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PSYC14053 - Pre-Professional Practice of Psychology

General Information

Unit Synopsis

In this unit, you will develop practical skills and deepen your knowledge relevant to the professional practice of psychology as an evidence‑based scientific discipline. You will explore how social, historical, professional, and cultural factors shape psychology, and apply this understanding across diverse contexts. You will learn the appropriate administration, scoring, and interpretation of psychological tests under supervision, supported by psychometric theory applied to varied assessment scenarios. Ethical and legal frameworks are emphasised, with a focus on cultural responsiveness, professional communication, and interviewing skills, alongside awareness of how psychological practices may be misused. By completing this unit, you will demonstrate competencies in interpersonal communication, psychological assessment, and intervention strategies consistent with APAC pre‑professional practice requirements.

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).

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Residential School Compulsory Residential School
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Unit Availabilities from Term 1 - 2026

Term 1 - 2026 Profile
Mixed Mode
Term 2 - 2026 Profile
Mixed Mode

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. Practical Assessment 30%
2. Practical Assessment 30%
3. Critical Review 40%

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 71.43% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 60.87% 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 Evaluations
Feedback
Students reported that they would like more assistance with Assessment 1.
Recommendation
Additional teaching time and working time will be set aside during Residential School for students to receive support for Assessment 1.
Action Taken
Additional teaching time and working time was set aside during Residential School for students to receive support for Assessment 1.
Source: Student Evaluations
Feedback
Students reported that they would like teaching content related to teamwork to be presented earlier in the term.
Recommendation
The teaching content specifically related to teamwork will be presented earlier in the term.
Action Taken
Teaching content specifically related to teamwork was presented earlier in the term.
Source: Student Evaluations
Feedback
Students stated that they would like more examples of how to complete Assessment 2.
Recommendation
An example of Assessment 2 will be uploaded to Moodle for students to access to provide an illustration of what is required alongside already existing information sheets, marking criteria and an assessment instruction video.
Action Taken
An example of Assessment 2 was uploaded to Moodle for students to access.
Source: Student Feedback
Feedback
Students enjoyed the practical application of assessments and felt that they could apply the skills learnt moving forward.
Recommendation
Continue to integrate applied learning components within assessments.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: Student Feedback
Feedback
Students found the learning resources helpful for completing the assessments, and they felt that the assessment information sheets and marking criteria were clear and easy to follow.
Recommendation
Continue to maintain the quality of learning resources and clear assessment documentation.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: Student Feedback
Feedback
Students found that the online quiz (Assessment 3) was not an appropriate assessment of their learning outcomes. The feedback provided suggested that given the amount of content covered in the unit, the duration of the online quiz (35 minutes) may not be sufficient to assess everything required.
Recommendation
A review of Assessment 3 (quiz) is recommended and adjustments made to the design (i.e., the amount of content covered, number of questions, and time frame).
Action Taken
In Progress
Unit learning Outcomes

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

  1. Apply appropriate professional judgment in the selection, administration, scoring, and interpretation of psychological assessments, ensuring ethical practice across diverse client populations.
  2. Critically evaluate the selection, adaptation, and implementation of psychological interventions within diverse cultural and community contexts, ensuring ethical awareness and responsiveness to individual and systemic factors.
  3. Apply appropriate interpersonal and interviewing skills in contexts relevant to psychological practice, integrating professional communication and ethical sensitivity.
  4. Evaluate and integrate cultural responsiveness in the administration and interpretation of psychometric assessments and the delivery of psychological interventions.

Learning outcomes have been designed to address the level 2 pre-professional competencies required by the Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC). The learning outcomes also meet the study criteria as specified by the Psychology Board of Australia (PsyBA) and are appropriate for study at Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) level 8. The specific 2025 APAC competencies which will be met by students completing this unit are:

2.1. Demonstrate appropriate interpersonal communication, interview skills and cultural responsiveness in situations appropriate to psychological practice and research.
2.2. Demonstrate basic understanding of culturally safe assessment strategies in situations appropriate to psychological practice.
2.3. Explain how basic psychological intervention strategies can be applied across a range of contexts.

 

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4
1 - Practical Assessment • •
2 - Practical Assessment • • • •
3 - Critical Review • •
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 •
7 - Cross Cultural Competence • •
8 - Ethical practice • • •
10 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures • • •
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