Being up front about each other’s roles and responsibilities

Let’s start with being upfront about each other’s roles and responsibilities. Take some time at the beginning of the placement to have a chat and clarify your expectations of each other. All too often assumptions are made (on both sides) about who is responsible for what, causing unnecessary confusion and in some cases conflict. Having this conversation will help to reassure your student and fill in any of the ‘gaps’.

So what needs to be covered?

  • Talk to your student about your role in general (are you a team leader/manager? How many staff/programs do you supervise? What other responsibilities do you have?) This will help your student to have a greater understanding of your role and other commitments.
  • Talk specifically about your role as a student supervisor (will you be providing their supervision, overseeing their day to day tasks? Helping them with their learning plan and achievement of their goals? If not then now’s the time to clarify who will).
  • What can the student expect from you (to be onsite or at another office? To check in with them at the start and end of each day? To call them via phone if not available in person?).
  • Similarly, take the time to discuss what’s expected of the student and provide them with an opportunity to negotiate any flexibility or considerations that may be required. (What time should they arrive, what happens if they are sick, can they complete uni work at placement?).
  • It is important to remember that your student is coming to placement as an adult learner and will learn best through trial and error, feedback and mentorship. As an adult learner they have some good insights into how they learn best. Work with them to identify their strengths, interests, goals, experience and vulnerability; who they are and what they bring to placement. Use this as a starting point from which to ‘design in’ experiences that will stretch their knowledge, competence and emerging professional identity.
  • Take time to discuss, understand and negotiate your own and student’s preferred way of learning or learning style. By taking into account how you each process and assign meaning to information and experiences, you will be able to individualise the learning experiences and debriefing opportunities in ways that maximise learning.
  • Ask yourself, “Do your preferred learning styles complement each other or clash?” Explore and negotiate together strategies that will help you manage the difference.