Setting personal learning goals is an important step in the process of improving the way in which we learn and achieve, building our capacity to learn, and developing our ability to be independent learners. By being active participants in the learning process, we are more likely to feel empowered and motivated to reach our full potential.

“Previous research into the motivation and efficiency of students has indicated that students who set their own working goals tend to achieve more than when working on goals set for them by the teacher. Students who set their own learning goals have more confidence to take on more challenging tasks, regardless of their ability. Their motivation to improve and master a task is improved and their self-esteem remains strong, even in the case of failure. When students are assisted to delve into their own thinking and learning processes, they are drawn to think about the effectiveness of the strategies they used to achieve the learning goals they set. Planning what to do, monitoring progress towards achieving it and evaluating the outcome can help students take more control over their thinking and learning processes and equip them with learning to learn skills.” (Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, 2006, p.3).

This assessment task will therefore require you to develop an individualised learning plan which contains the following:

• 4 key areas for improvement or future learning - these should be related to skills or knowledge required when completing your sessional placement and must be written as learning objectives based on the SMART goal setting criteria
• clear rationales for each objective - it should be clear that you have adopted an evidence-based practice approach and that you have reflected upon your prior experiences, skills and knowledge when developing these objectives
• strategies and methods that you will use to help you achieve your goals
• a description of how you will determine and evaluate the achievement of your objectives

This task is worth 20% of your overall mark for this unit and must be passed (with a minimum mark of 50%) in order to pass the unit. A marking rubric will be available through the SPCH13006 Moodle page.

References

Department of Education and Early Childhood Development. (2006). Developing, monitoring and reporting on personal learning goals. Melbourne, Victoria: State Government Victoria. Retrieved from http://www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/school/teachers/teachingresources/social/personal/devperslearngoal.pdf

A marking rubric which details the specific criteria for this assessment task will be provided to you through the SPCH13006 Moodle page. These criteria will be based upon your ability to:

• clearly and succinctly write 4 key areas for improvement or future learning, as per the Task Description
• write clear rationales for each objective
• demonstrate your reflective and reasoning skills
• apply an evidence-based practice approach
• identify a range of appropriate and specific strategies and methods that will help you to achieve your goals
• describe how you will determine and evaluate the achievement of your objectives
• use appropriate conventions, including spelling, syntax, and punctuation, and present your written document in a professional manner
• use APA referencing accurately

This task is worth 20% of your overall mark for this unit and will be marked out of 20. In order to pass this assessment task, you must obtain a minimum mark of 50% (10 out of 20 marks). You must pass this assessment task in order to pass the unit. 

This assessment task will require you to demonstrate your ability to self-reflect as well as your understanding of how skills may be transferred from one context to another, enabling you to potentially fill any existing 'gaps' in direct clinical experience. You will be expected to provide a written reflection that describes how you have (or how you could in the future) transfer skills from one area to another, such as across range of practice areas, from adult to paediatric caseloads and vice versa, or between different workplaces or clinics. This written piece may then be included in your portfolio as a reflective statement which forms part of your collection of indirect evidence of skills across the different range of practice areas and CBOS units. The word limit for this assessment piece is 3000 words.

A marking rubric containing specific assessment criteria for this task will be made available on the unit Moodle page. These criteria will be based on the following:

• your ability to describe and reflect upon previous clinical experiences and to identify the learning that has taken place thus far
• your ability to link this learning to the CBOS and Generic Professional Competency (GPC) units
• your understanding of how skills may or may not be be transferable from one context to another
• your ability to understand your strengths as well as the areas for improvement, specifically in relation to CBOS and the GPC units, and to identify strategies that you may use in the future to address these areas requiring improvement
• your use of appropriate writing conventions, including accurate spelling, grammar, punctuation, cohesion, clarity, and organisation, and your ability to adhere to the word limit of 3000 words

This task is worth 80% of your overall mark for this unit and will be marked out of 80. In order to pass this assessment task, you must obtain a minimum mark of 50% (40 out of 80 marks). You must pass this assessment task in order to pass the unit.

This term you will be attending two sessional placements, each of which will be up to one day per week. These sessions will occur on a weekly basis throughout the term and will provide you with the opportunity to develop your practical skills under the supervision of a Clinical Educator (CE). Some placements may be on-campus whilst others may be off-campus. If you are allocated an off-campus placement, you are required to organise your own travel arrangements.

All students should also be aware that it is expected that there will be a high level of variability across the different clinical placements that each student participates in. This variety will be dependent on a range of factors, including the caseload (eg. children versus adults), the supervisor, the clinic setting, and the range of practice areas that are the focus of each placement (eg. speech versus language versus swallowing, etc). The variety of placements that are available to students provide you with the opportunity to broaden your experiences and develop your skills across different areas relevant to Speech Pathology.

For each placement, you will need to complete the following:

• mid-placement assessment using COMPASS On-line. This will be completed with your Clinical Educator (CE) at the mid-point of your placements, however you will also be required to complete a self-assessment (also using COMPASS On-line) prior to meeting with your CE for this assessment. The mid-placement assessment is formative in nature, which means that although it does not technically count towards your final mark at the end of the placement, it provides you with a formal opportunity to discuss your strengths and areas for improvement - that is, the areas to focus on for the second half of the placement. It also provides your CE with an opportunity to formally raise any concerns with the Clinical Education Co-Ordinator (CEC).

• final-placement assessment using COMPASS On-line. This will be completed at the completion of your placements. Again, you will be required to complete a self-assessment using COMPASS On-line prior to meeting with your CE. This final assessment is summative in nature, meaning that it provides the CE with the opportunity to give final marks and feedback regarding the entire placement. At this point you are required to be at intermediate level across each of the four generic professional competencies as well as the majority of the CBOS (2011) Units, including Units 1-4. The behavioural descriptors for the intermediate-level student can be found in the COMPASS Assessment Resource Manual which is available on COMPASS On-line and will also be posted on Moodle. These behavioural descriptors include the following: a moderate-low degree of supervision is required, the ability to draw some accurate conclusions about a client and to develop some plans for action, and the ability to recognise some important aspects of the total clinical situation. It is expected that you will still require support to recognise and prioritise all aspects of a situation and to flexibly apply problem-solving strategies, principles and theory.

• learning contract - this is a learning agreement that is reached between you and your CE at the beginning of the placement (i.e. in the first week). It enables both you and your CE to identify and discuss any particular areas which need to be focussed on and developed throughout the placement. The contract is to be reviewed at the mid and final points of your placements, in order to determine whether the goals you have set for yourself have been achieved.

• Clinical Hours Summary form - you should record your clinical contact hours each week and your CE will sign off on this form at the completion of the placement.

• any additional documentation that is required by the CE or placement organisation, such as written reports and information for client files.

Further details regarding recording hours, completing learning contracts and using COMPASS, as well as the forms required for these procedures, can all be found in the Speech Pathology Clinical Education Handbook, which will be made available on Moodle. In addition, the handbook describes the expectations of students who are completing placements, including information regarding dress code, professional conduct, confidentiality, attendance and absences, and managing a range of issues during placements. Students should ensure that they are familiar with the content of the Clinical Education Handbook prior to commencing any placement.

This assessment item has pass/fail criteria and students must pass both sessional placements they have been assigned to in order to achieve a pass grade for this unit. 

Also note that in order to commence this placement, students must have met all pre-clinical requirements.

In order to determine whether you have passed this assessment item, your Clinical Educator will assess your competence using the COMPASS® On-line assessment tool. You will be required to demonstrate intermediate-level (or above) competence across each of the four generic professional competencies and the majority of the competency-based occupational standards (CBOS), including CBOS Units 1-4 (as described in the Behavioural Descriptors section of the COMPASS® Assessment Resource Manual).

The generic professional competency units are:

• Professional Competency Unit 1: Reasoning
• Professional Competency Unit 2: Communication
• Professional Competency Unit 3: Learning
• Professional Competency Unit 4: Professionalism

The CBOS units are:

• CBOS Unit 1: Assessment
• CBOS Unit 2: Analysis and Interpretation
• CBOS Unit 3: Planning Evidence-based Speech Pathology Practices
• CBOS Unit 4: Implementation of Speech Pathology Practice
• CBOS Unit 5: Planning, Providing and Managing Speech Pathology Services
• CBOS Unit 6: Professional and Supervisory Practice
• CBOS Unit 7: Lifelong Learning and Reflective Practice

Further information regarding each of these units can be found in the COMPASS Assessment Resource Manual, available through COMPASS On-line: https://compass.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au/compass/portal/portal.jsp.

Unless entry-level competence according to COMPASS® has already been reached, students must also demonstrate that they have made sufficient progress during the placement in each of the assessed competencies. ‘Sufficient progress’ can be defined as:

I. Any amount of progress between the student’s performance on their mid-placement and final-placement assessments, as determined by a student’s mark on the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS), for each competency assessed through the use of COMPASS®. This means that students are expected to demonstrate improvements on the VAS for each of the assessed competencies, provided that they have been given the opportunity to do so. For example, if a mid-placement assessment indicates that a student’s marks on the VAS are close to novice level for all competencies assessed at the mid-placement point, but that they are all at (or close to) the intermediate level by the end of the placement, this would indicate that progress has been made throughout the duration of the placement

AND/OR

II. Any amount of progress made between the final placement assessments of two consecutive placements, based on the student’s competency scores. For example, if a student achieves a competency score of 394 at the end of one placement and a competency score of 503 at the end of the following placement, this is considered to be ‘sufficient progress’.

The Clinical Education Co-ordinator (CEC) must also consider all available evidence of a student’s performance and competence and determine that a pass grade for that particular clinical placement is appropriate. Other evidence of performance and factors that need to be considered by the CEC may include (but are not limited to) variability / inconsistency in performance and opportunities to demonstrate required level of competence.

Further details regarding the specific pass criteria for sessional placements can be found in the Clinical Education Handbook and will also be discussed during scheduled tutorials. Students should familiarise themselves with the behavioural descriptors and competencies described on COMPASS, including the four generic professional competency units and the seven CBOS units.

During your sessional placements you will be required to continue to gather evidence (direct and indirect) of your developing competence in each of the generic professional competency units as well as the Competency-Based Occupational Standards (CBOS) (as described by the COMPASS® assessment tool), across the Range of Practice areas and with both adult and child caseloads. At the completion of your placements, you must present a portfolio of this supporting evidence for review and feedback. Portfolios may be submitted as either an electronic document or a hard copy portfolio. Examples of documents that you may wish to include in your portfolio are:

• evidence of assessment planning, administration and analysis/interpretation, such as de-identified assessment reports, progress notes, letters relating to assessment, etc.
• evidence of goal setting and intervention planning, such as de-identified session plans, management plans, assessment reports, case conference minutes, progress notes, etc.
• evidence of the provision of intervention, such as de-identified session plans, progress notes, therapy summary/progress reports, etc.
• evidence of other clinical experiences, such as the evaluation of speech pathology services, the training and education of others, participation in research and/or resource development, etc.
• written self-reflections and CE and peer feedback
• COMPASS results
• unit profiles
• relevant assessment pieces
• certificates of participation in professional development events
• letters of reference

This portfolio is a pass/fail assessment requirement. You will be required to present your portfolio to the Clinical Education Coordinator (CEC) to demonstrate that you have been collecting and compiling evidence of the development of competence across different range of practice areas, as well as each of the CBOS and generic professional competency units. The actual content and organisation of the portfolio will not be formally assessed, however feedback will be provided with the aim of giving you further direction regarding how to continue to develop your portfolio prior to graduation.