Learning to Reflect (Notes for Preparing the WPP)

1. Values & cultural fit

Introduction 

Overview

In this first of four parts, you will investigate how to find jobs, or other opportunities, suited to you. In particular, what have you learned in undertaking your project, and what might you still need to learn? In scope here, are both technical skills and also professional and teamwork skills. The aim is to prepare you to be a professional in your field, which includes the ability to take charge and responsibility for your future professional development.

List of IT Job and Other Opportunity Sites

This is a list of websites listing computer jobs, and other opportunities, to get you started in your search for something to address in the Work Portfolio Package. Suggestions for additions, during the Workshops, are welcome.

Jobs

1. ANU CareerHub for job listings, employer profiles and industry resources.
2. Ribit online platform for digital, STEM, research and business early career professionals.
3. Jobs Hub, from the Australian Government, listing entry level IT opportunities.
4. ANU Jobs, in computing, available to external applicants, including graduates.
5. Glassdoor, listing jobs, salary information, company reviews, and interview questions.
   
6. Blackbird for jobs with start-ups.
7. LinkedIn Jobs
8. Seek Jobs

Other Opportunities

1. ANU Postgraduate Research Scholarships, witn some open to domestic, & international students. 
2. Canberra Innovation Network (CBRIN) funded programs for entrepreneurs.

Where the Computer Jobs Are in Australia

Each year, Deloitte Access Economics conducts an analysis of jobs in the tech sector for the Australian Computer Society. Here are some of the figures from the latest report (Deloitte, p. 47, 2022). Deloitte identified three sources of IT workers: graduates of Australian institutions (both domestic and international studnts), skilled migration, and reskilling.

There were 870,268 technology workers in Australia in 2021.  This made up 7% of the total workforce, and was expected to grow 38% by 2027. Just under half the tech jobs were in ICT.

The net inflow of technology workers from overseas was 20,664 in 2015–16 (the figures dropped during the pandemic). 

Women made up about one third of technology workers in 2021. Workers over Older workers 55 years, or older, made up 14%. 

References

Deloitte Access Economics (Firm). (2022). ACS Australia's digital pulse: unlocking the tech sector: beyond one million. For the Australian Computer Society. URL https://www.acs.org.au/insightsandpublications/reports-publications/digital-pulse2022.html

2. Roles in demand

Introduction

In this second of three parts, you hear from employers in the tech sector about what they want in an employee, and what they look for in a resume. Don't be surprised if it is not all about technical skills.

Learning Goals

Where to find a job and what opportunities there will be in the near future. 

Searching for Positions Available

References

Government Jobs for International Graduates

It is often assumed that Australian government departments will not employ international student graduates, due to the difficulty of obtaining permanent residence, and a security clearance. However, Australia has three levels of government (Federal, state, and local), and many agencies which carry out a wide range of functions. Not all the jobs need permanent residence, and security clearances, especially at the state and local levels. 

Examples of agencies which may employ international graduates are NSW Health,

3. Your future career

Introduction

In this third of three parts, you will talk to some potential employers and complete the Work Portfolio Package (WPP).

Components of a Job Application

1. Cover letter
2. Statement addressing the selection criteria
3. Curriculum vitae (CV), or resume
4. Supplementary material.

The cover letter introduces the applicant (you), explains why you want the position, and your most relevant qualifications, skills and experience. The cover letter should be prepared last, but placed first. The cover letter provides a summary of claims to the position.

The cover letter should be followed by your statement addressing the selection criteria. This is followed by the taylored resume. The resume is used for industry jobs, and is tailored to only cover the applicant's experience relevant to a particular application. This differs from a Curriculum Vitae, used in academia, is longer, and covers all the applicant's experience. See "Resumes", from A​N​U Careers Guide (ANU, Page 26, 2020), for more details.

Supplementary material can be placed at the end of the application as evidence of work described in the application. This could be diagrams, samples of code, schematics of a prototype, user testing procedures, or other work. It is important that the work presented was created by you, not just a team you worked in.

Reflective writing

Unlike the group work carried out for your project, the application cover letter, responses to selection criteria and a CV are individual. This work needs to be reflective: it is about how you can fit the role being applied for, and how you have faced challenges and learned from them.

Baruah, Ward and Jackson (2017), found that a final assessment in the form of an individual reflective essay was also useful for students having undertaken a teamwork project. However, students engaged in this WPP activity previously found reflective writing too abstract, so the task was changed to an application for a position, incorporating reflection.

Three reflective questions for any position are:

1. "Can you do the job?
2. Do you want to do the job?
3. Do you fit into the culture?"

Responding to Selection Criteria

In the assignment you are required to prepare a statement addressing the selection criteria for a real job.

ANU Careers define selection criteria as "... the qualifications, skills, personal attributes and performance standards needed to perform the duties listed on the duty statement/position description" (ANU, p. 30, 2020). For computing positions the selection criteria are usually explicitly listed. The may be divided into categories, such as essential and desirable. Your response to selection criteria may duplicate information provided in the CV.

The Australian Public Service Commission (APSC) examples of selection criteria:

1. "demonstrated capacity to communicate effectively
2. good organisational and administrative skills
3. proven ability to work as part of a team
4. well developed customer service skills
5. proven ability to manage projects."

An example of using STAR to the first of these criteria (communication):

"Situation – role as Research Support Officer at Department of XYZ

Task – needed to ensure that managers were kept informed of policies and procedures

Action or approach – initiated monthly newsletter, which was emailed to each manager. Took responsibility for writing the main articles. This involved obtaining ideas and input from other stakeholders to ensure that the articles reflected managers’ needs (in terms of content and language)

Result – led to improved lines of communication between managers and the Research Support Unit. Feedback was consistently excellent. Received divisional achievement award for newsletter quality."

From "Applying for an APS job: cracking the code", Australian Public Service Commission, 2018.

The APSC did not use the expanded STAR-L. Adding Learning to this might give, for example:

"Learning - While experienced in the preparation of newsletter content, needed to learn the use of the department's Wizard social media tool. This required not only learning technical aspects, but group online working." 

Supporting Evidence

References

ANU Careers, ANU Careers Guide, Australian National University (2020). URL https://www.anu.edu.au/files/resource/ANU Careers Guide -Final for print -PDF for website_0.pdf

Baruah, B., Ward, T., & Jackson, N. (2017, July). Is reflective writing an effective peer assessment tool for students in Higher Education?. In Information Technology Based Higher Education and Training (ITHET), 2017 16th International Conference on (pp. 1-6). IEEE. URL https://doi.org/10.1109/ITHET.2017.8067802

Local Networking Opportunities

Professional associations, such as the Australian Computer Society (ACS) and Engineers Australia (EA), hold regular in person, and online, events. Some events are free and open to anyone, others have a fee for non-members. Members can also participate in industry committees, formulating policy, and making representations to government.

Hackerthons are another way to meet people (team projects like Techlauncher, but lasting a few days only). 

ACS Canberra

The ACS Canberra Branch holds regular events in its Civic node, a short walk from ANU. There are also ACS national events online. Some events are free, most have a charge of around $30 for non-members. ACS offers discounted membership for students and recent graduates.

EA

EA holds events at its national headquarters in Barton. It has has free membership for students but only the Bachelor of Software Engineering with Honours is recognised for EA membership).

CBRIN

The Canberra Innovation Network (CBRIN) holds free events for those interested in entrepreneurship. ANU Techlauncher features frequently in CBRIN First Wednesday Connect, a monthly event showcasing new startups, so studnts can expect a warm welcome.

Appendixes

Assessment

Assessment for the Learning to Reflect component of Techlauncher consists of the small tasks, one for each of the three workshops (2% x 3), plus one assignment, the Work Portfolio Package (WPP, 14%). This makes up a total of 20% of your final grade for TechLauncher.

Three Small Workshop Tasks

Submission

Before each of three workshops complete a small task, each for 2% of your final grade. The first task is a quiz, for the other two answer a question related to the workshop (write about 100 words) and submit this via Wattle. You can check your work yourself with the Turnitin text-matching software before submission. Do not include your name, or any other identification, as submissions will be peer reviewed. The deadline for submission is 11:59 pm Canberra time, on the day of the workshop. Late submissions will not be accepted. If you do not submit by the deadline, your grade will be zero for the submission and you will not be able to participate in the review activity. 1%  is allocated for a satisfactory submission, using the supplied rubric.

Review 

This feedback will be taken into account by the examiner, along with your  tutor's input, in determining a mark for the submission using the provided rubric (1% for submission and 1% for review). 

1. Job Search and Career Paths (quiz).
2. What job will you apply for and why?
   
3. What skills do you have which are in demand?

One Assignment, the WPP

You prepare a Work Portfolio Package (WPP). The WPP is an application for a position, built primarily around what you learned in Techlauncher. The workshops are designed to prepare you for this task. The team at ANU Careers can also provide general advice on writing a job application. Ask your tutor for further advice and assistance with preparing the content of your assignment.

Marking Rubric for the WPP

The assignment uses a marking rubric with ten criteria on a seven point scale. There are three criteria corresponding to parts of the WPP: Selection Criteria, Covering Letter, and Supporting Evidence (you must also include a tailored resume, but that is not graded), plus six professional approach criteria (Evidence of decision-making, Maturity of reflection, Professional tone, Evidence of life-long learning, Acting on feedback, and Professional attitude). All criteria are equally weighted and the scale is linear, with 0 for Low and full marks for for High.

Rubric based on "Work Portfolio Package: Marking criteria, ANU Techlauncher, 2020. Modified February 2023 to replace CFV with resume, and omit it from grading.

Workshop Format

A workshop will be held for each of the topics. The workshop are, depending on circumstances,  in a classroom face to face, online via video conference or both (using the MidFlex Minimal Hybrid Format).

Please note this is not a lecture, it is an activity which students are expected to actively participate in. Read the notes, and readings for topic before attending.

Be prepared to express your views. There are no marks awarded for the workshops, however there is a task for 2% of your final grade, due shortly before each workshop. The task is to help you prepare for each workshop. The workshops are to help prepare for the WPP.

Example Addressing Selection Criteria

Example addressing the selection criterion: " written communication skills":

From "Applying for an APS job: cracking the code", Australian Public Service Commission, 2018. Australian Public Service Commission, 2018. URL https://www.apsc.gov.au/fact-sheet-5-addressing-selection-criteria

Instructor's Guide

This module is designed as part of a project course, to be delivered via blended or on-line learning. It is made up of asynchronous online components supported by an instructor. This is supplemented by real-time workshops which can be in a classroom, online, or in hybrid mode, with students able to take part in a face to face classroom, or remotely by video conference. The approach is based on distance education techniques supplemented with flipped classroom techniques as described in Worthington (2012 and 2019).

Background

The Australian National University TechLauncher program has been well received by students, professional bodies, and organizations the students work with. However, some students have had difficulty completing the last assessment item for the course: the Work Portfolio Package (WPP). This module has been developed in response, to build the student's skills and confidence. 

This module was first offered for students in the COMP8715 Computing Project course, first semester 2019. It was then revised for delivery to all TechLauncher students in Second semester, 2019. The module was then modified slightly in February 2020, adding the option of online workshops, due to the COVID-19 Pandemic closing classrooms. For July 2021, the number of workshops was been expanded from two to four, and students have the option to attend in the classroom (pandemic permitting), or via videoconferencing. For 2023 the number of workshops has again been reduced to three, with the expected delivery format again face to face, but the online option retained.

The module is divided into three parts, delivered at intervals throughout the semester. The final task is unchanged from previous years: to create a portfolio, but with a scaffolded approach to education.

The Australian National University's Wattle Learning System is used to deliver most of the structured learning. The primary tool used in the Moodle Learning Management System. This is supplemented by of face-to-face or online workshops via Zoom video-conference.

The learning is broken into three parts, each with flipped classroom learning. The student studies material online individually, undertakes a small assessed task, then takes part in a real time workshop. After the last workshop, the student submits their portfolio.

When designed in 2018, the workshops were intended to be delivered in a face-to-face classroom on campus. However, it was envisaged the classroom components could be replaced by a video conference if students were unable to get to campus due to an international crisis. This option was activated in February 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic emergency. By July 2021, with some students are on campus, and some remote, a hybrid approach was applied, using the video conference to linking the classroom to those remote. If the campus is not available, the learning can continue online with no change to content or assessment.

Teaching Roles

This learning module is intended to be provided as part of a course. Students have a Tutor for the course, who they should approach first for assistance. In addition, an instructor oversees the delivery of this module, posting information to the class. Students can contact them if they have difficulty accessing materials. One or more facilitators from the Careers unit, run the workshops.

Some of the tutors may also carry out instructor functions, assist with facilitation of workshops. In any case, the tutors only recommend grades to the examiner of the course, who makes the final decision, for each student.

Dark Cockpit Approach to Online Instruction

The Instructor issues all students with regular bulletins via the Learning Management System. The students are then left to undertake the work, before, and after, the live workshops. The instructor may issue “nudges” occasionally to all, or individual, students, where there appears to be a problem. Apart from this, the Instructor and tutors do not take part in discussion. This dark cockpit philosophy (Jambon, Girard, & At-Ameur, p.43, 2001), reduces the distraction of constant messages from staff, only intervening where needed, and placing the onus on students to come to grips with the topic, individually and collectively.

Formative Feedback and Summative Assessment

To help keep students working, there is formative feedback, accompanied by summative assessment. In the 2019 versions of the module, there were quizzes and forums with marks awarded. The quizzes and forums were provided again in 2020 but without marks. This lead to a drop off in student participation, so were replaced in 2021 with peer assessed graded tasks. The peer assessed tasks became repetitious for studnts, and for 2023 are replaced with a mix of quizzes, tutor, and peer assessed tasks.

To aid reflective learning, students provide peer feedback on some short written tasks. These have simple binary grading (0 or 1) for the submission and quality of student feedback. 

Steps to Prepare and Run the Module