Actively preparing students for global careers

Find out how RMIT academic and Course Coordinator, Dr Christopher Denis Delacour, strategically designed three cycles of career development learning in his course Global Careers, to help students understand their career options and job skill requirements, helping them prepare for global careers.

This snapshot shows how RMIT’s signature active, applied and authentic (AAA) pedagogy manifests in a higher education (HE) course through intentionally designed learning activities and assessment that: actively engage students, apply 'real-world' problems or scenarios and have an authentic, meaningful purpose.

Background

The Context

The course is a core of the Bachelor of Languages delivered at RMIT Vietnam and is also an elective available for students in other programs across RMIT. Dr Delacour found that students, in Vietnam in particular, came to his course with a limited understanding of their career options and job skill requirements.

The Design

To address the gap in students’ knowledge of their career options, Dr. Delacour scaffolded the Global Careers curriculum into three cycles that gradually built upon and developed students’ knowledge, skills, and experience in navigating local and global labour markets and working environments. The cycles are a good example of holistic application of active, applied, and authentic pedagogy in practice.

Cycle One provides authentic Career Development Learning activities and assessment through a program of weekly guest speakers who share their career journeys and provide valuable insights into the future of the workforce and the skills and expertise most in demand. Students synthesise what they learn from the speakers’ presentations with their theoretical knowledge to strategically reflect on their own career goals and planning.

Cycle Two requires students to actively engage with RMIT Vietnam’s Careers Office, and Alumni & Industry Relations to prepare CVs, partake in mock interviews, undergo career assessments, and complete e-learning modules to prepare for internships, job applications and professional careers.

Cycle Three provides an opportunity for students to align the employability skills and trends outlined by guest speakers in cycle one with the applied research students undertook in cycle two to develop an authentic career plan complete with a personal brand and career goals. Students put their skills into practice by selecting an authentic internship offer and participate in hands on learning activities that teach them how to research the company, tailor their CV and present their professional skills and strengths in face to face and online interview training and feedback sessions.

Active, Applied and Authentic highlights

Active

In all three cycles, students are active partners in their learning as they listen, question, apply and reflect on work skills requirements, employment market trends, job statistics and career advice.

Applied

The students learn with and alongside industry experts and use cutting edge research tools and technologies to develop their career plan and digital skills.

Authentic

The learning activities and assessment outcomes include authentic artefacts (Career plan and a CV) that provide practical evidence of learning relevant to student’s job futures and life journeys. The assessments are rich in academic integrity as they openly embrace the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) to benchmark CV’s, use scaffolding techniques to build skills and live role play to demonstrate development of interview skills.

How did the AAA pedagogical design impact the students?

Student growth

Qualitative comments from course experience survey (CES) data show that active, applied, and authentic learning activities helped students to develop capabilities and outcomes to set them up for success with tangible evidence for future work and life.

One second year student of the Bachelor of Languages said: "The Global Careers course has provided me with exactly what I needed to know when it comes to taking the first basic, transitional steps towards a working environment. There were various guest speakers, who came in with different, interesting insights that have helped me a lot with broadening my perspective.”

What technologies, spaces and foundational components supported this Snapshot?

Note that links may require an RMIT staff login.

Support

The following tools, technologies, spaces and resources enabled and supported the application of AAA Pedagogy:

IPL: Career Development Learning
Tools: Canvas Videos, SharePoint, Chat GPT, Burning Glass
Digital learning spaces: Canvas, Teams Meetings
Physical F2F Spaces: Simulated workspaces, collaborative meeting rooms, tutorial rooms and guest speaker theatres.

Foundations

The following pedagogical foundational components helped inform the development of this AAA Pedagogy:

Course and Program policies, procedures and instructions

Academic Integrity Policy and Procedures
Education Plan: Action Area 1: How we teach
IPL Framework and CDL Framework
RMIT Strategy Direction 1: Learning through life and work

Links

Click on the links below to access resources to help develop similar active, applied, authentic learning activities and assessments.

Return to Next in Teaching

21 March 2024

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Acknowledgement of Country

RMIT University acknowledges the people of the Woi wurrung and Boon wurrung language groups of the eastern Kulin Nation on whose unceded lands we conduct the business of the University. RMIT University respectfully acknowledges their Ancestors and Elders, past and present. RMIT also acknowledges the Traditional Custodians and their Ancestors of the lands and waters across Australia where we conduct our business - Artwork 'Sentient' by Hollie Johnson, Gunaikurnai and Monero Ngarigo.

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Actively preparing students for global careers