(CRC

OS)  #00212K

 

Becoming  a  Professional  

A  common  first-­‐year  unit  for  all  UC  students  

1  

Assoc.  Prof,  Jonathan  Powles  Director,  Teaching  and  Learning  University  of  Canberra  

(CRC

OS)  #00212K

 

Becoming  a  professional  

A  common  learning  experience  for  all  UC  students  in  Canberra,  partner  insNtuNons,  and  online.  

2  

0  

1000  

2000  

3000  

4000  

5000  

6000  

S1,  2014   S2,  2014   S1,  2015   S2,  2015   S1  2016  

CumulaNve  compleNons  2014-­‐2016  

(CRC

OS)  #00212K

 

What  is  it?  

3  

Professional  planning  

• ReflecNon  on  chosen  profession  

• Skills  inventory  • Five-­‐year  plan  

Professional  communicaNon  

• Literacy  and  numeracy  development  

• Academic  and  professional    integrity  

• PresentaNon  skills  • Situated  professional  communicaNon  

Team-­‐based  professional  project  

• Students  work  in  teams  on  a  project  aligned  with  their  chosen  desNnaNon  

• Resources  on  roles,  personaliNes,  and  effecNve  teamwork.  

(CRC

OS)  #00212K

 

Module  1:  professional  planning  

(CRC

OS)  #00212K

 

Module  2:  professional  communica;on  Avoiding  the  deficit  model  

5  

"The  students  come  into  first-­‐year  unable  to  write  an  essay  …"  

"They  need  to  learn  basic  research  methods"   "We  need  to  teach  them  how  to  

reference  properly"  

"We  should  include  Nme  management  and  skills  in  basic  personal  organisaNon"  

(CRC

OS)  #00212K

 

“I  want  our  students  to  know  how  to  hold  a  conversaNon  in  a  professional  se^ng  –  in  the  coffee  shop  or  in  the  board  room;  with  a  client,  a  colleague,  or  the  CEO;  and  how  to  communicate  effecNvely  in  each  of  those  different  situaNons”  

-­‐  Dean,  UC  Faculty  of  Business,  Government  and  Law  

Module  2:  professional  communica;on  

6  

(CRC

OS)  #00212K

 

Groups  for  3x3  Presenta;ons

 

by  (anonymous)    -­‐  Tuesday,  2  September    

2014,  4:44  PM  

Hey  everyone,  

My  friend  and  I  need  another  m

ember  for  

our  group.  We  are  psych  students  and  we  

both  got  IFSJ  on  the  personal

ity  test  we  took  

in  week  1.  

If  you're  interested  in  joining

 our  group,  

please  email  me.    Thanks  

Module  3:  teamwork  

7  

(CRC

OS)  #00212K

 

GCA  top  ten  graduate  afributes  as  ranked  by  employers:  

1.  Interpersonal  and  communica;on  skills  (wriUen  and  oral)  2.  Drive  and  commitment/industry  knowledge  3.  CriNcal  reasoning  and  analyNcal  skills/technical  skills  4.  Calibre  of  academic  results  5.  Cultural  alignment/values  fit  6.  Work  experience  7.  Teamwork  skills  8.  EmoNonal  intelligence  (including  self-­‐awareness,  confidence,  moNvaNon)  9.  Leadership  skill  10.  AcNviNes  (including  intra  and  extracurricular)  

Why  these  content  areas?  

8  

(CRC

OS)  #00212K

 

•  Each  component  situated  and  contextualised  within  the  students’  career  aspiraNons  

•  Becoming  a  professional  …    …  accountant    ...  architect  …  psychologist    

Avoiding  the  piXall  of  irrelevance  …  

9  

(CRC

OS)  #00212K

 

DVCE  

Teaching  and  

Learning  

Art  and  Design  

Business,  Government  and  Law  

Health  

EducaNon,  STEM  

Avoiding  the  piXall  of  academic  resistance…  

10  

(CRC

OS)  #00212K

 

Student’s  self-­‐reflec;on:  moving  forwards  “To  derive  a  list  of  twenty  five  afributes  that  a  professional  in  an  accounNng  field  should  possess  I  have:  •   evaluated  the  Code  of  Ethics  for  Professional  Accountants,  •   interviewed  two  professionals  in  the  accounNng  industry,  •  conducted  research  on  the  professional  standards  adopted  by  

two  professional  accounNng  bodies.    I  then  criNcally  analysed  my  own  skills,  values,  afributes  and  qualiNes  and  compared  them  to  this  list  …  I  have  learnt  where  my  strengths  and  weaknesses  are  currently  and  I  have  developed  an  acNon  plan  of  how  I  can  begin  to  improve  my  skill  set  so  that  once  I’ve  completed  my  university  degree  I  will  be  befer  equipped  to  join  the  accounNng  industry  as  a  professional.”  

(CRC

OS)  #00212K

 

“The  Assessment  1.2  where  we  were  asked  to  conduct  a  five  year  plan  was  essenNally  where  I  decided  I  was  definitely  in  the  wrong  field  of  study.  Looking  at  where  my  course  would  lead  me  over  the  next  five  years  I  realised  that  PoliNcs  and  InternaNonal  RelaNons  was  not  for  me.    I  decided  that  in  terms  of  career  planning  I  was  going  to  start  looking  at  all  the  skills  that  I  already  had,  what  I  have  achieved  thus  far  and  where  I  want  to  really  be  in  five  years  if  I  was  in  a  new  degree  that  catered  to  my  passions  and  I  make  the  decision  to,  next  year,  begin  a  new  degree.”  

Student’s  self-­‐reflec;on:  moving  sideways  

12  

(CRC

OS)  #00212K

 

•  From  the  end  of  S1  2015,  students  will  receive  badges  in  their  e-­‐porpolios  for  parNcular  capabiliNes:  academic  integrity,  cross-­‐cultural  communicaNon,  working  online.  

•  By  the  end  of  2015,  badges  and  porpolios  will  automaNcally  roll  over  into  students’  LinkedIn  profiles.  

Next  steps  1:  Badges  

13  

(CRC

OS)  #00212K

 

Next  steps  2:  The  MOOC  –  “Naviga;ng  Your  Professional  Future”  

14  

(CRC

OS)  #00212K

 

Under  discussion  is  the  introducNon  of  a  common  final-­‐year  unit  to  provide  a  disciplinary  capstone  and  professional  transiNon  point  into  the  workforce.    This  includes  a  half-­‐way  “health  check”  and  revision  of  the  students’  five-­‐year  plan.  

Next  steps  3:  A  professional  capstone  unit  

15  

(CRC

OS)  #00212K

 

Outcomes  1:  Reten;on  and  engagement    

16  

(CRC

OS)  #00212K

 

•  3-­‐year  longitudinal  study  to  be  completed  in  2017,  examining  impact  of  the  unit  on  academic  success.  

•  Further  study  to  look  at  impact  on  professional  preparaNon.  

•  Spin-­‐off  book  of  resources  and  reflecNons:  12  chapters,  each  from  the  perspecNve  of  a  different  discipline  or  profession.  

Outcomes  2:  Research  

17  

(CRC

OS)  #00212K

 

Aqer  commencing  the  unit:  –  A  small  minority  leq  university  to  pursue  other  

plans  –  A  significant  minority  changed  degree  programs  

–  A  significant  majority  idenNfied  (and  pursued)  extra-­‐mural  development  as  part  of  their  educaNon:  courses,  classes,  self-­‐study,  MOOCs,  clubs,  associaNons,  volunteering,  personal  learning  networks,  work-­‐experience  …  

Outcomes  3:  Student  mobility  

18  

(CRC

OS)  #00212K

 

Students  in  “Becoming  a  Professional”:  –  IdenNfy  and  develop  a  personal  learning  plan;  –  Establish  a  lifelong  learning  framework  in  their  UC  porpolio  that  will  extend  beyond  graduaNon;  

–  Use  the  structures  of  the  university  to  curate  and  cerNfy  learning  from  many  sources.  

The  Future  of  Learning  

19  

(CRC

OS)  #00212K

 

Is  the  future  of  learning  in  higher  educaNon  one  in  which  universiNes  provide  lifle  or  no  content  knowledge,  but  rather,  are  providers  of  a  high-­‐quality  learning  experience  in  which  the  university’s  role  to  facilitate,  organise,  mentor,  curate,  assess  and  credenNal  students’  learning  trajectories?  

20