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Published (Version of record)CC BY-NC V4.0, Open Access
Published (Version of record)CC BY-NC V4.0, Open
Journal article
Using internship placements to road test threshold learning outcomes for environment and sustainability
Journal of Teaching and Learning for Graduate Employability, Vol.10(2), pp.36-49
31/05/2019
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Abstract
In 2015 the threshold learning outcomes (TLOs) for Australian bachelor degree graduates in the discipline of Environment and Sustainability were released. This study road tested the Environment and Sustainability TLOs in the workplace via environmental science students’ internship placement. The study, which incorporated surveys of host-supervisors, students and teaching staff, was conducted over four years. The surveys enabled comparisons between the performance expected of a new graduate by employers with the level of performance students achieved while on placement. Overall, hosts expect new graduates to be ‘Capable’ performers (2.8 on a 5 point scale). Host-supervisors also rated the overall performance of interns as ‘Capable’ (3.4/5). Expected performance of a new graduate for individual TLOs was compared with the performance of interns. Students exceeded the expectations of host-supervisors for all TLOs. In contrast, teaching staff rated the performance of students lower than students themselves and host-supervisors. Fundamental differences in the way students are assessed in the workplace and the classroom may account for the difference in perceived student performance. The results of the surveys can be used as evidence that the degree is meeting the needs of industry and for graduates to undertake professional work in the Environment and Sustainability discipline. The methodology has the potential to be used in any discipline that has published TLOs. The authors recommend that the Australian Qualifications Framework is reviewed and a rubric that describes student behaviour is used rather than vague terms such as ‘well developed’.
Details
- Title
- Using internship placements to road test threshold learning outcomes for environment and sustainability
- Creators
- Michael Barry Whelan - Southern Cross UniversityAmanda Reichelt-Brushett - Southern Cross University
- Publication Details
- Journal of Teaching and Learning for Graduate Employability, Vol.10(2), pp.36-49
- Publisher
- Deakin University
- Identifiers
- 991012927072502368
- Copyright
- This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. Copyright in the article is vested in the author(s) with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial License (CC BY-NC 4.0), that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal, but not use the material for commercial purposes.
- Academic Unit
- Centre for Teaching and Learning; Faculty of Science and Engineering; Science
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article