A Role-Play Learning Activity Using PebblePad for Industry Practitioner Involvement

Use of an ePortfolio application to enhance industry participation in assessment is described in this paper. Students enrolled in a third year counselling and consulting unit complete a one-to-one interview role-play, which they digitally record and upload to PebblePad. Practitioners currently working in a coaching, counselling or consulting role are given access to the students’ recordings and literature review, which they review and post comments on. This case study is an example of institutional policy shaping curriculum design and assessment and shows how technology can facilitate the achievement of desired learning outcomes. It also shows how it is possible to respond to policy imperatives while at the same time developing engaging and challenging learning experiences. The learning activity and associated assessment described in this paper show how students can benefit from opportunities to interact with industry experts and that this interaction does not have to be face-to-face to be effective. Using PebblePad’s Gateway Functionality to Facilitate Industry Practitioner Feedback on Students’ Interview Sessions An assessment task consisting of a role-play of either a coaching, counselling or consulting scenario is described in this paper. The role-play activity was developed in response to institutional policy requirements and was designed to provide students with opportunities to interact with industry experts. A key learning outcome from the role-play was to provide students with industrystandard feedback, with opportunities to interact with current practitioners facilitated by the use of technology. In this paper we provide background to the use of role-play for teaching and the importance of feedback for skills learning, before describing the assessment task in more detail. How PebblePad was used to allow industry reviewers access to students’ role-plays and literature reviews is also described and results from student evaluations reported. Assessment and Feedback on Skills Learning A challenge with using role-play for teaching students interviewing skills is providing effective feedback that can be used to improve performance. Typically students practice their interviewing skills in pairs or small groups, providing feedback to each other. Or their performance is assessed by a trained interviewer, usually the teacher, who provides feedback for improvement. The assessment method discussed in this paper extends the