EDF4599 Positive psychology in professional practice
Faculty of Education
EDF4599 Positive psychology in professional practice is a level 4, 6-credit-point, postgraduate unit from the Faculty of Education, offered in 2023 in Semester 2 at Clayton. It has no prerequisites.
- Credit points
- 6
- Offered in 2023
- Semester 2
- Clayton
- Assessment
- No exam
- 2 tasks
- Workload
- 144 hours
- per semester
This is the 2023 handbook entry. See the 2027 entry.
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Requisites
Before EDF4599
No prerequisites or corequisites besides the enrolment rules below.
After EDF4599
No unit lists EDF4599 as a prerequisite in the 2023 handbook.
Enrolment rules
Overview
This unit will introduce you to the theoretical orientation and application of positive psychology as it applies to individuals, groups and organisations in professional psychological practice. Positive psychology is the scientific investigation of conditions and processes that facilitate optimal functioning and flourishing. You will critically reflect on and examine a number of these conditions and processes including gratitude, flow, character strengths and mindfulness alongside positive emotions such as joy, optimism and contentment. Critical examination will extend to measurement tools and assessment approaches.
Examining how psychologists apply the principles of positive psychology, including in combination with other therapeutic approaches, within clinical settings, education, and organisations will be a central focus of this unit. You will choose an area of interest and conduct a scientific investigation examining the effects and limitations of positive psychology interventions.
You will also have opportunity for personal engagement with evidence based positive psychology tools and practices for enhancing wellbeing. You will self-administer positive psychology tools and participate in short daily practices. Opportunities for you to reflect - individually and collectively - on what you learned from the experience will also be provided.
Teaching approaches will include lectures, case studies, pre-class reading and activities, embodied learning and reflection, and modelling of positive psychology practices.
Offerings in 2023
| Teaching period | Campus | Mode |
|---|---|---|
| Second semester | Clayton | On campus |
Assessment
- Critical essay (2000 words or equivalent)50%
- Weekly reflective journal (2000 words or equivalent)50%
Learning outcomes
When you finish this unit, you should be able to:
- 1
Critically consider the underlying principles of positive psychology.
- 2
Comprehensively understand, explain and demonstrate competence in administering and applying a range of positive psychological tools and techniques.
- 3
Apply empirically supported positive psychology practices to your personal life and critically reflect on personal benefits and challenges.
- 4
Critically evaluate relevance and applicability of positive psychology tools and practices for clients in a range of professional practice settings.
- 5
Communicate to clients and organisations the opportunities for positive psychology to facilitate optimal functioning and flourishing.
Workload and teaching
- Tutorials24 hours
- Teaching approachActive learning
The minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 144 hours per teaching period comprising a mixture of scheduled learning activities and independent study.
Usually, you can expect to engage with:
• 24 hours of scheduled learning delivered on campus via weekly/regular directed learning activities; and
• the remaining hours to be allocated towards self-directed/independent study
Scheduled learning activities may include a combination of teacher directed learning, peer directed learning and online engagement.
A number of teaching methods and learning activities will be employed in this unit to engage students from different backgrounds and with varying personal and professional experiences and future aspirations. Teaching pedagogy will include a flipped classroom whereby pre-class reading and activities will develop your knowledge whilst class discussion and case studies will provide opportunities to apply and extend this knowledge. Each class session will be comprised of a discussion of readings/supplementary materials/weekly, assignments, weekly exercises, and film clips. Teaching approaches will include lectures and the modeling of positive psychology practices. Flexibility in the set assignments will encourage you to choose a topic of professional interest that aligns with your future aspirations.
An innovative pedagogy for this unit is embodied learning whereby you will be guided to embody positive psychology processes which encourages you to think deeply and meaningfully about that process. Opportunities for you to reflect – individually and collectively – on what you have learned from the experience is a key component of this learning approach. This unit is taught from a learner-centered perspective with opportunities for you to learn and engage in material both in and out of class (Weimer, 2002). This innovative pedagogy will extend your capability to critically examine the relevance and applicability of positive psychology in professional practice by enabling you to integrate knowledge gained through empirical studies with knowledge gained from personal experience.
Learning resources
Recommended resources
Please visit the unit Moodle site for further information.
Contacts
- Unit Coordinators
- Dr Kelly-Ann Allen
- Chief Examiners
- Dr Kelly-Ann Allen
Common questions
What are the prerequisites for EDF4599?
EDF4599 has no prerequisites, but enrolment rules apply.
When is EDF4599 offered?
In 2023, EDF4599 runs in Semester 2 at Clayton.
How much work is EDF4599?
The handbook expects about 144 hours of study across the semester. No students have rated its difficulty yet.
Does EDF4599 have an exam?
No. EDF4599 has 2 assessment tasks and no exam.