Please see iLearn unit page for more information about the assessments including task criteria and rubrics.

Please note that a generic criteria for all assessment tasks requires students to make a genuine attempt to complete all assessment tasks.  Where this requirement is not met you will be awarded an FA grade with a maximum mark of 45. 

Please also note that plagiarism detection software is used in this unit for all Task submissions. 

General Assessment Presentation and Submission Guidelines. 

Please follow these guidelines when you submit each assignment: 

• Allow a left and right-hand margin of at least 2cm in all assignments. 

• Please type all assignments using 12-point font and 1.5 spacing. 

• All assessments must be submitted through Turnitin in .doc or .pdf format  

• It is the responsibility of the student to ensure that all assessments are successfully submitted through Turnitin. 

• Faculty assignment cover sheets are NOT required. 

Turnitin Originality Reports & Draft Submissions

• Students may use Turnitin’s Originality Report as a learning tool to improve their academic writing if this option is made available in the unit. 

• Students are strongly encouraged to upload a draft copy of each assessment to Turnitin at least one week prior to the due date to obtain an Originality Report. 

• The Originality Report provides students with a similarity index that may indicate if plagiarism has occurred. Students will be able to make amendments to their drafts prior to their final submission on the due date. 

• Generally, one Originality Report is generated every 24 hours up to the due date. 

Please note: 

• Students should regularly save a copy of all assignments before submission, 

• Students are responsible for checking that their submission has been successful and has been submitted by the due date and time. 

Assignment extensions and late penalties 

• In general, there should be no need for extensions except through illness or misadventure that would be categorised as serious and unavoidable disruption according to the University definition of same, see:  https://students.mq.edu.au/study/my-study-program/special-consideration 

• Applications for extensions must be made via AskMQ according to the Special Consideration policy. Extensions can only be granted if they meet the Special Considerations policy and are submitted via https://ask.mq.edu.au/. This will ensure consistency in the consideration of such requests is maintained.  

• Late submissions: Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, (a) a penalty for lateness will apply – two (2) marks out of 100 will be deducted per day for assignments submitted after the due date – and (b) no assignment will be accepted more than seven (7) days (incl. weekends) after the original submission deadline. No late submissions will be accepted for timed assessments – e.g. quizzes, online tests. Late penalties are applied by unit convenors or their delegates after tasks are assessed. 

• If a student is still permitted to submit on the basis of unavoidable disruption, an alternative topic may be set.  

• Students should keep an electronic file of all assessments. Claims regarding "lost" assessments cannot be made if the file cannot be produced. It is also advisable to keep an electronic file of all drafts and the final submission on a USB untouched/unopened after submission. This can be used to demonstrate easily that the assessment has not been amended after the submission date. 

Requesting a re-assessment of an assignment 

If you have evidence that your task has been incorrectly assessed against the grade descriptors you can request a re-mark. To request a re-mark you need to contact the unit convenor within 7 days of the date of return of the assignment and provide a detailed assessment of your script against the task criteria. Evidence from your assignment must be provided to support your judgements.  

Note: Failed assessments cannot be re-marked as they are all double-marked as a part of the moderation process.  

Please note: The outcome of a re-mark may be a higher/lower or unchanged grade. Grades are standards referenced and effort is NOT a criterion.  

University policy on grading  and criteria for awarding grades for assessment tasks 

Assignments will be awarded grades ranging from HD to F according to guidelines set out in the University's Grading Policy. The following descriptive criteria are included for your information. 

Descriptive criteria for awarding grades in the unit 

In order to meet the unit outcomes and successfully pass this unit, students must make a genuine attempt at all assessment tasks. Where any submitted assessment task is considered to be unsatisfactory in this regard, the highest possible final grade that can be awarded for the unit will be 45. 

Students will be awarded grades ranging from HD to F according to guidelines set out in the policy: https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policies/assessment-in-effect-from-session-2-2016 

The following generic grade descriptors provide university-wide standards for awarding final grades. 

Note: If you fail a unit with a professional experience component the fail grade will be on your transcript irrespective of the timing of the placement. 

Results 

Results shown in iLearn, or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au. 

Units with Submissions of Family & Children’s Records 

Some assessment tasks require students to submit records about families and about children and their learning. It is expected that the records submitted are original, authentic, adhere to ethical practices and are the work of the student. Issues with the authenticity of such records will be investigated for possible forgery. Please note that submitted records can only be used once for assessment purposes. 

 Confidentiality 

Students must respect the need for sensitivity and confidentiality, and ensure that privacy obligations are met. There should be nothing in assessment submissions that identifies a centre or school. Use pseudonyms for any children or adults referred to in the assignment. Do not record details that enable identification of a site, or of children or adults. 

Withdrawing from this Unit 

If you are considering withdrawing from this unit, please seek academic advice via https://ask.mq.edu.au before doing so as this unit may be a co-requisite or prerequisite for units in the following sessions and may impact on your progression through the degree. 

About this unit

At Macquarie, our Masters programs are designed to help you, as educators, to respond to the challenges of changing educational environments by enabling you to develop, implement and evaluate innovative, evidence-based solutions which address educational problems or issues that arise in your organisation [Engaged and Responsible, Active and Ethical citizens].

In the course of your studies or your career you have no doubt developed specialist knowledge and skills and in this unit we ask you to apply these to a research project plan that will advance theory and practices and drive innovation and change in educational organisations and/or educational research methodologies. 

You will be required to apply and develop your knowledge and skills in three key areas which underlie scholarship in the discipline of education: accessing the most up to date sources of research and scholarship in Education; analysing and synthesising this highly technical literature [Critical, Analytical and Integrative Thinking]; and effectively communicating to both academic and non-academic audiences [Effective Communication].

The Australian Quality Framework, a national policy which regulates all post-secondary qualifications, requires that our Masters students, by the culmination of their studies, plan and execute a substantial research-based piece of scholarship in which they apply, with “creativity and initiative” and “high level personal autonomy and accountability”, the knowledge and skills they have acquired throughout their program. This unit will help you achieve and develop towards this goal. 

In this unit you will produce a substantial piece of scholarship relating to a problem or issue in educational theory, policy, or practice, which should be focused on enhancing learning in your organisation. In doing so you will draw upon all of the knowledge and skills you have developed in your studies and professional career, and you are encouraged to expand and refine your understanding of what you have already learnt throughout your program of study or professional career [Capable of Professional and Personal Judgment and Initiative].

Attendance Requirements

The work for the unit is to be completed online, via the unit’s ilearn site, although there is an open invitation to consult with the unit Convenor (online or by phone) to workshop your ideas. Pre-recorded ECHO recordings and podcasts are also available.

Teaching and Learning Strategies

A progressive task-based approach: The unit adopts a task-based approach wherein the learning activities support the development, and demonstration, of authentic knowledge and skills required by innovative educators. Further, the assessment tasks are progressive: earlier tasks scaffolding the development of the final assessment task. This assessment approach is known as formative assessment and the main type of feedback is often referred to as 'feed-forward' rather than feedback (see Hattie & Timperley, 2007). This allows each student time to reflect on the feedback they receive at each stage in the process, and this serves to enhance the quality of their final product.

Peer collaboration: Much of the formative feedback is provided by peers, which reflects the objective to promote a "collaborative approach to designing and implementing educational innovations”. Such an approach is desirable because educational organisations, the problems that arise within, and solutions to those problems, all involve complex social processes and effective innovation and change depends on leveraging social capital. The effective use of social capital, however, requires reciprocity, trust and cooperation, so one’s effectiveness as an innovator and change agent also depends upon one’s willingness to assist others to do likewise. Feedback will also be provided by the unit convenor.

Unit Expectations

Students are expected to locate, summarise, critically analyse, and synthesis materials relevant to their topic of interest and to submit assessment tasks by their due dates. Students are also expected to collaborate with peers through close engagement with the proposed interventions of fellow students and provision of feedback on the progress of these interventions. 

Required and recommended texts

There is no prescribed text for this unit. Each student will base their work on materials they locate using the library search skills they have developed during the course of their studies. Readings and guiding questions will be offered to you throughout the unit, but this is largely a unit of independent study and collaborative endeavour where you can should aim share and discuss resources you have found with other students in a collaborative manner. 

You are expected to read and apply an understanding of educational research methods for the purpose of proposed research and evaluation of your research project. We suggest the following research primer: 

Johnson, B., and Christensen, L. (2019). Educational Research: Qualitative, Quantitative and Mixed Approaches. (7th Edition). Thousand Oaks California: Sage.  

You are expected to read and apply an understanding of teacher leadership, organisational change and change management in educational organisations. This article is a useful starting point and mini-review:

Harris,A. & Jones,M. (2019) Teacher leadership and educational change, School Leadership & Management, 39(2), 123-126, DOI: 10.1080/13632434.2019.1574964

If your project involves teacher professional development you are required to read and apply an understanding of professional development theory and research:  e.g. https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/sites/default/files/product-files/Effective_Teacher_Professional_Development_REPORT.pdf

You can  also seek inspiration by reading a few stories about teacher-led interventions:

Teachers reflect on a reading intervention: https://www.teachermagazine.com.au/articles/intervention-strategies-a-student-perspective

Teachers reflect on a behaviourist intervention for students with learning support needs: https://www.teachermagazine.com.au/articles/intervention-programs-emphasising-progress

Do remember that primary-sources (e.g. original research reports published in journal articles) will be your main source of evidence for your reports as we expect all school innovations or interventions to be robustly evidence-based.

Electronic Communication

It is the student’s responsibility to check all electronic communication on a regular weekly basis.  Communication may occur via:

• Official MQ Student Email Address
• The Dialogue function on iLearn
• Other iLearn communication functions

Information about the unit iLearn site

• This unit has a full web presence through iLearn.
• Students will need regular access to a computer and the Internet to complete this unit.
• Weekly access to iLearn is compulsory for all students. Important assessment information will be posted here, as will other relevant unit notices and materials.

Access and technical assistance

• Information for students about access to the online component of this unit is available at ilearn.mq.edu.au/login/MQ/. You will need to enter your student username and password.
• Please do NOT contact the Unit Convenor regarding iLearn technical help.
• No extensions will be given for any technical issues. Allow enough time for your submissions.
• Assistance is available from IT Helpdesk ph: 1800 67 4357, or log a request at help.mq.edu.au. OneHelp is the online IT support service for both students and staff.

This unit requires students to use several ICT and software skills

• Internet access: The iLearn site contains materials for this unit; it is also required for the online submission of all Assessment Tasks, and for the use of Turnitin submission for ALL tasks. 
• Word processing, visual representations, and document formatting: You are required to use an appropriate form of software to present your assignments.
• Uploading of assessment tasks to iLearn.

This unit is arranged as a series of Tasks to be completed across the 13 weeks of the unit ( see the iLearn unit). There are no scheduled lectures or classes. You are expected to work independently to manage you time to meet the regular Task submission schedule. This will include regular peer collaboration that will be associated with the Task submissions. In Week 1 of classes you should listen to the Podcasts or ECHO recordings. You will find these located in the iLearn unit.