Students
FOHS3050 – Critical Communication
2020 – Session 2, Special circumstance
Notice
As part of Phase 3 of our return to campus plan, most units will now run tutorials, seminars and other small group learning activities on campus for the second half-year, while keeping an online version available for those students unable to return or those who choose to continue their studies online.
To check the availability of face to face activities for your unit, please go to timetable viewer. To check detailed information on unit assessments visit your unit's iLearn space or consult your unit convenor.
General Information
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| Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Susan Hoadley
|
|---|---|
| Credit points |
Credit points
10
|
| Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
80cp at 2000 level or above
|
| Corequisites |
Corequisites
|
| Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
|
| Unit description |
Unit description
This unit aims to develop effective communication skills for professional practice in diverse institutional, organisational and workplace contexts. The unit examines how communication functions in professional contexts to achieve individual and institutional outcomes that are ethical and socially responsible. Students will draw on existing knowledge of their discipline and relevant regulatory, ethical or social frameworks to identify the critical communication demands of their field, for example whilst interacting with clients and negotiating with stakeholders. At the same time, students will develop the communication skills, practices and strategies to respond to these demands. Key outcomes of the unit are the ability to create written, spoken and multi-modal texts for diverse audiences and purposes; an ePortfolio demonstrating professional communication skills, practices and strategies; and a personal learning and professional development plan for ongoing development of communication skills. As well as equipping students with communication skills for the workplace, the unit is suitable for students who plan to undertake further study and/or research in their discipline. |
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: Evaluate communication and its functions in your discipline and associated institutional, organisational, and workplace contexts.
- ULO2: Communicate the implications of regulatory, ethical, or social frameworks for professional practice in your discipline to diverse audiences using various modalities and technologies.
- ULO3: Develop skills, practices, and strategies to use communication to achieve ethical and socially responsible individual and institutional outcomes.
- ULO4: Critique your communication practices to inform future learning and professional development.
General Assessment Information
Late assessment task submissions
- Late submissions without an extension will receive a penalty of 3% of the total mark available for the assessment task per day including weekend days (i.e. this is 3% of the total marks possible for the task – NOT 3% of the marks the student received. For example, if the assessment task is worth 100 marks and the student is two days late their mark for the task is reduced by 6 marks.)
- Late submission of an assessment task without an extension will not be accepted at all:
- after the date on which marked assessment tasks have been released to the rest of the class at the unit convenor's discretion
- more than one week after the end of the teaching session at the unit convenor's discretion.
- Extensions will only be given in special circumstances, and can be requested by completing the Special Consideration request at ask.mq.edu.au and providing the requisite supporting documentation.
- Extensions that will result in submissions after the assessment task has been returned to the class will require a separate assessment task to be completed at the unit convenor's discretion.
- For more information on Special Consideration, see the university website https://students.mq.edu.au/study/my-study-program/special-consideration\
- If a student fails the unit due to non-submission of an assessment task or non-attendance at an exam, an FA grade will be applied in accordance with the University's Assessment Policy.
- Unit convenors have the discretion to determine whether or not students should fail a unit on the basis of lateness penalties alone if other learning outcomes of the unit have been met.
Assessment Tasks
| Name | Weighting | Hurdle | Due |
|---|---|---|---|
| Professional communication portfolio | 50% | No | Week 10 |
| Multimodal presentation | 20% | No | Week 4 |
| Personal learning and professional development plan | 30% | No | Week 13 |
Professional communication portfolio
Assessment Type 1: Portfolio
Indicative Time on Task 2: 50 hours
Due: Week 10
Weighting: 50%
Portfolio of professional texts with contrastive audiences (eg specialist v non-specialist), purposes (eg inform v persuade) and modes (eg written, spoken, multimodal) with accompanying critical, reflection commentary on regulatory, ethical or social framework(s) and the communication skills, practices and strategies used to achieve ethical and socially responsible individual and institutional outcomes through the texts. (Typically two significant professional texts commensate with spending 20 hours on each text, with a 500 word commentary on each text.)
On successful completion you will be able to:
- Evaluate communication and its functions in your discipline and associated institutional, organisational, and workplace contexts.
- Develop skills, practices, and strategies to use communication to achieve ethical and socially responsible individual and institutional outcomes.
Multimodal presentation
Assessment Type 1: Presentation
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: Week 4
Weighting: 20%
Students will research and present (face-to-face or online) on a regulatory, ethical or social framework that is relevant to their future profession or educational pathway. (Typically 3 minute presentation with 1 slide plus 2 minutes QA.)
On successful completion you will be able to:
- Communicate the implications of regulatory, ethical, or social frameworks for professional practice in your discipline to diverse audiences using various modalities and technologies.
- Develop skills, practices, and strategies to use communication to achieve ethical and socially responsible individual and institutional outcomes.
Personal learning and professional development plan
Assessment Type 1: Learning plan
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: Week 13
Weighting: 30%
Plan for ongoing development of communication skills in the workplace or future educational pathway. (Typically 2-4 pages.)
On successful completion you will be able to:
- Evaluate communication and its functions in your discipline and associated institutional, organisational, and workplace contexts.
- Critique your communication practices to inform future learning and professional development.
1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:
- the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
- the Writing Centre for academic skills support.
2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation
Delivery and Resources
Online lectures and other learning activities are provided via iLearn (the Macquarie University Learning Management System) each week.
Tutorials involving independent/collaborative learning activities and student-driven group/individual discussions to develop students’ communication knowledge/skills and scaffold the production of the texts required for the assessment tasks are delivered face-to-face and/or online.
Students must take responsibility for their own learning, prepare for tutorials and make a positive contribution to the unit learning community.
There is no prescribed text book for this unit.
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:
- Academic Appeals Policy
- Academic Integrity Policy
- Academic Progression Policy
- Assessment Policy
- Fitness to Practice Procedure
- Grade Appeal Policy
- Complaint Management Procedure for Students and Members of the Public
- Special Consideration Policy (Note: The Special Consideration Policy is effective from 4 December 2017 and replaces the Disruption to Studies Policy.)
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.