1. Using blended learning to engage
students: embedding employability
awareness and career development
skills learning in the curriculum
Career Development Services
Anita Norcott
Employability Learning Specialist
anorcott@cardiffmet.ac.uk

2. Overview
• Your Career e-Module:
the generic learning
resource
• Blended learning
modules: 4 case studies
• Impact and evaluation:
evidence of student
engagement

3. Your Career e-Module content – 13 e-lessons:
• Planning your
career
• Job Search
• Work Experience
• Skills and self-
assessment
• CVs and covering
letters
• Application forms
• Interview skills
• Assessment
centres
• Self-employment

5. PDP and Employability
Work
Experience
Education
Personal Life
Career
Development Skills
Personal
Awareness
Reflection
Development
© Cardiff Metropolitan University Career Development Services

6. Cardiff Met’s definition of employability :
“an individual’s capability and confidence to enter
and manage a career path* which fulfils both
their potential and their aspirations, whilst
enabling them to contribute fully and effectively
to the economy and society.”
*“Career path” in this context is a lifelong and uniquely
individual process which could include paid and
voluntary work, self-employment, periods of
learning, self-reflection and other self-development
opportunities.

7. Case study 1: Cardiff School of Sport
PDP & Employability Modules

8. CSS blended learning model
• Collaborative module development team
• Briefings on e-lessons and activities at
beginning of each term
• Generic e-lessons customised for Sport sector
• Individual and group meetings with personal
tutors
• Access to Career Advisers

9. Module aims – year one
• Develop students’ awareness of employability
and understanding of the personal, social,
academic, reflective and professional skills
required at HE level 4 (5)
• Devise an accurate evidence base for
recording employability development

10. Year One - Term 1 e-lessons & tasks
E-lessons:
• 01: Information skills
• 02: Academic style – academic English
• 03: Referencing – Harvard system
• 04: Learning styles questionnaires
• 05: Reflective and summary writing
Activities/tasks:
• Attend briefing and tutorials
• 3 day outdoor residential early first term
• Complete Brecon self-assessment and action plan
• Undertake the academic skills e-test
• Load outputs into e-portfolios

11. Year One - Term 2 e-lessons & tasks
E-lessons:
• 06: Your career interests and motivations
• 07: Your career personality factors
• 08: Your transferable skills
• 09: Your career-specific skills
• 10: Year two options
Activities/tasks:
• Attend briefing and tutorials
• Load reflective summary sheets into e-portfolios
• Begin to build employability logs
• Continue reflective log
• Year two options choices

12. Learning outcomes of term 2 e-lessons :
• Increase your understanding of yourself and which
career paths might suit you.
• Identify the skills and competencies employers
generally regard as essential, and those which are
necessary for your preferred career path(s).
• Evaluate which options choices for Year 2 will be
most appropriate to your personal and career
development.

13. Employability Logs
Transferable skills*: Career-specific (examples)
Communication Customer service
Team working Business sector awareness
Planning and organising Coaching
Interpersonal
Self-management
I.T.
Problem-solving
Numeracy
Other?
*descriptors in Logs*Source: CBI and Universities UK (2009) Future Fit: Preparing Graduates for the world of work

14. Learning outcomes: year two
• Further develop and reflect on action plans for
personal and professional development
• Demonstrate an understanding of employer
requirements of communication/presentation skills
• Evaluate and reflect on the benefits of work
experience
• Demonstrate improvement in self-management and
independent learning strategies to address study at
HE level 5

15. Presentation (80%) - 10 mins maximum 6 slides:
1: Identification of possible professional career/pathway
2: Where I am know – skills, qualifications, knowledge and
(work)experience
3: Further evidence to demonstrate strengths / skills etc
4: What development do I need to plan?
5: How will I go about this?
6: Summary development plan
Year two assessment

16. Activities for year two
• E-lessons and outputs:
1. Learning reflection questionnaire
2. Work experience
3. CV writing
4. Researching your career path
5. Preparing for your presentation
6. Year three options
• Up-date employability and reflective logs
• 3-4 personal tutor meetings in groups
• Deliver and reflect on presentations

17. Case study two: departmental approach
• Year two Professional Employability module
• One term – 10 credits
• Humanities and Educational
Studies programmes
• Blended approach
• x 4 e-lessons: Planning your career, skills &
self assessment, CVs and interview skills

18. Poster presentation assessment

19. Case study 3: programme
approach
• Year two Professional Employability module
• Environmental Health programme
• Assessed CVs and application forms for ‘real’
roles and presentations
• x 4 e-lessons: Planning your career,
skills & self assessment, CVs and
application forms

21. New Year New Start
• for recent graduates
• 5 weekly structured learning units
• Framework for Cardiff Met and external learning
resources
• Mainly on-line with e-portfolios and discussion group
• Blended element offered: workshops and Career
Adviser support
• Certificated

22. Measuring impact – how?
• Achievement of module learning outcomes
and assessment criteria
• Feedback from students and staff
• Analysis of outputs from e-lessons
• Feedback from Career Advisers
• Feedback from Programme Directors
• Usage stats – ‘hits’

23. 2011-12 stats
• 1240 students engaged with embedded e-lessons (+
34% on previous year - 925)
• Approx 34 hours of embedded e-learning delivered
(+112% on previous year - 16 hours)
• 19,830 ‘hits’ on embedded e-lessons
• 32,330 ‘ hits’ on the Your Career generic e-lessons

24. Summary - benefits of a blended approach
for engaging students
• Enables learners to self-manage their learning at times/places
of their choosing
• Supports development of range of employability skills and
awareness
• Delivers more learning support than traditional workshop
programme
• Improved module choices - learners research career path
market requirements early
• Fits with Cardiff Met’s Learning, Teaching and Assessment
Strategy