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Welcome to the Practice-based Professional Learning Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning

 

The Practice-based Professional Learning Centre for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (PBPL) is about developing expertise and knowledge around practice-based professional learning and offering this to all Open University colleagues and other bodies with an interest in practice-based learning.

PBPL has engaged across all the major communities interested in a practice-based approach to learning - students, employers, Associate Lecturers, professional bodies and faculty colleagues, other CETLs and organisations, groups and individuals outside the Open University. We share a concern for learning about effective practice whether from study, in the workplace or from a combination of these settings. Our area of interest relates to courses that intend to connect contexts of work and study and to enable the student to bring together learning generated by both.

This orientation has fostered a wide range of exploratory projects supported by PBPL on issues such as the construction of professional identities, perceptions of professional practice, the impact of course study on professional practice, the roles required for the support of learning in both the workplace and study setting, the role of technology and e-learning, and so on.

Please explore the site to find our more. If you can't find what you're looking for, or would like to suggest additional material, do get in touch.

Let's Talk Practice

View the PBPL blog which highlights issues and reflections around practice-based learning.

Visit the PBPL blog - Let's Talk Practice

Open CETL

PBPL is part of the Open CETL, a collaboration of the four centres based at the Open University. It is not a formal organisation but a way of describing how we are working together to inspire each other, to achieve greater impact and increase efficiency.

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Highlights

How the tutor is used to come to a shared understanding of the student's progress and support the mentor-tutor partnership.
A small scale research project in memory of Ros Shackleton, MFL tutor on the Flexible PGCE course
Supporting Workplace Study: a free staff development resource
This is an on-line open course for professional staff involved in providing educational supervision to colleagues (or others on placement in their organisation), as part of a foundation degree or other accredited work-based/practice-based course of study.

Latest

PBPL Director and Business School Professor named Senior Fellow
7th Dec 2009 Professor Mark Fenton-O'Creevy is one of the six new Senior Fellows announced by the Higher Education Academy
New Principal for PBPL
4th Dec 2009 Following the retirement of Professor Pam Shakespeare, PBPL welcome Dr. Lucy Rai as their new Principal representing the Faculty of Health and Social Care

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Events

Activity Theory and Practice Learning
10th Mar 2010 PBPL's final conference, Activity Theory and Practice Learning, will take place on 10th and 11th March 2010
HEA Seminar: Employer Engagement and Development of Skills for Employability
17th Mar 2010 A HEA Seminar at The Open University, Milton Keynes - Wednesday 17th March 2010

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Links for OU colleagues

The PBPL intranet site contains information about PBPL which is particularly relevant to OU colleagues.

PBPL intranet

PBPL forums for OU colleagues can be accessed from this workspace.

PBPL workspace