PSY769 Professional Development Assignment Brief 2026 | Wrexham University

 Module title

Professional Development

Module code

PSY769

Module leader

Dr Natalie Roch

Assessment title

Portfolio

Launch date

02/02/2026

Submission deadline

24/04/2026

18th May 2026

During the module feedback to summative assessments (these are the assessments that count towards your module grade) will be provided in written format in Turnitin (with intext comments as well as general guidance, feedback and feed forward). Where feasible audio feedback will be provided in Turnitin. Students can arrange to discuss their feedback with the module leader in a one-on-one meeting, either on campus or over Teams. For any formative assessments, feedback will be provided face-to-face and students will be able to discuss with the module leader areas for improvement and growth, which they can then apply to their summative assessments.

1. Critically reflect on professional development within an applied context or setting.
   
   
2. Plan and prepare an appropriate and detailed portfolio of professional and scholarly progress.
   
   
3. Analyse personal strengths and limitations and create an individual personal development plan tailored towards own career aspirations.
   
   
4. Demonstrate a comprehensive reflective understanding of learning and development in relation to own knowledge and practice skills.
   
   
5. Create and deliver a range of presentations to a variety of audiences.

Assessment task details - provide a description of the task

The assessment for this module is a portfolio, which must include the following:

• Detailed and up to date Curriculum Vitae
• Observed mock interview
• Observed presentation
• Personal Development Plan (PDP)
• Critical academic reflection on experience and learning
• Reference list
• Appendix

1. Detailed and up-to-date Curriculum Vitae (approx. 600 words) (accounts for 10% of the overall grade)

Task Description: Students must submit a professional and tailored CV that aligns with their career aspirations within psychology or a related field. The CV should be clear, concise, and demonstrate a strong understanding of professional presentation. Students should consider:

• Quality – The CV includes relevant work experience, academic qualifications, key competencies, and achievements.
  
  
• Formatting & Professionalism – The document is free from errors and uses appropriate professional language.
  
  
• Relevance & Tailoring – The CV is well-aligned with the student’s career goals, reflecting key skills and experiences relevant to psychology.
  
  
• Structure & Clarity – The CV is logically structured with appropriate headings, ensuring clarity and readability. The CV should not exceed 2 pages.  

2.  Observed Mock Interview (accounts for 10% of the overall grade)

Task Description: Students will participate in a mock interview (10-minutes of interview questions with a panel), where they will respond to questions as if applying for a professional psychology related role (the job description and skills specification will be added to Moodle). The interview will be observed and assessed based on ability to communicate effectively, demonstrate self-awareness, and engage with professional questioning. Students should aim to:

• Communicate with clarity – Responses are well-articulated and concise.
• Evidence self-reflection – Answers include personal insights and demonstrate awareness of strengths and areas for improvement.
• Apply psychological knowledge – Responses are informed by professional and academic learning.
• Be professional – demonstrate active listening and use an appropriate tone.

3.  Observed Mock Interview Presentation (accounts for 10% of the overall grade)

Task Description: As part of the mock interview process, students will prepare and deliver a 5-minute presentation, followed by a 5-minute Q&A session.  The presentation should focus on an area of psychology that is relevant to the mock job role (the job description and skills specification will be added to Moodle). Students should demonstrate an understanding of the area of psychology, including key psychological theories, models, and research in the area. Students should explain how the area of psychology aligns with / applies to the role.

Assessment Criteria: please see the presentation rubric on Moodle. Your presentation will be graded according to the rubric. Please include a copy of the PowerPoint slides in the appendix.

4.  Personal Development Plan (PDP) (approximately 800 words). (accounts for 20% of the overall grade)

Task Description: Students must submit a Personal Development Plan (PDP) outlining their short-term and long-term career goals, skills they wish to develop, and strategies for achieving professional growth. The PDP should be based on student’s self-reflection and informed by research / professional frameworks / best practices in psychology and professional development.   

Students should:

• Identify strengths, areas for improvement, and strategies for development based on self-reflection on experience and learning.
• Set 3-5 clearly defined, SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Timebound) goals.
• Action Planning – Steps taken to achieve professional growth, supported by relevant psychological literature or frameworks.
• Presentation & Formatting – The PDP is clear, well-organised, and professionally formatted.
• A strong PDP will:

o   Use a reflective model to identify personal strengths and areas for improvement.

o   Justify career goals and learning needs with academic literature, industry standards, and psychological research.

o   Set structured SMART goals informed by best practices in psychology.

o   Outline an actionable plan for professional development (e.g., further training, work experience, networking, or academic research).

Further guidance on how to complete a PDP is available on Moodle.

5. Critical Academic Reflection on Experience & Learning (approx.. 2000 words) (accounts for 50% of the overall grade)

Task Description: The critical academic reflection is the most significant component of the portfolio (50%), where students are required to critically analyse learning and development during the module and work-based learning experience.

The reflection should be structured using a recognised reflective model (e.g., Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle) and draw on academic literature, learning, professional experiences, and work-based learning.

Assessment Criteria: please see the reflection rubric on Moodle.

See Moodle for guidance on how to keep a Reflective Diary and write an Academic Reflection. 

Students must also include a:

• Reference list

Adhere to APA 7.

• Appendix

Students should include an appendix and in this should be:

• A completed work-based learning agreement
• A completed work-based time sheet
• The PowerPoint presentation slides from your interview presentation. 

Final guidance:

• The portfolio should be structured professionally, with clear section headings and a table of contents.
• The word count should not exceed 4,000 words (excluding references and appendices).
• Referencing: All academic sources should be cited using APA (7th edition) formatting.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is starting to be used in university assessment. Module tutors will make it clear when and how the use of AI is appropriate in your assessments.  For guidance and support, please consult the Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) Guidance for Students (found here).

Within this module, GenAI is permitted to assist students with structuring assignments and for idea generation, it is NOT permitted for writing an assignment. Caution should also be employed if using GenAI as a research tool, as GenAI does consistently provide misinformation and incorrect references, which could negatively impact your grade and lead to a violation of the university’s Academic Integrity policy.

There is an expectation that assignments will be word-processed. Format for presentation: Font: Ariel or Times New Roman, size 12 with double line spacing. 

Assignments should be submitted electronically through Moodle Digital Drop Box with a completed and signed front of assignment cover sheet. IT problems will not be accepted as mitigation and hard copies will not be allowed unless prior agreement has been sought.

The assignment should be submitted by 12 mid - day on the date of submission.

Students will be required to declare a wordage and will be required to comply with the assignment brief in respect of wordage. Students may be subject to a word count penalty if they exceed the word count limit for an assessment by 10%. The penalty for exceeding the word count will be 5 marks per 1000 words excess.

APA 7 referencing must be consistent in both the text and the reference list.

Assessments should be submitted on Moodle via the Turnitin submission points. Assignments should be uploaded (do not try to upload a sharepoint link as this will not work).

Assignments should be submitted with the front of assignment cover sheet, and should not contain any reference to the students name. Students should NOT attach any extension request forms (including DLA) nor any supporting evidence to their submission. Extensions to assignment deadlines should be requested prior to the submission deadline via email to the Module leader, including any evidence. 

All work is marked and moderated within the psychology department and then reviewed externally by one of our external examiners.

Provisional grade and feedback will be available 15 working days after the submission deadline. This will be available on Moodle and students can book one-to-one tutorials to discuss feedback further if required.

Marking Criteria/Rubric can be found in the ‘Assessment and Feedback’ section of Moodle.

On successful completion of this module, a student will have had opportunities to demonstrate achievement of the following Employability Skills;

Tick all that apply.

Adaptability & Flexibility (Managing Change, Coping with Ambiguity, Transferable Skills)

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x

x

x

x

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x