Assessment task 

Relevant Learning Outcomes 

Create an annotated bibliography comprising your annotations of three papers discussing teamwork and/or professional communication in prehospital emergency care. When reviewing these papers consider their relevance to your own professional practice, and also their value as learning material for this course. The word count should be 1500wds.

Examples of annotated bibliographies may be found here. The marking rubric will be uploaded at start of term.

1: Explore the manifold underpinning theories of communication, emotional intelligence, and interpersonal relations.

End of week four.

Illustrate the main aspects of points of view on a given situation, and debate these points with your peers. Use critical thinking to argue your point effectively during the class debate. Teams of three will be randomly assigned by the lecturer, and each team will be given a particular debate topic and advised whether they will be arguing positively or negatively with respect to the topic statement. Participants will speak for five minutes each, with the opening members of each team presenting an opening statement, and the second and third team members presenting not only further material but rebuttal of the other team's statements.

This assignment will require teamwork before and during the debate process, which may occur through numerous means; email, phone, Skype or videoconference, forum posts, wiki use, etc.. It is up to the team members to assign their order of speaking and to arrange their own research and planning activities. Each team will be provided a private board upon the class forums, and these may be used to share notes during the debate event. The debates themselves will be conducted over the BB Collaborate videoconferencing session, and non-participating student peers will observe from the sidelines. 

Marking rubric will be uploaded at start of term.

3: Reflect upon your own interpersonal and communication skills, and implement the principles of effective communication to improve your own skills in these areas.

7: Appreciate the specific communication needs of several community groups and discuss issues that may affect healthcare provision.

End of week seven.

In small groups, collaboratively prepare a recorded instructional presentation outlining the major aspects of quality communication and interpersonal interaction between paramedics and various groups, which may include fellow paramedics, interdisciplinary colleagues, members of ethnic minority communities, mental health patients, paediatric or geriatric patients, and so on. The presentation should be ten minutes long in total, should be voiced over by team members, and include multimedia, images, and slides as appropriate.

Presentations will be graded by both your student peers and the lecturer, creating a combined aggregate score for each group. In addition to creating their own presentation students will be required to watch and to grade other groups' presentations against a provided matrix, providing a brief statement of only 50-100 words justifying that grade; participation in the grading of each presentation is a hurdle requirement for this course.  

Groups will use wiki platforms to communicate and collaborate on their project. As wikis can be used to share files, hold discussions upon message boards, collaboratively work upon documents, and more, they are a tool that will remain valuable for your future studies as you progress through your degree program. Your team wiki will be viewed by the lecturer from time to time, but does not need to be open to other students beyond your group members.

Marking rubric will be uploaded at start of term.

2: Reflect upon your own interpersonal and communication skills, and implement the principles of effective communication to improve your own skills in these areas.

4: Draw upon the principles of group dynamics and effective teamwork to collaborate and communicate effectively within a team in varied circumstances.

6: Utilise communication technologies to communicate, collaborate, and present effectively in the online environment.

8: Appreciate the specific communication needs of several community groups and discuss issues that may affect healthcare provision.

End of week eleven.

Compile a portfolio of weekly discussion pieces relating to each week's course content and readings, making reference to relevant supporting literature. Your weekly schedule will detail each topic for you, and discussions should be posted in the discussion forum for each week. Students are encouraged to read and post feedback on each others' discussion posts, and time will be set aside in each weekly tutorial for lecturer feedback on and discussion of these postings. Discussions may be between 300-500 words long.

At the end of the course you will compile your choice of your best work into a 3,000 word portfolio that will be due mid- exam period. Chose those pieces that best illustrate how you understand and have engaged with the course content and activities, and demonstrate your achievement of the course learning outcomes. You must revise and improve each weekly posting that you include in your portfolio, thereby demonstrating your reflection upon peer and lecturer feedback that you received during the course, and any changes in opinion resulting from your studies.

Marking rubric will be uploaded at start of term.

1: Explore the manifold underpinning theories of communication, emotional intelligence, and interpersonal relations.

2: Identify challenges to effective communication, and discuss the risks and complications of poor communication and interpersonal skills in both professional and therapeutic contexts.

3: Reflect upon your own interpersonal and communication skills, and implement the principles of effective communication to improve your own skills in these areas.

4: Draw upon the principles of group dynamics and effective teamwork to collaborate and communicate effectively within a team in varied circumstances.

5: Discriminate between poor and effective leadership skills, and explain how excellent leadership qualities improve service delivery and group dynamics in the ambulance context.

7: Appreciate the specific communication needs of several community groups and discuss issues that may affect healthcare provision.

8: Develop cultural sensitivity and demonstrate techniques for facilitating clinical communication and for conveying empathy and respect in cross-cultural contexts.   

End of first exam week.