Staff Information & Teaching Guide - Swinburne University of ...

unit of studys which may be incorporated into the IEAust accredited study sequence of
engineering students, even if only as electives. These attributes include the ability:
to apply knowledge of basic science & engineering fundamentals;
to communicate effectively with scientists & also with the community at large;
to undertake problem identification, formulation & solution;
to function effectively as an individual & in multi-disciplinary & multi-cultural
teams, with the capacity to be a leader or manager as well as an effective team
member;
to develop an understanding of professional & ethical responsibilities &
commitment to them,
to develop an expectation of the need to undertake lifelong learning, & the
capacity to do so
(Council of IEAust, 1997)
In addition to these above-named attributes, there are others specific to engineering,
which are required to be adopted by engineering courses, but may perhaps not have to
be adopted in only marginally related unit of studys.
Although the APS has strong influence on the definition of course structure and should
be considered by any unit of studys which may be incorporated into the APS accredited
study sequence of psychology students. This organization has very strict control over
undergraduate psychology programs Australia-wide, and its goals related to psychology
training and education – although less specifically stated as graduate attributes – should
be reflected in allied courses to ensure that allied (cross-discipline) unit of studys follow
similar processes when designing course content and assessment procedures for the
scientific study of psychology-allied unit of studys such as psychophysiology.
With such strictly defined graduate attributes from within the university and from external
bodies, it is important to examine the assessment systems utilised by unit of studys
under this influence (even if only elective or allied unit of studys in such courses), to
determine if they are able to adequately assess any of these attributes. As suggested by
Percival and Ellington (1984), the most appropriate method of assessment should use a
battery of techniques to assess different learning objectives and thereby increase the
reliability and validity of the assessment while remaining fair and useful to students. In
view of this, a range of assessment techniques have been adopted in the
psychophysiology coursework in an attempt to provide multiple methods of assessment
of a range of learning skills and outcomes.
With the focus of curricula extending to increased emphasis on real world learning and
projects work, there is an increasing need to utilise a range off assessment teachniques
within programs. Practical and project work incorporated into a curriculum provides
important opportunities for the students to develop a range of more generic skills. How to
assess their development of these skills and knowledge in this range of students is
always a challenge.
Laboratory report assessment: The use of practical reports as an assessable items has
reflected a direct relationship to the needs of students to develop strong report writing
skills. Some students such as those enrolled in the psychology program are strongly
aware of the needs to develop such skills, which begin in the first semester of their
course in both psychology and physiology unit of studys. However, other student cohorts
– such as technology/science/engineering students – are not exposed to such reporting
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