Talking APAC

Professor Pat Dudgeon and her UWA colleagues Belle Selkirk and Dr Joanna Alexi led a plenary session at APAC's inaugural Community of Practice conference.

APAC CEO David Ensor led a panel discussion on issues in the sector at our recent Community of Practice conference. He was joined by Rachel Phillips (PsyBA), Dr Zena Burgess (APS) and Professor Phil Kavanagh (HODSPA).

Simulation-based learning or SBL represents a novel, evidence-based way to expose psychology students to learning opportunities. To discuss SBL, we're joined by two academics. Associate Professor Josephine Paparo, the director of the Master of Professional Psychology course at Macquarie University, is also co-Chair of the MPP Course Coordinators Network. Dr Chien Hoong Gooi is the director of the Clinical Psychology program at UNSW Sydney and Chair of the Australian Psychology Placement Alliance. He’s also an APAC Assessor. A number of papers are referenced in the discussion. They can be found here. Frontiers | A New Reality: The Role of Simulated Learning Activities in Postgraduate Psychology Training Programs (frontiersin.org) Postgraduate students' perceptions of simulation-based learning in professional psychology training — Macquarie University (mq.edu.au) Maximizing Learning and Creativity: Understanding Psychological Safety in Simulation-Based Learning - PMC (nih.gov) https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/education/articles/10.3389/feduc.2022.840258/full

This episode, we’re talking about the challenges relating to teaching and assessing interpersonal skills and teamwork, often referred to as group work for short. APAC’s Accreditation Standards, in the section relating to graduate competencies, say that graduates must be able to, “Demonstrate interpersonal skills and teamwork.” That’s sometimes easier said than done. It’s a challenge for higher education providers and for students, too. Professor Jonathan Mason throws some light on the question. Jon is the Deputy Dean and co-director of the Centre for Health, Wellbeing and Disability at The Cairnmillar Institute in Naarm, or Melbourne. He’s also a member of APAC’s Accreditation Assessment Committee. The following paper is mentioned in the podcast: British psychology students’ perceptions of group-work and peer assessment.

David Ensor joined APAC some six months ago and has been consulting widely with our stakeholders. We sat down with him to talk about his background, what he's learned so far and his thoughts on future change.

This symposium was held at the Ausplat conference in September 2023. The symposium comprised four presentations that outlined work undertaken by AIPEP Community of Practice members. First, a research study on what registered psychologists perceive as gaps in their tertiary education regarding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ways of knowing and being was presented (Darnett). This was followed by a case study on effecting cultural change at the disciplinary and institutional levels (Nicholson Perry). The third presentation described a co-design process for decolonising curricula in a 4th-year psychology course (Mackelprang, Orr, et al.). Lastly, members of the APAC Cultural Responsiveness Working Group described its process of developing the recently published Annexure to Standard 3.8 (cultural responsiveness in curriculum), and how educators can use the Annexure to guide their teaching/program design (Ohan et al.). This symposium will be useful for educators who are keen to engage in decolonising and Indigenising work at their higher education providers.  Co-facilitators of the symposium: Dr Joanna Alexi, on behalf of AIPEP (PhD), Research Fellow, School of Indigenous Studies, University of Western Australia Dr Catherine Orr (MPsych (Clinical Neuropsychology)/PhD), Lecturer, Department of Psychological Sciences, Swinburne University of Technology Presenters (in order): Ms Emily Darnett, BA(PsychSci), GDip(PsychSci), MPsych (Clinical) and PhD Candidate, Department of Psychological Sciences, Swinburne University of Technology"Psychologist Perspectives: Decolonising Psychological Practice and Curriculum" Professor Kathryn Nicholson Perry, (MSc (Clinical Psychology), PhD), Associate Dean (Learning and Teaching), Australian College Of Applied Psychology, now working as Dean, ISN Psychology"Changing disciplinary and institutional cultures: A case study" Dr Jessica L. Mackelprang (PhD Clinical Psychology), Senior Lecturer, Department of Psychological Sciences, Swinburne University of TechnologyDr Catherine Orr (MPsych (Clinical Neuropsychology)/PhD), Lecturer, Department of Psychological Sciences, Swinburne University of Technology"An initiative to codesign decolonised content in a 4th-year psychology course" Associate Professor Jeneva Ohan (PhD Clinical Psychology), Associate Professor, Director of Clinical Psychology Programs, School of Psychological Science, University of Western AustraliaDr Joanna Alexi, on behalf of AIPEP (PhD), Research Fellow, School of Indigenous Studies, University of Western Australia"Cultural Responsiveness: Annexure to the APAC Evidence Guide on Standard 3, Criterion 3.8" The session was sponsored by APAC, which acknowledges the cooperation of the APS Psychology Education Interest Group in making this edited recording available. Dr Mackelprang's presentation is here.

Professional competency 3.17 of APAC's Accreditation Standards states that psychology graduates need to "Investigate a substantive individual research question relevant to the discipline of psychology". But what does that mean in practice? Associate Professor Melissa Davis, now a member of the APAC Board and Chair of its Accreditation Assessment Committee, led off a discussion at the AusPLAT conference in nipaluna/Hobart in September 2023. The session was sponsored by APAC, which acknowledges the cooperation of the APS Psychology Education Interest Group in making this edited recording available.

Ryan Armer, a legally blind fourth-year Psychology student, Darlene McLennan, manager of the Australian Disability Clearinghouse on Education and Training, and Associate Professor Melissa Davis, a member of APAC’s Accreditation Assessment Committee, discuss the challenges facing students with disabilities and how they can be overcome. Two online articles are mentioned in the podcast: https://needednowlt.substack.com/p/needed-now-real-tangible-supports and https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-11-24/qld-disability-higher-education-accessibility-university-student/103108240  Additional resources include: https://www.adcet.edu.au/ict-procurement-guidelines https://www.adcet.edu.au/inclusive-teaching/universal-design-for-learning https://disabilityawareness.com.au/elearning/udl-in-tertiary-education/ https://www.adcet.edu.au/students-with-disability https://www.adcet.edu.au/inclusive-teaching https://acola.org/disability-responsiveness/ https://www.education.gov.au/australian-universities-accord

Secondary school teachers of psychology played an important part in the recent AusPLAT 2023 conference. Here they discuss the challenges and pleasures, as well as making better links to psychology teaching in the tertiary sector.

APAC attended AusPLAT 2023 in nipaluna/Hobart. Our Communications Advisor chatted to attendees during the breaks. Here are their voices.

In this episode we talk about artificial intelligence and what it means for learning and teaching with Dr Guy Curtis. Guy is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Psychological Science at the University of Western Australia. His main research focus at present is on individual differences related to plagiarism, cheating and leadership. The Conversation article referenced in the discussion can be found here: https://theconversation.com/1-in-10-uni-students-submit-assignments-written-by-someone-else-and-most-are-getting-away-with-it-166410

The Accreditation Standards for Psychology Programs say that learning about inter-professional learning and practice is required at masters level. But what is inter-professional learning, exactly? Why is it useful and how can psychology academics integrate it into their courses with confidence? To discuss these questions and more we're joined by Professor Rachel Roberts from the School of Psychology at the University of Adelaide.The papers referred to in the discussion are ANZAHPE 2017 (page 14) and Undergraduate psychology and dental students’ perceptions of interprofessional learning when using motivational interviewing to encourage health behaviour change: a mixed methods study: Australian Psychologist: Vol 56, No 5 (tandfonline.com).

How can psychology higher education providers know if they're meeting the Accreditation Standards? One way is to consult the APAC Evidence Guide. Assistant Accreditation Manager Stephanie Korilis offers some advice on how best to use it.

What is benchmarking and how can higher education providers make it work well for them? Our expert panel discusses the issue. Hear from Professor Alison Garton, Professor Julie Ann Pooley, Emeritus Professor Tony Machin and Associate Professor Linda Byrne.

How do higher education providers introduce an understanding of cultural responsiveness to psychology students? We're joined by three academics from the University of Western Australia to discuss the issues. Professor Pat Dudgeon is Australia’s first identified Indigenous psychologist. Dr Joanna Alexi is a research associate. And Professor Romola Bucks is Pro Vice-Chancellor (Health and Medical Research) and a member of the APAC Board. You can read the Guardian article mentioned in discussion here: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/jun/02/australia-needs-to-decolonise-its-mental-health-system-and-empower-more-indigenous-psychologists

What’s it like to have your learning and teaching, your facilities and your curriculum examined, and to have staff and students chat with our assessors? Associate Professor Linda Byrne is deputy head of the School of Psychology at Deakin University, where she was a key participant in the assessment process that APAC carried out there in 2020.

What’s the reason for accreditation and does it serve a positive purpose? In this episode we discuss the value and validity of the accreditation process itself. Our guest is Michael Carpenter, CEO of APAC and a Board member of the Council on Licensure, Enforcement and Regulation (CLEAR), the Australian Institute of Business and the National Institute of Organisation Dynamics Australia. The paper referred to in the discussion is published by BMC Medical Education and can be found at https://rdcu.be/cIY2k.

Meet one of our Assessors, who shares her insights into psychology education and into the assessment process that underpins program accreditation. Professor Elizabeth Jones is Head of the Department of Psychology at Monash University Malaysia and a veteran of many site visits. Liz is a member of our Accreditation Assessment Committee.

What is APAC's Accreditation Assessment Committee? What does it do, who serves on it and how does it carry out its duties, including site visits? AAC Chair, Professor Alison Garton, takes us through the answers.

We launch our podcast series by talking about why APAC accreditation assessments matter and how education providers can get ready to make an assessment a painless process. To do that, we're joined by Nghi Robinson, who is APAC’s Accreditation Manager.