Teacher guide
Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
BSB50801 Diploma of Business (Human Resources)
Teacher guide ........................................................................................... 1
QuickStart for teachers ........................................................................... 2
How does it work? .................................................................................. 5
Assessment ............................................................................................ 9
Implementation ideas ............................................................................ 11
Online teaching tips .............................................................................. 14
Session plan for an orientation with students ........................................ 16
Knowledge and skills gap analysis ........................................................ 18
Sample delivery schedule ..................................................................... 21
127 online groupwork ideas .................................................................. 24
Acknowledgements
This Teacher Guide was developed from contributions by Barry Reeves, Susan Coleman,
and Sheevaun Gallacher. We gratefully acknowledge the feedback from students of Central
TAFE WA who participated in the pilot of this Toolbox, and the contribution (via Susan
Coleman) of the FAME program run by TAFE NSW. July 2003.
QuickStart for teachers
OK, you're busy. Read these 3 pages for the basics to get yourself started.
Later you can browse the rest of the Teacher Guide.
What’s in this toolbox?
This Toolbox contains learning materials for self-guided study and group
collaboration.
The materials are presented around a case study company called STAR
Industries where the student is given challenges and situations that the HR
Manager would typically encounter. The emphasis on learning by doing –
the student takes on the role of General Manager, HR at STAR and makes
strategic decisions about HR that will help STAR achieve its goals.
The Toolbox is organised around nine projects, aligning to nine
competencies at AQF level 5:
Table 1: Units of competence in the HR Toolbox (2 columns)
BSBHR501A
Manage human resource consultancy services
BSBHR502A
Manage human resource management information systems
BSBHR503A
Manage performance management systems
BSBHR504A
Manage industrial relations policies and processes
BSBHR505A
Manage remuneration and employee benefits
BSBHR506A
Manage recruitment selection and induction processes
BSBHR507A
Manage separation/termination
BSBHR508A
Manage work/life skills
BSBHR509A
Manage rehabilitation/return-to-work programs
What do I need to start using it?

a standard web browser like Internet Explorer (version 5 and above)
or Netscape (version 4.7 or higher) or Mozilla.

a monitor where you can set the display size to 800x600 or
1024x768

Flash Player version 6 (release 29 or higher) if you want to hear the
sound files (when you go to the home screen for a Unit the Toolbox
will tell you if you don't have it)

Acrobat Reader version 4 or higher if you want to get the fast
download version of the worksheets in the learning packs.
Follow the link to Computer Setup on any Home screen for more details.
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
Developed by Open Training & Education Network, TAFE NSW
Page 2 of 83
What should I look at first?
Figure 1: Induction screen
You can quickly get to know the Toolbox by working through the STAR
Induction presentation. It takes about 10-15 minutes and it's designed for
anyone working with the Toolbox. You can get to it from the Toolbox
Home Screen or any Unit Home Screen.
I'm busy – what do I need to do before classes start?
Here's the bare minimum before you start using this Toolbox

Confirm how your students will be assessed.

Set up an online group page where your students can communicate
and exchange files (if they're working online).

Select the groupwork activities you require your students to do
online (or how you'll adapt them for classroom delivery).

Set a timetable for completion of each task.

Spend some time working through the material for one Unit so you
can experience how students will see them. Start with the Induction
(it's one for the whole Toolbox), then go to the Getting Ready screen
for the Unit you're looking at, then the Project brief, then each Task.
Note the learning packs – they contain the HR content.

Plan for how your students will begin if they're studying online – a
face-to-face orientation, a live chat or a teleconference orientation.

Plan one online icebreaker activity if it's an online group.
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
Developed by Open Training & Education Network, TAFE NSW
Page 3 of 83
What about accessibility?
This Toolbox complies with guidelines to make it accessible to as wide a
range of people as possible. For more details and tips follow the
Accessibility link on the Toolbox and Unit home screens.
Tip
If you or your students like larger text on the screen, tell them to choose
a larger font size in their web browser.
Figure 2: Selecting a larger font size in Internet Explorer
Figure 3: Selecting a larger font size in Netscape and Mozilla
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
Developed by Open Training & Education Network, TAFE NSW
Page 4 of 83
How does it work?
Here’s some background into what the development team for this Toolbox
have set out to achieve as we developed these resources. We hope that
explaining our rationale will help you understand how best to integrate the
Toolbox into your program.
Learning is authentic and practical
Figure 4: Case study project screen
Each Unit of Competence is presented through a case study set in STAR
Industries, a fictitious company that is a national manufacturer, wholesaler
and retailer of doors, windows and other building materials. This has been
created so that all students have access to an authentic context for learning
about HR management.
The learning materials in each Unit are organised around an overall Project.
These projects are broken down into Tasks that present learners with
realistic situations and challenges that they are likely to be faced with as an
HR manager.
Tip
Encourage students to work together to think of ways to adapt project
tasks to their own workplace or industry.
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
Developed by Open Training & Education Network, TAFE NSW
Page 5 of 83
Each task is built around a clearly defined item of work the student
produces, reflecting what may realistically be done in a workplace. Students
are encouraged to add these outputs to a portfolio. (RTOs may decide that
items in this portfolio contribute to assessment – see the section
‘Assessment’ below.)
Learning is supported
The student is provided with learning supports for each Project Task:
Learning packs
Figure 5: Learning pack interview screen
These are guided learning resources containing worksheets with readings,
glossaries, web links, matching and sequencing activities and interviews
with real HR managers, and they underpin each project task to help learners
gain the knowledge and skills they need to complete the task
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
Developed by Open Training & Education Network, TAFE NSW
Page 6 of 83
Tips and work samples from an HR adviser
Figure 6: Student's HR adviser
The HR adviser is a character in the case study who is an experienced
practitioner – these have been written by practising HR managers and
teachers to address the most common concerns a new practitioner may have
about a project task
Tip
Encourage your students to explore issues that the adviser raises with
any HR mentors that they have access to. The idea behind the online
adviser is to model a mentoring relationship – ideally this model should be
transferred to the student's workplace if possible.
Ideas for online groupwork
Figure 7: Groupwork box on a Task screen
Designed to encourage social learning, peer
support and peer networking – there is a
wide selection of these later in this Teacher
Guide.
Many of these activities involve some sort of
peer review. Feedback from peers is an
essential part of workplace practice and these
activities are designed to encourage students
to develop skills in collaboration. It will also
take some of the load from the teacher to
provide feedback to all students on every
activity.
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
Developed by Open Training & Education Network, TAFE NSW
Page 7 of 83
Learning is flexible
The Toolbox is designed with the understanding that teachers and students
will have different needs:

each Unit is a stand-alone set of learning materials, linked by a
common case study theme, so RTOs can deliver just one Unit, or the
whole set of Units to your students.

the case study and project in each Unit are kept in separate files from
the learning packs, so RTOs may replace the case study and/or
project details with a materials set in another industry (eg retail,
finance or travel)

content about HR is provided in learning packs that support taskbased learning, not as the starting point in the Unit – this allows
more experienced and confident students to quickly begin work on a
Project Task, while still providing easy access to content for less
experienced students

learners may get to learning packs from links on the task pages, or
from an index of learning packs on the Toolbox home screen, or on
each Unit home screen – this is a fast way to get to content about HR

students are encouraged to adapt case study task to their own
workplace where possible – guidelines for doing this are on each
task screen.
Figure 8: Mind map of the learning design – learning packs are re-usable across
Units and across Tasks with a Unit
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
Developed by Open Training & Education Network, TAFE NSW
Page 8 of 83
Assessment
Sample assessments
As a guide only, we have included a sample assessment for each Unit that
models a possible assessment approach. These are not intended as
recommended assessments for your students. Don't forget that designing
assessment is the responsibility of the RTO offering these Units.
The sample assessment for each Unit comprises two assessment methods:

A portfolio of evidence of work done during the project tasks, ie the
task deliverable (RTOs may rewrite the task deliverable, or add
another deliverable, if they wish to vary assessment between groups
of students). This may be used to assess the performance criteria
the key competencies.

Evidence of quality contributions to online discussions, including the
quality of responses to other students comments, the quality of
feedback given to other students, and the collaboration and team
skills demonstrated by the learner. This may be used to assess
underpinning knowledge.
Tip
Replace the sample assessment Word file in the Unit with the one your
students are actually required to do.
Other methods of assessment
When designing your assessment consider the assessment methods you
will use:

observation of workplace performance – will need a well planned
observation guide; will need to be combined with other methods to
assess underpinning knowledge

simulation – for example role plays to assess negotiation or
consultation skills; useful for overcoming ethical issues when direct
observation is not appropriate

interview/dialogue – present case scenarios and ask students how
they would respond; include questions to assess underpinning
knowledge; improves access and equity; when integrated with
observation of performance can assess understanding in context

written test – questions on short case scenarios; questions to assess
underpinning knowledge or application of concepts or principles

self assessment – valuable for adult learners; enhances self-esteem
and promotes critical reflection
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
Developed by Open Training & Education Network, TAFE NSW
Page 9 of 83

learning journal/log book – reflection by the student on the
processes involved in creating their portfolio of evidence; records of
progress over a period of time; can be combined with selfassessment

samples of work – learners may have already produced a portfolio
item in the workplace, however you need to ensure authenticity.
Tip
Keep an eye on this Australian Flexible Learning Framework project
'Online Assessment Strategies and Models',
www.flexiblelearning.net.au/projects/onlineassessmentstrategies.htm.
This project will be establishing a website containing assessment
resources for VET practitioners in online and blended learning
environments.
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
Developed by Open Training & Education Network, TAFE NSW
Page 10 of 83
Implementation ideas
Blended delivery – a combination of face to face and
virtual classroom
The Toolbox could be provided to your students with one or all
competencies on a CD-ROM. Students could work through the tasks in
STAR and still come together at specific intervals to work through the
collaborative activities or participate in debates or role plays. The toolbox
could also be linked to a website or Learning Management System as
outlined below.
Load Units onto your web server
The Toolbox is designed so that the whole Toolbox or individual Units can
be installed onto a server. You can run it as a simple website, or load it into
your Learning Management System if you have one. More information is in
the Technical Manual.
Consider providing a CD-ROM to students
Put one or more Units onto a CD-ROM for students who cannot stay online
for extended periods, or who have a slow internet connection. (Refer to the
Technical Guide for instructions.)
Offer your students an online tool for group
collaboration
If your RTO has an online collaboration system for students (eg WebBoard,
WebCT, Blackboard, Janison) then you can use that. If not:
You can set up your own online group by going to Yahoo! Groups. Yahoo!
Groups allow you set up your own email group, save files and run live chat
sessions. It’s a free service. Go to groups.yahoo.com.au to set up a group.
Note: each student will have to register with Yahoo! to get their own
account before they can access the group website.
Offer variety
You don't have to follow the instructions on Task screens to the letter; they
just provide a consistent framework. Why not add variety by conducting one
or two of the Tasks entirely as a live chat session? As you explore the case
study task, different students play the part different characters at STAR
Industries. Or you could do this in a computer lab with a mix on time on the
computer and time in break-out groups.
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
Developed by Open Training & Education Network, TAFE NSW
Page 11 of 83
Tip
Some tasks contain virtual meetings that play in the Flash Player. These
could be a trigger for continuing your own virtual meeting in a chat
session.
Students could take on the roles of different stakeholders in the meeting.
This may be a useful activity to develop consulting or negotiating skills, and
may be run in a face-to-face training session as well if you are using a
blended delivery model.
Figure 9: A virtual meeting on performance management systems
The virtual meetings appear in these Units:
Table 2: Location of virtual meetings in the HR Toolbox (2 columns)
Unit
Location of virtual meeting
BSBHR501A
Task 2
BSBHR502A
Task 3
BSBHR503A
Task 2
BSBHR504A
Tasks 2, 4
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
Developed by Open Training & Education Network, TAFE NSW
Page 12 of 83
BSBHR505A
Project brief, also in tasks 1, 8
BSBHR506A
Project brief
BSBHR507A
Project brief
BSBHR508A
Tasks 3, 4
BSBHR509A
none
Set group projects
Each Unit Project in this Toolbox is broken down into a number of Project
Tasks. You can browse through these Tasks and identify ones that could be
done as group projects by your students. Some advantages of this approach
are:

it can facilitate social learning in the online environment (where
students left to their own devices feel isolated and alone)

it can allow students to practise skills of collaboration, consultation
and networking required of an HR manager

it can be integrated with assessment of underpinning skills such as
negotiation and consultation skills, and with the Key Competencies.

Here are some practical suggestions for implementing group
projects:

limit teams to no more than 3 or 4 students

set a date for completion of the group project

as well as the group producing the deliverable for the Task, consider
asking students to write a self assessment and peer assessment of
their contribution to the group process – this will encourage students
to reflect on their collaborative skills, as well as providing you with
more information if you are considering using the group work as an
assessment item

provide guidelines as to how you expect your students to collaborate,
eg entirely online, or through a mix of face-to-face meetings and
online communication.
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
Developed by Open Training & Education Network, TAFE NSW
Page 13 of 83
Online teaching tips
Here are some great ideas from teachers who have been facilitating online
programs in VET. They’re not meant to be prescriptive, and different things
will work for different teachers and students. They're in no particular order.

At enrolment time, well before classes begin, ask students to work
through this site: www.tafe.net/learnscope/rsg - Ready Set Go, a
student guide to Online Learning. Explains the language of the
internet, and has guides for using email, sending and receiving
attachments, using web browsers, and using web forums and chat
systems.

The nature of the Human Resources competencies means that
learning online in distance mode, and interacting with people via
emails and chats, will require students to have sharp literacy AND
keyboard skills –more so than for students who learn in a face-toface setting where they can talk about ideas. If students need more
support consider face-to-face sessions to supplement distance
learning, or other support such as telephone support or
teleconferences. Also see the section above 'Offer variety' for more
ideas.

If students are new to online learning (and are able to get to a
workshop) some teachers may like to hold a face-to-face orientation
workshop for online students. A detailed session plan for one of
these is in this Teacher Guide.

As email will be primary method of communication with you
students ensure that you have a clear system of email folders for
managing the traffic.

Send a weekly email to all students with reminders of the tasks that
should be completed, the tasks in progress with reminders for times
of chats or forums during that week. Alerting students to activities
for which they should be undertaking individual learning (using the
learning objects) prior to group activity in the week to come can also
be helpful. You might comment on the quality of work in the
preceding week and provide tips and encouragement for the task at
hand.

Be clear about timeframes by setting targets for learning. A sample
delivery schedule appears later in Guide. These can help you with
your ‘online lesson’ planning. You will need to set frameworks so
that student know what to do, and when to do it.

If you manage a very large group of students, create a sense of
community online by setting up study groups of 4 – 8 students, all
of whom begin the Unit at more or less the same time. This makes it
easier for students to gain the benefits of social learning and to form
networks as they study.
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
Developed by Open Training & Education Network, TAFE NSW
Page 14 of 83

Once you have set up the study group, facilitate an online
‘icebreaker’ activity when students start the Unit. Ideas for this are
on the Project Overview screen for each Unit.

Plan ahead and be clear to your students about which online
collaboration activities that you expect them to complete (also see
the next section containing more online groupwork ideas).

When students are about to start an online group activity, send them
an email with instructions on what teams they will be in or whose
job it is to start a round robin activity. Do not presume students
will work it out.

Establish whether you students have completed any previous units
online. This way you can gauge how much support you will need to
provide to coach students to develop online learning skills, as well
as the content in the units. You may find students require different
levels of support. In the first few weeks get a clear picture of how
each student is coping to enable early intervention.
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
Developed by Open Training & Education Network, TAFE NSW
Page 15 of 83
Session plan for an orientation with
students
Where students are new to online learning it is advisable to provide a face to
face orientation session. Relationships in online learning support successful
learning in the same way as in traditional classroom settings, establishing
contact with peers and facilitators assists in developing these relationships.
Participants will have access to computers for the orientation. The following
material is designed for a 3 hour session.
Table 3: Orientation session plan (3 columns)
Time
Activity
Resources
15 min
Icebreaker – introduction game
Any game, see
www.thiagi.com
15 min
Outline outcomes for this session:
Overheads
15 min

Establish basic skills for online learning

Establish expectations of learners

Conduct gap analysis of presumed knowledge
of HR practices

Provide guided orientation to ANTA toolbox

Provide introduction to communication tools
Brainstorm expectations of learners – groups of 5 – 7
Butchers paper
Feedback whole group
30 min
Ask each student to check their experiences against the
checklist below. Ask each student to record, how and
where they acquired this knowledge and skill.
Obtain feedback from group on gaps. Provide
feedback to individual students on how to address the
gaps. This can also act as type of revision of existing
knowledge
Handout checklist
Teacher needs to have
reading list/resources
for each area prepared
to give to students
5 minute break – move to computers
Each student to have computer
30
minutes
30 min
Introduce the Learning Management Systems or
communication tool. Be sure you point them to the
online student or user manual. Ask students to

Update their details – eg change password or
email address.

Post to forum – a brief bio – or it could be
game ( 3 things about yourself, 1 of which is
lie) – each student is to respond to someone’s
post - which is the lie?)
As students to open word document and answer the
following questions (or questions you devise): What
area of HR do you particularly like and why? What
attracted you to the field of HR? Where do you see
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
Computers with LMS
(eg WebCT) or
communication tools
(eg WebBoard)
Computers with LMS
(eg WebCT) or
communication tools
Developed by Open Training & Education Network, TAFE NSW
Page 16 of 83
Time
Activity
Resources
yourself in 10 years?.
(eg WebBoard)
Facilitate a chat around these 3 questions – Post a
greeting, ensure you instruct students in how to create
colour for themselves, whispering, creating separate
rooms etc, all the features of chat. Demonstrate how to
cut and paste prepared responses from the Word
document into the chat.
Highlight the use of instant messaging if this feature is
available
45 min
5 min
Introduce students to features of ANTA toolbox:

Identify the unit/units they are to study.

Move through the structure of the unit. The
case study company, the project, the tasks, the
adviser, the groupwork ideas, the learning
packs.

Ask each student to work through the online
induction to their job at STAR.
Revisit Outcomes for session and student expectations
Identify time each student needs to spend becoming
confident in using the toolbox
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
HR toolbox – on
server or CDs for each
student to access
Brainstorm material
and overheads on
session objectives
Developed by Open Training & Education Network, TAFE NSW
Page 17 of 83
Knowledge and skills gap analysis
This tool may be used during a student orientation session.
Overview
These learning materials are intended for use at Diploma level, where you learn about managing the HR function. It's assumed you will have
already studied and/or have workplace experience in Human Resources at an operational level.

On the next page is a checklist of things you should be able to do before you start the Diploma units of competence.

This list is not exhaustive; teachers may add or remove items.

It is important to note knowledge and skills acquired at Certificate IV support the learning across a number of competencies
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
Developed by Open Training & Education Network, TAFE NSW
Page 18 of 83
Table 4: Knowledge and skills gap analysis (10 columns)
Knowledge and skills prerequisites. Can you …
501A
502A
503A
504A
505A
506A
507A
508A
509A
Administer a variety of HR systems including HR policies and procedures,
and staff performance feedback systems?
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
Determine job specifications?
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
Write a position description?
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
Write a person specification?
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
Write and place a job advertisement?
x
Assess applications to choose applicants for interview?
x
Conduct a selection interview?
x
Make a verbal and written job offer?
x
x
x
Recruit staff, using a variety of methods, including assessing and selecting
applicants?
x
Induct staff into an organisation?
x
Process and handle enquiries on a variety of HR documents and processes
including leave and job vacancies?
x
x
x
x
Conduct performance appraisal interviews?
x
x
x
x
x
Prepare a logically structured interview?
x
x
x
Conduct interviews?
x
x
x
Describe the role of employee counselling in managing employee
performance?
x
x
x
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
x
x
x
x
x
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
x
x
Developed by Open Training & Education Network, TAFE NSW
Page 19 of 83
Knowledge and skills prerequisites. Can you …
501A
502A
503A
Lead and manage teams?
x
Explain the purpose of learning and development plans?
x
504A
505A
506A
507A
508A
509A
x
x
Research and analyse information. Write project reports and make
recommendations?
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
Explain how legislation regarding OH&S, environmental issues, EEO, IR
and anti-discrimination affects business operation?
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
x
Outline the major parties in the Australian Industrial Relations Systems,
their roles and functions?
Locate and access awards, agreements and employment legislation?
Locate and read case law?
Describe strategies for conflict management?
Describe grievance procedures?
x
x
x
x
x
Identify and implement solutions to employee/industrial issues?
x
x
x
x
x
Coordinate workers compensation and rehabilitation claims?
x
x
x
x
x
x
Explain the basic principles of workers compensation schemes in
Australia?
Describe the scope and causes of work related injury and illness?
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
Developed by Open Training & Education Network, TAFE NSW
Page 20 of 83
Sample delivery schedule
Many students choose to study online because they are looking for
flexibility. However the facilitator still needs to provide a framework so that
students have clear guidance on how long to spend on each task in order to
complete the Unit within a set timeframe.
It's important to keep students on track - if they think they have to do
everything in this Toolbox – all tasks, all online group activities, all
activities in the learning packs – they could be overwhelmed. Make sure
they know:

which online group activities you expect them to do (it may be just
two per Unit for example)

that the learning packs are there as a resource, they don't have to
complete every activity in them (you may want to recommend
particular sections).
Use the template below as a guide.
Tip
Create synergy between the Units.

Consider co-assessment and delivery of BSBHR501A with another
unit or units.

Start a new project while finishing off the last project tasks on
another. Rather than each unit being facilitated by different teacher,
team teaching can minimise the possibility of duplication.

Point students to tasks and skills that are common across most Units,
eg linking HR to strategic goals, developing a consultation plan,
developing and implementation and evaluation plan – once done for
the first Unit learners may re-use and adapt them for other Units
(note: tell your students the point is to adapt and improve previous
work, not just copy and paste old work)
On the next page is a sample delivery timetable for each unit. Allow time
for external exams if applicable.
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
Developed by Open Training & Education Network, TAFE NSW
Page 21 of 83
Table 5: Sample delivery schedule for all Units (4 columns)
Unit
Semester 1
Weeks
BSBHR501A
Manage human resource
consultancy services
1-4
BSBHR506A
Manage recruitment selection and
induction processes
BSBHR503A
BSBHR502A
BSBHR508A
Manage performance management
systems
Weeks
3 – 10
7 tasks in 7
weeks
6 – 14
8 tasks in 8
weeks
Manage human resource
management information systems
13-18
5 tasks in 5
weeks
12 – 18
Manage work/life skills
6 tasks in 6
weeks
BSBHR509A
Manage rehabilitation/return-towork programs
12 – 18
7 tasks in 6
weeks
Semester 2
BSBHR504A
1–7
Manage industrial relations
policies and processes
7 tasks in 7
weeks
BSBHR505A
Manage remuneration and
employee benefits
3 - 11
BSBHR507A
Manage separation/termination
10 – 16
6 tasks in 6
weeks
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
Developed by Open Training & Education Network, TAFE NSW
Page 22 of 83
Here is a sample timetable for one unit, showing you how you may overlap
the end of one Unit with the beginning of another. You should select the
collaborative activity from the suggestions in this Guide for each unit –
what appears here is an example only.
Table 6: Possible delivery schedule for one Units (3 columns)
Week
Task
Student activity
9
BSBHR 505A – Manage Remuneration
Task 7 – Check the relevant legislation
BSBHR507A – Manager Separation
10
Task 1 – Research separation termination policies
Independent research
BSBHR 505A– Manage Remuneration
Consultative
committee
Task 8 – Plan for ongoing consultation
BSBHR507A Manage Separation
11
Task 1 - continue
Online debate
BSBHR 505A– Manage Remuneration
Peer review
Task 9 – Document your strategies
BSBHR507A- Manage Separation
12
Task 2 – Identify relevant agreements, legislation and
cases
Chat around
researched questions
BSBHR507A - Manage Separation
Forum posting of
group activity
Task 3 – Manage separation/termination process
13
14
BSBHR507A – Manage Separation
Task 4 - Manager summary dismissal
Independent research
on scenario at STAR
resulting in Forum
post
BSBHR507A - Manage Separation
Peer review
Task 4 - continue
16
BSBHR507A - Manage Separation
Task 5 – Conduct exit interviews
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
'At the coalface' chat
activity
Developed by Open Training & Education Network, TAFE NSW
Page 23 of 83
127 online groupwork ideas
Groupwork ideas appear on the Project Overview and the Task screens.
They are designed to be done online, with a study group, but they may be
easily adapted for other delivery modes. The following tables list these
groupwork idea plus additional or alternative activities that you may choose
from.
Tip
Look at these online collaboration ideas for the Unit before your
students start, and make it clear to them which ones you expect them to
do.
A good way to broaden the discussion is to assign different teams to
different activities, and let teams report to each other.
Starting together as a group – the Project overview
screen
Figure 10: Groupwork box on a Project screen
We have listed all groupwork ideas
for students on the screen because
the appropriate activity will depend
on whether the students already
know each other, their prior learning,
and their work backgrounds.
If your students are new to their
study group we recommend they
start activities 1 and 2. You can
follow this up with activities 3 and 4
to encourage students to explore
ways in which they can work
together online.
Whichever activities your students
do here, the aim is to start building a
sense of an online community, and
for the students to begin to feel
comfortable networking with each
other online.
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
Developed by Open Training & Education Network, TAFE NSW
Page 24 of 83
After they get going – activities for project tasks
Figure 11: Groupwork box on a Task screen
The rest of this Teacher Guide contains a
wide selection of activities for each Unit.
They are organised by Unit and Task.
The first activity in each table below is also
on the Task screen. The others are provided
here as alternatives you may choose to use.
Remember to identify at least one specific
group activity that you will set for your
students, and point them to this when they
start the Unit. It's not intended that students
would do every groupwork idea on every
screen – they are just provided for you as a
selection.
Here is a list of the group activity types in this Toolbox. They are in a (very)
rough order from easiest to hardest for students to do online:

STAR chat – discussion trigger based on STAR case study events.
Most people find it easy to respond to a concrete scenario or
problem.

WebSearch show and tell – students can conduct their own
research independently or in teams, then go online to report to each
other on their findings; a good way to develop web research and
collaboration skills at the same time

At the coalface – students tell each other their own experiences
when they did xyz. It’s usually easy for most people to talk about
their own experiences. Question should also encourage some critical
reflection, eg ‘What would you do differently?’

Debate – students are given a debate topic. Assign teams to the ‘yes’
and ‘no’ cases, choose an adjudicator, and hold the debate on your
bulletin board or chat system.

Team research – This is intended to get students to explore a topic
in collaboration. These "mini-teams" can then report back to the
larger group. (We've mostly used these for workplace research as
opposed to web research, see WebSearch show and tell above.)
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
Developed by Open Training & Education Network, TAFE NSW
Page 25 of 83

Round robin – provides a structure for a group to build a piece of
work collaboratively.

Email game – designed to progressively generate and process
content around a salient issue; see www.thiagi.com for more
information

Half-life – designed to identify the essential elements about the
chosen topic; students make statements about a selected topic,
starting at 32 words, and gradually narrowing them down to just two
words

Depolariser – aims to increase levels of awareness about alternative
points of view; see www.thiagi.com for more information

Peer review – students team up with their study buddy and give
structured feedback on each other’s work on the task. Uses the
method of Praise-Improvement-Praise. Useful to encourage peer
collaboration and support.

Interaction simulation – structured role-play where people or
process skills are relevant. Use carefully as these are difficult for
both the students and the facilitator. May use the virtual meetings in
the Toolbox as a trigger.
BSBHR501A Manage HR consultancy
Task 1
Activity type
Instructions
Comments
STAR chat
How could STAR’s
corporate goals and plans
for growth affect the nature
of the HR function in
STAR?
This activity asks students
to discuss all the case study
materials they have seen so
far. It's a relatively easy
introduction to online
discussion and a good way
to check understanding by
students of key issues.
STAR chat
These are alternative
discussion topics to the
above:
What are the likely impacts
for HR staff in the
introduction of SLAs with
other business units in
STAR? Will this change
their workload/work
practices? Will they need
to receive specific training/
exposure/mentoring in
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
Developed by Open Training & Education Network, TAFE NSW
Page 26 of 83
order to operate in this new
environment?
What factors would need to
be considered when
explaining the concept of
SLAs to the HR staff?
(consider their
accountability,
performance
management/appraisals
etc).
How will the introduction
of SLAs benefit the
business units (and the
Business Unit Managers) at
STAR?
What are the impacts on
me (ie the student as the
HR Manager) if my staff
can't deliver on their SLA?
How will this impact on
my performance being
measured?
Task 2
Activity type
Instructions
Comments
Round robin
From your virtual meeting
with stakeholders, and
minutes of your individual
consultations, complete the
task as a round robin
activity:
A collaborative way to
complete the task and
promote idea sharing.
Divide into teams of three.
The person whose surname
is closest to A goes first,
etc
Person 1 provides a
summary of STAR's
problems and needs and
sends to…
Person 2 adds an outline of
options for delivery of HR
services that meet these
problems or needs and
sends to…
Person 3 adds an
explanation of how these
options comply with
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
Developed by Open Training & Education Network, TAFE NSW
Page 27 of 83
relevant Federal and State
laws & returns to players
1& 2.
Some of these options may
form the basis for
individual team members'
SLAs.
Interaction simulation
Information gathering
meeting
In small groups students
take turns playing the role
of consultant and client as
follows …
consultant begins with an
intro which explains the
service area covered, then
uses open & closed
questions to gain
information from the
clients (can be 2 or 3 in
client group)
Students practise skills of
questioning, active
listening, dealing with
confidentiality issues,
building rapport,
overcoming resistance,
dealing with dominant
personalities.
different “clients” can take
on different roles
(cooperative, blocker,
tight-lipped, dominant)
Team research
If you are working on a
project in your workplace
rather than STAR, get
together with others doing
something similar and
discuss your findings so
far. Which were the
easiest/most difficult
situations to deal with and
why?
This activity is designed to
encourage students to find
out about a range of
approaches and to think
critically about what they
discover.
It is intended to get
students to explore a topic
in collaboration. These
"mini-teams" can then
report back to the larger
group.
Findings from these
collaborations could be
used to augment
"portfolio" material
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
Developed by Open Training & Education Network, TAFE NSW
Page 28 of 83
Task 3
Activity type
Instructions
Comments
Email game
'101 QA methods and tools'
This collaboration activity
provides a structured
introduction to online
collaboration via an email
game.
Appoint a game
coordinator. Each student
sends a list of 10 QA
methods or tools to the
game coordinator.
Coordinator collates them
and sends the complete list
back to all players. Players
then vote on the top 5
methods and top 5 tools.
The coordinator again
collates the results and
feeds them back to players.
Game takes no more than 5
days.
You can use this technique
in many places as an
alternative to discussion
boards.
This game can also be used
for supporting the
development of strategic
thinking skills:
eg ‘101 ways to improve
…’
STAR chat
Will quality processes
really lead to more
stakeholder ‘ownership’ of
HR processes at STAR?
What could go wrong?
This activity asks students
to discuss the case study
materials they have seen so
far. It's a relatively easy
introduction to online
discussion and a good way
to check understanding by
students of key issues.
Interaction simulation
Negotiating quality
processes
In small groups students
take turns playing the role
of consultant and client as
follows …
Students practise skills of
questioning, active
listening, dealing with
client concerns, building
rapport, overcoming
resistance.
consultant provides the QA
proposal to the “clients”
and give a summary of key
points
“clients” ask for at least
one point to be clarified
and raise at least one
concern or objection to the
proposal
“consultant” answers these
questions or concerns, and
negotiates any changes
needed to your proposal
Team research
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
For those students
completing the project in
their workplace: Interview
one or more experienced
Developed by Open Training & Education Network, TAFE NSW
Page 29 of 83
HR staff on their
experience with monitoring
and evaluating SLAs, (or
particular HR functions if
they do not use SLAs).
Groups of these students to
share their interviews with
each other and discuss.
Task 4
Activity type
Instructions
Comments
Peer review
Email your SLA to your
study buddy. Provide
feedback to each other on:
Feedback from peers is an
essential part of workplace
practice and this activity is
designed to encourage
students to develop skills in
collaboration.
clarity of performance
standards
clarity of timeliness
standards
relevance to the goals of
the organisation
It will also take some of the
load from the teacher to
provide feedback to all
students on every activity.
compliance with relevant
legislation
Interaction simulation
Present recommendations
to the client
In small groups students
take turns playing the role
of consultant and client as
follows …
consultant present their key
issues and
recommendations to the
clients, then ask for
questions from your clients
Students practise skills
presenting bad news
without alienating
stakeholders, responding to
tough questions, handling
difficult people in the
presentation, gaining
client’s commitment to the
next steps
different “clients” can take
on different roles
(accepting, objecter,
dominant)
Task 5
Activity type
Instructions
Comments
At the coalface
Tell others in your group
about a time when
consultants haven't
delivered. What steps were
taken to resolve issues?
'At the coalface' means
stories from the workplace,
and is an easier
introduction to online
discussion for many
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
Developed by Open Training & Education Network, TAFE NSW
Page 30 of 83
(Consultants may be either
from HR or another
profession.)
students.
Encourage students to
draw conclusions for future
practice from their stories.
Use these activities with
caution when you have a
group of students from the
same workplace.
This could be done either
as a live chat or as a forum
posting.
At the coalface
These are extensions to the
above activity.
Teacher gets the students
to discuss their experiences
in relation to the steps they
took in dealing with
consultants that haven't
delivered the expected
service.
In these discussions
students could analyse each
of their experiences by
discussing :
What worked well
What would they do
differently next time
If students did not have
many experiences to share,
the lecturer could develop
some simple scenarios for
students to either discuss,
or role play.
Also, the teacher could
facilitate a discussion on
what the main points to
remember when:
Preparing for a counselling
session
Conducting a counselling
session
Followup from a
counselling session (ie.
action points etc)
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
Developed by Open Training & Education Network, TAFE NSW
Page 31 of 83
Task 6
Activity type
Instructions
Comments
Conduct the survey
Each person develops their
own survey questionnaire,
and others complete it in as
if they were the client.
A collaborative way to
complete the task
Be sure to include an area
in your survey where
others can give you
feedback on your survey
design:
are instructions clear?
are questions
unambiguous?
does it gather the
information required?
appropriate in length &
time to complete?
Zoomerang is a free
website where you can set
up your own online survey
www.zoomerang.com
Task 7
Activity type
Instructions
Comments
Peer review
Email your document to
your study buddy. Review
each other's work using the
P-I-P method:
Feedback from peers is an
essential part of workplace
practice and this activity is
designed to encourage
students to develop skills in
collaboration.
Praise one specific thing in
it
offer one point for
Improvement, and
finish with Praise for
another specific thing in
the outline.
At the coalface
Tell others in your group
about presentation
successes or disasters.
They may your own
presentations or ones
you've see .
It will also take some of the
load from the teacher to
provide feedback to all
students on every activity.
'At the coalface' means
stories from the workplace,
and is an easier
introduction to online
discussion for many
students.
Encourage students to
draw conclusions for future
practice from their stories.
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
Developed by Open Training & Education Network, TAFE NSW
Page 32 of 83
Use these activities with
caution when you have a
group of students from the
same workplace.
This could be done either
as a live chat or as a forum
posting.
Interaction simulation
Present recommended
service variations to the
client
In small groups students
take turns presenting their
recommendations to other
students – if done online,
send your documentation
for your recommendations
to your group, then in a
live chat present your key
issues and
recommendations, then ask
for questions from your
clients (other students)
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
Students practise skills
presenting bad news
without alienating
stakeholders, responding to
tough questions, handling
difficult people in the
presentation, gaining
client’s commitment to the
next steps
Developed by Open Training & Education Network, TAFE NSW
Page 33 of 83
BSBHR502A Manage HRMIS
Task 1
Activity type
Instructions
Comments
At the coalface
Describe any experiences
you have had with HRMIS
in your workplace. What
did you like about it? What
could have been done
differently? If you haven't
experienced one yourself,
ask 3 friends the same
questions and report what
they say.
'At the coalface' means
stories from the workplace,
and is an easier
introduction to online
discussion for many
students.
Encourage students to
draw conclusions for future
practice from their stories.
Use these activities with
caution when you have a
group of students from the
same workplace.
This could be done either
as a live chat or as a forum
posting.
Email game
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
"101 reports that are going
to be needed from the
HRMIS" Appoint a game
coordinator. Each student
sends coordinator 3
suggestions for specific
reports that HR or Line
Managers may want to
generate from the HRMIS
This collaboration activity
provides a structured
introduction to online
collaboration via an email
game.
Coordinator collates them
and sends the complete list
back to all players. Players
then vote 1, 2, 3 in order of
preference. The
coordinator again collates
the results and feeds them
back to players.
Game takes no more than 5
days.
This game can also be used
for supporting the
development of strategic
thinking skills:
You can use this technique
in many places as an
alternative to discussion
boards.
eg ‘101 ways to improve …
Ensure you give the
students a specific
timeframe for their
contributions. Go to the
thiagi website
www.thiagi.com for more
help in managing the game
Developed by Open Training & Education Network, TAFE NSW
Page 34 of 83
Task 2
Activity type
Instructions
Comments
WebSearch show and tell
Students share the results
of their research into
available HRMIS on line.
Chances are that other
students may have different
findings from yours.
Discuss differences in
available systems and
compare features of similar
systems
Another approach could be
for the teacher to facilitate
a live chat after students
post their research
findings. Focus the chat
session on the key
questions in the activity.
Activity type
Instructions
Comments
Interaction simulation
Form a team or committee
(on line) charged with
implementing a HRMIS:
Structured role-play aimed
at encouraging team
building and diversity of
approach. Two-step
process may be
supplemented with a
facilitated debate to
explore further ideas and
points of view before
preparing final list of
action points.
Task 3
Each participant should
represent a different
stakeholder group (e.g. line
managers, accounts/
payroll, employees,
technical specialist,
application specialist, etc)
Each participant must
present one human (as
opposed to IT) issue of
concern to his or her
stakeholder for the
implementation of a
HRMIS.
Again, set specific time
frame for the event
The outcome should be a
group list of action points
arising from further group
discussion for inclusion in
an implementation plan.
These should attempt to
answer the concerns of
each stakeholder.
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
Developed by Open Training & Education Network, TAFE NSW
Page 35 of 83
Task 4
Activity type
Instructions
Comments
Team research
Divide your study group
evenly into two teams Team one should produce a
list of possible problems
that a HR manager may
encounter when working
with IT specialists. Team
two should produce a list
of opportunities that may
arise out of the same IT
collaboration.
This could be developed
through two separate
discussion groups to work
up initial findings - this is
posted to common forum
then discussion could
again occur in separate
forums in providing
alternatives. Finally both
teams share results.
After posting these lists to
a group forum or chat
room, teams should swap
sides - Team one to counter
the opportunities list by
attaching a possible risk to
each opportunity item.
Team two to counter the
problems list with action
points that help avoid each
of the problems.
Task 5
Activity type
Instructions
Comments
Interaction simulation
Get the “Implementation
Team” from Task 3 back
together and role-play the
consultation and forward
planning aspects of the
evaluation process.
Students again take on the
various stakeholder roles.
This might happen in a
couple of sessions with
students taking time to
think through the issues
and come back together
with their findings.
Confirmation of teambuilding exercise earlier in
unit. Again encourages
collaboration and sharing
of multiple points of view.
Again students may need
support in setting up the
collaborative structures, as
this may early in their
online learning experience.
Think of any resulting
change in the structure and
focus of the HR group that
may result from proposed
changes to the HRMIS.
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
Developed by Open Training & Education Network, TAFE NSW
Page 36 of 83
Round robin
Divide into teams of four.
The student whose name is
closer to A goes 1st, then
the next is 2nd, 3rd, 4th,
etc
Student no. 1: Writes
introduction to benefits of
HRMIS and section on
legislation obligations, and
sends to …
Student no. 2: Writes
section of procedure for
selecting HRMIS, and
sends to …
This is designed to
encourage collaboration in
a structured setting
between students, while
making the workload of the
task less onerous.
Teachers may adapt this
technique to any of the
tasks where there is a
report writing requirement.
Time frames need to be set
for each student
contribution in the chain
Student no. 3: Writes
section with steps in the
HRMIS implementation
process, and sends to…
Student no. 4 Writes
section on strategies for
evaluating HRMIS
performance, compiles the
final report, sends to
students 1 – 3 for final
comment and
contributions, incorporates
any suggested changes and
posts to a forum for other
groups to see.
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
Developed by Open Training & Education Network, TAFE NSW
Page 37 of 83
BSBHR503A Manage performance management
systems
Task 1
Activity type
Instructions
Comments
Debate
'Performance management
is just a way for HR
managers to keep tabs on
employees and justify their
own jobs'.
This activity encourages
students to take a
viewpoint for or against,
and argue their case
online. If students are new
to online discussion they
may need some direction
so it may best to assign
students to the yes or no
case. A more experienced
online group may be able
to choose their own side in
the debate.
Assign teams to the ‘yes’
and ‘no’ cases, choose an
adjudicator, and hold the
debate on your bulletin
board or chat system.
Be sure to discuss these
issues:
What role does the HR
function have in
performance management?
What rights do employees
have in relation to
monitoring by
employers?w
You could also explore this
question through an email
game called a depolariser.
Instructions can be found
at the Thiagi website
www.thiagi.com
Task 2
Activity type
Instructions
Comments
Email game
‘101 benefits that
performance management
brings to a workplace’
This collaboration activity
provides a structured
introduction to online
collaboration via an email
game.
Appoint a game
coordinator. Each student
submits a list of 10 items to
the coordinator.
Coordinator collates them
and sends the complete list
back to all players. Players
then vote on the top 5
benefits. The coordinator
again collates the results
and feeds them back to
players.
You can use this technique
in many places as an
alternative to discussion
boards.
This game can also be used
for supporting the
development of strategic
thinking skills:
eg ‘101 ways to improve’
again, a time frame needs
to be established.
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
Developed by Open Training & Education Network, TAFE NSW
Page 38 of 83
Round robin review
‘How does performance
management add value to
an organisation?’
Each student submits one
idea about this for
discussion. Then look at an
idea that another student
has submitted. What kinds
of resistance to their idea
might need to be overcome
for the performance
management system to be
effective?
Task 3
Activity type
Instructions
Comments
At the coalface
What kinds of incentives
have you seen used to
encourage good
performance? Have they
worked? Why, or why not?
Where some students are in
the same organisation they
could prepare a joint
presentation to the rest of
the study group.
This would be best as a
forum posting by a certain
date, to enable other
students to benefit from the
information
Task 4
Activity type
Instructions
Comments
At the coalface
How have you seen
positive performance
handled in workplaces?
How have you seen
negative performance
handled in workplaces?
What have you seen go
wrong? How else could it
have been handled.
This session is designed to
encourage exploration of
the many ways that
performance is monitored,
punished and rewarded.
Not all situations will be
positive - facilitator may
need to steer discussion
towards constructive
criticism.
This is complex question
which could be done as
brainstorming live chat
with students having
prepared responses to the
4 questions
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
Developed by Open Training & Education Network, TAFE NSW
Page 39 of 83
Task 5
Activity type
Instructions
Comments
Debate
‘It is not important to give
performance appraisal
feedback to employees
except where they are
performing poorly and
require discipline.’
This is designed to
encourage collaboration in
a structured setting
between students, while
making the workload of the
task less onerous.
Assign teams to the ‘yes’
and ‘no’ cases, choose an
adjudicator, and hold the
debate on your bulletin
board or chat system.
This form can be adapted
by replacing with another
contentious topic
Activity type
Instructions
Comments
WebSearch show and tell
Find an example online of
a company that prides itself
on being a ‘learning
organisation’.
This activity is designed to
encourage students to find
out about a range of
approaches and to think
critically about what they
discover
Task 6
Post the URL in a group
forum along with a
statement of the company's
key goals plus a suggestion
for how the same ideals
might be applied in your
own workplace.
Half-life
Statements about a selected
topic, all identifying its
essential elements
The selected topic is: The
attitude of staff to the value
of peer performance
reviews.
Assign students to a panel.
In Round 1, each player
makes a statement about
the selected topic, using
exactly 32 words. During
the next four rounds,
players successively reduce
their statement to exactly
16, 8, 4, and 2 words-while preserving its
essential element. During
each round, the panel
selects the top three
statements. After the final
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
This type of activity can be
used in other contexts. It
could be useful to
introduce the technique to
the students at the face to
face orientation so that
they become comfortable
with the process.
Developed by Open Training & Education Network, TAFE NSW
Page 40 of 83
round, players vote for the
best overall entry and the
most consistent performer.
Task 7
Activity type
Instructions
Comments
Team research
With your study buddy,
research legislation that
relates to the provision of
counselling and career
support for employees.
Share your findings with
your group by posting to a
forum
This is intended to get
students to explore a topic
in collaboration. These
"mini-teams" can then
report back to the larger
group.
Activity type
Instructions
Comments
At the coalface
Provide instances of
performance feedback in
the workplace that you
may have heard about.
Provide a critical view of
either the positive aspects
of how it was handled or
some suggestions for
improvements to the
procedures used.
This exercise is intended to
personalise the learning
environment for each
student. Responses may
tend towards negative facilitator should steer
discussion.
Findings from these
collaborations could be
used to augment
"portfolio" material
Task 8
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
This activity could either
be done as a live chat or as
a forum posting or possibly
add to your personal
learning portfolio.
Developed by Open Training & Education Network, TAFE NSW
Page 41 of 83
BSBHR504A Manage industrial relations
Task 1
Activity type
Instructions
Comments
STAR chat
What do you think could
be some possible industrial
relations goals for STAR?
(Be sure to check STAR's
Strategic Directions
document.)
This activity directs
students to compare the
desired IR performance
against the actual IR
performance, ie the IR
gaps.
Do these possible goals
reflect the reality at STAR?
What's wrong IR at STAR?
Be sure to consider STAR's
corporate vision and
mission statements when
discussing possible IR
goals.
The second part of the
discussion can introduce
the IR audit sheet, provided
by Radha Clare, the HR
adviser in this project.
You could also complete
the audit sheet together in
a live chat session.
Round robin
Form IR audit teams.
In teams of four, complete
an IR audit on STAR,
using Radha's template and
referring to the STAR
Strategic Directions
document. The student
whose name is closer to A
goes 1st, then the next is
2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc
This is a collaborative and
fun way to complete the
work for this project task.
Set timeframes need to be
provided for each student
contribution to the chain.
Student no. 1: drafts
possible goals for IR at
STAR (in line with STAR's
Strategic Directions), and
send to …
Student no. 2: completes
questions 1 – 7 on the IR
audit sheet for STAR, and
sends to …
Student no. 3: completes
questions 8 – 9 on the IR
audit sheet for STAR, and
sends to …
Student no. 4: reviews the
data gathered so far, writes
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
Developed by Open Training & Education Network, TAFE NSW
Page 42 of 83
an executive summary of
STAR's IR gaps, send the
final document to students
1 – 3 for comment,
incorporates any
suggestions for
improvement and posts the
whole audit document to a
forum for other groups to
see.
Follow up with a live chat
session where each audit
team discuss their findings.
Debate
“Unions must be involved
in all workplace
negotiations, especially
involving any workplace
agreements and individual
contracts of employment”.
This is designed to
encourage collaboration in
a structured setting
between students, while
making the workload of the
task less onerous.
Assign teams to the ‘yes’
and ‘no’ cases, choose an
adjudicator, and hold the
debate on your bulletin
board or chat system.
This form can be adapted
by replacing with another
contentious topic
Be sure to discuss these
issues:
Australian Workplace
Agreements requirements
regarding union
involvement.
Do employees have equal
bargaining power with
their employer?
The representativeness of
unions today given they
represent only around 25%
of workers.
Ensure you give set time
frame for posting the initial
argument and the
response. Some guidance
for the teams in
collaborating online to
develop their argument
may be needed by email.
The teacher needs to have
a standard set of
instructions for students in
how debates will be
conducted.
Task 2
Activity type
Instructions
Comments
STAR chat
In Task 1 you identified IR
gaps, now lets talk options
for solutions! What ideas
can you get from the
emails from Karen and
Ben, and the virtual
meeting you attended with
stakeholders? What other
This activity prompts
students to consider the
input that can be provided
by stakeholders, it models
the consultation they
should be doing in the
workplace.
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
After this chat students will
Developed by Open Training & Education Network, TAFE NSW
Page 43 of 83
Team research
IR options can you think
of? Make sure as a group
you cover all the gaps you
identified in Task 1.
have done the groundwork
for the rest of the task, ie
identifying preferred
options for each IR gap
and performing a
cost/benefit analysis of
their preferred option.
Assign group members to
research and report back on
the prevalence of
consultative mechanisms
within organisations. Each
group member is to contact
three separate
organisations and ask for
evidence of consultation
with staff. Each member is
to give a summary of their
findings for comparison
discussion purposes.
This is intended to get
students to explore a topic
in collaboration. These
"mini-teams" can then
report back to the larger
group.
Findings from these
collaborations could be
used to augment
"portfolio" material
Be sure to ask about
Consultative Committees,
Occupational Health &
Safety Committees, staff
newsletters, employee
representation on the Board
of Directors, team
meetings, facilities for staff
to express views
anonymously or openly,
staff surveys, etc.
Task 3
Activity type
Instructions
Comments
STAR chat
What do you think of
Radha's IR implementation
plan? What are its key
strengths? What are its
weaknesses? How could
you modify it for your own
IR implementation plan for
STAR?
This activity prompts
students to look at the work
sample provided by Radha
Clare, the HR adviser in
this project. It can form a
base from which they can
develop their own plan.
Encourage students not
just to copy it, but to
develop it further based on
the group discussion.
Students need to be
instructed to prepare their
response to each question
prior to chat.
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
Developed by Open Training & Education Network, TAFE NSW
Page 44 of 83
Half-life
Statements about a selected
topic, all identifying its
essential elements
The selected topic is: the
value of a contingency plan
in IR.
Assign students to a panel.
In Round 1, each player
makes a statement about
the selected topic, using
exactly 32 words. During
the next four rounds,
players successively reduce
their statement to exactly
16, 8, 4, and 2 words-while preserving its
essential element. During
each round, the panel
selects the top three
statements. After the final
round, players vote for the
best overall entry and the
most consistent performer.
Depolariser email game
"Average organizations do
not have the time or money
to engage in thorough
industrial relations risk
management and risk
analysis so there is no need
to engage in it."
This type of activity can be
used in other contexts. It is
helpful to introduce the
technique to the students at
the face to face orientation
so that they become
comfortable with the
process.
See www.thiagi.com
.
Task 4
Activity type
Instructions
Comments
Interaction simulation
Online negotiation: Here's
a way to conduct an online
IR negotiation. You'll need
at least 4 people to make
this work.
This activity provides an
experience through which
students can develop
negotiation skills. The
teacher in the second part
of the activity needs to
model mediation skills
which might led to an
agreement.
person 1 posts STAR’s
position on an issue:
person 1 posts 3 employee
demands
person 2 posts 3 employee
needs
person 3 posts 3 employee
threats.
Then in your online
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
Divide the group into
students who take the lead
role of posting and other
students to take the lead
role in the online
discussion to ensure all
Developed by Open Training & Education Network, TAFE NSW
Page 45 of 83
discussion work together to
negotiate:
students can participate in
the activity
areas of agreement
areas of disagreement
possible solutions.
Team research
In teams of 2 or 3, contact
an organisation that you
know of that have a
workplace agreement,
possibly arrange a visit to
the site (or conduct a
telephone interview) and
ask:
Did management get what
they were really after?
Were staff happy with the
outcomes?
How long did negotiations
take?
Who was involved in
negotiations?
This activity is designed to
encourage students to find
out about a range of
approaches and to think
critically about what they
discover
It is intended to get
students to explore a topic
in collaboration. These
"mini-teams" can then
report back to the larger
group.
Findings from these
collaborations could be
used to augment portfolio
material
Did unions play a
supportive or other role in
the process?
Each group reports on their
findings to the other group
via a bulletin board.
Task 5
Activity type
Instructions
Comments
Peer review
Show your policy and
procedure document to
your study buddy. Then
provide feedback to each
other using the P-I-P
method
Feedback from peers is an
essential part of workplace
practice and this activity is
designed to encourage
students to develop skills in
collaboration.
Praise one specific thing
they did
It will also take some of the
load from the teacher to
provide feedback to all
students on every activity.
offer one point for
Improvement
and finish with Praise for
another specific thing they
did.
Team research
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
Divide into teams of 2 or 3.
Each team locates a
This activity is designed to
encourage students to find
Developed by Open Training & Education Network, TAFE NSW
Page 46 of 83
grievance procedure or
conflict resolution
procedure and summarise
the processes described in
a flowchart (eg using
flowchart tools in Word or
PowerPoint).
Each team then posts these
flowcharts to a bulletin
board for other groups to
review.
A live chat session can
then be held on the
similarities and differences,
you can discuss opinions
on their practicality and
likely effectiveness.
Debate
’If an employer has to stop
and explain every decision
that is made and consult
with staff if staff don’t
particularly like the
decision, then nothing
would ever get done.
Besides I own this place, I
pay their wages, why
should I down tools all the
time to ‘consult’?’
Assign teams to the ‘yes’
and ‘no’ cases, choose an
adjudicator, and hold the
debate on your bulletin
board or chat system.
out about a range of
approaches and to think
critically about what they
discover
It is intended to get
students to explore a topic
in collaboration. These
"mini-teams" can then
report back to the larger
group.
Findings from these
collaborations could be
used to augment
"portfolio" material
This is designed to
encourage collaboration in
a structured setting
between students, while
making the workload of the
task less onerous.
This form can be adapted
by replacing with another
contentious topic
Ensure you give set time
frame for posting the initial
argument and the
response. Some guidance
for the teams in
collaborating online to
develop their argument
may be needed by email.
The teacher needs to have
a standard set of
instructions for students in
how debates will be
conducted.
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
Developed by Open Training & Education Network, TAFE NSW
Page 47 of 83
Task 6
Activity type
Instructions
Comments
Interaction simulation
Each participant identifies
as either an employee
and/or a union
representative or an
employer representative.
Using the dispute identified
in the scenario, have the
argument. Participants
decide when the argument
is over.
This activity provides an
experience through which
students can develop
negotiation skills
Look at how the argument
deteriorated or resolved,
and identify how this
happened.
The self-reflection on the
process can be added to
the student learning
portfolio.
In the workplace learning
from experience by
applying models is a
valuable skill
Identify the techniques that
could be employed to calm
down the argument and
keep it constructive.
STAR chat
Go to www.crnhq.org.
How workable would this
approach be at STAR, or in
your own workplace?
This activity is designed to
encourage students to think
critically about models
which are presented in the
literature in the context of
their own workplace.
The result of this research
can be used as subject of a
live chat.
Task 7
Activity type
Instructions
Comments
STAR chat
What things could you put
into the evaluation plan for
STAR's IR processes?
Discuss the pros and cons
of a variety of processes,
and together formulate an
evaluation and monitoring
process.
This is a collaborative and
fun way to complete the
task. It may be done as a
live chat session. The final
evaluation plan can be the
combined effort of the
whole group.
Or, it could be done in 2
chat sessions:
first brainstorm and
discuss methodologies
after this session each
student individually outline
their preferred evaluation
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
Developed by Open Training & Education Network, TAFE NSW
Page 48 of 83
plan
then come together in a
second chat session where
student post and discuss
their evaluation plans
STAR chat
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
What do you think of the
sample evaluation plan,
and the advice offered by
Radha Clare, the HR
adviser in this Unit? How
could you further develop
her work sample into your
own evaluation plan for IR
at STAR?
This is another way to
collaboratively complete
the task – this time starting
with a model and
discussing ways to improve
it.
Can also be facilitating
with the process above.
Developed by Open Training & Education Network, TAFE NSW
Page 49 of 83
BSBHR505A Manage remuneration and employee
benefits
Task 1
Activity type
Instructions
Comments
Email game
'101 external pressures'
This collaboration activity
provides a structured
introduction to online
collaboration via an email
game.
Appoint a game
coordinator. Each student
sends a list of 10 external
pressures to the game
coordinator. Coordinator
collates them and sends the
complete list back to all
players. Players then vote
on the top 5 external
pressures. The coordinator
again collates the results
and feeds them back to
players.
Game takes no more than 3
days.
WebSearch show and tell
You can use this technique
in many places as an
alternative to discussion
boards.
This game can also be used
for supporting the
development of strategic
thinking skills:
eg ‘101 ways to improve
…’
In teams, research what's
going on around the
country this week that
could be considered as an
external pressure upon a
business like STAR?
Each team chooses 2 – 4
web sites, and each team
member researches that
website.
Teams then report back to
the whole group in a
scheduled online chat
session.
Task 2
Activity type
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
Instructions
Comments
Developed by Open Training & Education Network, TAFE NSW
Page 50 of 83
Round robin
Form teams of 4. The
student whose surname
name is closer to A goes
1st, etc
Player 1 lists 5 internal
pressures that are to do
with resources, and sends
to …
This is a collaborative and
fun way to complete the
work for this project task.
Set timeframes need to be
provided for each student
contribution to the chain
Player 2 lists 5 internal
pressures that are to do
with systems or
procedures, and sends to
…
Player 3 lists 5 internal
pressures that are to do
with people or culture,
and sends to …
Player 4 lists 5 internal
pressures that are to do
with leadership, compiles
the final report, posts to a
forum for other groups to
see.
STAR chat
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
Can STAR afford any
salary increases? Look at
STAR's Profit & Loss
statement and the email
from the GM of Finance.
Could the money be better
spent elsewhere?
This activity asks students
to discuss the case study
materials they have seen so
far. It's a relatively easy
introduction to online
discussion and a good way
to check understanding by
students of key issues.
Developed by Open Training & Education Network, TAFE NSW
Page 51 of 83
Team research
Each team pools their
contacts or workplace
resources to identify one
other organisation’s sales
(or revenue)-to-salaries
ratio. Note details like the
kind of business, where the
business is located, and
whether it is local, statewide, national or
international. Then as a
team agree on an answer to
this question: 'Against what
other kinds of business
performance indicators
might salaries be
compared?'
During the live chat
session steer the discussion
towards agreement on
TWO ratios, both including
salaries, that most
organisations should use
as KPI’s
Teams then present their
findings in a live chat
session.
STAR chat
An organisation’s policies
tell you a lot about the
culture of an organisation.
What do the remuneration
and benefits policies
you’ve looked at for this
task tell you about STAR?
This activity asks students
to discuss the case study
materials they have seen so
far. It's a relatively easy
introduction to online
discussion and a good way
to check understanding by
students of key issues.
Instructions
Comments
Task 3
Activity type
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
Developed by Open Training & Education Network, TAFE NSW
Page 52 of 83
Interaction simulation
Divide into teams of 3 or 4.
Each team is an online job
evaluation committee and
must evaluate one of the
jobs at STAR. Each team
may evaluate a different
job. You will need to first:

define what is to
be done by the
committee

set up a process
(when, where,
how?)

identify the tools
from the case
study you will use
to conduct the
evaluation.
Will require close
facilitation. Part of the
process may include a live
chat where the teacher
observes and comments on
the process. If you are
team teaching this role
could be divided up
between teachers.
Task 4
Activity type
Instructions
Comments
Email game
'101 sources of salary &
wages data'
This collaboration activity
provides a structured
introduction to online
collaboration via an email
game.
Appoint a game
coordinator. Each student
sends a list of 10 sources to
the game coordinator.
Coordinator collates them
and sends the complete list
back to all players. Players
then vote on the top 5
sources. The coordinator
again collates the results
and feeds them back to
players.
Game takes no more than 3
days.
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
You can use this technique
in many places as an
alternative to discussion
boards.
This game can also be used
for supporting the
development of strategic
thinking skills:
eg ‘101 ways to improve
…’
Developed by Open Training & Education Network, TAFE NSW
Page 53 of 83
WebSearch show & tell
Divide into teams of 4 or
so. Each team member
surfs the web to find two
useful sites that provide
information about salaries
and wages. Pool your
findings, choose FIVE
different sites and write a
brief review on each site.
You can use the following
headings as a guide:
URL

Maintained by
(owner)

Subject focus

Examples of kind
of information

Typical
application

Your assessment
of value
Each team posts their
reviews to a bulletin board
for the other teams to see.
Task 5
Activity type
Instructions
Comments
STAR chat
Read the article linked
above 'Stingy employers
feign dismay'. Is this a fair
comment on employers?
This activity asks students
to discuss the case study
materials they have seen so
far. It's a relatively easy
introduction to online
discussion and a good way
to check understanding by
students of key issues.
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
Developed by Open Training & Education Network, TAFE NSW
Page 54 of 83
STAR chat
Reading the Salary X
Survey Report, what
conclusions could you
draw about marketplace
competitiveness for this
job?
This will help focus
students' work on the task
if they are basing their
work on the position that
this survey refers to. May
provide a way of guiding
the students through the
process of finding and
interpreting a salary
survey. (They should do
their own research for the
other position they are
working on.)
Activity type
Instructions
Comments
STAR chat
Your recommendations for
what should be paid for
these positions will clearly
put you in 1 of the 3 pay
policy ‘camps’, a lagger,
leader or matcher. Where
should STAR be?
Also encourage students to
discuss the pros and cons
of each.
Instructions
Comments
Task 6
You may also encourage
students to think of pay
policy positions other than
the three already
considered? For example,
could the organisation
‘lag’ the market for half
the year, then ‘lead’ for the
other half? What might be
the rationale behind such
action? Get together with
two or three others and see
if you can answer these
questions and come up
with any other possible
approaches.
Task 7
Activity type
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
Developed by Open Training & Education Network, TAFE NSW
Page 55 of 83
WebSearch show & tell
Each person identifies 3
pieces of legislation that
may affect remuneration
and benefits practices at
STAR.
Each list should be
supported by the correct
title, administering office,
application (to whom it
applies), coverage and
expiry date.
WebSearch show & tell
Divide into teams of 4 or
so. Each team member
surfs the web to find two
useful sites that provide
information about
legislation. Pool your
findings, choose four
different sites and write a
brief review on each site.
This is a variation on the
previous activity that will
promote team
collaboration.
You can use the following
headings as a guide:
URL

Maintained by
(owner)

Subject focus

Examples of kind
of information

Typical
application

Your assessment
of value
Each team posts their
reviews to a bulletin board
for the other teams to see.
Task 8
Activity type
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
Instructions
Comments
Developed by Open Training & Education Network, TAFE NSW
Page 56 of 83
Interaction simulation
Here's a way to conduct an
online consultation. You'll
need at least 4 people to
make this work. Take on
the role of employees at
STAR.
Will require preparation by
students around the key
issues prior to the
simulation session.
Players 1 & 2 post their
positions on one or more
remuneration issues,
Player 2 & 3 respond to
these and add their own
ideas to the list
Then in your online
discussion work together to
identify:
At the coalface

areas of
agreement

areas of
disagreement

possible
remuneration
options.
Ever attended a dreadful
consultation meeting?
Most of us have our own
stories about disasters –
sometimes, sadly, of our
own making. What went
wrong? And why? Arrange
to chat with some fellow
students about their
experiences. Was the
meeting a ‘dud’ before it
even started? Or did it start
off well, but steadily
worsen? What are the
characteristics of a bad and
a good meeting?
As a group, work towards
compiling a ‘good’ and
‘bad’ table and see if you
can identify TEN items for
each column.
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
'At the coalface' means
stories from the workplace,
and is an easier
introduction to online
discussion for many
students.
Encourage students to
draw conclusions for future
practice from their stories.
Use these activities with
caution when you have a
group of students from the
same workplace.
This could be done either
as a live chat or as a forum
posting.
Developed by Open Training & Education Network, TAFE NSW
Page 57 of 83
Task 9
Activity type
Instructions
Comments
Peer review
Take one part of the
documentation you've
developed (not the whole
thing) that you would like
some feedback on.
Feedback from peers is an
essential part of workplace
practice and this activity is
designed to encourage
students to develop skills in
collaboration.
Show it to your study
buddy. Then provide
feedback to each other
using the P-I-P method
It will also take some of the
load from the teacher to
provide feedback to all
students on every activity.
Interaction simulation

Praise one
specific thing they
did

offer one point for
Improvement

and finish with
Praise for another
specific thing they
did.
Present recommendations
to senior management
In small groups students
take turns playing the role
of HR manager and senior
management team as
follows …
HR manager presents their
key issues and
recommendations to the
clients, then ask for
questions from your clients
Students practise skills
presenting
recommendations,
responding to tough
questions, handling
difficult people in the
presentation, gaining
senior management's
commitment to the next
steps
different “clients” can take
on different roles
(accepting, objector,
dominant)
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
Developed by Open Training & Education Network, TAFE NSW
Page 58 of 83
BSBHR506A Manage recruitment, selection and
induction processes
Task 1
Activity type
Instructions
Comments
Email game
"101 issues in STAR’s
business plan"
Appoint a game
coordinator. Each student
reads the STAR business
plan for the new product,
then sends a list of 10
items (STAR business
directions or their
implications for HR) that
they think are important to
the game coordinator.
Coordinator collates them
and sends the complete list
back to all players. Players
then vote on the top 5
business directions and top
5 HR implications. The
coordinator again collates
the results and feeds them
back to players.
Game takes no more than 5
days.
This collaboration activity
provides a structured
introduction to online
collaboration via an email
game.
"HR planning will always
remain a corporate afterthought." Assign teams to
the Yes and No cases,
assign an adjudicator, and
hold an online debate.
This activity encourages
students to take a
viewpoint for or against,
and argue their case
online. If students are new
to online discussion they
may need some direction
so it may best to assign
students to the yes or no
case. A more experienced
online group may be able
to choose their own side in
the debate.
Debate
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
You can use this technique
in many places as an
alternative to discussion
boards.
This game can also be used
for supporting the
development of strategic
thinking skills:
eg ‘101 ways to improve
…’
Developed by Open Training & Education Network, TAFE NSW
Page 59 of 83
Peer review
Show your work on this
task to your study buddy.
Then provide feedback to
each other using the P-I-P
method (Praise one specific
thing they did, offer one
point for Improvement, and
finish with Praise for
another specific thing they
did).
This activity uses peer
review as learning
technique. It takes some of
the load off the teacher and
gives students more
ownership of the learning.
Activity type
Instructions
Comments
STAR chat
What’s your reaction to the
agency proposal? What are
the strategic reasons for or
against accepting it?
Louise used an agency for
the SA recruitment strategy
- what similarities or
differences could there be
with recruitment for
STAR’s new range of
products?
Put students into teams of 3
to 4 (eg Blue team, Red
team, etc). Each team
develops their own
response to the question
and posts it to a forum.
Each student (individual
basis) could then be asked
to critically comment on
the posting of another
team. This could contribute
to the assessment of
underpinning knowledge.
At the coalface
Tell others in your group
about obstacles or
successes you’ve had in
getting a recruitment,
selection and/or induction
proposal accepted by
senior management?
'At the coalface' means
stories from the workplace,
and is an easier
introduction to online
discussion for many
students.
The Praise-ImprovementPraise framework for
giving feedback
encourages students to give
specific feedback on the
HR content of their fellow
student’s work, while at the
same time maintaining the
self esteem of their fellow
student by not
“bombarding” them with
negative feedback.
Task 2
Encourage students to
draw conclusions for future
practice from their stories.
Use these activities with
caution when you have a
group of students from the
same workplace.
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
Developed by Open Training & Education Network, TAFE NSW
Page 60 of 83
At the coalface
Tell others in your group
about outsourcing
successes or failures
you’ve had.
This could be done through
a forum or chat.
Debate
“Internet recruitment will
be a strategic disaster for
any organisation foolish
enough to try it.” Assign
teams to the Yes and No
cases, assign an
adjudicator, and hold an
online debate.
The comments concerning
debates in Task 1 above
apply here also.
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
Developed by Open Training & Education Network, TAFE NSW
Page 61 of 83
Task 3
Activity type
Instructions
Comments
Team research
Assign group members to
research and report back on
different aspects of
legislation in your State,
for example EEO, antidiscrimination, and
privacy. (Or different
teams can research
different States.) Then hold
a discussion on what laws
would apply to this case
study in your State.
This discussion could be in
the form of a real time
chat. The facilitator would
set specific questions which
each participant would
prepare, the chat would be
confined to 8 – 10 students
per chat session.
www.hreoc.gov.au –national legislation and
links to State resources
www.cch.com.au –subscribe to subjectspecific web guide and
email updates free of
charge
The facilitator would draw
the question from the
research posted by each
team to the forum and
direct the focus to the
differences/similarities
between the State's laws.
As the students have the
questions in advance they
prepare their answers and
cut/paste into the chat
room. As each student puts
their response, the
facilitator builds the online
discussion. If there were 4
questions this would take
about 1 hour with 8 – 10
students. The chat log can
be saved and sent to
students by facilitator or to
any students who missed
the activity. The students
can be asked to post a
comment to a forum after
reviewing the chat log.
Real time chat also offers
opportunities for team
teaching – one teacher can
focus on content while the
other manages the process.
Debate
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
"It is the responsibility of
the HR Manager to be the
social conscience of the
organisation." Assign
teams to the Yes and No
cases, assign an
adjudicator, and hold an
online debate.
The comments concerning
debates in Task 1 above
apply here also.
Developed by Open Training & Education Network, TAFE NSW
Page 62 of 83
Task 4
Activity type
Instructions
Comments
Peer review
Show your work on this
task to your study buddy.
Then provide feedback to
each other using the P-I-P
method (Praise one specific
thing they did, offer one
point for Improvement, and
finish with Praise for
another specific thing they
did).
This activity uses peer
review as learning
technique. It takes some of
the load off the teacher and
gives students more
ownership of the learning.
STAR chat
What strategic changes are
needed at STAR? How
does your opinion on this
compare with others in
your group? What are the
similarities or differences
in the issues you
considered? What different
approaches would you take
for long term solutions?
See comment for Task 2
STAR chat
Consider the comments by
the Plant Supervisor. How
can performance gaps in
operational areas impact on
recruitment and selection?
See comment for Task 2
STAR chat
How would selection
strategies be different if
STAR was a large national
or international firms
employing 1,000 or more
staff? How are the strategic
issues faced by the HR
manager in smaller and
larger organisations similar
or different?
This discussion could be in
the form of a forum. Give
students a set time frame of
a week. As the first
postings would generally
cover the key issues, ask
students who post to the
forum later in the week to
summarise previous posts
and draw conclusions.
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
The Praise-ImprovementPraise framework for
giving feedback
encourages students to give
specific feedback on the
HR content of their fellow
student’s work, while at the
same time maintaining the
self esteem of their fellow
student by not
“bombarding” them with
negative feedback.
Developed by Open Training & Education Network, TAFE NSW
Page 63 of 83
Task 5
Link to BSBHR505A – you may like to revisit this task in more depth with
your students when you do Manage remuneration and employee benefits, in
particular Task 6, 'Determine appropriate remuneration'.
Activity type
Instructions
Comments
STAR chat
What considerations are
there for the HR manager
in this scenario? Assuming
the higher package could
be valid, what are some
possible compromise
positions that you could
take?
This activity encourages
students to explore options
and consequences in
decision making.
As this is a common and
difficult issue, it may be
useful to schedule an
online chat where students
can debate the issues. The
questions for discussion
could be:
What are the likely
consequences for STAR is
the remuneration policy is
varied in this instances?
How could these
consequences be handled if
they do arise?
What offers could be made
to this candidate which are
within STAR’s existing
remuneration structure
What is the cost to the
organisation of losing this
candidate?
Is the loss of the candidate
greater than the cost to the
organisation of making an
exception?
As in the earlier activities
students would prepare
response in advance. As
the discussion progresses
students comment on each
other's input.
Depending on the sequence
in which the units are
offered this questions offers
the opportunity to direct
the students to use the tasks
they have or will complete
in BSBHR505A Manage
remuneration.
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
Developed by Open Training & Education Network, TAFE NSW
Page 64 of 83
Task 6
Activity type
Instructions
Comments
At the coalface
Tell others in your group
about induction programs
you’ve been involved in.
What methods and tools
were most effective? What
about programs that didn’t
deliver successful
outcomes? Why didn’t
they?
Students could be asked to
form teams to put together
an induction checklist for
day 1, day 7, day 30 and at
6 months and 1 year. These
checklists could be posted
to a forum and added to
students' portfolios.
'At the coalface' means
stories from the workplace,
and is an easier
introduction to online
discussion for many
students.
Encourage students to
draw conclusions for future
practice from their stories.
Use these activities with
caution when you have a
group of students from the
same workplace.
What would you do?
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
You’ve heard that a line
manager has said to a new
employee before the
induction program, “Just
go along and fall asleep,
it’s just an easy first day on
the job.” What could be
wrong here? How would
you handle this situation?
Put students into teams of 3
to 4 (eg Blue team, Red
team, etc). Each team
develops their own
response to the situation
and posts it to a forum.
Each student (individual
basis) could then be asked
to critically comment on
the posting of another
team. This could contribute
to the assessment of
underpinning knowledge.
Developed by Open Training & Education Network, TAFE NSW
Page 65 of 83
Task 7
Activity type
Instructions
Comments
Email game
"101 ways to improve
STAR induction"
Appoint a game
coordinator. Each student
sends a list of 10 ideas to
the coordinator (how to
improve induction at
STAR – ideas for Day 1,
Day 7, Day 30, 6 months
and 1 year). Coordinator
collates them and sends the
complete list back to all
players. Players then vote
on the top 5 for each day.
The coordinator again
collates the results and
feeds them back to players.
Game takes no more than 3
days.
See comment for Task 1
Activity type
Instructions
Comments
At the coalface
Tell others in your group
about a critical incident
involving a probationary
employee. (Take care not
use real names or any
details that will identify the
person.) The group can
discuss how performance
management practices can
avoid such incidents in an
organisation.
This could be done either
as a real time chat or as
forum posting. This activity
asks students to relate an
incident involving a
probationary employee.
Use with caution and
instruct students to protect
the privacy of individuals.
Encourage students to
draw practical conclusions
for how the performance of
probationary employees
can be managed.
Task 8
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
Developed by Open Training & Education Network, TAFE NSW
Page 66 of 83
At the coalface
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
Show others in your group
any examples of tools or
processes for managing
new employees that you
have seen in the workplace,
and you think are worth
sharing.
Each student then posts a
comment on two other
people's contributions in
terms of
similarities/differences in
the approach.
This would be done as
forum. The facilitator
needs to provide specific
time frames and
instructions for the
students.
Developed by Open Training & Education Network, TAFE NSW
Page 67 of 83
BSBHR507A Manage separation/termination
Task 1
Activity type
Instructions
Comments
Debate
"Unfair dismissal laws
protect loafers and
malingerers so that it is
impossible to sack anyone
these days."
This activity encourages
students to take a
viewpoint for or against,
and argue their case
online. If students are new
to online discussion they
may need some direction
so it may best to assign
students to the yes or no
case. A more experienced
online group may be able
to choose their own side in
the debate.
Assign teams to the Yes
and No cases, assign an
adjudicator, and hold an
online debate, using a
forum or chat room.. Your
trainer will give you the
details for online facilities
for this activity.
Debate
Debate – “Did Ms F
deserve to get her job
back?”
This is a real case that you
can retrieve from
www.wagenet.gov.au –
enter PR926026 into the
DOCUMENT CODE field
to search for this case.
This activity will require a
careful reading of the case
and will add about 1 hour
of study to this task.
You’ll need to start by
reading the case carefully –
spend about 20 minutes
paying attention to the
facts, findings and
decision.
Assign teams to the ‘yes’
and ‘no’ cases, choose an
adjudicator, and hold the
debate on your bulletin
board or chat system.
Be sure to discuss these
issues:
resignation vs constructive
dismissal
the role of procedural
fairness in management
decision making
the validity of an employer
making decisions due to an
employees out-of-hours
activities.
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
Developed by Open Training & Education Network, TAFE NSW
Page 68 of 83
Task 2
Activity type
Instructions
Comments
Round robin
Go to www.austlii.edu.au.
Each student finds 2
termination cases in 2
different State
jurisdictions. Post to your
bulletin board a half page
report on :
Another approach could be
for the teacher to facilitate
a live chat after students
post their research
findings. Focus the chat
session on the key
questions in the activity
similarities or differences
in the reasoning for
reinstatement/compensatio
n (or no action) by the
Courts?
is there a common
approach or ‘thread’ that
enables you to make
general findings why these
2 cases were decided the
way they were?
Then, review the posting of
the student whose surname
is next alphabetically in the
list of students in your
group.
Debate
Debate – "The law
surrounding redundancies
is unfair on employers –
they often have to pay out
a lot of money for people
they don’t even need.”
Assign teams to the ‘yes’
and ‘no’ cases, choose an
adjudicator, and hold the
debate on your bulletin
board or chat system.
This activity encourages
students to take a
viewpoint for or against,
and argue their case
online. If students are new
to online discussion they
may need some direction
so it may best to assign
students to the yes or no
case. A more experienced
online group may be able
to choose their own side in
the debate.
This activity could also be
conducted as a Depolariser
email game. The details of
how to conduct the game
can be found at
www.thiagi.com
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
Developed by Open Training & Education Network, TAFE NSW
Page 69 of 83
Task 3
Activity type
Instructions
Comments
Study buddy
What issues or concerns
might line managers raise
about your implementation
plan? Show your plan to
your study buddy and ask
them to identify at least 2
issues of concern. How
would you deal with these?
Feedback from peers is an
essential part of workplace
practice and this activity is
designed to encourage
students to develop skills in
collaboration.
Activity type
Instructions
Comments
Team research
Divide into groups of 2-4.
Each group chooses an
award at
www.wagenet.gov.au and
summarises its provision
regarding redundancy.
Each group then reports
back to the whole class on
its finding.
This may be facilitated as a
live chat session after each
team has done their own
research. Teams discuss
the similarities and
differences between what
they found.
Email game
"101 solutions when
redeployment is refused"
Appoint a game
coordinator. Each student
sends coordinator 5 actions
to take with an employee
who has been offered
redeployment but who
refuses. Coordinator
collates them and sends the
complete list back to all
players. Players then vote
1, 2, 3 in order of
preference. The
coordinator again collates
the results and feeds them
back to players.
Game takes no more than 5
days.
This collaboration activity
provides a structures
introduction to online
collaboration via an email
game.
It will also take some of the
load from the teacher to
provide feedback to all
students on every activity.
Task 4
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
You can use this technique
in many places as an
alternative to discussion
boards.
This game can also be used
for supporting the
development of strategic
thinking skills:
eg ‘101 ways to improve
…’
Developed by Open Training & Education Network, TAFE NSW
Page 70 of 83
Task 5
Activity type
Instructions
Comments
Peer review
Show your work on this
task to your study buddy.
Then provide feedback to
each other using the P-I-P
method:
This activity uses peer
review as learning
technique. It takes some of
the load off the trainer and
gives students more
ownership of the learning.
Praise one specific thing
they did
offer one point for
Improvement, and
finish with Praise for
another specific thing they
did.
Round robin: collaborative
report writing
Divide into teams of four.
The student whose name is
closer to A goes 1st, then
the next is 2nd, 3rd, 4th, etc
Student no. 1: Write
introduction and section on
legislation, and sends to …
Student no. 2: Writes
section of procedure for
summary dismissal, and
sends to …
The Praise-ImprovementPraise framework for
giving feedback
encourages students to give
specific feedback on the
HR content of their fellow
student’s work, while at the
same time maintaining the
self esteem of their fellow
student by not
“bombarding” them with
negative feedback.
This is designed to
encourage collaboration in
a structured setting
between students, while
making the workload of the
task less onerous.
Teachers may adapt this
technique to any of the
tasks where there is a
report writing requirement.
Student no. 3: Writes
section with 3 cases
supporting summary
dismissal advice, and sends
to …
Student no. 4 Collates the
information, writes the
final recommendation,
sends to students 1 – 3 for
final comment and
contributions, incorporates
any suggested changes and
posts to a forum for other
groups to see.
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
Developed by Open Training & Education Network, TAFE NSW
Page 71 of 83
Task 5
Activity type
Instructions
Comments
At the coalface
Describe any experiences
you have had with exit
interviews. What did you
like about it? What could
have been done
differently? If you haven't
experienced one yourself,
ask 3 friends the same
questions and report what
they say.
'At the coalface' means
stories from the workplace,
and is an easier
introduction to online
discussion for many
students.
"Exit interviews are not
worth the paper they are
written on because leaving
staff will never tell the
truth as they may need a
good reference now and
later."
This is designed to
encourage collaboration in
a structured setting
between students, while
making the workload of the
task less onerous.
Debate
Assign teams to the Yes
and No cases, assign an
adjudicator, and hold an
online debate. Your trainer
will give you the details for
online facilities for this
activity.
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
Encourage students to
draw conclusions for future
practice from their stories.
Use these activities with
caution when you have a
group of students from the
same workplace.
Teachers may adapt this
technique to any of the
tasks where there is a
report writing requirement.
The half-life email game
might also be useful for
this question.
Developed by Open Training & Education Network, TAFE NSW
Page 72 of 83
BSBHR508A Manage work/life skills
Task 1
Activity type
Instructions
Comments
Debate
“It doesn’t matter how
people are treated on a dayto-day basis, so long as
they get commendations,
awards, and bonuses at the
end of the year.”
This activity encourages
students to take a
viewpoint for or against,
and argue their case
online. If students are new
to online discussion they
may need some direction
so it may best to assign
students to the yes or no
case. A more experienced
online group may be able
to choose their own side in
the debate.
Assign teams to the Yes
and No cases, assign an
adjudicator, and hold an
online debate, using a
forum or chat room. Your
trainer will give you the
details for online facilities
for this activity.
Team research
Divide groups into 2 - 4.
Each group should be
assigned one of the
organisations that won an
award at the 2002 ACCI
National Work and Family
Awards. The group should
prepare a presentation on
what led that organisation
to be regarded as an
employer of choice and the
concrete results the
implementation of those
programs has had on that
company.
This may be facilitated as a
live chat session after each
team has done their own
research. Teams discuss
the similarities and
difference between what
they have found.
Students who are new to
online collaboration may
needed some additional
advice on how to work
together independent of the
teacher. A set of email
instructions may need to be
provided.
www.workplace.gov.au
- Search for 2002 ACCI
National Work and Family
Awards and then click on
the link to “winning
workplaces” to see a
detailed list of all the
companies that received
awards and the initiatives
that led them to be
considered employers of
choice.
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
Developed by Open Training & Education Network, TAFE NSW
Page 73 of 83
Task 2
Activity type
Instructions
Comments
Debate
Choose one of the
following topics to debate:
This activity encourages
students to take a
viewpoint for or against,
and argue their case
online. If students are new
to online discussion they
may need some direction
so it may best to assign
students to the yes or no
case. A more experienced
online group may be able
to choose their own side in
the debate.
“A work/life balance
program is essentially an
employee benefit which is
not a cost benefit for
STAR.”
Or
“Becoming an employer of
choice is not necessary for
STAR to attract skilled
staff. It is little more than a
public relations exercise.”
Assign teams to the Yes
and No cases, assign an
adjudicator, and hold an
online debate, using a
forum or chat room. Your
trainer will give you the
details for online facilities
for this activity.
At the coalface
How important are
work/life issues in your
organisation? How do they
affect other HR policies,
like recruitment, training
and promotion?
The teacher could set up an
online survey in zoomerang
and ask all students to
respond. The results of the
survey could be the basis of
either a forum or live chat
Survey your fellow
students on their
organisation, then discuss
the results of the survey.
Overall, how important are
work/life issues in their
respective organisations?
Zoomerang is a free
website where you can set
up your own online survey
www.zoomerang.com
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
Developed by Open Training & Education Network, TAFE NSW
Page 74 of 83
Task 3
Activity type
Instructions
Comments
Interaction simulation
‘The Steering Committee
meeting’
This is designed to
encourage collaboration in
a structured setting
between students, while
dividing up the workload of
the task.
Learners each represent
one of the five Steeering
Committee members.
Susan Wu — GM
Marketing
Karen Coster — GM
Finance & Administration
Evie Koulbanis — GM
Operations
Al Perez — GM
Manufacturing
Brett Downie — HR NSW
Where possible groups can
be formed to represent
each point of view, and
learners will need to
collaborate to come up
with a consensual position:
It also highlights the skill
of stakeholder
consultation.
As a forum posting this
activity could be done in
teams. However as a live
chat more than 1 person
might represent one of the
players with students using
whisper function to
communicate responses as
that character.
Given the stated position of
a member and the likely
course of the meeting, what
might that person’s view
be at the end of the
meeting? When you have
finished, compare what
your group meeting was
like with the STAR group
meeting that appears in this
task.
Email game
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
'101 work/life issues which
are important to me'
Appoint a game
coordinator. Each student
sends coordinator 3
suggestions for specific
issues employees might
experience. Coordinator
collates them and sends the
complete list back to all
players. Players then vote
1, 2, 3 in order of
preference. The
coordinator again collates
the results and feeds them
back to players.
Game takes no more than 5
This collaboration activity
provides a structured
introduction to online
collaboration via an email
game.
You can use this technique
in many places as an
alternative to discussion
boards.
This game can also be used
for supporting the
development of strategic
thinking skills:
eg ‘101 ways to improve …
Ensure you give the
students a specific
Developed by Open Training & Education Network, TAFE NSW
Page 75 of 83
days.
timeframe for their
contributions. Go to the
www.thiagi.com for more
help in managing the game
Activity type
Instructions
Comments
Peer review
Present the PowerPoint
presentation or report that
you developed to your
study buddy. Your study
buddy should make
constructive comments
regarding
This activity uses peer
review as learning
technique. It takes some of
the load off the trainer and
gives students more
ownership of the learning.
Task 4
the project management
plan and
how it is being presented
Ask your study buddy to
identify at least 2 issues of
concern. How would you
deal with these?
Debate
"It is not possible to satisfy
all stakeholders, so there is
no point in the program's
being implemented."
Assign teams to the Yes
and No cases, assign an
adjudicator, and hold an
online debate, using a
forum or chat room. Your
trainer will give you the
details for online facilities
for this activity.
This activity encourages
students to take a
viewpoint for or against,
and argue their case
online. If students are new
to online discussion they
may need some direction
so it may best to assign
students to the yes or no
case. A more experienced
online group may be able
to choose their own side in
the debate.
The depolariser game
might be an alternative to a
debate
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
Developed by Open Training & Education Network, TAFE NSW
Page 76 of 83
Task 5
Activity type
Instructions
Comments
Peer review
Each learner should be
given a specific work/life
program. Write a brief
description of how you
would monitor this
program. Given that
different stakeholders are
likely to have different
ideas about the value of
different parts of the
program, how would you
reconcile these
differences? When you
finish, show your work on
this task to your study
buddy. Then provide
feedback to each other
using the P-I-P method:
This activity uses peer
review as learning
technique. It takes some of
the load off the trainer and
gives students more
ownership of the learning.
The Praise-ImprovementPraise framework for
giving feedback
encourages students to give
specific feedback on the
HR content of their fellow
student’s work, while at the
same time maintaining the
self esteem of their fellow
student by not
“bombarding” them with
negative feedback.
Praise one specific thing
they did
offer one point for
Improvement, and
finish with Praise for
another specific thing they
did.
Task 6
Activity type
Instructions
Comments
Round robin review
Divide into teams of four.
The student whose name is
closer to A goes 1st, then
the next is 2nd, 3rd, 4th,
etc
This is designed to
encourage collaboration in
a structured setting
between students, while
making the workload of the
task less onerous.
Student no. 1: What should
be addressed in evaluating
work/life programs and
sends to …
Student no. 2: Writes
section of different
methods of evaluations of
work /life programs, and
sends to …
Student no. 3: Writes
section with steps to ensure
work/life programs
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continue to meet the
differing needs of the
company long terms, and
sends to…
Student no. 4 who write a
conclusion , sends to
students 1 – 3 for final
comment and
contributions, incorporates
any suggested changes and
posts to a forum for other
groups to see.
Debate
"There is no real way of
knowing or evaluating how
effective work/life
programs are in an
organistion as so many of
the results will be
intangible rather than
tangible. There are too
many other factors that
come into play in a work
environment when trying
to determine just what
factors make a particular
organisation desirable to
work for."
Assign teams to the Yes
and No cases, assign an
adjudicator, and hold an
online debate, using a
forum or chat room. Your
trainer will give you the
details for online facilities
for this activity.
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
This activity encourages
students to take a
viewpoint for or against,
and argue their case
online. If students are new
to online discussion they
may need some direction
so it may best to assign
students to the yes or no
case. A more experienced
online group may be able
to choose their own side in
the debate.
This issue could also be
explored by the half-life
email game which the
students would have
participated in earlier units
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BSBHR509A Manage rehabilitation/return to work
programs
The first activity in each table below is also on the Task screen in the
Toolbox. The others are provided to teachers as alternatives.
Task 1
Activity type
Instructions
Comments
STAR Chat
What happens after a
worker is injured? What
would the repercussions be
for both the employer and
the employee if there was
no attempt to rehabilitate a
sick or injured worker?
This activity aims to
establish conversation
amongst the study group
and to begin exploring key
concepts with a "what if?"
scenario. The format can
be casual but should be
facilitated to ensure
privacy and to deter
disclosure
Each student to contribute
one suggestion on topic in
a forum or chat session
At the coalface
How does your
organisation approach
rehabilitation? How much
of an impact do illness and
injury have and how highly
is correct rehabilitation
valued by the organisation?
Survey your fellow
students on their
organisation, then discuss
the results of the survey.
Overall, how important are
return to work programs
for injured workers in their
respective organisations?
'At the coalface' means
stories from the workplace,
and is an easier
introduction to online
discussion for many
students.
Encourage students to
draw conclusions for future
practice from their stories.
Use these activities with
caution when you have a
group of students from the
same workplace.
Task 2
Activity type
Instructions
Comments
Peer review
What issues or concerns
might insurers raise about
your documentation? Show
your work to your study
buddy and ask them to
identify at least 2 issues of
concern. How would you
deal with these?
Peer review allows student
to receive constructive
feedback in a one-to-one
format.
'It is in the insurer's interest
to deny as many
compensation claims as
This is designed to
encourage collaboration in
a structured setting
Debate
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
Final findings may be
shared with whole group.
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possible.'
Assign teams to the 'yes'
and 'no' cases, choose an
adjudicator, and hold the
debate on your bulletin
board or chat system.
between students, while
making the workload of the
task less onerous.
Teachers may adapt this
technique to any of the
tasks where there is a
report writing requirement.
Task 3
Activity type
Instructions
Comments
Team research
What are the major risks in
developing return-to-work
plans to the employee, the
insurer and the employer?
This task looks at risk
mitigation in a way that
encourages the adoption of
different points of view.
Form 3 teams, each
representing the interests of
1 of these groups – each
team prepares a list of
possible risks.
Could also be performed in
small groups or via
research followed with
reports to online forum.
How can these risks be
addressed at the time of
developing the return-towork plan?
Each group now takes the
list from one of the other
groups and prepares
strategies to be
incorporated into the
return-to-work plan that
address these risks.
Task 4
Activity type
Instructions
Comments
STAR chat
What are some other issues
that might arise in a
situation like this? Discuss
with your study buddy and
then contribute to a group
discussion at least 1
possible alternative
problem that could arise in
this situation – if you have
heard of real-life examples,
add those to the discussion.
This activity is a team
problem finding and
resolution activity. It aims
to look at alternative
scenarios and can be
useful for incorporating
student experience into the
learning.
Could alternatively be run
with small groups
Now look for solutions –
take one of the problems
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presented by another study
buddy team and propose a
possible solution that
would be acceptable to all
parties.
Email game
"101 solutions when
suitable duties are refused"
Appoint a game
coordinator. Each student
sends coordinator 5 actions
to take with an employee
on a return-to-work
program refuses suitable
duties assigned to them.
Coordinator collates them
and sends the complete list
back to all players. Players
then vote 1, 2, 3 in order of
preference. The
coordinator again collates
the results and feeds them
back to players.
Game takes no more than 5
days.
This collaboration activity
provides a structures
introduction to online
collaboration via an email
game.
Activity type
Instructions
Comments
Debate
'As an employer, if I had to
review every single task
and every bit of machinery
in the workplace and make
sure they were completely
safe and that there was no
chance of an accident, then
I would be up for huge
bills! I would have to add
safety features to machines
that have operated without
incident for years just to
satisfy my insurers and
WorkCover. Besides I own
this place, I pay their
wages. Surely
responsibility lies with the
individual workers to avoid
accidents.'
This is designed to
encourage collaboration in
a structured setting
between students, while
making the workload of the
task less onerous.
You can use this technique
in many places as an
alternative to discussion
boards.
Task 5
Teachers may adapt this
technique to any of the
tasks where there is a
report writing requirement.
Assign teams to the 'yes'
and 'no' cases, choose an
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
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Developed by Open Training & Education Network, TAFE NSW
Page 81 of 83
adjudicator, and hold the
debate on your bulletin
board or chat system.
Debate
'Joan Sidling does not
deserve to keep her job.'
(Joan's story comes from
the Task 5 STAR case
study)
Assign teams to the 'yes'
and 'no' cases, choose an
adjudicator, and hold the
debate on your bulletin
board or chat system.
Task 6
Activity type
Instructions
Comments
Team research
Assign group members to
teams to research and
report back on different
grounds for disputing or
dismissing workplace
injury claims.
Team research promotes
student collaboration and
organisation and shares
the workload amongst
students.
Each team gives a
summary of their findings
for comparison and
discussion.
STAR chat
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
Student submissions to
team projects may be
attributable to assessment ensure that each student's
contribution is clear
Go to www.crnhq.org and
go to the Fighting Fair
section. How useful would
this approach be to
resolving problems with
injury claims at STAR, or
in your own workplace?
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Task 7
Activity type
Instructions
Comments
Peer review
Share your
recommendations for this
task with your study
buddy.
Peer review allows student
to receive constructive
feedback in a one-to-one
format.
Take the recommendations
from your partner and
apply his or her proposals
to 1 of the 2 case studies
used above – what might
be changed and how could
outcomes have been
affected. Give a team
presentation of your
recommendations and
suggested changes back to
the group.
Final findings may be
shared with whole group.
"Employers are taking
greater responsibility for
the rehabilitation of injured
workers. Tighter legislative
controls are unnecessary"
This is designed to
encourage collaboration in
a structured setting
between students, while
making the workload of the
task less onerous.
Debate
Assign teams to the Yes
and No cases, assign an
adjudicator, and hold an
online debate. Your trainer
will give you the details for
online facilities for this
activity.
Teacher Guide, Human Resources Diploma Toolbox
 Australian National Training Authority (ANTA) 2003
Teachers may adapt this
technique to any of the
tasks where there is a
report writing requirement.
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