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Unit Synopsis
Effective and ethical communication is an essential skill for professionals such as psychologists, whose work involves engaging with diverse groups and potentially vulnerable communities. In this unit, you will explore and practise culturally responsive communication skills. You will develop practical capabilities in interviewing, active listening, and adapting communication styles to suit different audiences, including professional, academic, peer, community, and general‑population contexts. You will examine the importance of ethical conduct and communication across research, social, and clinical settings, including the use of technology, as well as the role of self‑care in maintaining ethical and effective practice. You will also reflect on your ongoing development as a communicator and consider how these skills apply to future work or study.
Details
| Level | Undergraduate |
|---|---|
| Unit Level | 4 |
| Credit Points | 6 |
| Student Contribution Band | SCA Band 4 |
| Fraction of Full-Time Student Load | 0.125 |
| Pre-requisites or Co-requisites |
Students must be enrolled in CC42 Bachelor of Psychological Science (Honours)
Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework). |
| Class Timetable | View Unit Timetable |
| Residential School | No Residential School |
Unit Availabilities from Term 2 - 2026
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.
Assessment Tasks
| Assessment Task | Weighting |
|---|---|
| 1. Written Assessment | 35% |
| 2. Presentation | 30% |
| 3. Written Assessment | 35% |
This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%).
Past Exams
All University policies are available on the Policy web site, however you may wish to directly view the following policies below.
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of policies are available on the Policy web site.
Feedback, Recommendations and Responses
Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.
Source: SUTE
Provide more resources in addition to the existing recorded presentations.
Provide more resources such as articles and links to relevant websites.
More resources were made available on Moodle.
Source: SUTE
The first and third linked assessments felt repetitive.
Review these two assessments. Make the differences between them in identifying short-term (Assessment 1) and then long-term (Assessment 3) skill development clearer.
Communication to students highlighted the different goals of these assessment items as well as the differing communication styles applicable to each assessment.
Source: SUTE
In Assessment 2 (demonstrating interview skills), consider also measuring the skills of the Interviewee, not just the Interviewer.
Broaden Assessment 2 so that the Interviewee's communication skills are also assessed.
The amendment of this assessment piece was delayed as the content of this unit and assessments will be reviewed prior to its next offering (T2 2026).
Source: SUTE
There was confusion as to how many peer feedback sheets were required to be submitted as it varied depending on group size.
Clarify the number of peer feedback sheets required to be submitted.
Very specific discussions were held in tutorials to work through the number of feedback sheets required to be submitted. There was also a workflow document provided explaining the process and expectations.
Source: SUTE
A safe platform to present and receive feedback was appreciated.
Continue to use the tutorials to encourage students to practice the skills that are being taught. This could possibly be expanded to include scenario-based challenges for weeks covering communication with diverse communities.
In Progress
Source: SUTE
Feedback on assignments were some of the most useful that had been received.
Continue to ensure feedback is clear, personalised, and actionable.
In Progress
Source: SUTE
Tutorials were engaging although not necessarily enjoyed by all.
Continue the current level of engaging interaction within the tutorials. To address the reported variability in student enjoyment, consider investing in a greater range of practical, structured scenarios to broaden the appeal and application of the learning content.
In Progress
Source: SUTE
It was not always clear what the relevance of this unit is to students (especially those who are aiming to become registered psychologists).
In tutorials, specifically draw students' attention to how the skills taught and assessed in this unit are relevant to both professional and research roles.
In Progress
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- Critically analyse the theory, research and practice underlying effective communication skills, and evaluate your ongoing development of communication skills in relation to future professional or study contexts
- Reflect on effective communication skills when engaging in interprofessional practice
- Critically evaluate digital technologies and self-care principles to ensure safe and ethical psychological practice
- Apply culturally responsive principles to analyse and address communication‑related issues across diverse populations and contexts
The learning outcomes of this unit fulfil the level 2 pre-professional core competencies required by the updated Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC) guidelines. The learning outcomes also meet the study criteria as specified by the Psychology Board of Australia (PsyBA) and as appropriate for study at level 8 as stated by the Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF). The additional material taught in this unit will allow us to meet our reaccreditation requirements and address the conditions imposed by APAC. The specific APAC competencies which will be demonstrated by students in completing this unit are:
2.1 Demonstrate appropriate interpersonal communication, interview skills and cultural responsiveness in situations appropriate to psychological practice and research.
2.4. Understand the principles of interprofessional collaborative practice and respectful and culturally responsive working relationships with others.
2.6 Explain the principles of self-care and their importance in psychology for safe and sustainable practice.
2.7 Critically evaluate the use of digital technologies in psychology.
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment | • | • | • | |
| 2 - Presentation | • | • | • | |
| 3 - Written Assessment | • | • | ||
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1 - Communication | • | • | • | • |
| 2 - Problem Solving | • | • | ||
| 3 - Critical Thinking | • | • | • | |
| 4 - Information Literacy | • | • | • | |
| 5 - Team Work | • | |||
| 6 - Information Technology Competence | • | • | • | |
| 8 - Ethical practice | • | • | ||
| 10 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures | • | • | ||
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | |