Unit Synopsis
This unit is designed to assist you to develop and demonstrate the knowledge, skills, and attributes required to meet the minimal standards of the profession. In this unit you complete a paediatric-focused work integrated learning experience where you will provide safe, ethical, and evidence-based practice. You will apply person-centred, family-centred and community-centred approaches and engage in interprofessional collaborative practice as relevant to your workplace setting. You will further develop your ability to adapt your practice to respond to the needs of individuals and communities and gain experience using critical reflection in an authentic workplace setting. Following the completion of your paediatric placement, you are required to demonstrate holistic thinking, clinical reasoning, and application of evidence-based practice within the context of a paediatric case-based viva. Prior to the commencement of the unit, you must complete all pre-clinical requirements and maintain these requirements throughout the unit to engage in your work integrated learning.
Details
| Level | Undergraduate |
|---|---|
| Unit Level | 4 |
| Credit Points | 12 |
| Student Contribution Band | SCA Band 2 |
| Fraction of Full-Time Student Load | 0.25 |
| Pre-requisites or Co-requisites |
Pre-Requisites
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 |
Compulsory Residential School View Unit Residential School |
Unit Availabilities from Term 1 - 2026
Term 2 - 2026 Profile
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 12-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 25 hours of study per week, making a total of 300 hours for the unit.
Assessment Tasks
| Assessment Task | Weighting |
|---|---|
| 1. Professional Practice Placement | 0% |
| 2. Oral Examination | 0% |
| 3. Portfolio | 0% |
| 4. Learning logs / diaries / Journal / log books | 0% |
This is a pass/fail (non-graded) unit. To pass the unit, you must pass all of the individual assessment tasks shown in the table above.
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 .
Term 2 - 2025 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 100.00% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 11.11% 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: Unit coordinator reflection, student informal feedback and Speech team consultation.
Residential Schools need to occur to prior to Orientation Week to allow students to be prepared prior to the start of their work integrated learning experiences. Earlier running of the residential schools will also allow students to start their placements earlier than Week 1 of Term (if appropriate).
It is recommended that residential school for SPCH14007 be combined with the residential school for SPCH14006 into a two day residential school that occurs in the vacation period betwen Terms 1 and 2.
Residential Schools were combined and conducted for two full days immediately during the vacation period. Two additional half days were scheduled during Term 2.
Source: Unit coordinator reflection, student informal feedback and Speech team consultation.
Students require information on "Applying for Jobs" earlier in the year in order to prepare for the job application process.
It is recommended that the Unit Coordinator collaborates with CQU Careers to ensure that information on job selection, writing job applications, and preparing for interviews is provided in the first residential school for SPCH14006 students.
Information on "Applying for jobs" was provided by CQU careers in the first Residential School.
Source: Unit coordinator and assessment moderator reflection.
Assessment 2, the oral viva, requires review and revision to ensure that the assessed components accurately reflect students’ clinical knowledge and clinical reasoning, and that the format is clear and easy for students to understand in an oral delivery mode.
It is recommended that Assessment 2, the oral viva, be reviewed to ensure it effectively assesses clinical knowledge and reasoning and is delivered in a clear, accessible format, whilst adhering to the requirements of Speech Pathology Australia’s accreditation standards.
In Progress
Source: Unit coordinator reflection, student informal feedback and success rate on Assessment 2.
Continued engagement with CQU’s Academic Learning Centre, for support with understanding and preparing for Assessment 2.
It is recommended that the unit coordinator continues to collaborate with the Academic Learning Centre in preparation of effective learning support materials that enhance students’ ability to prepare for Assessment 2.
In Progress
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
- Demonstrate the minimal standards required to enter the profession, as outlined by Speech Pathology Australia, in the context of a paediatric caseload
- Develop appropriate management plans for paediatric clients by evaluating and synthesising case information and applying evidence-based practice within the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) framework
- Demonstrate independent judgment consistent with the profession's knowledge base, scope of practice and Code of Ethics in the context of paediatric clinical practice
- Reflect on your experience within paediatric clinical practice and describe opportunities for future personal and professional growth
- Critically evaluate the application of reciprocal learning and mentorship in advancing the speech pathology workforce
- Document and track the work-integrated learning experiences gained across areas of communciation and swallowing
The learning outcomes in this unit contribute to the development of clinical and professional competencies as outlined by Speech Pathology Australia's professional standards.
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
| 1 - Professional Practice Placement | • | • | • | |||
| 2 - Oral Examination | • | • | • | |||
| 3 - Portfolio | • | • | ||||
| 4 - Learning logs / diaries / Journal / log books | • | |||||
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | |
| 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 | • | • | • | • | ||
| 9 - Social Innovation | • | |||||
| 10 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures | • | • | • | |||
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | |