Overview of assessment requirements

This is a unit of study where each student develops an individual case study project. As a capstone unit, SPED8280 is designed to be an independent study unit with limited supervision. Please note that there are no compulsory seminars, classes nor lectures to attend for this unit. Nonetheless, there is a lot for you to do over the semester. It is very important that you get started immediately on your case study project.

Based on the knowledge and skills gained in your program of study, you are expected to design and implement a special education intervention. The program would normally be conducted in your workplace but, for full-time students, interventions may be conducted in the on-site school, in negotiation with the principal (Dr Sally Howell).  The project will normally be completed as part of your everyday teaching practice but ensure that you have any approvals that may be required by your employer. 

It would normally be expected that your intervention will consist of approximately 20 lessons over four weeks of instruction. Variations may be appropriate and these should be discussed with your supervisor. Your intervention may be with a class, small group or individual learner.

The program may address any relevant area (e.g., reading, math, social skills, communication) but must be approved by your supervising academic. The program may be one you have developed yourself or an appropriate commercial or packaged program. Please note that you may submit your assignments early. If you do so, notify your supervisor so they can be marked as soon as possible.

How do I get assistance?

Students are expected to design and implement the program with limited guidance from their supervisor. Students will, however, be able to contact the unit convenor (or other appointed supervisor) for guidance on specific questions at nominated times during the semester. The supervisor consultation times for the unit convenor are provided in this unit guide. Consultation times for other supervisors will be provided when students have determined their chosen area of study and have been allocated their supervisor. Note that consultation times will vary per supervisor and that supervisors will only be available at these times.

You may also ask questions on the General Discussion forum at any time but make sure you take care with regard to confidentiality (e.g., do not provide any identifying information regarding the schools or and students). 

Only responses to administrative questions will be addressed by dialog or email. Supervisors will not address questions related to your assessment or teaching programs via  dialog or email. Such questions should be addressed at a scheduled consultation time or via the general discussion forum. 

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.

Grading procedures

Students will be awarded grades ranging from HD to F according to guidelines set out in the University grade descriptors. Where the grades are used to report results for assessment components with significant weighting, convenors may also optionally add the suffixes of + (plus) or - (minus) to the generic descriptor in order to provide additional detail. For example:   

         Pass +

         Pass

         Pass -

In this case, a 'Pass +'  would indicate performance in the upper end of the pass range, a grade of 'Pass' would indicate a mid range pass and a 'Pass -' would indicate performance at the lower end of the pass range. This principle is applied to all grade descriptors ( i.e., HD, D, CR, P, F )

Raw scores for all assessments will be moderated according to the University guidelines so that work judged to be of a given standard is awarded a moderated score within the following distribution: High Distinction 85 - 100; Distinction 75 - 84; Credit 65 - 74; Pass 50 - 64; Fail 0 - 49.

For example, if it is judged that the HD standard for a particular assessment is met by work scoring 90 - 100, raw scores will be adjusted so that students received moderated scores between 85 and 100. This moderation takes into account both the stated performance standards for the assessment component and the degree of difficulty of the specific task.  

Assessment weighting

All assessment tasks must be attempted for students to be eligible for an overall passing grade in the unit. 

Students are required to gain an overall pass on the unit, but do not have to pass all assessment components. If you perform poorly on one component, you may compensate for this with a better performance in the other component. 

Consistent with the University Assessment Policy, moderated scores will be used in the calculation of final grades. The final unit score will be the weighted average of the moderated scores for 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.

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.

Resubmission

Students are required to gain an overall pass on the unit, but do not have to pass all assessment components. If you perform poorly on one component, you may compensate for this with an improved performance in the other component.  Resubmission is not permitted.

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. 

Appeals against final unit grades

See the Policies and Procedures section for details on appeals against Unit Grades.

Academic honesty and plagiarism

You must read the Academic Honesty Policy that is linked in the Policies and Procedures section of this guide.  

Important points:

• Close paraphrasing of another persons’ writing is considered to be plagiarism. You must express ideas using your own words.
• Claim of ignorance of the University policy on plagiarism is NOT a defence. If you do not understand the Academic Honesty policy, please seek advice from a member of the academic staff.

What is required for the assignments?

In general, good presentation, correct grammar, spelling and appropriate word choice will be expected. Express your ideas concisely and clearly.

Strict APA 7th edition referencing procedures should be used.

How do I submit my assignment?

You will submit your assignment through the iLearn website via the link in the Assessment section.

How do I know my assignment submission was successful?

Staff will NOT respond to requests to confirm that assignments have been correctly submitted. You will receive an email receipt on successful submission of your assignment in your student email account. Make sure that this has been received and retain this receipt. No claims will be considered regarding missing assignments without this receipt. You can also re-download your assignment to double-check it was submitted (see above). 

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 viahttps://ask.mq.edu.au/. This will ensure consistency in the consideration of such requests is maintained. 

Assignments received after the due date will be accepted provided they are received no later than 10 calendar days late. Note that this is a period of grace, not a new deadline, and extension requests for events after the original due date will not be considered. No assignment will be accepted after 10 days, except when an extension has been approved. Note that the 10 day period of grace applies only to the original due date. No period of grace applies when an extension has been granted. When an extension has been granted, the work must be submitted by the revised due date or a mark of zero will be awarded. ​

Late submissions without extension will receive a penalty of 5% reduction of the total possible mark for each day late (including weekends and public holidays). You are reminded that submitting even just 1 day late could be the difference between passing and failing a unit. Late penalties are applied by unit convenors or their delegates after tasks are assessed. 

No assessable work will be accepted after the return/release of marked work on the same topic. 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.

Please note that if you submit a late assignment or submit after the due date, you may only submit once. 

What if my hard drive crashed, my pet hippopotamus ate my computer, etc?

You are responsible for making sure your work is adequately backed up. Make sure your work is regularly backed up on a USB drive or to a cloud-based backup and don't leave your submission to the last minute. No extensions will be given for any technical issues. Allow enough time for your submissions. Always keep your hippopotamus and computer in separate rooms.

When is the deadline for submission?

The deadline is 11:55 pm on the due date. Note that this means you must submit BEFORE 11:55 pm. Note that it takes time to upload your assignment to Turnitin. This is normally quite quick but will depend on the speed of your internet connection at the time. The submission time is the time that assignment is recorded as received by Turnitin as we can not verify the time you started uploading. You need to allow time for the upload. Do not leave submission of your assignment to the last hours (or minutes).

What if my assignment is only 11 seconds late?

Late is late. Any submission after the deadline will be considered late. Do not leave submission of your assignment to the last hours (or minutes).

What if I accidentally submit a blank assignment, the wrong document, etc?

We can only mark what you submit. Make sure you re-download your assignment from the location that it was submitted and verify the correct document has been submitted. No consideration will be offered if you submit the incorrect document. You may submit your assignment as many times as you wish before the due date and only the last submitted version will be marked.

Final Submissions 

• Students are responsible for checking that their submission has been successful and has been submitted by the due date and time.
• Late submissions due to last minute technical difficulties will incur a lateness penalty.

How will I get feedback for my assignment?

Individual feedback will be provided electronically where you submitted your assignment. 

Assignment rubrics

Assignment rubrics and performance criteria will be available on the iLearn site in the Assessment section. 

Detailed Assignment Requirements

Proposal

Submit a brief proposal (100 words) maximum describing your project. You should include a description of your learners or learner, context in which the teaching will occur and the skill or skills to be taught.

Please notify Mark Carter via Dialogue if you submit early so your proposal can be examined ASAP. 

Assessment and Program Design

Report on student assessment procedures, analysis of results, justification and documentation of proposed program design. Length will vary depending on the details of your program but recommended length is 2,000 to 3,000 words. Note that your assignment must be submitted as a single file and the maximum size is 40mb. If you are including scanned content, ensure scans are at no more than 300 dots per inch to reduce file size. 

Details:

This assignment must be structured using the following headings. In all cases, sufficient detail should be provided to offer the marker with a clear understanding of what you have done (in the case of assessment) or are proposing (in the case of intervention). Appendices may be used for bulky and supplementary material and these do not contribute to the suggested word count.

1. Description of Learner(s) 

Provide a succinct description of the learner(s) to whom the skill will be taught. Normal ethical and professional standards apply here with regard to confidentiality and no identifying information should be provided. First names only or pseudonyms should be employed.

2. Description of Assessment Content and Procedures

Provide a clear and concise description of the assessment content (scope and sequence) as well as procedures used during the assessment.

3. Results and Interpretation of Assessment

Provide a comprehensive summary of the assessment results as well as a summary of the findings and implications for programming.

4. Instructional Objective or Objectives

An instructional objective or objectives should be presented appropriate to the skill or skills being taught.

5. Description of Intervention Program Including Monitoring

Provide a clear description of your proposed intervention and data collection strategies. The description of the intervention should include scope and sequence as well as teaching procedures and/or lesson plans, as appropriate.

6.  Justification of Proposed Intervention Program

Provide a justification of your proposed intervention program in relation to empirical research evidence. Your justification should consider the strength and extent of available evidence. Your justification may be in terms of specific techniques employed (e.g., progressive time delay fading) or, in the case of a commercial or package program, evaluation studies.

If you are using a commercial or package program there are additional requirements for your justification. In this instance, you are also expected to provide a clear and robust rationale for the selection of the program in relation to alternatives, with a comprehensive address of the relative strengths and weaknesses. You should also outline any adaptations or modifications that may be necessary for your learners. You must articulate the specific features of the program that make it the most appropriate option for your purpose, clearly indicating your understanding of the underlying principles relating to instruction and curriculum design. 

7. References

References should be presented in strict APA 7th edition format. 

Portfolio of Implementation

Portfolio of intervention program implementation including lesson plans, monitoring, and critical reflections and evaluations. Length will vary depending on the details of your program but recommended length is 2,000 to 3,000 words excluding your documentation of changes (sections 1 and 2) and appendices. It is expected that your program will involve at least 20 teaching sessions unless otherwise negotiated with your supervisor. Note that your assignment must be submitted as a single file and the maximum size is 40mb. If you are including scanned content, ensure scans are at no more than 300 dots per inch to reduce file size. 

Details:

This assignment must be structured using the following headings. In all cases, sufficient detail should be provided to offer the marker with a clear understanding of what you have done. Appendices may be used for bulky and supplementary material. 

1. Summary of Changes

Include a summary of changes made to your Assessment and Program Design in response to supervisor feedback at the start of this section.  

2. Copy of Description of Intervention Program Including Monitoring with Revisions

You must also include a copy of your Description of Intervention Program Including Monitoring (from the preceding assignment). You MUST indicate any revisions using the Track Changes feature of your word processor. 

PLEASE ONLY USE TRACK CHANGES FOR THIS SECTION OF YOUR ASSIGNMENT. 

3. Log of Teaching Sessions

Include a log of your teaching sessions including dates and content taught in each session. The log should simply be a table of the dates of your teaching sessions with a short description or list of content addressed. 

4. Results

You should include a clear summary of student performance data (e.g., graphs, tables) during your instruction. In addition, at the very least, three examples of raw data you collected should be provided.

Ensure that you provide information that is critical to understanding the results. For example, describe any changes made to instruction in response to student data. 

5. Interpretation and Critical Reflection

You should use and address each of the following subheadings in this section:

(a) Interpretation of the program with regard to effectiveness 

Provide a clear interpretation of your results including in relation to the set instructional objectives. 

(b) Justification of changes made to instruction in response to student data

 Justify any changes you made to your teaching program in response to student data. If appropriate, reference to relevant research may be made where changes were implemented. If no changes were made, justify why they were not necessary.

(c) Suggestions for changes or improvements to the program

Provide suggestions for any changes or improvements to the program that could be made but were not actually implemented with reference to relevant research if appropriate. 

6. References

References should be presented in strict APA 7th edition format.

Presentation

Presentation with 10 supporting slides in Microsoft Powerpoint format. The presentation should be limited to 12 minutes and markers will only mark up to this limit. Note that the maximum size for this submission is 40mb. If you are including scanned content, ensure scans are at no more than 300 dots per inch to reduce file size. The presentation MUST be submitted in Microsoft Powerpoint format. If you are using a alternative presentation software (e.g., Keynote), make sure that you can save your file in Powerpoint format. 

Detail:

Your presentation should be in the format of a narrated self-contained PowerPoint file with a maximum of 10 slides. The presentation should be set up to advance slides automatically.

An internet search for the following may assist:

• How to record narration in Powerpoint

• How to Run Powerpoint in Kiosk Mode

The assignment will be evaluated in the following areas:

• Comprehensiveness of presentation (addressing background, assessment, intervention, justification, monitoring (i.e., results), changes and critical reflections, etc., references).
• Clarity of presentation and appropriateness to professional audience

General organisation of the unit

The unit is organised in external mode only, and in a flexible delivery format. 

Delivery is designed such that students may seek as much or as little assistance as required in completing the unit. In flexible delivery units, it is critical that students are organised and disciplined. Please start your study as soon as possible.

Unit delivery: Teaching and learning activities

• Online presentations provide information and highlight key concepts.
• Forums provide students with the opportunity to ask question and discuss issues relevant to the unit. Contributions to the online discussion forum are not compulsory but can be a beneficial way of exchanging ideas and discussing unit content with other students. Although unit convenors typically check the Discussion Forums daily (on weekdays), they will not respond to all posts, as discussion between students may be more appropriate. Forums should be checked every 48 hours for important announcements. 
• Dialog allows students to communicate privately with the unit staff. Dialog should be checked every 48 hours for important information. 
• Zoom Meeting Consultations allow students to meet online with unit staff to discuss relevant issues
• Assessments allow students to refine and demonstrate achievement of unit learning outcomes. 

Technologies used and required

The unit uses an Ilearn web site. You may access the site from:

               https://ilearn.mq.edu.au

Zoom Meetings will be used for consultation. You can sign up to use the service for free (https://www.zoom.us) and download clients for computers and mobile devices here:

               https://www.zoom.us/download#client_4meeting

Classes

Classes or consultations are not compulsory but you can attend via Zoom Meetings. 

Please click this URL to start or join: https://macquarie.zoom.us/j/363113255

Note: If no students join the Zoom meeting in the first 10 minutes, the remainder of the session will be cancelled. 

There is no set text for this unit. students may find the following texts and readings from all units in their program of study relevant. 

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