General Faculty Policy on assessment submission deadlines and late submissions: 

*Online quizzes, in-class activities, or scheduled tests and exam must be undertaken at the time indicated in the unit guide. Should these activities be missed due to illness or misadventure, students may apply for Special Consideration.

All other assessments must be submitted by 5:00 pm on their due date. Should these assessments be missed due to illness or misadventure, students should apply for Special Consideration.

Assessments not submitted by the due date will receive a mark of zero unless late submissions are specifically allowed as indicated in the unit guide or on iLearn.

*If late submissions are permitted as indicated in the unit guide or on iLearn a consistent penalty will be applied for late submissions as follows: 

A 12-hour grace period will be given after which the following deductions will be applied to the awarded assessment mark: 12 to 24 hours late = 10% deduction; for each day thereafter, an additional 10% per day or part thereof will be applied until five days beyond the due date. After this time, a mark of zero (0) will be given. For example, an assessment worth 20% is due 5 pm on 1 January. Student A submits the assessment at 1 pm, 3 January. The assessment received a mark of 15/20. A 20% deduction is then applied to the mark of 15, resulting in the loss of three (3) marks. Student A is then awarded a final mark of 12/20.

*MOLS3002 does not have quizzes, scheduled tests or exams. Late submission of assessment tasks are permitted, with the above penalties.

Off-shore students

Off-shore students must email the convenor as soon as possible to discuss study options.

COVID Information and on-campus classes

On-campus teaching continues to be scheduled for Session 1, 2022. Masks are compulsory for all classes in indoor spaces and social distancing will be implemented wherever possible. Students will also be required to sanitise surfaces before and after use.

Students are requested to minimise the risk of spreading COVID to themselves and others in accordance with the university and NSW Health guidelines: https://www.mq.edu.au/about/coronavirus-faqs and https://www.nsw.gov.au/covid-19/stay-safe.

Any further requirements or changes to units in relation to COVID will be communicated to students via iLearn.

Required Reading

There is no textbook recommended.  Instead Mols3002 makes use of web-based teaching resources on the unit iLearn web site (see below for more information).  This includes resources especially designed for PACE units.  

iLearn Unit Web Page and Other Technology

The web page for this unit can be found at ilearn.mq.edu.au.  Just login and follow the prompts to Mols3002.

It is essential that you login to the unit iLearn web site on a regular basis.  As well as web-based teaching resources, the iLearn web site will also provide other support for this unit, including an Announcement board for important notices, Discussion Forums, and access to your grades.  

Please note information will also be sent by email to your student email account, incuding as calendar invites for events, so please look at your email account on a frequent basis.

Teaching and Learning Strategies

Mols3002 will consist of a mixture of face to face training workshops and group discussion sessions, presentations, online discussions and interactive science activities.  There will be a 2 hour dedicated session most weeks of both semesters for training workshops, seminars, discussion sessions and reflections and critiquing.  The community engagement activities – the experiential science activities component of the unit – will be timetabled once the dates are known.  Enrolled students will identify which activities they can be a part of.  The range of activities provided over the year will allow sufficient choice for all students to be a part of many wonderful science outreach events.

Introduction:  Week 1 will be a meet and greet session to get to know everyone's interests in the unit, the strengths you bring to the unit and the potential areas of growth and will also include discussion on reflective practice.

Meetings/group discussions:   From weeks 2-8, the focus will be on workshops related to mentoring, working with children, working with Indigenous people and reflective practices, and an introduction to the overall science outreach activities to be undertaken and appropriate safe practices. These sessions will also be used throughout the year to discuss about upcoming activities, including with other teaching staff and community partners, to prepare and plan for the actual activities and evaluate and improve on resources; and following activities, to critique their effectiveness and consider changes needed for improvement.  These sessions will also be used to reflect more broadly.

Online Discussion:  You are expected to participate regularly in online discussion using the iLearn Discussion forum about the unit content, science activities and methods of presentation, and issues that may arise, as well as reflect more broadly.

Experiential Activities:  The experiential component will involve engaging community (eg school students) in science activities including those of relevance to everyday life (eg examining the microscopic world, extracting DNA from fruit, making slime from wood glue and borax).  The activities will be spread throughout the year.  At least 40 hours of direct interaction with the community with the science activities will be expected from you and at least an average of 10 hours committed to the preparation and 10 hours to reflection on these activities.  

Reflection:  Reflection will be a particularly important tool for you in this unit.  The participation activities will inherently challenge your approaches, ideas, and understandings about the communities around us and the communication of science therein.  You will keep an on-going journal reflecting on your experiences and at the end of each semester, be required as a part of your assessment to present to fellow students and staff about the key achievements and the impact of the science engagement activities on you.

Workload expectation:  Your overall workload across the unit is 150 hours in total. 

Who to Contact

A/Prof Joanne Jamie is the convenor of this unit and should be your main point of contact.  Ian Jamie is co-convenor and will also be involved in most of the classes and experiential components. You will get to meet the other staff during scheduled sessions and/or during the various activities.  They will all be happy to help in answering questions relevant to their expertise throughout this unit.  You are encouraged to direct any questions or queries first to A/Prof Jamie, who will pass them on to the other teaching staff as needed.  A/Prof Jamie has an open door policy, but you are encouraged to phone or email to organise a meeting.  You may also wish to ask questions using the discussion board on the ilearn website.

Feedback

We are always open to suggestions for improving the content and delivery of this course.  We are very happy to receive any constructive criticism that you may wish to provide. We hope you find this course both educational and fun! 

The orientation/introduction will involve classes and directed reading of online resources and workshops related to mentoring, working with children, working with Indigenous people and ethical aspects, reflective practice and an introduction to various science outreach activities (and appropriate safety practices) that Mols3002 will encompass (weeks 1-8).  Scaffolding for skills and knowledge development will include hands-on workshops early on to familiarise you with the main types of science experiments used in the science outreach activities and role playing with your peers (week 2-8).  This orientation/introduction and knowledge development will contribute 10% of the mark. 

Developing knowledge will also come from completion of a written report of ~1500 words (10%) on why such outreach/community engagement is important, especially to those in groups previously under-represented in higher education, and an example from the literature showing how such outreach can improve educational outcomes.  This will be submitted in week 5.  You will also attend weekly 2 hour meetings throughout S1 and S2 (excluding mid-session and mid-year breaks) to discuss as a group about upcoming activities, including with community partners, to prepare and plan for the actual activities and evaluate and improve on resources; and following activities to critique their effectiveness and consider changes needed for improvement. The active participation in these meetings will contribute 10% towards the assessment total. Feedback on this participation will be provided to allow opportunity for improvement. 

The experiential component will incorporate the science activities with the community and on-going reflection.  A range of science activities will be available.  Activities and interaction with partner organisations will occur throughout the year subsequent to the initial orientation and familiarisation exercises. The activities will be spread throughout the year.  At least 40 hours of direct interaction with the community with the science activities will be expected and an average of 10 hours committed to the preparation.  This experiential component will be worth 50%.  Feedback from peers and the community participants will be sought to determine your level of engagement and commitment.  You will be expected to spend at least 10 hours reflecting on these specific activities and their impact.

You will undertake reflective practice as part of an on-going journal reflecting on your activities – to be filled in throughout the semester both before and following each science activity and class session. As part of this reflection process, an open web forum will be available for you to discuss your experiences online, as well as a private reflection site.  These written reflections will contribute 10% towards the assessment. Feedback on your written reflections will be provided midway through S1 and S2 and at the end of S1 and S2.

In week 12/13 of S1 and S2, you will provide a 5 minute presentation describing the impact of the engagement activities on yourself and others as part of a debrief wrap up session to the class.  This will contribute 10% towards the assessment. 

There will be no exam.

To summarise on assessment tasks:

Orientation/introduction and skills/knowledge development – attendance and active participation in weekly meetings/workshops and reading online resources 10% (weeks 1-8, S1 on introductory components, plus throughout via 2 hr weekly meetings (10%) PLUS ~1500 word report 10% (week 5, S1). (Total of 30% of assessment)

Experience/project – a minimum of 40 hours of direct community engagement will be expected of each student.  Community engagement will be worth 50% (through academic, self-, peer- and community-assessment). 

Reflection - Reflective practice (through journal entries will be worth 10%). Class presentations will be worth 10%. (Total of 20% of assessment)

Wrap up/debrief – presentations as above and general discussions occurring.

Your final mark will be an aggregate mark from all the assessment tasks.

Written reflections are now due midway in S1 and S2 and at the end of S1 and S2 (rather than just at the end of S1 and S2), to encourage students to reflect frequently. Feedback will also be given quarterly on overall progress in group discussions and the experiential components.