41038 Professional Practice Review 1
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particular session, location and mode of offering is the authoritative source
of all information about the subject for that offering. Required texts, recommended texts and references in particular are likely to change. Students will be provided with a subject outline once they enrol in the subject.
Subject handbook information prior to 2025 is available in the Archives.
Credit points: 3 cp
Subject level:
Undergraduate
Result type: Pass fail, no marksRequisite(s): 41037 Work Integrated Learning 1 AND 41036 Professional Experience 1 AND 41035 Professional Practice Preparation 1
Description
Successful engineers are able to communicate a professional identity to employers, clients, colleagues and other stakeholders, and participate in constructive verbal and written professional communication. This subject provides students with opportunities to identify and articulate learnings from their first internship. Discussion of these learnings, through written and oral reflections, helps students develop their professional identity and develop a confidence and resilience, which shapes their future studies. It is envisaged that much of the learning in this subject results from the sharing of experiences with their peer group.
Subject learning objectives (SLOs)
Upon successful completion of this subject students should be able to:
| 1. | Reflect on professional experience, and conduct critical self and peer review in order to plan for their own professional development. (F.1) |
|---|---|
| 2. | Articulate, in both written and verbal formats, the development of their professional identity to date. (E.1) |
Course intended learning outcomes (CILOs)
This subject also contributes specifically to the development of the following Course Intended Learning Outcomes (CILOs):
- Collaborative and Communicative: FEIT graduates work as an effective member or leader of diverse teams, communicating effectively and operating within cross-disciplinary and cross-cultural contexts in the workplace. (E.1)
- Reflective: FEIT graduates critically self-review their performance to improve themselves, their teams, and the broader community and society. (F.1)
Contribution to the development of graduate attributes
Following on from EPP1 (41035) as well as internship subjects (41036/41037) this subject provides the opportunity for students to reflect on their development of the graduate attributes required for effective professional practice.
Engineers Australia Stage 1 Competencies
This subject contributes to the development of the following Engineers Australia Stage 1 Competencies:
- 3.2. Effective oral and written communication in professional and lay domains.
- 3.5. Orderly management of self, and professional conduct.
Teaching and learning strategies
The subject is delivered in block mode with a blend of online and face-to-face learning opportunities including 1 recorded lecture, 2 tutorials, and 1 seminar.
The lecture outlines the requirements of the subject and the online resources available to students to support their learning. Students will be introduced to: 1) the writing of critical incidents, 2) the skills of constructive critical review, and 3) the demands of an online 3-slide presentation. Students are expected to have prepared for this lecture as outlined in the program (see next section of this subject outline).
Students should familiarise themselves with the methods of giving and receiving feedback presented in the lecture and detailed in the Learning Guide. They should also look at the two models for writing reflections outlined in the guide.
These models will be described in the lecture and the qualities of a good reflection will be elicited in the tutorials.
Before the first face-to-face classes, students submit their reflections to the group journal function in Canvas. They then complete the reflection checklist found in the learning materials for the work of other group members.
In the tutorial, these checklists will be used as the basis of feedback of each other’s work. The discussion will be widened to identify areas of common experience and difference, strengths they discovered during their internship as well as areas requiring work. Through this synthesis of experience, students will begin to articulate their professional identity.
Students summarise the feedback they have received from their peers for assessment Task 1.
After they have had time to react to the feedback, students will be required to submit their three reflections. This is assessment task 2.
The second tutorial is designed for students to work collaboratively to prepare for a 3-slide presentation on their internship. Students should use photos or artefacts from their internship where appropriate.
The aim of the presentation is to describe the student’s journey. This will include expectations before commencement of the internship, the role within the company and the lessons learned from their experiences.
Assessment
Assessment task 1: Review of peers’ draft reflections
| Intent: | To give feedback on the three draft reflections, and to get feedback from peers on their internship and the writing of their reflections. |
|---|---|
| Objective(s): | This assessment task addresses the following subject learning objectives (SLOs): 1 and 2 This assessment task contributes to the development of the following Course Intended Learning Outcomes (CILOs): E.1 and F.1 |
| Type: | Exercises |
| Groupwork: | Group, group and individually assessed |
| Length: | Approximately 1500 words for the draft reflections and 2c) a paragraph summarising the feedback received from peers. |
Assessment task 2: Completed Reflections
| Intent: | Students begin to establish their identity as professional engineers which develops the confidence and the resilience necessary to succeed in their future studies. |
|---|---|
| Objective(s): | This assessment task addresses the following subject learning objectives (SLOs): 1 and 2 This assessment task contributes to the development of the following Course Intended Learning Outcomes (CILOs): E.1 and F.1 |
| Type: | Reflection |
| Groupwork: | Individual |
| Length: | 1500 words |
| Criteria: | Reflections should:
Language use communicates meaning clearly with a professional/formal degree of accuracy indicative of careful editing. |
Assessment task 3: Three-slide presentation
| Intent: | To assess students’ ability to verbally establish a professional identity and to discuss aspects of interest about their professional experience. |
|---|---|
| Objective(s): | This assessment task addresses the following subject learning objectives (SLOs): 1 and 2 This assessment task contributes to the development of the following Course Intended Learning Outcomes (CILOs): E.1 and F.1 |
| Type: | Presentation |
| Groupwork: | Individual |
| Length: | 5-8 minutes |
Minimum requirements
In order to pass the subject, a student must attempt all tasks and meet a satisfactory standard in all areas and achieve a pass in all assessments.
Recommended texts
Dowling, D., Hadgraft, R., Carew, A., McCarthy, T., Hargreaves, D., Baillie, C., & Male. S. (2019). Engineering your future: An Australasian guide (4th ed.). Melbourne: Wiley.
References
Biggs, John & Collis, Kevin. 1982. Evaluating the Quality of Learning: The SOLO Taxonomy. New York: Academic Press.
Engineers Australia > Competency Standards Stage 2 Revision, viewed 18/02/2015 - <http://www.engineersaustralia.org.au//membership/competency-standards-stage-2-revision>.
Engineers Australia > Professional Development > Chartered Status viewed 18/02/2015 - <http://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/professional-development/chartered-status>.
Engineers Australia. 2010. Code of Ethics, viewed 18/02/2015 - <http://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/sites/default/files/shado/About%20Us/Overview/Governance/codeofethics2010.pdf>
Engineers Australia. 2012. Australian Engineering Competency Standards Stage 2 – Experienced Professional Engineer, viewed 18/02/2015 - <http://www.engineersaustralia.org.au/sites/default/files/shado/Education/echartered/competency_standards_june.pdf>.
Fleddermann, C.B. 2012. Engineering Ethics. Upper Saddle River (NJ): Prentice Hall.
Lannon, John M. 2006. Technical Communication, 10th ed. Boston (MA): Pearson Longman.
Spier, R.E. 2001. Ethics, Tools and the Engineer. Boca Raton (FL): CRC Press.
Vallero, D. & Vesilind, P. 2007. Socially Responsible Engineering: Justice in Risk Management. Hoboken (NJ): John Wiley & Sons.
Other resources
- A Learning Guide to assist students prepare their internship reports and seminar presentations will be made available on Canvas.
- Several other resources will also be made available on Canvas for each specific stage of the assessment tasks.
- U:PASSwrite, a writing support program offered by HELPS, aims to provide a peer-led, informal environment where students can develop their academic writing abilities in a collaborative and discipline-specific context. U:PASSwrite is facilitated by experienced students who have done well in this and other subjects. They are, therefore, in a very good position to share their experience with current students and help improve their writing skills.