Postgraduate - UnitMHT4004 - Organisational and group aspects of the school environment

This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2015 only. For students planning to study the unit, please refer to the unit indexes in the the current edition of the Handbook. If you have any queries contact the managing faculty for your course or area of study.

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12 points, SCA Band 3, 0.250 EFTSL

Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered.

Level	Postgraduate
Faculty	Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences
Organisational Unit	School of Psychological Sciences
Offered	Not offered in 2015
Coordinator(s)	Associate Professor Pamela Snow

Synopsis

Upon completion of this unit, students will have significant grounding in observation method and the role of participant observer; increased capacity to reflect upon and to manage in their own roles at school; a capacity to understand and analyse group dynamics in the class-room, the school, and the wider educational system; and knowledge of factors that foster a learning environment at school.

Outcomes

On completion of this unit students will:

gain skills in observation method in the role of participant observer, and a capacity for self reflection;
gain knowledge and understanding of the parameters of their own roles as teachers, including matters of responsibility, accountability and authority to act, and physical and psychological boundaries related to roles and territories in a school;
develop an understanding of dynamics of relationships between teachers and other members of a school community, from the perspective of psychoanalytic systems and sociological conceptual frameworks;
increase awareness of their own responses and behaviours in small and large groups;
develop a capacity to analyse group dynamics in school systems, including differences in small and large groups, from the perspective of established conceptual frameworks; 6. develop an increased understanding of typical fears within a school community, and a capacity to identify work practices that function to defend against associated anxieties;
gain knowledge of factors that help to create a learning environment in class-rooms and the wider school community;
demonstrate a capacity to observe and to analyse group dynamics in the field, and to communicate findings orally and in a written report.

Assessment

Report (50%)
Presentation and process notes (40%)
Participation in online discussion forum (10%)

Workload requirements

Two day on-campus workshop.

Chief examiner(s)

Associate Professor Pamela Snow

Prerequisites

MHT4001 (MHT0001) and MHT4002 (MHT0002).