This assessment activity is designed to support reflective practice and help develop reflective practice competencies. Reflective practice is the ability to reflect on ourselves and be able to critically analyse our own practice. This includes reflecting on the values, theories, knowledge, and experiences that inform what we do. By examining these critically, we can continue to learn and further enhance our self-development. This helps us to consider whether we are acting in ways that are responsive and reflexive and hopefully minimise the impact of biases stemming from our own world views.

• The impact of our own culture on our behaviour;
• How our worldview has formed and how this may impact how we understand others;
• Areas that we need to further develop around our understanding of culture and diversity.

What you need to do

You will complete five (5) reflective activities throughout the term and write a short journal response (200-300 words) upon completion of each activity.

A list of activities will be provided to you on Moodle. You are encouraged to include activities that involve engaging with a range of diversity groups across your five chosen activities (e.g. watch a documentary on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives, reflect on inclusive practices for people who identify as LGBTQIA+).

Each short journal response should include a brief description of the activity you engaged in and a summary of the reflective practice you engaged in. This summary should focus on what you have learned from the activity and what insights you gained about yourself, others, or the world through this reflection. It should include a summary of what you have learned regarding the cultural or diversity group chosen. It should include reflections on how you have worked in the past, what you might do moving forward, or how practice can be improved. Write a short response for each activity you engage in.

Please submit all five (5) individual reflective responses in a single word document with a cover sheet.

The total of all reflective journal responses is 40 marks (which represents 40% of your overall unit grade). Marks will be allocated according to the following criteria:

• Activity briefly described (2.5 marks)
• Content included reflections of self, others, or world (10 marks)
• Content included reflections on culture and diversity (10 marks)
• Response demonstrated learning and insight into culture and diversity (10 marks)
• Quality of written expression (5 marks)
• Within the word limit overall (2.5 marks)

A key component of cultural competency in psychology is to be able to critically analyse information, theories, research, frameworks, and assessments through the lens of culture and diverse populations. To be able to critically analyse psychological literature will enable you to understand if, when, or how a concept, framework, theory, or assessment should be considered with a diverse population. It will enable you to develop a deeper understanding of diverse populations, to explore what is known, to explore what we need to understand further, as well as more broadly understanding how the literature is or isn’t inclusive of diverse populations and how this can be addressed.

Assessment Task 2 is designed to develop these skills:

• Searching for literature relevant to a particular topic or population;
• Ability to summarise the literature;
• Ability to critically analyse existing literature in light of clinical and policy implications and limitations in existing literature through the lens of diversity and culture;
• Ability to formulate recommendations to guide future research directions through the lens of diversity and culture.

There are two (2) parts to this assessment, each with a separate due date.

Part 1 (20%): Due Monday of Week 4 at 9:00am (AEST)

You will need to select a topic in psychology (e.g. intelligence testing, depression) and find 10 articles focused on three diverse populations using the ADDRESSING framework. You will summarise these in an annotated bibliography. An annotated bibliography presents an overview of the selected articles. You will need to reference the article correctly using APA 7 formatting, outline the key points from the article, and a brief description of how it is relevant to your chosen topics or literature review. Each summary should be no more than 100-150 words, not including the reference. You will need to formulate a title for the literature review (Part 2) including your psychological topic, diverse populations, and purpose/type of written report.

Part 1 will help you find a selection of articles relevant to the literature review. It will help you begin to summarise the findings and understand the trend of findings in the literature. It will highlight what other articles you may need to locate for Part 2. It will enable you to get feedback on your title in preparation for Part 2.

Part 2 (40%): Due Monday of Week 10 at 9:00am (AEST)

You will need to write a literature review (2000-2500 words NOT including references). The literature review will be on your chosen psychological topic and will include three diverse populations based on the ADDRESSING framework. The aim of the literature review is to present a summary of the key findings of the existing literature on your chosen psychological topic and diverse populations. The aim is to critically analyse this literature in regards to implications of the findings, limitations and gaps, and future recommendations. The review will enable the reader to understand what is known with regard to the psychological topic and diverse populations, to guide clinical practice or policy, to understand the limitations of the literature, and to formulate future research directions.

The literature review should include:

1. Summary of the main findings in the literature as it relates to your chosen topic and populations
2. Discussion of the clinical and/or policy implications of these findings
3. Outline of the gaps and limitations of the existing literature
4. Outline of recommendations for future research

You should include other articles and references to provide additional information or context to those found in Part 1.

Part 1 and Part 2 of Assessment 2 will be marked separately. A combined score will be calculated to give you an overall mark for the assessment.

Part 1 will be graded out of 20 marks. Marks will be allocated according to each of the following criteria:

• Selection of topic, population and 10 relevant articles (5 marks)
  
• Summary of each article (10 marks)
• Quality of written communication (2 marks)
• APA formatting (2 marks)
• Within word limit (1 mark)

Part 2 will be graded out of 40 marks. Marks will be allocated according to each of the following criteria:

• Selection, and introduction to the psychological topic, diverse populations, and review (4 marks)
• Critical synthesis of the literature in relation to three diverse populations (10 marks)
• Discussion of the implications of these findings for clinical practice and/or policy (5 marks)
• Highlights gaps in the literature and limitations in the existing literature (5 marks)
• Outlines recommendations for future research (5 marks)
• Quality of written communication (5 marks)
• APA formatting (2 marks)
• Inclusion of a minimum of 15 articles (2 marks)
• Within word limit (2 marks)