Abstract:

How do learners in higher education get knowledge, feedback and insights about their soft skill development? How can a new learning technology strengthen soft skills? Soft kills are intra- and interpersonal (social) skills, essential for personal development, social participation and success in the workplace. In past research, our research team Data Driven Learning and Innovation (AP University College of Applied Sciences and Arts) developed several instruments for diagnosing learning in a professional context (for example Kickstart Your Soft Skills). Those instruments are diagnostic and limited to one perspective (for example self-assessment) while research shows that a 360 degree approach will provide powerful learning experiences. Moreover, the existing instruments lack additional support or learning materials for actionable feedback. With the use of the 360° learning tool, we developed a support tool to strengthen soft skills development and grow. The 360° tool aims to diagnose and support professional learning and soft skills from a 360 degree perspective. The development is based on participatory research and follows iterative educational research design cycles. User experience of the 360° tool and the impact of support materials will be investigated. Methodologically, we use participatory research to examine the needs, development features, design principles and user experiences. During this presentation we will present the research findings of a user survey (n=1026), focus groups (n= 26) and service design teams (n=3). The findings discuss the design principles, 360° feedback and the development process of the 360° tool in Moodle.

Design principles are for example:
(1) safety;
(2) time efficiency;
(3) feedback literacy;
(4) no jargon;
(5) motivation;
(6) interactive;
(7) usability; and
(8) triple win.

Conclusions for user centered design of learning technologies are discussed. Finally, we will give a demo of the prototype of the 360° tool.

Keywords:

Enhancing soft skills, higher education, professional development, technology enhanced learning, lifelong learning, design thinking.