is an attribute that is core to both the ‘getting started in research’ and ‘employability’ lenses. After reading the phase descriptors you should select the phase which best reflects your current capabilities in this attribute.

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You will be asked to provide evidence for your choice. This might be a simple text statement. Alternatively, by clicking on the red rosette icon below every attribute in the RDF-TNA, you can attach/upload additional evidence to support your assessment:

Completing the initial RDF-TNA assessment might take you some time and it is not expected that you do this in a single session. You can save your progress at any time by clicking on the save button in the top left hand corner of the workbook.

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Recording your 1st Year Development Action Plan Once your TNA is complete, you are required to summarise all the development activities that you plan to undertake in the first year using the Doctoral Development Action Plan form which is on the final tab of the RDF-TNA:

These activities will be largely influenced by your self-assessment of current skills given in the ‘Getting Started in Research’ and ‘Employability’ lenses of the RDF-TNA, together with discussion with your supervisor.

Using the RDF-TNA throughout your programme The RDF-TNA is a ‘living’ document that you should update regularly to evidence the development training you undertake and how this enhances your capability profile for the relevant attributes. In particular, you will need to refresh it at the start of each year of your programme to decide on your ongoing training and development requirements. Your progression history for any given attribute is recorded in the RDF-TNA for you to review at any time. Below we can see where a student has changed the phase for one of their RDF attributes, and has also provided justification for the change:

Note: Action plans for subsequent years of your programme are found within the ‘Evidencing the DDP’ workbook in the ‘Confirmation Review’ and ‘Thesis Plan and Submission Review’ sections (see section 3 of this guide).

To avoid duplication, the system will allow you to create and use only one copy of the RDF-TNA Workbook. Once created and saved it will be accessible via your ‘Asset’ Store:

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You will need to access the template from here in future. Remember to save each time you update the workbook. This will also update the workbook in the shared workspace where it is accessible by your supervisors. Note: The auto-submit/save function means that you do not have to manually share the RDF-TNA workbook with your supervisors. Every time you update the workbook and hit save, your supervisors will be able to see the updated version in the shared workspace. You simply need to notify your supervisors by e-mail when you have updated something and wish them to review it. Supervisors are issued with their own PebblePad guide explaining how to access their students’ submissions in the shared workspace.

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Section 3 – The Evidencing the DDP Workbook

How to access your Evidencing the DDP Workbook in PebblePad The Evidencing the DDP Workbook can be accessed via ‘Custom Resources’ in the ‘Work On…’ panel on the PebblePad homepage:

Go to ‘Workbooks’ and select the ‘Evidencing the DDP’ workbook.

You will see the following notification informing you that the template will be automatically submitted to a workspace when saved. Click continue.

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To avoid duplication, the system will allow you to create and use only one copy of the Evidencing the DDP Workbook. Once created and saved it will be accessible via your ‘Asset’ Store:

You will need to access the template from here in future. Remember to save each time you update the workbook. This will also update the workbook in the shared workspace where it is accessible by your supervisors. Note: The auto-submit/save function means that you do not have to manually share the Evidencing the DDP workbook with your supervisors. Every time you update the workbook and hit save, your supervisors will be able to see the updated version in the shared workspace. You simply need to notify your supervisors by e-mail when you have updated something and wish them to review it. Supervisors are issued with their own PebblePad guide explaining how to access their students’ submissions in the shared workspace.

Using the Evidencing the DDP Workbook At different stages during your research degree programme, you will be prompted to submit formal evidence of your engagement with the Doctoral Development Programme:

at the point of confirmation review;

at the time of submission review when you will also be asked to develop a plan for your thesis;

at submission of your thesis.

The Evidencing the DDP workbook has been designed to support you with this process, and allows you to accumulate evidence of your personal and professional development over the course of your research programme which will be reviewed at each of the three stages. You should note that failure to submit the Evidencing the DDP workbook at the time of submission of your final thesis could result in your award being withheld. The Evidencing the DDP workbook consists of the following three sections, seen as tabs across the top of the workbook:

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ePortfolio Summary and CV Builder This section summarises the information that you should be gathering in your ePortfolio (the ePortfolio is discussed below in Section 5 of this guide). It is a way of quickly referencing everything you have done, so that you and your supervisory team can see your activities at a glance.

Confirmation Review for PhD Candidates This section should be completed by PhD candidates at the time of their Confirmation Review, after undertaking a Training Needs Analysis and prior to submission of their confirmation review mini-thesis. It should be completed in addition to updating the ePortfolio Summary and CV Builder section. In other words, at the Confirmation Review stage:

the first ‘ePortfolio Summary & CV Builder’ section will need to be up to date with a record of DDP activity undertaken thus far, and

the second ‘Confirmation Review’ section needs to be completed with DDP activity planned for the remainder of your programme:

Both worksheets will be formally reviewed by your examiners at the time of your confirmation review. Please note that your doctoral status will not be confirmed until there is a clear and credible development plan in place for the remainder of your research programme. Note: due to the shorter nature of their programme, MD candidates are advised to complete the ‘Thesis plan and Submission Review’ and the ‘ePortfolio Summary and CV Builder’ sections at the time of confirmation review.

Thesis Plan and Submission Review This section should be completed by full-time PhD candidates at the end of year 2, or at the end of year 4 by part-time PhD candidates. Students on programmes funded for four years should complete this worksheet at the end of year 3. MD candidates are advised to complete and submit this section at the time of their confirmation review. The Thesis Plan and Submission Review should be completed after undertaking a Training Needs Analysis. It should be completed in addition to updating the ePortfolio Summary and CV Builder section. In other words, At the Thesis Plan stage:

the first ‘ePortfolio Summary & CV Builder’ section needs to be up to date with a record of

DDP activity undertaken thus far, and

the third ‘Thesis Plan and Submission Review’ section needs to be completed with an

outline of plans for your final thesis/submission/viva, and your proposed DDP activity for

the remainder of your programme.

Final Thesis Submission

At the end of your programme, the first ‘ePortfolio Summary & CV Builder’ section of the Evidencing the DDP workbook needs to have the complete up to date record of your DDP activity undertaken across the duration of the programme. There is a section on this tab where your supervisor can comment and indicate their approval. You will see this message at the bottom of the page:

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This will direct you to a Word form that you and your supervisor should complete and sign

(front page only) and e-mail to the DDP team using the e-mail address on the form.

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Section 4 – The Data Management Plan (DMP) Worksheet

Students who started their research programme during or after the 2018/19 academic year are required to produce a Data Management Plan (DMP) on PebblePad which will be formally reviewed by the departmental and faculty approval officers at the time of their Confirmation Review. Further information about Research Data Management can be found in the ScHARR PGR Handbook: https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/scharr/current/pgresearch/handbook/datamanagement. The DMP PebblePad worksheet can be accessed via ‘Custom Resources’ in the ‘Work On…’ panel on the PebblePad homepage:

Go to ‘Custom templates’ and select the Data Management Plan:

Like the RDF-TNA and Evidencing the DDP workbooks, the DMP worksheet is set to auto-save to the central workspace. Once you have created and saved the DMP worksheet it can be accessed via your Asset store:

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Remember to save each time you update the DMP worksheet. This will also update it in the shared workspace where it is accessible by your supervisors. Note: The auto-submit/save function means that you do not have to manually share the DMP worksheet with your supervisors. Every time you update the worksheet and hit save, your supervisors will be able to see the updated version in the shared workspace. You simply need to notify your supervisors by e-mail when you have updated something and wish them to review it. Supervisors are issued with their own PebblePad guide explaining how to access their students’ submissions in the shared workspace.

Section 5 - Bringing it all together – using PebblePad to create your ePortfolio

The ePortfolio is a record of all the researcher training and development activity that you undertake during the course of your research programme. You should create an ‘asset’ (by using PebblePad’s templates or uploading a relevant document - see below) for each of your researcher activities or achievements. If you use PebblePad from the start of your programme, you will therefore create lots of assets that are evidence of your learning and development. For example you may want to record a log of all the seminars you attend and will therefore create an asset for each seminar. The ePortfolio is a tool that allows you to pull all these assets together, creatively displaying your work and demonstrating how you have progressed and the skills you have developed. It is very much like a website designed to showcase your work, similar to an online CV. It can also include things specifically related to your research that is of interest to your supervisory team, enabling them to monitor your progress more effectively and ensure you’re on the right track.

The assets in your ePortfolio will include:

Your TNA

Research training and DDP activity

Health & safety training

Seminar and conference attendance/participation

Presentations given

Publications

Public engagement activity

Placements/industrial experience

Milestones and monitoring markers such as supervisory meeting reports, confirmation review, thesis plan

Do not insert records of meetings with your personal tutor into your ePortfolio. These are confidential and should not be shown to your supervisor.

Note: By the end of your programme, your ePortfolio will be a large, multifaceted online document consisting of a number of different templates and documents. The ePortfolio Summary and CV Builder tab in the Evidencing the DDP workbook (see Section 3 of this guide) is a summary of the larger ePortfolio.

Creating Assets In PebblePad, documents are known as ‘assets’. All assets are private and secure unless you choose to share them with others or agree to publish them to an assessment workspace e.g. as evidence in your RDF-TNA.

An asset can simply be an existing file or document you upload to PebblePad or an asset you create within PebblePad itself. There are various pre-defined types of asset templates available to you to record activities. Examples are Journal Entry, Structured Reflection, Activity, Experience, Meetings, Ability, Achievement.

You can use the various asset templates, or make your own, to create a log of activities. For example to record a log of all the DDP modules you attend you could use the ‘activity’ resource, or to log an achievement such as a certificate from a course you could use the ‘achievement’ resource.

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Using the pre-defined asset templates. Step 1: On the PebblePad homepage, click on ‘Custom Resources’ in the ‘Work On…’ panel and select the relevant template from the ‘PebblePad templates’ panel.

Step 2: In the first field of the template, give the asset a meaningful and identifiable title, then work down the template completing the fields as appropriate. You need not add details to all the boxes. You can add supporting evidence by clicking on the red rosette and selecting an existing asset or uploading a document. e.g. you might choose to add a seminar programme or a copy of the speaker’s presentation.

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Step 3: Tag the asset. By tagging the asset you are able to easily select similar assets that can then be later grouped to appear in one section of your ePortfolio together. It is a convenient way to organise and group related assets. Click on ‘I want to…’ at the top right of the screen, and select ‘Tag’. You can create your own tags or choose from pre-defined tags that have been provided for you. An asset can have more than one tag but be consistent in the way you tag your assets.

Step 4: Click Save at the top left corner of the template.

Creating your own asset templates From the ‘burger’ menu at the top left of any page, choose ‘Get Creative’ and then ‘Create Template’. This will allow you to create a custom re-usable template of your own design:

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Uploading a file as an asset Step 1: From the PebblePad homepage click ‘Upload a file to PebblePad’ in the ‘Upload new’ panel.:

Step 2: Either drag a file (or several files) from your computer to the box marked ‘Drag a file here’, or click on ‘Or choose a file…’ to navigate your computer:

Step 3: Give the file a name and description (optional), and add any tags you want to help you filter them in the future. Click ‘Confirm upload’.

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Note you can also upload a file by clicking the ‘burger’ menu at the top left of any page, and clicking ‘Upload a file’.

Creating collections Remember that you will have tagged similar assets with the same tag to allow you to easily group them. Groups of assets are called collections. For example you may want to create a collection of all assets you have tagged as ‘Conference Attendance’. Step 1: Click on the ‘burger’ icon in the top left of the screen, click on ‘Get Creative’, and then ‘Create a collection’. Enter a title for your collection e.g. ‘Seminars’. In the short description write a short explanation e.g. ‘A summary of all the seminars I have attended’. Step 2: To begin adding assets to your Collection you first need to either select them manually or set search criteria. Click on the ‘Start Building Your Collection’ button and ‘Add Advanced Criteria’. This allows you to define search criteria using a number of parameters, including tags, to return matching assets from you asset store.

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Note: If you have set your advanced criteria correctly in your collections, each time you create an asset and tag it appropriately it will be automatically included in the respective collection and hence in the ePortfolio.

Creating your ePortfolio Step 1: Click on the ‘burger’ menu at the top left of any page and select ‘Get Creative’, and then ‘Create a Portfolio’.

The screenshot below shows you what the ePortfolio template looks like:

Step 2: In the banner, replace the placeholder text to give your ePortfolio a title (e.g. ‘University of Sheffield ePortfolio for [enter your name]’), and give your ePortfolio a short description. You can change the banner image by clicking ‘Replace image’.

Step 3: Edit the page’s name by clicking the cog icon next to its name (which by default is ‘New Page’) on the tabs at the top of your portfolio. Change the name of this to ‘Home’:

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Add a text box to the page by clicking the blue button labelled ‘Add content’, and selecting ‘Text’.

In the text box you write some text to the effect of the following examples:

“Welcome to my ePortfolio. This ePortfolio highlights my personal and professional development as a PhD student in the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health at the University of Sheffield.”

The title of my thesis is [insert title of thesis] This ePortfolio shows the variety of training and development activities, such as meetings and modules I have engaged in throughout my time at Sheffield.”

To add an image (e.g. an image of yourself), click the blue button labelled ‘Add content’, and select ‘Image’. You can move this alongside your text by clicking and holding it until it shrinks slightly, then dragging it to the desired position.

Step 4: In the top left hand corner click on the save button. (Remember to save each time you edit the ePortfolio in the future). Step 5: Add additional pages to your ePortfolio. You can add additional pages by clicking the ‘+’ tab at the end of the existing tabs at the top of the screen. You get three options:

Add a new page here – creates a brand new page.

Add an existing asset – adds any asset or workbook/worksheet in your asset store

Add an existing portfolio – this adds an existing portfolio, which will appear as a subsection in your horizontal menu.

The option you will most commonly choose will be ‘Add an existing asset’. This will pull up list of all your assets (workbooks, worksheets, collections etc.) from which you can select to build your portfolio.

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Submitting your ePortfolio

After 3 months of starting your ePortfolio, you should share this with your supervisory team and submit to the shared workspace. Your ePortfolio needs to be manually shared to the workspace (i.e. it does not auto-save like the other workbooks/worksheets referred to in this guide).

Step 1: Open your ePortfolio, and click ‘I want to…’ at the top right of the screen. Select ‘Share’, and ‘For Assessment’:

Step 2: Highlight ‘DDP for ScHARR’ in the list of workspaces available to you, and then ‘ePortfolio’:

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Step 3: Check the box to confirm that you have read the ‘Terms of Usage’ and then click on ‘Share for assessment’:

Your work has now been sent to the workspace and you will receive an email receipt. When you update any asset you have submitted to the workspace as part of your ePortfolio, it will automatically update in the workspace. Therefore there is no need for you to share your e-Portfolio more than once. The system will actually prevent you from doing so.

Note: For your ePortfolio you should only share the portfolio not each individual asset

that it contains.