PSYC11011 - Personal and Professional Development

General Information

Unit Synopsis

This unit is designed to help you, as a university student studying psychology, to build a set of evidence-based strategies to prepare you for your academic and professional life. You will receive practical instruction on how to effectively study at university; develop your written and oral communication skills; work effectively in groups; navigate the scientific literature; and apply American Psychological Association (APA) referencing conventions. Your communication, teamwork and research skills will be utilised in the design and preparation of a group presentation. You will also be introduced to career pathways in psychology-related disciplines, and given insight into the personal skills, capabilities and knowledge relevant to a career in psychology. The creation of a career portfolio will help you identify and market the transferable knowledge and skills that you will acquire throughout your degree.

Details

Level Undergraduate
Unit Level 1
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 4
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites There are no pre-requisites for the unit.

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 - 2025

Term 3 - 2025 Profile
Online
Term 1 - 2026 Profile
Bundaberg
Cairns
Online
Rockhampton
Term 3 - 2026 Profile
Online

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).

Assessment Overview

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. Annotated bibliography 30%
2. Group Work 50%
3. Portfolio 20%

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%).

Consult the University's Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades

Past Exams

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Previous Feedback

Term 1 - 2025 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 84.21% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 15.83% response rate.

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: Student feedback, self-reflection.
Feedback
Some students are unsure how to use generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI) while ensuring they adhere to the principles of academic integrity.
Recommendation
Continue to encourage discussion and provide resources related to digital literacy, focusing on the ethical and responsible use of generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI).
Action Taken
Discussion of AI takes place as part of almost every lecture in the unit. An entire Moodle Tile is dedicated to AI tools available to students across areas such as study skills, finding literature, referencing, writing, and ethical use.
Source: Student feedback, self-reflection.
Feedback
The podcast is an informative and rewarding group experience, and the quality of the productions are of a high quality.
Recommendation
Maintain the podcast as the group assessment task but continue to grow the resources to assist students with scripting, recording, and editing podcasts.
Action Taken
Additional resources for developing podcasts (such as scripting, recording, editing, sound effects) were added to the assessment guide.
Source: Student feedback during lectures; staff observation.
Feedback
Ongoing student uncertainty around how to use generative AI appropriately and ethically in assessments.
Recommendation
Continue to reinforce the message that AI should serve as a support tool, not a replacement for student thinking, and clarify this distinction early in the term. Ensure appropriate AI use is discussed in relation to academic integrity expectations, and include more practical, task-specific examples linked to assessments.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: Student feedback via emails and SUTE comments; staff observation of group assignment issues.
Feedback
Some student groups experience difficulty with collaboration, including unequal contributions and disengaged group members.
Recommendation
Continue current proactive strategies: forming slightly larger groups to account for potential dropouts, early-term and consistent group check-ins by teaching staff, monitoring engagement, notifying groups when members drop out, and contacting non-engaged students. Maintain the groupwork-focused lectures and recommended use of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to support time management, shared expectations, and conflict resolution.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: Staff reflection.
Feedback
Other portfolio formats are required after Portfolium was discontinued as a university supported platform.
Recommendation
Consider adopting a LinkedIn profile as an alternative or complementary option to the Word-based portfolio, to enhance authenticity and provide students with a real-world professional presence.
Action Taken
In Progress
Unit learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  1. Locate, evaluate and use scholarly sources of information in adherence with the American Psychological Association (APA) style.
  2. Communicate ideas effectively in written and oral form.
  3. Work collaboratively as part of a team.
  4. Create a professional ePortfolio that synthesises knowledge of self, careers and psychology disciplines to map academic, career and learning paths.


Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4
1 - Annotated bibliography • •
2 - Group Work • • •
3 - Portfolio • •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
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 • • • •
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10