Graduate Quality - Empowered

The “Empowered” graduate attribute is about connecting students to the skills, aptitudes and techniques they will need to master for their discipline and field of practice. The quality of Empowered links theory and knowledge to authentic real-world applications. For programs, Empowered is aligned with skill development and demonstration and often is associated with professional practice applications. Empowered is the “can do” quality. Empowered is the application of knowledge and creative and critical thinking to appropriate settings and contexts.

An empowered person:

• Holds a sound theoretical and practical knowledge base that supports their ability to apply knowledge and skills to a field of study.
• Demonstrates field or technical practice/skill through authentic environments.
• Demonstrates the competencies, initiative, and personal attributes to be used in a career or further study – such as planning, organisation, information literacy.

Learning centred activities for Empowered

Empowered learning outcomes in courses are related to students applying and performing proficiency based tasks and activities that relate to a profession, career, or research tasks. Often these tasks will be embedded into simulated or real-world contexts and ask students to demonstrate competency.

Words associated with learning outcomes for Empowered:

Apply, use, implement, execute, plan, model, perform, practice, prepare, produce, modify, illustrate, verify, develop.

Example of aligning with criteria

Course learning outcome: Apply theories explaining the relationship between politics and the media to real world examples.

Criteria example: Application of theory to an issue…

Introductory

• Can demonstrate basic techniques, models and strategies used in discipline area.
• Develops proficiency in industry practices and authentic discipline skill sets.
• Is able to make choices and substantiate decisions within the context of professional practice.

Developing

• Applies techniques and strategies appropriate to discipline area with confidence.
• Increases proficiency in industry practices and authentic discipline skill sets.
• Is able to make more sophisticated choices and substantive decisions within the specific discipline area.

Graduate

• Uses an action research approach to understand a discipline specific issue or problem.
• Demonstrates expertise and capabilities in knowledge and skills in the discipline.
• Recognises the benefits of a multidisciplinary approach to problems and diversity of thought.

Empowered is specifically career and competency focused and the demonstration of “Empowered” enables students to learn and master the specific skill sets required for career or future applications.