These feedback quotes demonstrate the frustration staff experienced with the inexplicit and
loosely-structured courses that had existed in some faculties/situations. They were further
disappointed with the wastage of time in situations where students would have benefitted
from clearly outlined and appropriately managed WIL requirements and scenarios.
Participant B commented
Here I’m trying to sort course x who has four accreditation bodies; they had to send
an interim report outlining the competencies to one of their accreditation body four
months ago. Thus what I do is totally irrelevant. In another course, the accreditors’
request the information and it was sent a month before and the information I put on
the [curriculum] map is irrelevant”.
The AAF was also useful in demonstrating the range of WIL assessment completed both in
the academic and professional setting. Although this too can present with particular
challenges when trying to analyze the differences between assessments and creating
assessments that diversify and reflect the tasks of the profession. Thus teasing out the
complexities of professional learning can be broadened as suggested by participant A, “what
was necessary is to differentiate between what is work experience, a vicarious experience or
being employed by the sector and the structure of units that include a lot of simulation”.
Using the Framework to Evidence Authenticity in WIL
The AAF was useful for demonstrating a program’s depth and breadth of authentic
assessments. In this context the emphasis of learning was student driven, where the student
was actively engaged with an authentic audience and industry to achieve intended
assessment outcomes. Courses may reflect changes to accreditation requirements and reflect
an integrative scaffolded approach to learning; however, the measures of WIL assessment
can be determined internally. For example participant A said, “the guidelines for embedding
the extent of fieldwork in a course depend on the accreditation requirements [of that
course]”. And participant B noted that:
Generally in the health sciences, accredited course fieldwork is set in stone, except for
speech pathology, where the map is used to validate fieldwork…. In Health Sciences
fieldwork is scaffolded throughout the course compared with other programs where
impromptu applications exist.