Back to basics: Facilitating mentoring, reflection and debriefing for students on placements

This workshop hosted by the NSW/ACT Chapter Conversation offers fresh insights into the fundamental principles of supporting students during their Work Integrated Learning (WIL) journey. We will push the boundaries of pre/during/post WIL and stress the importance for continuous support by revisiting three essential practices: mentorship, reflection, and debriefing. 

The first presentation by Julia Caldicott (SCU) introduces a mentorship scheme, using alumni as industry mentors to provide students with individual support, career guidance, and insights into professional expectations and industry sector trends. Embedding the alumni mentoring program into the curriculum, empowers students to make informed decisions about their future careers and better prepares them for their capstone WIL experience. 

In the second part, Laura Rook (UOW) will present insights and outcomes from a recent collaborative, cross-disciplinary project, showcasing the transformative impact of reflective assessment and activity design on student learning. She highlights how reflection in Work-Integrated Learning (WIL) is essential for empowering students to critically analyse their experiences, leading to deeper learning and significant professional growth. 

In the third part, Theresa Winchester-Seeto will explore how debriefing can be a powerful strategy for helping students gain the maximum learning from their WIL activity. This segment will explore the: what, when, how and why of debriefing, and in particular the role of the facilitator will be discussed with a challenge to practitioners to consider the degree to which they should direct or control what is discussed and whether the student/s could be encouraged to take the lead. Watch recording: https://youtu.be/w5PdAi532_g