Unit rationale, description and aim
Dietetic practice with groups involves being a member of a team, participating in, and leading group discussions and processes, and developing, implementing, and evaluating group nutrition education and dietary counselling sessions, and food, nutrition and health promotion and intervention and prevention programs. Through examination of the theories of education and social marketing students will be supported to design nutrition education and dietary counselling programs, based on current food and nutrition science, to facilitate dietary change. Students will be provided opportunity to develop a deep understanding of group types, settings, and group processes, including with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, Culturally and linguistically diverse and other diverse groups. They will be expected to be able to conduct an effective group nutrition education or dietary counselling session, reflecting on their own performance and providing peer review of other students' work. The aim of this unit is to assist students to develop the key skills to be able to conduct and participate in groups to build effective teams, and nutrition education and dietary counselling sessions and programs that promote food literacy, healthy eating, and positive dietary change.
Campus offering
No unit offerings are currently available for this unit.Learning outcomes
To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.
Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.
Explore the graduate capabilities.
Apply understanding of group processes through con...
Learning Outcome 01
Apply educational and marketing theory to the deve...
Learning Outcome 02
Develop a creative nutrition education or dietary ...
Learning Outcome 03
Demonstrate cultural competence required for diete...
Learning Outcome 04
Content
This unit includes topics related to the development and demonstration of professional dietetic practice and competence according to the Accreditation Standards of Dietitians Australia. These are described under the heading ‘Building professional dietetic practice’ in each unit outline and build on topics delivered synchronously and progressively throughout the degree. Students will have opportunities for collecting evidence of competence in the following areas.
Building professional dietetic practice
- reflection and evaluation of practice
- acknowledges, reflects and understands own values, beliefs, attitudes, biases and assumptions and their influence on practice
- scope of practice and standards of care, codes of conduct
- culturally safe and responsive practice (requiring emotional, spiritual, and cultural intelligence)
- continuing professional development
- attributes (empathy, flexibility, adaptability, resilience, ethical, respectful, demonstrates integrity, honesty, fairness, critical thinker)
- understanding and advocating for the role of the dietitian in working with diverse groups
- collaboration and communication skills with stakeholders
Group types and settings in dietetic practice
- research
- clients from diverse backgrounds including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and Culturally and linguistically diverse
- health professionals (single and interdisciplinary)
- healthcare teams
- small groups, large groups
- groups from different age ranges
Group processes
- consultation processes e.g. focus groups
- decision-making processes e.g. nominal group/consensus processes
Working with groups
- facilitate effective groups in different settings (rapport, trust, cohesion, participation, negotiation, conflict resolution)
- consumer engagement and participation in group processes
- active learning principles
- nutrition education in group settings – knowledge building
- dietary counselling in group settings – dietary change
- co-facilitating groups
Improving nutrition education and food literacy
- educational theories and application to nutrition education
- defining food (and health) literacy and building food literacy in groups
- applying marketing principles to facilitate sustainable, positive food, nutrition, and health changes
- creative approaches to promoting healthy eating, nutrition education and dietary counselling
- successful interventions in different groups, including Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander and Culturally and linguistically diverse groups
- Nutrition education/dietary counselling
- develop, implement, and evaluate effective and culturally-sensitive and safe education/counselling sessions and programs for groups
- documenting group programs
- peer review and support
Assessment strategy and rationale
Four assessment tasks are sequenced to progressively support students' learning and development of professional competence through authentic assessment.
Assessment task 1, (group assessment) relates to the process of delivering a group session and extends theoretical understanding of successful groups through reporting on the planning and delivery of a group session.
Assessment task 2 (written and oral task), requires students to examine the structure of successful groups and programs and use this to plan a suitable education session for a diverse audience. The process of examining delivery of groups education sessions to diverse groups will inform the third assessment task.
Assessment task 3 requires students to report on findings and learnings from assessment tasks one and two and critically reflect on the application of the process in when implemented across different cultural groups.
Assessment task 4 (graded hurdle), requires students to commence development of their professional practice portfolio. Students will commence collection of evidence of developing professional competence. This task is a hurdle to ensure students demonstrate the competency standards required by Dietitians Australia.
Overview of assessments
To pass the unit, students must demonstrate that they have achieved each learning outcome, passed any graded or ungraded hurdle tasks and obtain a total mark of 50% in the unit as the minimum standard.
Assessment 1: Written assessment task Enables s...
Assessment 1: Written assessment task
Enables students to develop experience in planning and working with groups.
30%
Assessment 2: Written and oral assessment task E...
Assessment 2: Written and oral assessment task
Enables students to demonstrate ability to plan and deliver group education sessions for diverse audiences e.g. Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islanders, Culturally and linguistically diverse groups.
30%
Assessment 3: Multimedia assessment task Enables...
Assessment 3: Multimedia assessment task
Enables students to report on findings, learnings from group task and applications for group work with different cultural groups.
35%
Assessment 4: Professional practice portfolio (*G...
Assessment 4: Professional practice portfolio (*Graded Hurdle)
Enables students to gather evidence to demonstrate competence to practice.
*Graded Hurdle
5%
*If a student has not achieved a mark of ≥ 50% for the graded hurdles, one re-attempt may be offered for each to allow demonstration of an appropriate level of competency.
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
The unit content will be delivered over 12 weeks.
The learning and teaching strategy adopted aligns with the sequencing of the learning outcomes and consists of three phases that are designed to provide students with a developmental learning experience. The unit begins with approaches designed to support acquisition of specialist knowledge needed to explore the theoretical underpinnings for successful group membership, and group work, and for facilitating dietary change through nutrition education and dietary counselling in these settings. The approaches used to facilitate students’ learning include online learning modules and readings. The unit then builds on this theoretical knowledge and assists students to develop understanding and then application through practical skills development first through applied tutorials and then case studies and role play. Overall, the approaches used in this unit have a constructively aligned developmental sequence designed to progressively, and logically, support students learning in ways that maximise the perceived (and actual) relevance and value of each stage. As an overarching strategy, this is expected to engender high levels of engagement, efficiency, and effectiveness in students’ study behaviours, and to maximise their learning achievements. This strategy and approaches will allow students to meet the aim, learning outcomes and graduate attributes of the unit. Learning and teaching approaches will reflect respect for the individual as an independent learner. Students will be expected to take responsibility for their learning and to participate actively in learning activities.