Personal Learning Planning

Learners need to be enabled to become actively involved in their learning – not simply at the surface level in activity, but by developing an understanding at a deeper level. The process of this involvement is Personal Learning Planning. This is not the recording of plans nor the over emphasis on paperwork. It is the process or dialogue between teachers, pupils and parents. PLP engages teachers and learners in deepening their understanding of the learning process and recognising how conditions may promote or obstruct effective learning. 

The PLP process should engage pupils in learning as the key elements of the learning process begin to feature in conversations and pupils begin to generate more questions about their learning. The PLP process should also focus on improvement rather than correction and the development of skills in self-evaluation. As learners begin to recognise and enjoy personal learning successes motivation increases and this leads to greater learner responsibility and raised achievement.

Formative assessment principles and processes lie at the heart of Personal Learning Planning and many of the benefits come from this grounding.  (See Formative Assessment Toolkit Paper)

• The purpose of formative assessment is to promote learning and PLP enhances this.
• Useful and timely feedback supports the definition of next steps and forms part of PLP process
• Learners develop independent and penetrating self-evaluation skills and PLP is central to this

This paper focuses on some of the key issues in the PLP process and provides some guidance in these early stages of development. It also includes some practical advice for aspects of personal learning planning.

An effective school should demonstrate that Personal Learning Planning is incorporated into the teaching and learning process

Formative assessment involves teachers finding out where learners are in their learning, and then feeding back to them about the best ways to improve, and learners understanding where they are going, and then monitoring, possibly with the help of others, their progress towards their goals.

Personal Learning Planning involves pupils in their own assessment so that they can reflect on where they are in their own learning, understand where they need to go next and work out what steps to take to get there. For this to be effective, pupils need to become both thoughtful and active learners. They must, in the end, take responsibility for their own learning; the teacher’s role is to help them towards this goal.

Key Elements of Personal Learning Plans

Personal Learning Planning should :-

• be underpinned by formative assessment strategies
• be embedded in the learning process
• promote continuity of learning at key transition stages
• encourage pupils to reflect on their progress  in order to learn more effectively
• develop the conversation between teacher, pupil and parent in specifying learning aims and ensuring the quality of next steps
• focus on individualised aims for pupils, relating to particular strengths and development needs

The PLP process engages pupils in dialogue with their teachers/parents. Although record keeping is not central to this process there are opportunities where existing formats can be used e.g.

• comments in jotters
• pupils keeping folios,
• pupils keeping self-assessment records
• notes on personal learning styles

Reflection and discussion

How can personal learning planning be incorporated in an effective and manageable fashion? Which aspects of the school’s perspective and situation would have to be considered?

Are there any aspects that you would consider implementing in your school/classroom?

Some activities for development to implement personal learning planning in the classroom