Unit Outline

Interpersonal Skills for Social Work Practice introduces you to foundational knowledge and skills of effective professional communication for social work practice.  Two key themes – deep listening and critical self-awareness – are a focus throughout the learning experience to guide you on how to respond appropriately and purposefully to people's needs in a variety of social work settings. You will explore and integrate culturally responsive and decolonising social work practice as key elements of professional social interactions and building blocks for critically reflexive practice.

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	Demonstrate effective professional communication skills for building ethical, decolonising, and culturally responsive professional relationships in social work practice.
2	Critically analyse the role of context, purpose, self, and values in building professional relationships through applying knowledge on communication, language, and social interaction.
3	Critically reflect on own communication skills, engaging with constructive feedback.
4	Identify strengths and gaps in interpersonal skills and examine possible methods for deepening and extending interpersonal skills.

Requisites


REQUISITE TYPE	REQUISITES
Pre-requisite	(HGW101 or HGW111) and (HGW102 or HGW112)

Alterations as a result of student feedback

This unit is new in Semester 2, 2026. The teaching team will greatly appreciate your feedback both informally during the delivery of the unit in 2026, and formally through the University of Tasmania’s Unit Survey following your completion of the unit.

How will I be Assessed?

For more detailed assessment information please see MyLO.

Assessment schedule


ASSESSMENT TASK #	ASSESSMENT TASK NAME	DATE DUE	WEIGHT	LINKS TO INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES
Assessment Task 1:	Self-Evaluation of Communication Skills	Week 4	20 %	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4
Assessment Task 2:	Video-recorded interview	Week 9	40 %	LO1, LO2
Assessment Task 3:	Critical analysis of interview recording	Week 12	40 %	LO2, LO3, LO4

Assessment details

Assessment Task 1: Self-Evaluation of Communication Skills

Task Description:

Self-evaluation of communication skills, applying theories of communication, listening, impact of contexts, values, and experience.

Task Length:

1500 words

Due Date:

Week 4

Weight:

20 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Critically evaluate own communication skills through analysing personal examples. Viewpoints and interpretations supported with reference to theories of communication and professional skills literature.	LO1, LO4
2	Self-evaluation demonstrates honest and critical reflection through application of concepts	LO2, LO3
3	Self-evaluation is written clearly and concisely. Responses structured in a logical and readable manner.	LO3

Assessment Task 2: Video-recorded interview

Task Description:

Recorded interview demonstrating professional and ethical interpersonal skills in a social work interview.

Task Length:

12-15mins

Due Date:

Week 9

Weight:

40 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Demonstrate effective professional communication skills for building a working relationship.	LO1, LO2
2	Demonstrate effective skills for exploring a person’s concern and impacts in their life.	LO1, LO2
3	Demonstrate effective skills for developing a deeper shared understanding of the person’s concern its broader social context.	LO1, LO2

Assessment Task 3: Critical analysis of interview recording

Task Description:

Critical analysis and reflection on interview process, incorporating discussion of current strengths and directions for improving skills.

Task Length:

2000 words

Due Date:

Week 12

Weight:

40 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Critical analysis of interview recording accurately analyses key skills in interaction process of interview, drawing on relevant literature to support analysis.	LO2, LO4
2	Analysis applied to identifying current strengths and personal directions for skills development.	LO3, LO4
3	Critical analysis is written clearly and concisely, structured in logical and readable manner.	LO3

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.

Academic progress review

The results for this unit may be included in a review of your academic progress. For information about progress reviews and what they mean for all students, see Academic Progress Review in the Student Portal.

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.

Academic integrity

Academic integrity is about acting responsibly, honestly, ethically, and collegially when using, producing, and communicating information with other students and staff members.

In written work, you must correctly reference the work of others to maintain academic integrity. To find out the referencing style for this unit, see the assessment information in the MyLO site, or contact your teaching staff. For more detail about Academic Integrity, see Important Guidelines & Support.

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.