Undertaking specialised practice or scholarly secondments

I was afforded an opportunity to undertake a specialised secondment heading up the Australian Psychology Society Training Institute. During this secondment I led the development of specialised Practice Certificates each made up of Four, 10 hr Modules, the delivery of Webinars across a range of specialist areas, a large variety of face-to-face workshops across Australia, and oversaw the delivery of the Psychology Board-Approved Supervisory training. The screenshot below provides an overview of the role of the APS Institute.

During my tenure the Society was restructured and I ran the Science, Education and Career Development Portfolio which included meeting many regulatory requirements for the professions: the College Course Approvals program for Masters training of psychology courses in Australia, delivery of five of the Society’s Journals, the Conference and Events team (which held the largest National Congress for the Society for 1400 delegates and various other College conferences). I also managed the application of migration assessments and the work of the APS Ethics Committee.

Such was the success of the Congress that Science, Technology Australia asked if they could write a piece on it as an exemplar of a successful congress event:

So what?

This experience has provided me with currency in the profession of psychology in Australia and the high expectations that psychologists place on high quality education and training in practice. The experience has enabled me to develop my knowledge of the role of regulation in Australian organisations and the application of these standards to workplaces.

Furthermore, working in a Higher Education Provider, the experience has enabled me to meet the requirements for Scholarly Activity as is required under the HESF (2015):

1. Staff with responsibilities for academic oversight and those with teaching and supervisory roles in courses or units of study are equipped for their roles, including having:
   1. knowledge of contemporary developments in the discipline or field, which is informed by continuing scholarship or research or advances in practice
   2. skills in contemporary teaching, learning and assessment principles relevant to the discipline, their role, modes of delivery and the needs of particular student cohorts, and
   3. a qualification in a relevant discipline at least one level higher than is awarded for the course of study, or equivalent relevant academic or professional or practice-based experience and expertise, except for staff supervising doctoral degrees having a doctoral degree or equivalent research experience. 

Now what?

The secondment has enabled me to successfully apply my knowledge and skills to my position as Associate Dean (Partners and Quality),  a regulatory-driven role overseeing the quality of learning and teaching of our third party provider (Study Group Australia). This role, along with the collegial support of Heads of School and the Sub-Dean (learning and teaching) will ultimately influence and drive the quality of learning and teaching across the Faculty. Industry standards exist across a number of professions with members of those professional bodies expected to keep current with latest advances in practice. Academic staff are no different. The regulator (TEQSA) has set industry standards (HESF) that require Academic staff to maintain currency with discipline knowledge and current learning and teaching practice.

In order to advance the requirements set by the regulator, I recently chaired the FoBJBS Scholarship of Learning and Teaching Working Group, a group that sits under the Academic Management Committee of our Study Centers. The SOTL working group together came up with a framework for overseeing staff engagement with Scholarly activities:

The SOTL working group also developed the Scholarly Environment Model (SEM) which is currently under consultation of all the Schools in FBJBS (see below).

The development of the model occurred through an iterative process of debate and healthy discussion by members of the SOTL group. The original model was put forward by Academic Director of the Sydney Study Center, and then further developed by Carole Hunter to refine and consolidate the categories. Underpinning the model, is an expectation that academic staff engage with personal blogs in order to demonstrate how participating in Scholarly Activities can influence and impact high quality learning and teaching, enhancing the student experience. The Blogs also provide an opportunity for staff to demonstrate developing proficiency with digital literacies and enable communities of practice to share learnings, advances in discipline knowledge, and the sharing of practical strategies in online and face-to-face pedagogies.

The Blogs also satisfy a requirement to collated data across the Faculty for reporting to our regulator.

Of greatest value, the Blogs provide a perfect platform to showcase the excellent work of our academic staff.

So….engaging in a secondment in a professional organisation has enabled me to generalise the skills learned of working in regulation to the work required in my current role.

Where I’m seeking input
I am looking for feedback on how we can support academic staff to engage with Scholarly Activities and the types of activities that would be most meaningful to them.

Jude Gullifer
Associate Dean (Partners and Quality)