COMMUNICATING AND WORKING WITH OTHERS
In the first assignment you will focus on a professional working relationship and critically analyse how you communicate and work with the other stakeholders to achieve a shared outcome. You will then develop an action plan designed to enhance the effectiveness of the relationship so as to achieve the shared outcome. The implementation of the plan will form the basis of your second assignment.
LENGTH: Approx2,500 WORDS
The word count does not include the references.
WHAT NEEDS TO SUBMITED?
??Assignment – Essay with 3 sections:
??Section 1 – A brief description of the relationship, the shared outcome and context of the professional working relationship (200 words)
??Section 2 – Critical analysis of the professional working relationship within a socio-cultural framework (1800 words – introduction, body and conclusion)
??Section 3 – Development and justification of an action plan to support an effective working relationship (500 words)
ASSIGNMENT 1 DETAILS
In order to complete this assignment you need to:
Section 1
??Identify a professional working relationship that you will focus on for the semester. It may be a relationship with a family, peer, colleague, or other professional who is involved with an individual with additional needs. If you are unable to identify a suitable relationship then you will complete this assignment in a small student group, which will be allocated at the intensive conference.
??Identify the purpose and the expected shared outcome of the relationship. For instance, you may be working with the other stakeholder(s) to support a family access individualised funding; improve social inclusion in a school playground; include a child with a disability in a community activity; plan an adult with a disability’s transition to work; or develop a resource to support inclusive practices. The outcome is a statement of what you expect to achieve as a result of this relationship. For example: Jo will play with two children after lunch; Kazi will talk about what he did at work during the evening meal; the family will go on a weekend holiday with friends; or the resource engages staff in a discussion about how to share strategies to support social inclusion in the playground.
Section 2
??Critically analyse your relationship using a socio-cultural framework. This means you will consider the characteristics of an effective working relationship and what influences collaborative relationships including the wider socio-political systems and interpersonal interactions. Reflect on what the research says and to what extent this is true for your relationship. For example, you might consider
??how policies and funding influence the way you work together;
??organisational systems’ and process’ barriers and facilitators;
??documentation and communication styles;
??the perspectives of other stakeholders pertinent to the relationship;
??your dispositions, attitudes, beliefs and values;
??your personal competencies, attributes, skills and capabilities;
??how your response to current contexts or events influences the relationship; or
??how previous experiences might influence your ways of working this time.
??If you are new to this relationship focus on the prospective of developing a relationship.
??Research current theories and models to help you better understand the enablers and barriers to developing effective working relationships.
Section 3
After you have evaluated factors that influence your relationship and reflected on the tensions and affordances of the relationship, you will begin to identify how you might enhance the relationship so the shared outcome is achieved. Next you will:
??Identify the shared outcome that you and the other stakeholder(s) are working towards. This should be an outcome that will lead to improved inclusive practices;
??Identify an aspect of the relationship you would like to focus on for assignment 2. This focus area might be a problem or issue that creates tension or barriers to an effective working relationship or it might be a strength that can be exploited to achieve the shared outcome;
??Brainstorm possible explanations for the problem or issue;
??Brainstorm possible solutions, strategies and other ways you might approach the relationship to facilitate improved ways of working and communicating;
??Identify your knowledge gaps and research possible helpful strategies or approaches;
???Create and action plan that addresses the focus area. This then forms the basis of your problem-based scenario that you will focus on for your second assignment. You might like to focus on a competency, skill or capability that you feel will lead to a more effective working relationship.
??Create a plan that sets out the ‘proposed’ actions you intend to implement over the semester. Your actions should be justified, that is you will have researched and identified appropriate strategies or approaches that are likely to improve the effectiveness of the working relationship.
During the semester you will enact the plan and report on this for assignment 2. Thus, the actions are ‘proposed’ because as you do more research and reading or as interactions give rise to new information, you may want to refine the plan. In addition, as you engage in reflection and discussions you are encouraged to be responsive and make changes during the implementation
The essay will have three sections:
??Section 1 (200 words) ??Introduction including brief description of the professional working relationship, the shared outcome and the context; be careful not to identify other people or the setting in the description.
??Section 2 (1800 words – including introduction, body and conclusion) ??Critically analyse the relationship using current literature to support your analysis within a socio-cultural framework.
??Section 3 (500 words) ??Identify a focus (problem) and justify why you selected this as your focus; and
??Create a proposed action plan (solutions). Justify why and how you will implement this plan.
* There is no proforma for the plan, so use a planning document you have used before or develop one that best meets your needs for this assignment.
*The word count is a guide only. The only stipulation is that you do not go over the 2,500 word limit
?ASSESSMENT CRITERIA:
??Critically analyse a working relationship within a socio-cultural framework using relevant theory and/or models. (20 marks)
??Select an appropriate assignment focus (problem) and create a thoughtful proposed action plan aligned with the focus and justified using reputable academic literature. (10 marks)
??Synthesise research about effective working relationships using a range of recent and relevant literature including reputable international and national research to support discussion. (10 marks)
??Present work professionally, with clear academic writing and within the word limit. (5 marks)
??Use APA referencing style correctly, including competently integrating evidence. (5 marks)
