Assessment activity I:      Online quizzes

Description:  These quizzes encourage you to keep a regular routine of watching the lecture videos each fortnight, and to provide you with feedback about how much of the video content you remember and understand.

Requirements:  You can access quizzes via iLearn . Quizzes must be completed independently, without collaborating with others. Each quiz will be available for a limited time. It will not usually be possible to re-open the quiz for individual students who missed the quiz deadline.

Assessment activity II:     IOP Competence Evaluations

Description:  In class, or in preparation for a class, students will be asked to undertake activities involving the application of knowledge. The unit chair will assess your competence at performing these activities.

Requirements: Several activities, done either in-class or in preparation for class, will be assessed for competence. The unit chair will announce if an activity is assessable before students begin, in addition to explaining how to perform the activity. To Pass this unit, you must be deemed competent at all activities thus identified. Those who do not demonstrate competence in class (due to either a failure to meet standards in-class, or an absence from class at the time of the activity) must will be required to submit to the unit chair a supplementary assignment (e.g. a written essay or report, a video, or other work) related to class competence activity. These supplementary assignments provide an alternative and independently verifiable way of demonstrating competence that would otherwise have been assessed in class. Prior to commencing such supplementary assignments, students must contact the unit convenor for specific instructions, evaluation criteria, and deadlines. Substandard performance may result in a requested resubmission, the setting of alternative work, or a Show Cause notification.

Assessment activity III:     Intervention Plan

Description:  This exercise has been designed to develop your capacity to independently research and plan an organisational intervention, and to assess its impact appropriately. Working from a client request, each student will identify an appropriate program of interventions. You will then focus on the 1-2 specific interventions that you consider to be the most critical and effective, and present a clear and convincing justification for why that/those intervention(s) should be effective (i.e., the evidence supporting your approach). You must also describe an appropriate method for evaluating the impact and effectiveness of your whole intervention program.

Requirements: Intervention plans must be no more than 1600 words. The word count must be listed on a title page that also includes name and student ID number. Documents must be submitted in Microsoft Word (.docx), not as Adobe PDFs.

Penalties: Separate from the marking criteria (where markers compare your work to standards to see how many marks they can award you), we expect that students will submit original work of a professional standard, within the designated length and by the due date. Penalties apply to assignments that are not submitted in accordance with expectations or specified requirements. For an assignment submitted two days late, a 5.5 mark penalty would apply (5% per day late). If the assignment was 400 words over the set limit, an 11 mark penalty would apply (5% per 100 words). At the convenor's discretion, other penalties may also apply. 

As described in the Academic Integrity Policy, plagiarism is a particularly serious case of unprofessional and unethical academic misconduct. All written assignment submissions are evaluated using the Turnitin database system to determine if material has been copied from other students, published academic papers, or other online sources. If evidence of plagiarism is found it will be reported to the appropriate university authorities. Do not take the risk.

Assessment activity IV:   Examination

Description: There will be a 60-minute written exam held in the last class of semester to test (a) your understanding of content covered in the unit, and also (b) your capacity to apply this knowledge meaningfully when handling practical workplace problems. You will be presented with situations based on real consultancy work and decision-making experiences encountered by organisational psychologists, and you will need to use your knowledge of I/O psychology (particularly that gained from this unit) to answer questions. Examinable content includes on-campus classes, required lecture videos, and the first (top) reading set for each week. “Recommended” videos and other readings are not formally examinable, but may nevertheless prove useful.

On-campus classes

This unit involves a three-hour class held approximately every second week of the semester. You are responsible for checking the timetable to determine the dates, times and venues when/where you should be attending classes.

While some of each class will involve presentations by the unit chair, much of the time will be spent on interactive discussions and activities designed to facilitate improved understanding of the unit topics and in particular to apply them. These will include some skill-development activities performed in class, often in groups. You will be assessed regularly on the competence of your in-class work. To ensure that you can perform these activities competently, you should prepare thoroughly for each class. This will involve:

• watching online videos provided for each week, 
• reading the articles set for each week,
• preparing any work required for use in upcoming classes,
• undertaking any assignment-related activities,
• reading widely about unit topics. 

Online lecture videos and other resources (iLearn)

Classes are held in the evenings because so many of our students have work commitments during the day. However, at the end of a long workday, many people find it difficult to absorb and retain lots of new information! To reduce the amount of class time spent covering new concepts and theories, much of the lecture content is provided in videos that you can watch at a convenient time (provided it is done before the relevant class). These online lectures explain key concepts and theories, and provide concrete examples linking these to practice.

There are also additional resources provided on iLearn, such as interviews with practice experts and useful online tools. Students are strongly encouraged to examine these and share their impressions at the next class.

Readings (via iLearn)

In addition, papers have been assigned as preparatory reading for each class, to further develop your understanding of each topic. To get the most out of the online videos and on-campus classes, try the following approach:

1. Access and/or download the set paper assigned for your upcoming class, read the abstract (if there is one), and scan through the paper quickly to see what it's all about.
2. Watch the online video(s) required for the upcoming class.
3. Return to the paper and read it properly, making sure to write down any questions that occur to you. Bring those questions along to ask at our next class.
4. Explore the supplied online resources associated with the unit topics.
5. Pick one of the other recommended readings, read the abstract, and scan that paper as well. Read it if it catches your interest, otherwise, move to another recommended reading.

Those who follow this procedure are more likely to understand the content, remember it and apply it competently. You are encouraged to consult textbooks and other journal articles. This will be valuable for developing knowledge, and essential for completing assessment tasks.