Unit Outline

Students in this unit will undertake the equivalent of an unpaid, professional placement of 80 hours duration, which gives them a work integrated learning experience – providing intended learning outcomes that could reasonably be expected from a placement within a government, non-government or private sector organisation. Typically a placement project is arranged with an industry partner by the Unit Coordinator. The placement may occur as part of a group experience, where you will work with a team of students on a real-life project, or as an individual placement, potentially embedded in an organisation. On those occasions when an 'in workplace' placement is possible, students must obtain written approval from the Unit Coordinator before approaching an industry partner. During the placement, students will participate in completing discrete projects, everyday work tasks, or a combination of both. Over the course of the placement, it is expected that students will apply their discipline-specific knowledge and develop a better understanding of environmental management, protected area management, planning, environmental geospatial science, and/or related fields. The placement will include understanding the structure and functions of key agencies and organisations, the role and responsibilities of professionals, and students will develop an understanding of Australian workplace culture. Through this authentic, problem-based learning experience, students will be encouraged to develop contacts within their profession and among broader stakeholders during and after their placement. Over the course of the unit, students will practise key employability skills, will experience aspects of workplace cultures, and will develop skills as a reflexive practitioner, reflecting on their values, professional ethics and professional codes of practice. Assessments will enable students to apply discipline specific knowledge, and insights from the scholarly literature to everyday planning and management practices. Through assessment tasks, students will enhance their critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Assessment will emphasise important transferable employability skills such as writing and communicating (e.g. presentation skills, report writing) and professional skills (e.g., preparing a CV, writing briefing notes, writing reports, and addressing selection criteria).

Intended Learning Outcomes

As per the Assessment and Results Policy 1.3, your results will reflect your achievement against specified learning outcomes.

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


1	Apply key employability skills and interpersonal skills to professional work tasks to the satisfaction of a supervisor in a real or simulated Australian workplace
2	Apply discipline-specific knowledge in a professional setting, to meet client objectives for a real or simulated project
3	Appraise the role of values and ethics in professional practice and identify appropriate sources of help for managing ethical dilemmas in professional workplaces
4	Evaluate opportunities and challenges in professional environmental management, geospatial science, and/or planning practice and formulate solutions to resolve these
5	Communicate with peers, industry professionals and supervisors, conveying information in verbal and written forms appropriate for a professional audience

Requisites


REQUISITE TYPE	REQUISITES

Alterations as a result of student feedback

Teaching arrangements


ATTENDANCE MODE	TEACHING TYPE	LEARNING ACTIVITY	CONTACT HOURS	FREQUENCY
On Campus	Clinical or Professional Practice	You will participate in a placement, either simulated or embedded as part of an industry partner project, working either individually or as part of a small team of students on an industry partner project. The total hours for this are 80 hours of unpaid placement time. This may be done as a block of just over two weeks, or across 8 weeks of semester, based on industry partner capacity and needs.	10	Study Period 8 times
On Campus	Other	You will have assessment tasks to complete in your own time. These assessment tasks include writing a placement application (CV/resume, cover letter, selection criteria and LinkedIn profile), a professional portfolio (learning journal), a placement project report, and placement related activities such as negotiating and signing a placement contract, undertaking a risk assessment, and completing a student information sheet. For the professional portfolio, you will answer weekly questions.	4.40	Weekly
Online	Lecture (Online)	You will watch a short (typically 10 - 20 minute) online lecture each week on content related to the Intended Learning Outcomes for the placement before you come to class (online) to discuss the lecture content.	0.20	Weekly
	Workshop (Online)	You will join your classmates online in a synchronous learning environment (timetabled weekly workshop) to discuss the unit readings, participate in in-class activities, and discuss lecture content. Later in the semester you will also share your placement experiences.	1	Weekly
	Independent Learning	You will be reading articles and online content related to the placement. You will also need to search for relevant articles on scholarly databases and to read those articles and synthesise key insights. You will do this in your own time.	4.40	Weekly

Attendance/Engagement Expectations

If your unit is offered On campus, it is expected that you will attend all on-campus and onsite learning activities. This is to support your own learning and the development of a learning community within the unit. If you are unable to attend regularly, please discuss the situation with your course coordinator and/or our UConnect support team.

If your unit is offered Online, it is expected you will engage in all those activities as indicated in the Unit Outline, including any self-directed learning.

If you miss a learning activity for a legitimate reason (e.g., illness, family commitments) teaching staff will attempt to provide alternative activities (e.g., make up readings) where it is possible.

How will I be Assessed?

Assessment schedule


ASSESSMENT TASK #	ASSESSMENT TASK NAME	DATE DUE	WEIGHT	LINKS TO INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES
ASSESSMENT TASK 1:	Placement application	Week 3	30 %	LO1, LO4, LO5
ASSESSMENT TASK 2:	Placement contract and risk assessment	Week 5	10 %	LO1, LO2, LO4, LO5
ASSESSMENT TASK 3:	Professional portfolio	Week 12	30 %	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5
ASSESSMENT TASK 4:	Placement project	Week 14	20 %	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5
ASSESSMENT TASK 5:	Project management and performance evaluation	Week 15	10 %	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5

Assessment details

Assessment Task 1: Placement application

TASK DESCRIPTION:

Prepare a professional CV or Resume, LinkedIn profile, cover letter, and address job selection criteria, following examples from the University of Tasmania’s relevant employment assistance websites and online training modules.

TASK LENGTH:

Up to 10, single-sided, A4 pages (excluding any coversheet)

DUE DATE:

Week 3

WEIGHT:

30 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOME


1	Develop and present your Curriculum Vitae or Resume using a professional template	LO1, LO4, LO5
2	Develop a professional standard LinkedIn profile and share with Unit Coordinator	LO1, LO4, LO5
3	Address selection criteria for a real or simulated ‘job’ to a standard that would be competitive in a real-world setting, and include a professional job cover letter	LO5
4	Attribute any sources you use via correct referencing and citation using the Harvard referencing style	LO5

Assessment Task 2: Placement contract and risk assessment

TASK DESCRIPTION:

Working either individually or as part of a small team (depending on placement type), negotiate a contract for a placement project related to your discipline-specific knowledge, to meet the brief specified by an industry placement project
supervisor. The contract must include: client objectives, performance criteria, delivery specifications, delivery mode, delivery timeframe, quality standards and a risk assessment.

TASK LENGTH:

Maximum 20 A4 single-sided pages.

DUE DATE:

Week 5

WEIGHT:

10 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOME


1	Develop a placement work program identifying client objectives	LO1, LO2, LO5
2	Collaborate with your industry partner to devise appropriate tasks, milestones, deliverables and performance criteria for the project	LO1, LO2, LO5
3	Prepare a Gantt chart detailing the timeframes for completing agreed project tasks	LO1, LO2, LO5
4	Sign the placement contract on time	LO1, LO2, LO5
5	Prepare and submit a risk assessment for the project using the UTAS proforma	LO1, LO2, LO4, LO5

Assessment Task 3: Professional portfolio

TASK DESCRIPTION:

Following the instructions and template provided in MyLO, prepare a professional portfolio / reflective journal that documents the following: (1) your reflections on the weekly readings and the key lessons that can be learned for professional practice; (2) how you have applied your discipline knowledge to solving problems and completing tasks in your professional placement; (3) how you would address an ethical issue in the workplace; (4) how your placement has affected your ideas about the nature of being an environmental management, geospatial science, or planning professional; (5) how you resolved any issues that you encountered in your placement. Answer the questions in each week of the portfolio and integrate reflections from the weekly readings.

TASK LENGTH:

8,000 words maximum (excluding figures and tables)

DUE DATE:

Week 12

WEIGHT:

30 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOME


1	Explain: (a) what was done in your placement, (b) how it was done, (c) and the rationales behind the tasks assigned to you	LO1, LO4, LO5
2	Describe: (d) what experiences were gained doing the work you undertook, (e) what problems were encountered and how you solved them, (f) what victories (if any) were experienced, (g) how success was recognised and or rewarded in the workplace	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5
3	Reflect on: (h) how you have felt about the work done during your placement, your experiences, the outputs you created;	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5
4	Appraise: (i) how you have interpreted the relationship between theory and practice during your placement, and (j) any other matters that you consider provided benefit or offered new insights during your placement.	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO5
5	Use professional terminology and logical structure to share and communicate written and verbal artefacts, complying with template standards	LO5
6	Attribute sources in accordance with professional standards and expectations	LO5
7	Answer the questions as specified in the portfolio template, including images, tables, appendices where relevant and a reference list	LO3, LO4, LO5

Assessment Task 4: Placement project

TASK DESCRIPTION:

Working as an individual or as part of a small team (depending on placement type), undertake a project related to your discipline-specific knowledge, as specified in the contract you have signed with the placement provider, to meet the brief specified by a placement supervisor (client objectives), including: performance criteria,
delivery specifications, delivery mode, timeframe and quality standards. Write a report documenting the placement project tasks, methods, outcomes and policy recommendations. Where requested by placement provider, provide a professional standard presentation, communicating the placement outcomes.

TASK LENGTH:

Up to 5,000 words (excluding images, tables, appendices and reference list).

DUE DATE:

Week 14

WEIGHT:

20 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOME


1	Write a professional standard report documenting the placement project tasks, methods, outcomes, and policy recommendations	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5
2	Draw upon scholarly sources to support arguments and reasoning using evidence to support practice and claims	LO2, LO5
3	Use professional terminology and logical structure to share and communicate written and verbal artefacts, attributing your sources and complying with template standards	LO5

Assessment Task 5: Project management and performance evaluation

TASK DESCRIPTION:

Working with your industry partner supervisor, either as an individual or in a small team, at the beginning of the placement develop a work plan as part of the contract for your placement, including the tasks you will undertake, the supervisor's expectations for completing those tasks – including timeframes, individual components if working in a team, and professional standards for delivery, as well as key performance indicators specifying how your success will be measured upon completion of the placement.

TASK LENGTH:

Across the duration of the placement

DUE DATE:

Week 15

WEIGHT:

10 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOME


1	Review your performance with your placement supervisor upon completion of your placement	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5
2	Evaluate achievement of the project objectives, tasks, milestones, deliverables, and timeframes	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5
3	Identify how to improve your performance in the future	LO1, LO4, LO5

How your final result is determined

To pass this unit, you need to demonstrate your attainment of each of the Intended Learning Outcomes, achieve a final unit grade of 50% or greater, and pass any hurdle tasks.

Submission of assignments

Where practicable, assignments should be submitted to an assignment submission folder in MYLO. You must submit assignments by the due date or receive a penalty (unless an extension of time has been approved by the Unit Coordinator). Students submitting any assignment in hard copy, or because of a practicum finalisation, must attach a student cover sheet and signed declaration for the submission to be accepted for marking.

Requests for extensions

If you are unable to submit an assessment task by the due date, you should apply for an extension.

A request for an extension should first be discussed with your Unit Coordinator or teaching support team where possible. A request for an extension must be submitted by the assessment due date, except where you can provide evidence it was not possible to do so. Typically, an application for an extension will be supported by documentary evidence: however, where it is not possible for you to provide evidence please contact your Unit Coordinator.

The Unit Coordinator must notify you of the outcome of an extension request within 3 working days of receiving the request.

Late Penalties

Assignments submitted after the deadline will receive a late penalty of 5% of the original available mark for each calendar day (or part day) that the assignment is late. Late submissions will not be accepted more than 10 calendar days after the due date, or after assignments have been returned to other students on a scheduled date, whichever occurs first. Further information on Late Penalties can be found on the Assessments and Results Procedure.

Review of results and appeals

You are entitled to ask for a review of the marking and grading of your assessment task if there is an irregularity in the marking standards or an error in the process for determining the outcome of an assessment. Details on how to request a review of a mark for an assignment are outlined in the Review and Appeal of Academic Decisions Procedure.