PPMP20009 Unit Portfolio: Reflective Learning in Project Management

This portfolio documents weekly reflections on a Project Management unit (PPMP20009), showcasing the student's learning journey, experiences, and critical thinking. It includes a weekly learning table that covers topics such as the importance of project management, critical thinking, and project management processes (initiation, planning, execution, monitoring, and closing). Each entry in the table includes learning outcomes, reading samples, personal learning, and supporting documentation. The portfolio also features a final reflection section, providing an overview of the student’s learning and insights gained throughout the unit. This portfolio is designed to meet the requirements of the unit and demonstrate professional competence and knowledge development in project management.

(Insert Student Name) / (Insert Student Number) - PPMP20009Unit Portfolio for Week (Insert week number)
Weekly portfolio
In this unit you are required to complete a weekly portfolio. A portfolio provides evidence of previous experience and presents a dynamic record
of your growth and professional learning over the duration of this Unit. Your portfolio provides an account of your learning based on your prior
and current learnings and your critical reflection.
A portfolio is increasingly being used in Universities as a means of:
 Being able to tell much more about you than exam results;
 As a means of reflecting your development through the unit;
 To reflect your attitude and values as well as your skills and knowledge.
(Race 2010, p. 58)
Timmins states that ‘A portfolio is a cohesive account of work based learning that contains relevant evidence from practice and critical
reflection on this evidence. Its primary purpose is to ‘display achievement ofprofessional competence or learning outcomes and knowledge
development’(Timmins 2008: p. 115).
You’ll find much more information about the use and application of portfolios on the Internet. However, it will requireyou to take some time to
think through how you are going to complete the portfolio on a weekly basis. It is very easy to trivialise the portfolio and write nearly the same
thing each week. But that won’t gain you many marks. Instead you should try to focus on the topic and learning outcome for the week and your
reflections regarding them.
Task
Your task is to write a weekly portfolio reflecting upon your learnings from the prior week. In your portfolio you will identify:
1. The learning outcomes and module/topic of the unit;
2. A description of your experience, including reading samples or records;
3. Your learning from your experiences;
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(Insert Student Name) / (Insert Student Number) - PPMP20009Unit Portfolio for Week (Insert week number)
4. Any supporting documentation of prior or current learning.
Instructions for completing the portfolio
1. Type your name and student id at the top of the page in the header section.
2. You can then delete this first section, save the file so that it can be used each week, and concentrate on writing your weekly portfolio.
3. Each learning outcome and the topics appropriate for the learning outcome have been included as the first column of portfolio table on
the next page. You should review these columns and make changes as the unit progresses and you gain more familiarity with the
learning outcomes and unit content. You will find that you will progressively elaborate on the content of the second, third and fourth
columns as you work through each of the weeks of the unit.
4. Please appreciate it takes time to complete the portfolio therefore you must think always of what is required and be taking notes to update
your portfolio as you read, study videos, or undertake other unit related activities. You are expected to be working 12 to 16 hours each
week on this unit so you have plenty of time to get the portfolio right!
5. The portfolio will be discussed in the unit online videos and tutorials – please listen carefully and you may find the portfolio is easier to
complete than it first appears.
6. You may disagree with the allocation of the learning outcomes to the topics in the portfolio table. This is your right and you are free to
move things around as you become more familiar with the portfolio and the unit material.
7. At the beginning of the unit all of the learning outcomes maybe not appropriate for the first week, so you should reflect upon what you
believe is required from the portfolio for the first week. As the weeks progress then you will find that you will add more learning
outcomes. The content of the first weekly learning portfolio table in this file includes all of the topics and reading samples to save your
time in typing.
8. At the end of the unit you should review your weekly portfolios and then consolidate them into a single submission. This is the
assessment that gets marked. Since the objective of the portfolio is to show your learning journey as well as your reflections then you
should not be surprised to find that your opinions have changed during the unit. You do not have to change your portfolios from prior
weeks.
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(Insert Student Name) / (Insert Student Number) - PPMP20009Unit Portfolio for Week (Insert week number)
Future directions
In the future you should expect that portfolios will be used increasinglyat the academic post graduate level. Eventually they may even replace
exams. Therefore there are a number of things to note for the future:
1. You will be required to complete more portfolios in otherunits as you progress inyour academic career;
2. As portfolios begin to replace exams you will need to make your portfolio comprehensive and deeply reflective to gain a good grade;
3. You may find that other unit assessments, such as presentations, will be aligned with the content of your portfolio submissions as a
means of validating your knowledge.
Acknowledgement and references
This portfolio structurewas based on an example (a psychology unit) located at Athabasca University, Alberta, Canada
Race P. (2010) A Practical Guide to Assessment, Learning and Teaching.Abingdon, England: Routledge.
Timmins F. (2008) Making Sense of Portfolios: An Introduction to Portfolio use for Nursing Students. Glasgow, Scotland: McGraw-Hill
Education.
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(Insert Student Name) / (Insert Student Number) - PPMP20009Unit Portfolio for Week (Insert week number)
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Weekly Portfolio Learning Table
Topic and reading
samples.
Your personal learning outcomes
from thisunit.
Learnings from your experience. Supporting documentation including
your prior learnings.
Why Project
Management?
Project management is essential for the
fulfilment of any given task of
commercial benefit to individuals.
Therefore project managers have tasks
such as planning and coordinating of
activities that ultimately lead to the
success of the project
Project management involves
coordination of different sections of
a project so as to achieve a specific
goal.
Project managers are supposed to
know how every section performs
and ultimately they are in charge of
creation of a synchronised system
that works well.
Project managers select heads at
every section who give him constant
updates on how their area is
functioning.
Information technology project
management by Schwable
Advanced project management: a
structured approach. Written by
Harrison, F., & Lock, D. in the year
2017.
Kerzner Chapter 1 Project- work that involves different
sections working together so as to
achieve a certain goal.
Project Management – the
coordination of different sections so as
to achieve a specified objective.
All the different tasks in project
management ought to be integrated
for the satisfaction of specific goals
within a specific timeline so as to
render a project complete.
Project management in practice.
Written by Meredith, J. R.,
Egelstaff (2013)
Academic
assignments:
Process of project management
involves 5 steps
It is on the planning step that a
suitable project manager is
identified. The project manager
The fast forward MBA in project
management. Written by Verzuh, E.
2015
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(Insert Student Name) / (Insert Student Number) - PPMP20009Unit Portfolio for Week (Insert week number)
Topic and reading
samples.
Your personal learning outcomes
from thisunit.
Learnings from your experience. Supporting documentation including
your prior learnings.
Critical thinking
and writing
critically
Initiation- Planning-
Production or execution-
Monitoring and controlling-
Closing-
should therefore the three other
phases.
Journals &
Standards
 IJPM Within a project there are different
people with different roles.
The project managers decide what
task and when they will be
performed but the functional
managers control which people and
the techniques to be used
International journal of project
management
 PMJ The long processes in project
management is beneficial to the
project.
Some of the advantages of the long
processes involved in PM include:
It increases chances of completion
The project is bound to succeed.
Journal by jorg sydow
 SAI Global Some may argue that the long process
is not beneficial.
The reasons here include the fact that
it makes the project take too long to
complete.
John tuppers project management
systems (2011)
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(Insert Student Name) / (Insert Student Number) - PPMP20009Unit Portfolio for Week (Insert week number)
Portfolio Reflection
You can write anything here that assists you to reflect upon your learning journey using each week’s portfolio as evidence of the learnings that
have occurred.
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