Module 2: Roles and Responsibilities in WPL
Reflective Diary
This booklet provides an opportunity to reflect upon and respond to the four
sections of this module: students, university personnel, workplace supervisors
and stakeholder communication.
The value of keeping a reflective diary is that it provides a record of your
thoughts and ideas. This is useful for consolidating your thoughts about WPL
supervision and also for communicating your role with students and colleagues
in the workplace.
Section 1: Students
a)
“All three stakeholders [student, academic supervisor and workplace supervisor] are
important, but it is the student who is responsible for his or her own learning whilst
the placement is progressing” (Bates et al, 2007, p. 126)
Do you agree with the statement above? Describe why you do, or don’t, agree
with this statement.
b) Providing students with clear expectations of how you forsee their
participation and involvement in WPL can help pave the way for a
valuable learning experience.
Create a list of five major student responsibilities which could be used as a
basis for communicating with the university, workplace and students.
Describe how such a list might be useful as a basis for conversations with
university personnel, WPL supervisors and students.
Section 2: University Staff
a) University staff involved in WPL have a variety of key responsibilities.
While details vary according to different disciplines, understanding more
about these responsibilities in general can enhance your lines of
communication with this particular stakeholder.
From the list detailing the responsibilities of the university, select three which
are the most important to you.
Describe why you have chosen them and how it does/could affect your role.
b)
Recording your personal experiences of interactions with university staff can
serve as a basis for enhancing future communication with this WPL stakeholder.
In your experience with university staff, describe three qualities which have
made your interaction with them a positive experience.
What are three qualities which have made your interaction with university staff
a negative experience?
Section 3: WPL Supervisors
a) WPL supervision is a multifaceted role which strongly influences the
placement experience of students. Whether your experience as a
supervisor is long or short, reflecting upon your responsibilities and
how they impact upon the student experience can inform your future
practices.
Describe what you view as the three main responsibilities of the WPL
supervisor.
For each of these, explain their affect upon the student experience of
WPL.
b) A variety of pressures can influence how you communicate with
students on placement. Reflecting upon these pressures – and how
you can potentially overcome them – can assist in improving your
communicative practices.
List three pressures which limit the amount of feedback and guidance
you can provide students with in the workplace.
Give three examples of ways you can ensure that you provide sustained
student feedback and guidance.
Section 4: Stakeholder communication
a) Understanding the diverse roles and responsibilities of WPL
stakeholders can inform communication and enhance interactions.
Describe three ways in which your communication with other WPL
stakeholders can contribute towards making the workplace experiences
of students more effective.
How would you communicate the way you value WPL to other people in
your organisation?
b) Communication lines can often become unclear when multiple
stakeholders are involved. Understanding more about how to foster
clear lines of communication can enhance WPL stakeholder
interrelationships.
List the main lines of communicating feedback to university staff (e.g.
about how students have performed during placement).
Describe how you could improve communication lines between your
organisation, the university and student.
c) Stakeholder communication can have a range of clear benefits upon
the WPL experience. Examples of how such communication has
benefited assessment, as well as industry partnerships and
connections have been highlighted.
Choose one of the EFPI exemplars. In your own words, describe
what was done.
Explain how the communication processes between
stakeholders informed and enhanced the WPL experience.