Why put energy into acquiring Graduate Attributes?

The Core Curriculum focuses on the intersection of the two spheres of the University Graduate Attributes. The challenge is for you to work intentionally on all the Graduate Attributes both in this unit and in all the units of your chosen course, so that you can start determining the range and effectiveness of capabilities you will offer employers as a graduate, and the community as a citizen. Why put energy into acquiring Graduate Attributes? All Australian Universities have graduate attributes/capabilities in their courses, and employers are often more interested in you having attained these attributes than a specific technical skill. As a graduate, you will not have all the professional skills or the degree of capability that an employer demands these will often have to be developed on the job. However, employers DO expect their new employees to be capable in organisation and self-management, critical thinking and analysis, to have effective communication skills, and to be able to collaborate and work in teams (yes, students often find teamwork difficult, but it is actually an essential skill in the workplace!). These attributes also underpin your capacity to develop further any of the professional skills in your chosen field. Don t believe it? See: 1. Range of Australian Universities on desired graduate attributes: http://www.gradskills.anu.edu.au/desired-graduate-attributes 2. Report by the Australian Industry Group and Deloitte on their National CEO Survey: Skilling business in tough times, Sydney, 2009. You can download the PDF but see p31, which includes the most important factors when recruiting graduates [Note employability skills are interchangeable with graduate attributes.]: Employers consider employability skills (33.1%) and a positive attitude (32.6%) to be the most important factors when they are recruiting graduates. 3. The University of Sydney, along with other universities, also stresses the intersecting sphere: These are the qualities described by the University s statement of Graduate attributes and are some of the outcomes of a University of Sydney education that allow our graduates to excel in the world of work and contribute as leaders and agents of social good in our society. www.itl.usyd.edu.au/graduateattributes Copyright Australian Catholic University 2012 1

ACU Mission - core questions for you to consider What does it mean to be ethical in the workforce, both in Australia and globally? What will an appreciation of the sacred in life and a commitment to serving the common good look like in the workplace and in the community? How does an individual develop the capacity to act in these contexts? Graduate Attributes and Generic Skills As you work through the modules, you will see the Learning Outcomes and the Graduate Attributes specified. Within the Graduate Attributes, there are a number of generic skills. The Core Curriculum will give you the opportunity to: identify the Graduate Attributes and academic skills in which you are weak; consciously start developing these; save your best examples for your portfolio and update regularly as you progress through your discipline studies. What are the ACU Graduate Attributes? Australian Catholic University courses enable graduates to be: ethically informed and able to: 1. demonstrate respect for the dignity of each individual and for human diversity 2. recognise their responsibility to the common good, the environment and society 3. apply ethical perspectives in informed decision making knowledgeable and able to: 4. think critically and reflectively 5. demonstrate values, knowledge, skills and attitudes appropriate to the discipline and/or profession 6. solve problems in a variety of settings taking local and international perspectives into account skilful and able to: 7. work both autonomously and collaboratively 8. locate, organise, analyse, synthesise and evaluate information 9. demonstrate effective communication in oral and written English language and visual media 10. utilise information and communication and other relevant technologies effectively NOTE: The underlined Graduate Attributes are the ones addressed in UNCC300 Dignity of Human Person. Copyright Australian Catholic University 2012 2

Let s look at some key generic skills within the Graduate Attributes Critical Literacy and Reflection Skills THINK CRITICALLY Analyse questions or problem/issue. Formulate your own questions as a tool to analyse texts whether printed or via media [songs, novels, conversations, essays, movies ]. Comprehend the overall perspectives of each author within the conventions or norms of society [or a subgroup] to identify: its purpose and underlying messages; the author s assumptions and biases; variance in argument and evidence for different audiences; and variance in writing style and language for different audiences. Research literature on the area to understand where an author s argument fits. Understand and synthesise the ideas/arguments of a number of authors on a topic before locating and forming your own response. Identify coherence and limitations of the argument as well as the accuracy and reliability of the evidence. Use concept mapping to identify the players and concepts in complex situations. Apply knowledge to new contexts. Check your own arguments for coherence, accuracy and identify the limitations. THINK REFLECTIVELY on EXPERIENCE Think about how you experienced an event eg. a particular piece of clinical practice, an interchange with a business client, a problematic stage within or the final outcomes of a: project; clinical practice; curriculum implementation; business deal; new therapy; or legal case. Reflect on experience to consciously apply your thinking and learning strategies rather than be a passive recipient without a grip on the tools and processes required to evaluate experience and reshape consequent action/projects/practice. Apply theory to practice: what have you actually done with your content, with your knowledge? Ask questions to identify the gaps between what you know and can do - and what you need to know and do. Evaluate the outcome of individual components as well as the whole event/project outcomes. Take some distance from your experience (individual or team) to evaluate what actually happened and why: review the experience from different perspectives (everyone in the team, the client s, the patient s, the student s); identify biases and evaluate how they impacted on process and outcomes; review knowledge and/or skill gaps that impacted on outcomes; and take personal and group responsibility for outcomes. Make judgements and plan changes and propose solutions for future action. Copyright Australian Catholic University 2012 3

Managing and Processing Information Skills LOCATE AND ORGANISE Understand the task/question to identify the key areas and the extent of the information required. Identify existing knowledge and knowledge gaps. Plan the tasks required to complete an assignment within a timeframe. Locate information efficiently using Internet, library databases and catalogues; both primary and secondary sources. Evaluate information and its sources: how reputable or scholarly? Is it peer-reviewed? Manage citations as you gather resources/references using the referencing system of your discipline eg. Harvard, Chicago, MLA, APA. This process also helps ensure academic honesty. ANALYSE and SYNTHESISE Differentiate the parts of a whole context or event (analysis) Discover essential features and meaning of each part (analysis) Map the interrelationships between the parts and their significance in the whole system, context, object or event (synthesis) Possibly combine notions and/or features differently to create or design a new whole or new thing (synthesis). Problem-solving is one form of synthesis as you find a solution that addresses every component or individual bit of information in a situation. These bits could range from issues to hard mathematical data. Analysis and synthesis are part of a cycle of thinking: discover and review the parts and if this information is valid, create a new understanding, a new process in a project, a new product... When you create, design, compose, produce, construct, plan and predict, you are synthesising. EVALUATE Evaluation is what happens when you synthesise the results of your critical thinking. Structure the evaluation on an agreed set of criteria, questions and methods. Judge the significance or value of a product, a process and outcomes: Does the new knowledge contribute to the field? Does the product or new process adequately meet defined needs? Judge the efficacy of the process: Are the proposals valid and in alignment with the funding organisation s needs? Are the data valid and reliable? Are the considerations of the perspectives balanced and objective? Are there conflicts of interest? Enable the next stage of reflection on the results by considering future change: What is the gravity of acting or not acting on the evidence and any recommendations? What resources or new processes are required to implement specific changes? Copyright Australian Catholic University 2012 4

Autonomous and Collaborative Work Skills WORK AUTONOMOUSLY Complete work without supervision or guidance but maintain communication with your supervisor regarding progress. Set and keep to clear goals and timeline plans. Be personally responsible for task completion. Manage personal work-time and multitask by moving between tasks to move forwards on all stages of tasks. Communicate with all stakeholders. Evaluate plans and tasks to ensure quality completion: reflect on your personal effectiveness and the progress of tasks. Be flexible to accommodate organisational changes, limitations or new stakeholder requirements. Problem-solve as part of evaluating your work to either rectify and/or modify. Determine and leverage organisational skills/specialised skill resources required for task/project completion, particularly when problem-solving requires skills you do not possess. WORK COLLABORATIVELY Contribute to whole-project team discussions and locate resources. Listen actively to colleagues ideas. Share information and ideas about one s own area of work to enable other team members to carry out their own work and so enable project completion. Complete individual work on time so project is not compromised, others held up. Assist other team members when required. Keep a clear record of project requirements and deadlines. Meet with team to review progress, set new tasks and deadlines. Monitor own and team performance so project develops in line with organisational requirements. Identify project problems and work with team to find solutions. Respond to conflict within the team by listening and finding solutions. Develop a healthy dynamic team by: learning team members preferred working modes/personality types or characteristics; managing tasks according to team member strengths; negotiating and compromising; accepting intellectual criticism; respecting timelines; and dealing with conflict as it arises. Copyright Australian Catholic University 2012 5