Students

SPED8330 – Research into Practice in Special Education

2020 – Session 1, Infrequent attendance, North Ryde

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update

Due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, any references to assessment tasks and on-campus delivery may no longer be up-to-date on this page.

Students should consult iLearn for revised unit information.

Find out more about the Coronavirus (COVID-19) and potential impacts on staff and students

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Convenor
Mark Carter
Contact via Dialog on unit web site
29 Wally's Walk, Room 367
By appointment
Kathleen Tait
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
SPED832 or SPED8320
Corequisites Corequisites
SPED830 or SPED8300
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description
In consultation with a member of academic staff, students will develop their research skills through undertaking an approved research activity in the area of special education. Activities may include a systematic review of the literature, intervention, survey, policy analysis or program evaluation. It is envisaged that the final product will be of high quality and be in a condition close to that expected of a manuscript ready for submission to a refereed journal.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • ULO1: Develop high-level skills in literature search strategies and data-base interrogation.
  • ULO2: Analyse, synthesise and critique the research literature in a topic in special education and creatively develop a defensible research question.
  • ULO3: Develop and justify appropriate methodologies to investigate a research question including a consideration of relevant ethical issues.
  • ULO4: Implement research strategies appropriate to the defined research question.
  • ULO5: Critically synthesise and evaluate the outcomes of the research activity.
  • ULO6: Communicate the results of the research activity employing appropriate academic conventions.

Assessment Tasks

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update

Assessment details are no longer provided here as a result of changes due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Students should consult iLearn for revised unit information.

Find out more about the Coronavirus (COVID-19) and potential impacts on staff and students

General Assessment Information

General Information

Overview of assessment requirements This is an individual unit of study where each student develops a research project, usually a systematic review. Based on the knowledge and skills gained in your program of study, you are expected to develop a proposal and implement your project.  

NOTE If students are considering doing a project involving human participants (requiring ethics approval), they should contact the convenor at least 6 months prior to enrolling in the unit. Human research ethics approval involves considerable planning and the process can take several months.

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 research project.

Supervisor consultation 

Students are expected to design and implement the project 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 by 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. 

Only responses to administrative questions will be addressed by dialog or email. Supervisors will not address questions related to your project via dialog or email. Such questions should be addressed at a scheduled consultation time or posted in the General Discussion forum. 

Grading procedures

Results for assessments will be reported as Grades (i.e., HD, D, Cr, P, F) consistent with 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.

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.

Appeals against grades for individual assessment components

If any student has concern about the marking of an assessment, they must:

• Consult the member of staff who marked the work.

• If there is no satisfactory resolution, an appeal should be made in writing to the unit convenor within one week of the marked assessment being returned or of results being made available. The student should explicitly state the basis of the appeal.

The Unit convenor will review the marking and may, at their discretion, ask for a re-marking by a second marker. If re-marking by a second marker is judged appropriate, the final mark will normally be the average of the two marks awarded for the assessment task. Students should note that the revised mark for the task may be higher, the same, or lower than the original mark.

Please note that it is policy to double mark all failing assessments. The decision of the unit convenor is final.

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 Integrity 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 Integrity Policy  please seek advice from a member of the academic staff.

General requirements

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

Assignments should be consistent with APA Publication Guidelines. In particular, attention should be given to referencing, levels of headings and tables and figures. Quotations should be used sparingly. Normally, no more than one quotation in an assignment is appropriate. Tables and diagrams may be used to summarise data or illustrate points.

Referencing

Your assignment should be formatted according to APA 7th Edition guidelines.

IT IS A SPECIFIC REQUIREMENT OF THIS UNIT THAT YOU USE A PAGE NUMBER WHENEVER YOU REFER TO A SPECIFIC CONCLUSION OR POINT MADE BY AN AUTHOR. THIS APPLIES TO ALL CITATIONS, NOT JUST QUOTATIONS. IN MOST INSTANCES YOU WILL NEED TO USE A PAGE NUMBER WHEN CITING A SOURCE. AN AUTOMATIC PENALTY OF 5% WILL APPLY IF YOU FAIL TO GIVE PAGE NUMBERS WHEN REFERRING TO A SPECIFIC PART OF A SOURCE. PLEASE NOTE THAT THE REQUIREMENT FOR PAGE NUMBERS FOR EVERY CITATION IS OVER AND ABOVE THE NORMAL APA REQUIREMENT.

How do I submit my assignment?

A link for assignment submission will be provided on the web site 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. 

Can I get an extension and what are the late penalties? 

Applications for extensions must be made via AskMQ at https://ask.mq.edu.au as a “Special Consideration" request before the submission date. Students who experience a disruption to their studies through ill-health or misadventure are able to apply for this request. Extensions can only be granted if they meet the Special Consideration policy and are submitted via ask.mq.edu.au. This will ensure consistency in the consideration of such requests is maintained.

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

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 special consideration, 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.

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

Computer problems will not be accepted as reasons for extensions. 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. 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.

When preparing your assignments, it is essential that:

• Students regularly save a copy of all assignments before submission.

• Unless there are exceptional circumstances, no assessment will be accepted after the date that the assessment has been returned to other students.

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.

Assignment rubrics

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

How will I get feedback on my assignment?

Your marked assessment task, along with feedback information, will be returned electronically.

 

Detailed Information on Assignments

Nomination Interest

Due: 3/3/19 before 11:55pm Weighting: 0%

You need to nominate a general area of interest so a supervisor can be assigned. Examples of areas of interest include non-verbal communication in autism, vocabulary instruction in low progress readers, spelling instruction, teaching money skills to children with disabilities, etc.

Areas of interest should be nominated via the Assignment section of the web site.

Once your general area is nominated, you will be assigned a supervisor via the Assignment section of the website.

Nomination of Topic

Prior to commencing your proposal, a brief description of your topic must be submitted for approval via the Assignment section of the web site. This should be completed by the due date at the latest but the earlier the better. Your topic description should be a maximum of 100 words and should describe what you intend to examine (e.g., use of tangible symbols in people with intellectual and sensory disability) and the form the project will take (e.g., systematic review, narrative review, research study). The most common format will be a systematic review. Narrative reviews can only be conducted after negotiation with your supervisor. Note that research studies will typically require ethics approvals from the University Human Research Ethics Committee and usually from outside agencies. This can take many months and studies are usually only possible with negotiation prior to the commencement of the semester.

If you submit early, please notify your supervisor via email so they can examine the topic.

If your supervisor rejects your topic, you need to submit a revised  or alternative topic as soon as possible.

You should not start your proposal until the topic is approved.

Proposal

You need to receive approval of your topic from your supervisor prior to commencing this assignment.

In this assignment you will present a brief proposal for your project. The assignment must comply strictly with APA 7th Edition guidelines. You need to present an overview of the available reviews or studies relevant to your area of research that provides justification for your research questions, the research questions, a brief overview of your methodology and a bibliography of research studies relevant to your assignment. You must use the following headings:

  • Copy of Approved Nomination of Topic (exact approved wording)*
  • Background and Justification for Research Questions
  • Research Questions
  • Brief Overview of Methodology (maximum 400 words for reviews)
  • References*
  • Bibliography of 10 relevant research studies including the abstract for each (use APA block quote format for abstracts). In the case of a review, these MUST be appropriate for inclusion in the review. *
  • Completed checklist*

 * NOTE: These items do not count toward the recommended word length. The checklist provided on the website must be submitted with your assignment. Your assignment will not be marked if the completed checklist is not submitted.

The assignment will be evaluated in the following areas:

  • Structure
    • Background and Justification for Research Questions
    • Research Questions
    • Brief Overview of Methodology
    • Bibliography of at 10 Relevant Research Studies. 
  • Expression
  • APA style

The suggested length (excluding reference list and bibliography) is 1,200 -1,500 words. There may be some variation in length depending on the nature of the topic but submissions are expected to be concise. Submissions that are not efficient in their use of words are likely to be viewed negatively in marking.

Please note that you may submit your assignment early. If you do so, notify your supervisor so it can be marked as soon as possible.

Final Research Project

The assignment should be in the form of a journal submission ready article and comply strictly with APA 7th Edition guidelines.  The assignment may take the form of a systematic review, narrative review or study, as negotiated with your supervisor.

The assignment should generally include:

  • Title page
  • Abstract
  • Introduction (including research questions)
  • Method (including search strategy where relevant)
  • Results (must include assessment of quality for reviews)
  • Discussion
  • Conclusion
  • References
  • Tables (if relevant)
  • Figures (if relevant)
  • Checklist*

*NOTE: The checklist does not count toward the recommended word length. The checklist provided on the website must be submitted with your assignment. Your assignment will not be marked if the completed checklist is not submitted.

An example of the expected format is provided on pages 49-60 of the APA 7th Edition Manual.  The assignment should be submitted via the Assignment section of the unit iLearn site.  Please see the General Assessment Information section for detail regarding submission, formatting, and general standards.

The assignment will be evaluated in the following areas

  • Structure
    • Abstract
    • Introduction
    • Method
    • Results (must include assessment of quality for reviews)
    • Discussion
    • Conclusion
    • References
    • Tables (if relevant)
    • Figures (if relevant)
  • Cogency of synthesis
  • Quality of critical analysis
  • Expression
  • APA style

The suggested length excluding reference list and tables is 5,000 - 6,000 words. Students considering work over the suggested 6,000 word length should consult their supervisor(s). There may be some variation in length depending on the nature of the topic but journal ready submissions are expected to be concise. Submissions that are not efficient in their use of words are likely to be viewed negatively in marking.

 

Delivery and Resources

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update

Any references to on-campus delivery below may no longer be relevant due to COVID-19.

Please check here for updated delivery information: https://ask.mq.edu.au/account/pub/display/unit_status

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.

Students are expected to complete this unit with a high degree of independence. Some presentations on key aspects of the project will be offered on-campus and/or online. See the Unit Schedule section of this guide for details. 

Supervisor Consultation Times

If the unit convenor is not your supervisor, they will nominate specific consultations times. If the unit convenor is your supervisor, the Zoom meeting times must be used for consultation. 

Note that only administrative matters will be dealt with via Dialog or email and detail of your project will NOT be discussed. You must attend a Zoom meeting (see below) to discuss your project.

Unit delivery: Teaching and learning activities

  •  Online presentations provide information and highlight key concepts. 

    A number of sessions have been pre-recorded and are available in the iLearn site. You should watch these as early as possible in the semester. 

  •  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. 

Resources

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 with the unit convenor. 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

Unit Schedule

Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update

The unit schedule/topics and any references to on-campus delivery below may no longer be relevant due to COVID-19. Please consult iLearn for latest details, and check here for updated delivery information: https://ask.mq.edu.au/account/pub/display/unit_status

 

This is an external unit. Zoom meeting consultation times for the unit convenor are as follows. 

To join from a PC, Mac, iPad, iPhone or Android device, please click this URL:

https://macquarie.zoom.us/j/870158199​

Date

Time

Meeting

27/2 

6.00pm

Overview - Zoom Meeting 

5/3

6.00pm

Open consultation -  Zoom Meeting  (Mark Carter)

12/3

6.00pm

Open consultation -  Zoom Meeting  (Mark Carter)

19/3

6.00pm

Open consultation -  Zoom Meeting  (Mark Carter)

26/3

6.00pm

Open consultation -  Zoom Meeting  (Mark Carter)

2/4

6.00pm

Open consultation -  Zoom Meeting  (Mark Carter)

 

 

30 minute individual consultation times will be offered when the proposals  have been marked. Please book your time on the iLearn site when they are made available. 

 

7/5

6.00pm

Open consultation -  Zoom Meeting  (Mark Carter)

14/5

6.00pm

Open consultation -  Zoom Meeting  (Mark Carter)

21/5

6.00pm

Open consultation -  Zoom Meeting  (Mark Carter)

28/5

6.00pm

Open consultation -  Zoom Meeting  (Mark Carter)

4/6

6.00pm

Open consultation -  Zoom Meeting  (Mark Carter)

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

 

 

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policy-central). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Students seeking more policy resources can visit the Student Policy Gateway (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/student-policy-gateway). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

If you would like to see all the policies relevant to Learning and Teaching visit Policy Central (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policy-central).

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/study/getting-started/student-conduct​

Results

Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) 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 or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

Learning Skills

Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to help you improve your marks and take control of your study.

The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources. 

Student Services and Support

Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.

Student Enquiries

For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au

If you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.

Required Unit Materials and Readings

There is no textbook for the unit but readings will be available from the library. You will need to consult the APA publication manual. This is available from the Library but you may wish to purchase a copy (hard or electronic).

American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000

 

Withdrawing from this Unit

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.