Unit Guide

General Information

Unit convenor and teaching staff	Unit convenor and teaching staff Convenor Dr Kathryn McLachlan kath.mclachlan@mq.edu.au Contact via kath.mclachlan@mq.edu.au AHH 3.708 by appointment Administration Kerry Lancaster kerry.lancaster@mq.edu.au Contact via kerry.lancaster@mq.edu.au AHH 3.701A by appointment
Credit points	Credit points 3
Prerequisites	Prerequisites (39cp at 100 level or above) and permission by special approval
Corequisites	Corequisites
Co-badged status	Co-badged status
Unit description	Unit description This unit provides an opportunity for students to engage with the community through a variety of activities. Examples might include individual and group activities with an international, regional or local focus on public-sector agencies, professional bodies, companies, industry partners and not-for-profit organisations. The unit promotes learning through participation with community partners as well as the development of graduate capabilities and professional skills. Students will be encouraged to apply theory learnt through their degree to real-world situations. Student learning will be facilitated through orientation and induction activities, scaffolding for skill and knowledge development and debriefing; supported throughout by rigorous academic assessment. The unit will have a particular emphasis on working with communities, and developing collaboration and leadership capacities. This unit is a designated PACE unit and all enquiries regarding enrolment should be made with the unit convenor no later than 6 weeks before commencement of the study period.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

identify and articulate your own skills and Graduate Capabilities and collect evidence to demonstrate development of selected skills and capabilities;
understand benefits of reflection, demonstrate reflective skills and explore effective reflection techniques, including critical incident analysis;
apply the knowledge, skills and capabilities you have acquired in your studies to real life situations;
demonstrate effective oral, written and visual communication skills that are appropriate to the purpose, medium and audience;
demonstrate skills in collaboration and leadership;
engage with a community organisation (inc. business, government, ngo, other community organisation) and reflect on, analyse and document relevant issues of social justice, inclusion, ethics or other social challenges;

Assessment Tasks

Name	Weighting	Hurdle	Due
Reflection & Analysis	30%	Yes	January 26 2018
Placement Assessment	15%	No	January 29 2018
Choice of written task	55%	No	January 19 (P) 29 (R) 2018

Reflection & Analysis

Due: January 26 2018
Weighting: 30%
This is a hurdle assessment task (see assessment policy for more information on hurdle assessment tasks)

1. Assessment Centre

You are required to attend an Assessment Centre at Macquarie University Hearing Hub on the day that is advised by your convenor.

This will involve you participating in practical activities which will provide an opportunity to demonstrate the key competencies that are important when undertaking a placement experience at a host location.

The competencies being assessed are: communication, problem solving, influencing and negotiation and collaboration. These will be observed within the following three activities: a group discussion, a written exercise and a behavioural interview.

On the day, you will be given personalised feedback by independent assessors based on your demonstrated behaviours, which will highlight your strengths and developmental opportunities. These skill areas for development will provide a focus for your self-reflection analysis during placement.

2. Self-Reflection Goal-Setting

Using your Assessment Centre feedback as a starting point, your facilitator will guide you through an activity to frame some behavioural development goals to base your self-reflection analysis on. This will assist you to get the most out of your up-coming placement experience. You will send the results of the gaol setting to your convenor.

Throughout your placement you will collect evidence for a portfolio to demonstrate how you have developed these selected skills and capabilities (and any others had not anticipated). You will need to consider: the strategies for achieving these goals; the relevance of the evidence collected; what worked, what didn't, what you learnt and what you would do differently.

At the end of the unit you will write a short reflective piece on your skills and capabilities development, the process of gathering evidence and what might be needed in the future to address any skills shortage you identify.

This assessment task will promote learning in terms of identifying skills and capabilities, fostering more accurate self-assessment, learning what kinds of evidence might indicate skills for employers, and some understanding of planning skills and capabilities development into the future.

On successful completion you will be able to:

identify and articulate your own skills and Graduate Capabilities and collect evidence to demonstrate development of selected skills and capabilities;
understand benefits of reflection, demonstrate reflective skills and explore effective reflection techniques, including critical incident analysis;
apply the knowledge, skills and capabilities you have acquired in your studies to real life situations;
demonstrate effective oral, written and visual communication skills that are appropriate to the purpose, medium and audience;
demonstrate skills in collaboration and leadership;

Placement Assessment

Due: January 29 2018
Weighting: 15%

The host supervisor will provide a report on your workplace performance against a set of criteria. These criteria will be provided for you to see on iLearn.

On successful completion you will be able to:

identify and articulate your own skills and Graduate Capabilities and collect evidence to demonstrate development of selected skills and capabilities;
understand benefits of reflection, demonstrate reflective skills and explore effective reflection techniques, including critical incident analysis;
apply the knowledge, skills and capabilities you have acquired in your studies to real life situations;
demonstrate effective oral, written and visual communication skills that are appropriate to the purpose, medium and audience;
demonstrate skills in collaboration and leadership;
engage with a community organisation (inc. business, government, ngo, other community organisation) and reflect on, analyse and document relevant issues of social justice, inclusion, ethics or other social challenges;

Choice of written task

Due: January 19 (P) 29 (R) 2018
Weighting: 55%

The presentation (15%)

Presentations will provide you with the opportunity to plan your report. The time limit is 5 minutes. The presentation will be one week prior to your submission of the written report.

Be clear and succinct. Provide enough background information so that your audience understands your host organisation and the nature of your activity. The core of your presentation should reflect the key points that you will cover in your chosen written option.

You will also need to show evidence of reflection on your learning curve and your deeper understanding of the wider environment in which your organisation sits. The FOHS300 ‘wheel’ diagram may help with this.

Written Task (40%)

Each placement activity is different. Choose the option that best suits your activity, your host organisation and the wider environment in which it operates. The word limit is 2,000.

Options:

A final report. This includes a description of the activity/project, a consideration of where your project and organisation fits within the wider FOHS300 ‘wheel’ diagram (see the GREEN box) and reflections on your learning both in relation to the Sustainability Framework and your prior learning at university and elsewhere.

Applying the same five elements to your placement organisation in order to analyse the ways in which the organisation achieves its objectives (and where it does not achieve them) within the Sustainability Framework. Describe and show evidence of that.

A critical incident analysis. In this you chose a critical incident from your placement, reflect on it, show how it fitted within the FOHS300 ‘wheel’ diagram (see the GREEN box) and/or the Sustainability Framework

On successful completion you will be able to:

understand benefits of reflection, demonstrate reflective skills and explore effective reflection techniques, including critical incident analysis;
apply the knowledge, skills and capabilities you have acquired in your studies to real life situations;
demonstrate effective oral, written and visual communication skills that are appropriate to the purpose, medium and audience;
demonstrate skills in collaboration and leadership;
engage with a community organisation (inc. business, government, ngo, other community organisation) and reflect on, analyse and document relevant issues of social justice, inclusion, ethics or other social challenges;

Delivery and Resources

Delivery and Resources

FOHS300 aims to provide you with an opportunity to:

reflect on your undergraduate learning to date and on how you might use or apply them;
integrate and synthesise the information from your undergraduate studies;
think about real world problems;
develop new capabilities and to hone or practice already developing capabilities; and
focus on the capabilities you will take into the workplace or further study.

This unit uses a very different style of learning to that normally encountered in a class-room based unit, and many students find the change initially quite challenging. At the heart of FOHS300 is the placement activity that you will undertake in a community or work setting. This will account for a minimum of 70 hours. In addition there will be learning activities and assessment tasks that will equip you with the skills and support to help you make sense of your experiences and elicit maximum learning.

As you can see in the schedule, there are a total of five three hour seminars. This is to allow you as much time as possible to fit in your placement hours. The seminars are compulsory.

Seminars

The seminars have been developed to help you develop reflective and analytical skills through discussion and specific learning activities. In each seminar there will be time to share your experiences from your placement and bounce ideas off other students and staff.

Online Modules

In addition to the seminars there are five online modules to work through. These are scheduled for the weeks in between seminars and each will take 2-3 hours to complete. They cover specific content relevant to your placement or particular skills such as reflection or critical incident analysis. The modules are available in iLearn and incorporate readings, YouTube clips and activities. It is vital that you cover the relevant module prior to the next seminar as many of the activities assume knowledge from those modules.

Assessment Tasks

More detail about assessment tasks will be available in iLearn. This will include specific information, cover sheets and rubrics. For the most part submission of assessment tasks will be via iLearn.

Placement

The placement component is a minimum of 70 hours in the workplace or community setting. Each placement has a negotiated project and a host supervisor from the workplace who will be your “go to” person in the organisation. Most students will have their placement organised by the unit convenor before the semester starts – if you have not yet contacted the unit convenor please do so as soon as possible as it is very difficult to find a suitable placement quickly and this may delay the start of your placement and cause problems later in the semester. Alternatively students may nominate a suitable organisation as a host.

Placements may be taken part-time or as a block or a combination, but this must be negotiated and mutually agreed by the organisation and the student.

Please note that all assessment tasks are based around placements. Some placements will involve research on humans and this needs to be thought about carefully in terms of the design and execution. The Ethics module is compulsory for all students and will provide you with information about this area.

Communication

Communication before the unit begins will be via your student email address. After the beginning of semester communication will be via iLearn, lectures and seminars and, on the odd occasion via your student email.

Unit Schedule

Week

date

On campus activity

online learning activity

assessment task

Monday,

4 December 2017

Forum/Seminar

X5B132

2pm – 4pm

Unpacking the boxes(read ilearn before session commences)

Reflection Module

Activity/Project Plan – not graded

Thursday,

7 December or Friday,

8 December 2017

Assessment Centre

“Psychology Clinic” Australian Hearing Hub

Not assessed but compulsory for completion of the Reflection & Analysis assessment task

Monday,

11 December 2017

Forum/Seminar

X5B132

2pm – 4pm

Ethics and careers

Ethics certificate – not graded

Monday,

18 December 2017

Forum/Seminar

X5B132

2pm – 4pm

You and Your Participation Activity Module

Break

52-53

21 December 2017 –

2 January 2018

Friday, 19 January 2018

Forum/Seminar

C5A 430

1.30pm – 5pm

Presentations

Reflection & Analysis (Friday 26 January)

Placement Assessment (Supervisor report) and Written task

(Monday 29 January)

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central. Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Academic Honesty Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/academic_honesty/policy.html

Assessment Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/assessment/policy_2016.html

Grade Appeal Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/gradeappeal/policy.html

Complaint Management Procedure for Students and Members of the Public http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/complaint_management/procedure.html

Disruption to Studies Policy (in effect until Dec 4th, 2017): http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/disruption_studies/policy.html

Special Consideration Policy (in effect from Dec 4th, 2017): https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policies/special-consideration

In addition, a number of other policies can be found in the Learning and Teaching Category of Policy Central.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/support/student_conduct/

Results

Results shown in iLearn, or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au.

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

Learning Skills

Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to improve your marks and take control of your study.

Student Services and Support

Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.

Student Enquiries

For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/.

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.

Graduate Capabilities

Creative and Innovative

Our graduates will also be capable of creative thinking and of creating knowledge. They will be imaginative and open to experience and capable of innovation at work and in the community. We want them to be engaged in applying their critical, creative thinking.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

apply the knowledge, skills and capabilities you have acquired in your studies to real life situations;
engage with a community organisation (inc. business, government, ngo, other community organisation) and reflect on, analyse and document relevant issues of social justice, inclusion, ethics or other social challenges;

Assessment tasks

Placement Assessment
Choice of written task

Capable of Professional and Personal Judgement and Initiative

We want our graduates to have emotional intelligence and sound interpersonal skills and to demonstrate discernment and common sense in their professional and personal judgement. They will exercise initiative as needed. They will be capable of risk assessment, and be able to handle ambiguity and complexity, enabling them to be adaptable in diverse and changing environments.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

identify and articulate your own skills and Graduate Capabilities and collect evidence to demonstrate development of selected skills and capabilities;
understand benefits of reflection, demonstrate reflective skills and explore effective reflection techniques, including critical incident analysis;
apply the knowledge, skills and capabilities you have acquired in your studies to real life situations;
demonstrate effective oral, written and visual communication skills that are appropriate to the purpose, medium and audience;
demonstrate skills in collaboration and leadership;
engage with a community organisation (inc. business, government, ngo, other community organisation) and reflect on, analyse and document relevant issues of social justice, inclusion, ethics or other social challenges;

Assessment tasks

Reflection & Analysis
Placement Assessment
Choice of written task

Commitment to Continuous Learning

Our graduates will have enquiring minds and a literate curiosity which will lead them to pursue knowledge for its own sake. They will continue to pursue learning in their careers and as they participate in the world. They will be capable of reflecting on their experiences and relationships with others and the environment, learning from them, and growing - personally, professionally and socially.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

identify and articulate your own skills and Graduate Capabilities and collect evidence to demonstrate development of selected skills and capabilities;
understand benefits of reflection, demonstrate reflective skills and explore effective reflection techniques, including critical incident analysis;
apply the knowledge, skills and capabilities you have acquired in your studies to real life situations;
demonstrate effective oral, written and visual communication skills that are appropriate to the purpose, medium and audience;
demonstrate skills in collaboration and leadership;
engage with a community organisation (inc. business, government, ngo, other community organisation) and reflect on, analyse and document relevant issues of social justice, inclusion, ethics or other social challenges;

Assessment tasks

Reflection & Analysis
Placement Assessment
Choice of written task

Discipline Specific Knowledge and Skills

Our graduates will take with them the intellectual development, depth and breadth of knowledge, scholarly understanding, and specific subject content in their chosen fields to make them competent and confident in their subject or profession. They will be able to demonstrate, where relevant, professional technical competence and meet professional standards. They will be able to articulate the structure of knowledge of their discipline, be able to adapt discipline-specific knowledge to novel situations, and be able to contribute from their discipline to inter-disciplinary solutions to problems.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

apply the knowledge, skills and capabilities you have acquired in your studies to real life situations;
demonstrate effective oral, written and visual communication skills that are appropriate to the purpose, medium and audience;
engage with a community organisation (inc. business, government, ngo, other community organisation) and reflect on, analyse and document relevant issues of social justice, inclusion, ethics or other social challenges;

Assessment tasks

Placement Assessment
Choice of written task

Critical, Analytical and Integrative Thinking

We want our graduates to be capable of reasoning, questioning and analysing, and to integrate and synthesise learning and knowledge from a range of sources and environments; to be able to critique constraints, assumptions and limitations; to be able to think independently and systemically in relation to scholarly activity, in the workplace, and in the world. We want them to have a level of scientific and information technology literacy.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

identify and articulate your own skills and Graduate Capabilities and collect evidence to demonstrate development of selected skills and capabilities;
understand benefits of reflection, demonstrate reflective skills and explore effective reflection techniques, including critical incident analysis;
apply the knowledge, skills and capabilities you have acquired in your studies to real life situations;
demonstrate effective oral, written and visual communication skills that are appropriate to the purpose, medium and audience;
demonstrate skills in collaboration and leadership;
engage with a community organisation (inc. business, government, ngo, other community organisation) and reflect on, analyse and document relevant issues of social justice, inclusion, ethics or other social challenges;

Assessment tasks

Reflection & Analysis
Placement Assessment
Choice of written task

Problem Solving and Research Capability

Our graduates should be capable of researching; of analysing, and interpreting and assessing data and information in various forms; of drawing connections across fields of knowledge; and they should be able to relate their knowledge to complex situations at work or in the world, in order to diagnose and solve problems. We want them to have the confidence to take the initiative in doing so, within an awareness of their own limitations.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

understand benefits of reflection, demonstrate reflective skills and explore effective reflection techniques, including critical incident analysis;
apply the knowledge, skills and capabilities you have acquired in your studies to real life situations;
demonstrate effective oral, written and visual communication skills that are appropriate to the purpose, medium and audience;
demonstrate skills in collaboration and leadership;
engage with a community organisation (inc. business, government, ngo, other community organisation) and reflect on, analyse and document relevant issues of social justice, inclusion, ethics or other social challenges;

Assessment tasks

Placement Assessment
Choice of written task

Effective Communication

We want to develop in our students the ability to communicate and convey their views in forms effective with different audiences. We want our graduates to take with them the capability to read, listen, question, gather and evaluate information resources in a variety of formats, assess, write clearly, speak effectively, and to use visual communication and communication technologies as appropriate.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

identify and articulate your own skills and Graduate Capabilities and collect evidence to demonstrate development of selected skills and capabilities;
understand benefits of reflection, demonstrate reflective skills and explore effective reflection techniques, including critical incident analysis;
apply the knowledge, skills and capabilities you have acquired in your studies to real life situations;
demonstrate effective oral, written and visual communication skills that are appropriate to the purpose, medium and audience;
demonstrate skills in collaboration and leadership;
engage with a community organisation (inc. business, government, ngo, other community organisation) and reflect on, analyse and document relevant issues of social justice, inclusion, ethics or other social challenges;

Assessment tasks

Reflection & Analysis
Placement Assessment
Choice of written task

Engaged and Ethical Local and Global citizens

As local citizens our graduates will be aware of indigenous perspectives and of the nation's historical context. They will be engaged with the challenges of contemporary society and with knowledge and ideas. We want our graduates to have respect for diversity, to be open-minded, sensitive to others and inclusive, and to be open to other cultures and perspectives: they should have a level of cultural literacy. Our graduates should be aware of disadvantage and social justice, and be willing to participate to help create a wiser and better society.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

identify and articulate your own skills and Graduate Capabilities and collect evidence to demonstrate development of selected skills and capabilities;
understand benefits of reflection, demonstrate reflective skills and explore effective reflection techniques, including critical incident analysis;
apply the knowledge, skills and capabilities you have acquired in your studies to real life situations;
demonstrate skills in collaboration and leadership;
engage with a community organisation (inc. business, government, ngo, other community organisation) and reflect on, analyse and document relevant issues of social justice, inclusion, ethics or other social challenges;

Assessment tasks

Placement Assessment
Choice of written task

Socially and Environmentally Active and Responsible

We want our graduates to be aware of and have respect for self and others; to be able to work with others as a leader and a team player; to have a sense of connectedness with others and country; and to have a sense of mutual obligation. Our graduates should be informed and active participants in moving society towards sustainability.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

understand benefits of reflection, demonstrate reflective skills and explore effective reflection techniques, including critical incident analysis;
apply the knowledge, skills and capabilities you have acquired in your studies to real life situations;
demonstrate skills in collaboration and leadership;
engage with a community organisation (inc. business, government, ngo, other community organisation) and reflect on, analyse and document relevant issues of social justice, inclusion, ethics or other social challenges;

Assessment tasks

Placement Assessment
Choice of written task

Placement Information

FOHS300 provides an opportunity for students to engage with the community through a variety of activities. Examples might include individual and group activities with a regional or local focus in public-sector agencies, professional bodies, companies, industry partners and not-for-profit organisations. The unit promotes learning through participation with community partners as well as the development of graduate capabilities and professional skills. Students will be encouraged to apply theory learnt through their degree to real world situations. Student learning will be facilitated through orientation and induction activities, scaffolding for skill and knowledge development and debriefing; supported throughout by rigorous academic assessment. This Human Sciences PACE unit will have a particular emphasis on working with communities, and developing collaboration and leadership capacities.

Placements and projects are the core of this unit. They may be taken in the public or private sector, with large or small organisations, institutions or government, with business or not-for-profit community organisations. However, each placement needs a project and a host supervisor.

The projects are negotiated between the unit convenor and the organisation (and host supervisor) and involve 70 hours to be spent with a community partner. These 70 hours must be done during the semester (which includes the mid-semester break). Early commencement may be negotiated under special circumstances, but generally you cannot start before the semester starts (for insurance coverage) and the hours must be completed by the last day of semester. If this is not possible you must contact the unit convenor to make other arrangments. How you distribute the hours is negotiated between you and the host supervisor, it can be one or more days per week, or as a block, or some combination. You need to let the unit convenor know how this will be accomplished and that it has been discussed with the host supervisor before you start the placement.

Each placement involves a legal agreement with the organisation and you will be expected to sign a “Student Undertaking” before the placement can begin.

To ensure that you have the whole semester to complete your required hours, we need to organise the placement before the semester starts. Thus you need to make contact with unit convenor as early as possible to discuss options. It takes at least 6 weeks to get proper paperwork finalised and delays that may cause difficulties for you as the semester draws to an end.

Some examples of projects/activities:

Hands on work with people

elderly
children/youth
socially isolated
people with disabilities; and others

Examples:

Work with dementia patients – determine their interests and modify to suit individuals

Children in foster care – help individual children with homework and outings

Gardening for the frail, aged and persons with disability; gain insight into social isolation

Moderate a website to provide young people with information on mental health

Program and Resource development

developing new programs or tailoring programs for individuals
development of educational programs
resource development (print-based, online, social media)
development and/or implementation of communication strategies

Examples:

Develop an education program for victims of domestic violence

Research and write a brochure on elder abuse for the community

Design and facilitate a program dealing with grief and loss for people with cerebral palsy

Develop an information resource for academics about students with disabilities

Service Provision

recruitment, management and training of volunteers
finding and applying for funding
investigating the impact of legislative and funding changes on organization
evaluation of programs, resources, service provision (quality improvement, review)

Examples:

Match house residents with suitable volunteers

Analyse service provision for an organisation in terms of client usage, needs and cost

Design an evaluation strategy to provide feedback to a network of community organisations

Investigate implications of Productivity Commission report on Aged Care on community based services

Research (may need Human Ethics clearance) including combinations of:

background research (literature review)
developing research strategies
conducting research (e.g. surveys, interviews, focus groups)
data management and/or analysis
writing reports and developing recommendations

Examples :

Undertake a literature review and design a survey to study rest breaks in call-centres

Find ways to investigate social disadvantage in the student population

Conduct a literature review of leadership programs across the globe in order to make recommendations about the best options

Design and conduct research with local young people about service provision and make recommendations