PYH407 Professional Development Frameworks for Working in Diverse Contexts

Unit Outline: Semester 2 2024, Kelvin Grove, Internal

Overview

This capstone unit will provide you with professional development frameworks for lifelong learning and engagement with a complex and changing contemporary society.  You will develop your understanding of relevant legal frameworks, issues of public safety, codes of ethical practice, and cultural safety in practice and research. Working as part of team of scientist practitioners you will drawn upon your knowledge and skills to formulate evidence based and ethical recommendations to current issues faced by an Industry partner and reflect on the role of a psychological lens in developing these recommendations. Seminars will also provide you with the opportunity for personal and professional reflection on your values, professional identity,  professional development and career goals. This unit prepares you for future work or study through consideration of the graduate capabilities and professional development tools you have gained over the course of your study.

Learning Outcomes

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

1. Apply your knowledge of professional, ethical and legal frameworks relevant to the practice of psychology to a range of professional contexts and contemporary issues.
2. Interpret the current APS guidelines for the culturally safe provision of services and conduct of research and reflect on your capacity to apply this in a professional setting.
3. Generate evidence-based recommendations to complex industry issues and identify the contributions of psychology and related disciplines in addressing real-world problems.
4. Utilise professional communication skills and digital platforms to work effectively with peers and industry professionals.
5. Examine and reflect on your professional identity, values, and achievement of graduate competencies and employability, and identify goals for future and ongoing professional development.

Content

Learning Approaches

This unit is conducted as a series of activity-based seminars presented across the semester. Seminars will include a range of specialist speakers such as representatives of key professional bodies, a panel of psychology professionals and other expert speakers. Seminar activities are formulated to provide you with an understanding of relevant legal frameworks and issues of public safety, codes of ethical practice, cultural safety, evidence based practice, the role of psychology in relation to related disciplines and the application of this knowledge to real world complex issues. Seminars will also provide opportunity for you to reflect on your own values, professional identity, employability and current competencies as a professional in the field. This will provide you with the foundation for ongoing reflection of your personal and professional development needs and goals.

The PYH407 Learning Site is used to support your learning through the provision of resource material, further reading, links to videos and online modules and to broadcast timely messages and alerts to engage you at key milestones. Your learning in this unit is also supported by the embedded involvement of the Student Support Group to facilitate your understanding of your career preparedness.

Feedback on Learning and Assessment

Feedback in this unit is provided to you through multiple channels

• You may seek formative feedback on your learning by consulting with teaching staff.
• For work that you prepare for summative assessment, you will receive written comments on your work
• For some tasks, you may receive peer feedback, for example, via facilitated discussion or peer feedback activities.
• For the Work Integrated Learning project your group will receive feedback from your Industry Partner

Assessment

Overview

Assessment in PYH407 includes a Work Integrated Learning Activity conducted in small teams, an individual reflection based on this activity and the broader unit content and a rapid communication of your honours thesis research. All assessment pieces are both formative and summative as you will receive a broad range of feedback from peers, industry as well as formal academic appraisal. You will be required to submit your assessment via content-matching software. Assessment will be marked online and your formal feedback will be supplied via the Unit Learning Site. 

Unit Grading Scheme

7- point scale

Assessment Tasks

Assessment: Consultancy Project

You will work in a small team to investigate a current industry based problem. Based on a review of the literature, your team will be responsible for developing a 3000 word report that supports key evidence based recommendations to be presented to the industry partner as a professional consultancy report. As scientist practitioners these will be based on contemporary research evidence and consideration of ethical issues.  You are also required to submit a brief individual discussion paper regarding the contribution of the discipline of psychology, and other disciplines used in developing your recommendations and key ethical issues that should be considered in the context of your project.

This assignment is eligible for the 48-hour late submission period and assignment extensions.

Assessment: Reflective Essay

You will be required to write a reflection on your engagement with the industry project, the unit content, and the honours program.  You will be asked to reflect on your  learning through your engagement with the group project and unit content, including cultural safety, team processes, engagement with industry representatives, broader professional issues and how this experience has contributed to the development of your own professional identity, values and future employability goals. You will be asked to reflect on your attainment of key graduate capabilities developed over the honours program, including your preparedness to work in a culturally safe manner with our diverse population and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. 

This assignment is eligible for the 48-hour late submission period and assignment extensions.

Assessment: Rapid Communication of Thesis Research

You will be asked to prepare a rapid communication summarising the work you have done for your honours research project in the form of a 3 minute Thesis presentation. This assessment piece will give you the opportunity to gain experience presenting complex research in a succinct and entertaining  form to a wide audience of academics, peers and members of the public.

Academic Integrity

Students are expected to engage in learning and assessment at QUT with honesty, transparency and fairness. Maintaining academic integrity means upholding these principles and demonstrating valuable professional capabilities based on ethical foundations.

Failure to maintain academic integrity can take many forms. It includes cheating in examinations, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, and submitting an assessment item completed by another person (e.g. contract cheating). It can also include providing your assessment to another entity, such as to a person or website.

You are encouraged to make use of QUT’s learning support services, resources and tools to assure the academic integrity of your assessment. This includes the use of text matching software that may be available to assist with self-assessing your academic integrity as part of the assessment submission process.

Further details of QUT’s approach to academic integrity are outlined in the Academic integrity policy and the Student Code of Conduct. Breaching QUT’s Academic integrity policy is regarded as student misconduct and can lead to the imposition of penalties ranging from a grade reduction to exclusion from QUT.

Resources

Resource Materials

Other

None required.
Items can be found at QUT Readings during the course of the semester for your use.

Risk Assessment Statement

There are no out of the ordinary risks associated with this unit.

Standards/Competencies

This unit is designed to support your development of the following standards\competencies.

Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC) Required Pre-Professional Competencies for a Level 2 Honours Degree

2.2:

Relates to: Consultancy Project, Rapid Communication of Thesis Research

Course Learning Outcomes

PY09 Bachelor of Behavioural Science (Honours Psychology)

1. Employ evidence based decision making and digital capabilities to formulate solutions to address complex problems including psychological assessment and intervention strategies across a range of settings and diverse populations.
   Relates to: Consultancy Project
2. Employ effective professional collaboration, and communication skills in diverse formats, digital platforms and settings appropriate to socially and culturally responsive psychological practice and research.
   Relates to: Consultancy Project, Rapid Communication of Thesis Research
3. Reflect on your continual professional development, building upon your understanding of the values, legal and ethical frameworks relevant to psychology, your professional profile and competencies, to contribute to society in inclusive, ethical, entrepreneurial and sustainable ways.
   Relates to: Consultancy Project, Reflective Essay