Course overview
- Study period
- Semester 1, 2025 (24/02/2025 - 21/06/2025)
- Study level
- Postgraduate Coursework
- Location
- St Lucia
- Attendance mode
- In Person
- Units
- 2
- Administrative campus
- St Lucia
- Coordinating unit
- Psychology School
The purpose of this course is to familiarise students with the process of conducting training in organisational settings. More specifically, the course should assist students in a) gaining knowledge regarding the theory and empirical research regarding the training process, b) gaining the knowledge and skill required to design and deliver a training intervention and c) critically evaluating various components of training in light of the specific context. The course will provide a brief overview of training issues in applied psychology and focus on specific topics of relevance to the design and implementation of training in organisational settings.
The aim of this course is to develop practical skills in the design and delivery of training and development interventions in organisational settings. The goal is for you to be able to design interventions that enhance the effectiveness of individuals and teams. A strong emphasis is placed on developing an understanding of the research literature, so that you understand the science of learning, and reasons why some training and development programs work, while others fail.
We do this using an “action learning” approach, in which we put the principles that we are learning into practice. You will use the principles thatﾠyou have learnt to develop two training and development programs that are designed to maximise learning, retention and transfer.
Course requirements
Restrictions
MPsychOrg, MPsychBus or with permission of Director of Organisational Psychology programs
Course contact
Timetable
The timetable for this course is available on the UQ Public Timetable.
Additional timetable information
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Aims and outcomes
The aims of this courseﾠare to a) gain an understanding of the process involved in conducting training within organisational settings, b) gain an understanding of factors that influence the potential success of training programs, and c) develop theﾠskills required to design and deliver effectiveﾠtraining programs.
Learning outcomes
After successfully completing this course you should be able to:
LO1.
Understand how people acquire skills and expertise.
LO2.
Understand the principles of instructional design, and the factors that influence the transferability of knowledge and skills.
LO3.
Design and deliver effective training programs.
Assessment
Assessment summary
| Category | Assessment task | Weight | Due date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paper/ Report/ Annotation | Training Needs Analysis | 40% |
4/04/2025 4:00 pm |
| Paper/ Report/ Annotation | Main report | 50% |
30/05/2025 4:00 pm |
| Project, Reflection | Peer Assessment | 10% |
9/06/2025 |
| Participation/ Student contribution | Class participation and professional conduct | Pass/Fail |
24/02/2025 - 30/05/2025
Continuous assessment |
Assessment details
Training Needs Analysis
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Paper/ Report/ Annotation
- Weight
- 40%
- Due date
4/04/2025 4:00 pm
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L02, L03
Task description
At the beginning of semester, you will be assigned to a group of between 4 - 5 members. As a group, you will develop a learning and development program for a job that requires some form of technical expertise. Examples include control room operators, dispatchers, emergency response personnel, medical & nursing staff, pilots, train drivers, engineers, financial analysts, and salespeople. The program should focus on training people how to become an expert, or how to improve their current level of expertise.
You will need access to one or more subject matter experts so that you can carry out a training needs analysis and develop the content for the program. You would typically need at least 10 hours of your subject matter expert's time. For this reason, it generally works best if the subject matter expert is a member of the group, or a friend or family member.
The first step is to carry out a training needs analysis. The first report should present the results of this analysis, and should include the following:
- Organisational analysis. This involves an assessment of the organisation's strategic learning goals, the existing learning systems and the learning culture.
- Work analysis. This involves an assessment of the tasks carried out by role incumbents, and the knowledge and skills required to carry out those roles effectively.
- Person analysis. This involves an assessment of who needs to be given learning opportunities in order to meet the organisation's strategic learning goals. This assessment is informed by an analysis of expertise (how experts make effective decisions, and the types of difficulties that are faced by novices as they are learning the task).
- Recommendations. This involves developing a set of recommendations regarding the key learning needs.
Your analysis should be presented in the form of a technical report, which contains the following sections:
- Executive Summary. This section should provide a concise summary of the key points in the report.
- Background. This section should describe the background to the project, explain the aims of the report, and define the scope of your work.
- Analysis. This section should present a clear and thorough analysis of the training needs for the client organisation using the methods described above.
- Recommendations. This section should present a set of preliminary recommendations for learning and development, based on the results of the analysis and what we know about the science of learning.
The report should be de-identified. It should not include any identifying information regarding the organisation or subject matter expert, and should include the following statement on the cover page:
"This document is a student assignment that was completed for PSYC7484 Advanced Personnel Training at The University of Queensland. Details regarding the organisation and/or job that forms the basis for this case study have been redacted and altered for the purposes of de-identification and to fit the requirements of the assignment. The information contained in this report does not constitute professional advice."
Submission guidelines
Details will be provided in class
Deferral or extension
You may be able to apply for an extension.
The maximum extension allowed is 14 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.
Contact Course Coordinator in the first instance.
For full details please review the School of Psychology Student Guidelines - Extensions and Deferred quiz/exam.
Late submission
A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.
Main report
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Paper/ Report/ Annotation
- Weight
- 50%
- Due date
30/05/2025 4:00 pm
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L02, L03
Task description
In the second stage of the project, you will develop the training program. This will involve developing a set of learning objectives, identifying the instructional conditions that will ensure that your trainees meet these objectives, and preparing a plan of instruction. The training program should be designed to enhance learning, motivation and transfer. It should be informed both by an understanding of what it is that makes someone an expert within this domain, and the science of learning.
Your work should be presented in the form of a technical report. The report should contain the following:
- Executive Summary. This section should provide a summary of the key points in the report.
- Background. This section should describe the aims and scope of the project, and provide a summary of the findings from the Training Needs Analysis (with a particular emphasis on expertise).
- Science of Learning. This section should contain a state-of-the-art review of the science of learning to identify the key principles that should guide the design of the training program.
- Instructional Design. This section should explain how the training programs have been designed.
- Evaluation. This section should explain how the effectiveness of the programs is to be evaluated.
- Appendices. The appendices should contain the training manuals for each program.
The report should be de-identified. It should not include any identifying information regarding the organisation or subject matter expert(s), and should include the following statement on the cover page:
"This document is a student assignment that was completed for PSYC7484 Advanced Personnel Training at The University of Queensland. Details regarding the organisation and/or job that forms the basis for this case study have been redacted and altered for the purposes of de-identification and to fit the requirements of the assignment. The information contained in this report does not constitute professional advice."
Submission guidelines
Information will be provided in class
Deferral or extension
You may be able to apply for an extension.
The maximum extension allowed is 14 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.
Contact Course Coordinator in the first instance.
For full details please review the School of Psychology Student Guidelines - Extensions and Deferred quiz/exam.
Late submission
A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.
Peer Assessment
- Mode
- Activity/ Performance
- Category
- Project, Reflection
- Weight
- 10%
- Due date
9/06/2025
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L02, L03
Task description
After completion of the group project, each group member will rate the other members of their group on their contribution as a team member to the group project.
This assessment will be kept completely confidential.
Completion of this peer assessment, on each of your group members, is a requirement of this course, if you fail to provide peer assessments on others you will not receive marks for the peer assessment yourself.
Submission guidelines
The URL for the peer ratings will be made available in the final workshop.
Deferral or extension
You may be able to apply for an extension.
The maximum extension allowed is 14 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.
Contact Course Coordinator in the first instance.
For full details please review the School of Psychology Student Guidelines - Extensions and Deferred quiz/exam.
Late submission
A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.
Class participation and professional conduct
- Mode
- Activity/ Performance
- Category
- Participation/ Student contribution
- Weight
- Pass/Fail
- Due date
24/02/2025 - 30/05/2025
Continuous assessment
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L02, L03
Task description
Submission guidelines
Deferral or extension
You cannot defer or apply for an extension for this assessment.
Course grading
Full criteria for each grade is available in the Assessment Procedure.
| Grade | Cut off Percent | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 (Low Fail) | 0 - 29 |
Absence of evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes. |
| 2 (Fail) | 30 - 39 |
Minimal evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes. |
| 3 (Marginal Fail) | 40 - 49.99 |
Demonstrated evidence of developing achievement of course learning outcomes |
| 4 (Pass) | 50 - 64 |
Demonstrated evidence of functional achievement of course learning outcomes. |
| 5 (Credit) | 65 - 74 |
Demonstrated evidence of proficient achievement of course learning outcomes. |
| 6 (Distinction) | 75 - 84 |
Demonstrated evidence of advanced achievement of course learning outcomes. |
| 7 (High Distinction) | 85 - 100 |
Demonstrated evidence of exceptional achievement of course learning outcomes. |
Additional course grading information
Standard rounding conventions apply (ie rounding down if < .5, up if >= .5).
Supplementary assessment
Supplementary assessment is available for this course.
Additional assessment information
It is a requirement of the Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC) of the Australian Psychological Society (APS) that theﾠminimum pass mark for each and every assessment task relating to the Core Capabilities and Attributes for Psychologists is 50%.ﾠThus, all assessment items for PSYC7484 must be attempted and receive a mark of at least 50% in order to pass the course.
Learning resources
You'll need the following resources to successfully complete the course. We've indicated below if you need a personal copy of the reading materials or your own item.
Library resources
Library resources are available on the UQ Library website.
Learning activities
The learning activities for this course are outlined below. Learn more about the learning outcomes that apply to this course.
Filter activity type by
Please select
| Learning period | Activity type | Topic |
|---|---|---|
Week 1 (24 Feb - 02 Mar) |
Workshop |
1. Introduction and Overview An introduction to Instructional Systems Development Models Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03 |
Week 3 (10 Mar - 16 Mar) |
Workshop |
2. The science of learning Learning, skill acquisition & expertise Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03 |
Week 6 (31 Mar - 06 Apr) |
Workshop |
3. Design & Delivery Principles of instructional design Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03 |
Week 11 (12 May - 18 May) |
Workshop |
4. Motivation and Evaluation Individual influences on trainee motivation Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03 |
Policies and procedures
University policies and procedures apply to all aspects of student life. As a UQ student, you must comply with University-wide and program-specific requirements, including the:
- Student Code of Conduct Policy
- Student Integrity and Misconduct Policy and Procedure
- Assessment Procedure
- Examinations Procedure
- Reasonable Adjustments - Students Policy and Procedure
Learn more about UQ policies on my.UQ and the Policy and Procedure Library.
You'll also need to be aware of the following policies and procedures while completing this course:
School guidelines
Your school has additional guidelines you'll need to follow for this course: