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.

Draft Submissions & Turnitin Originality Reports

• 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 the correct file has been uploaded, that their submission has been successful, and that it 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 - 10/100 marks of credit (10% of the total assessment weighting) will be deducted per day for assignments submitted after the due date – and (b) no assignment will be accepted seven days (incl. weekends) after the original submission deadline. No late submissions will be accepted for timed assessment - e.g., quizzes, online tests. A zero result for the assignment will be recorded after the late submission period has ended if no task has been received.

• 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:

• Please do not request a re-mark for a Failed assessment as they are all double-marked as a part of the moderation process.
• 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

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.

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.

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.

Required and recommended texts

The prescribed text for this unit is:

Ridden, P. & De Nobile, J. (2012). Keys to School Leadership. Camberwell Vic: ACER Press.

This text will provide the basic initial reading for each topic/module. Additional readings will be prescribed each week. These will be journal articles or research reports available via Leganto in the right hand menu bar or via Google search.

A significant part of the assessment weighting in this Unit relates to how well you can demonstrate your understanding of, and ability to apply, the readings recommended for the Unit. Some topics also list recent reports on educational leadership, available on the internet for free, and you are encouraged to download and read these as well. If, in addition to this material, you would like to refer to a text as supplementary material, two are recommended. The first is a detailed but general leadership text, and the second focussed on leadership in education:

Dubrin, A. J., Dalglish, C. & Miller, P. (2006), Leadership - 2nd Asia-Pacific Edition. Melbourne: John Wiley & Sons.

Duignan, P. (2012), Educational Leadership - Together creating ethical learning environments (2e). Cambridge, UK : Cambridge University Press.

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.

This unit comprises 4 Modules covering 10 topics relating to educational leadership. These are all accessible via iLearn as are the related discussion forums, online seminars and other activities. 

Please see iLearn for the following important documents:

* Curriculum (containing details of modules and the key readings)

* Assessment (containing detailes of each assessm,ent task)

The Department of Educational Studies recognises the Darug people as the traditional custodians of the land upon which we learn and teach. In particular, we would like to acknowledge the Wattamattagal clan of the Darug Nation, the traditional custodians of this land, whose cultures and customs have nurtured and continue to nurture the land on which we are meeting and learning. Their interaction with the land over such a long time suggests there is much we can learn from them about sustainability and respect for the environment. 

The local totem of the Wattamattagal clan is Wallumai, a black snapper fish that has been described this way: "shy but clever fish, who uses the shadows and patterns created by the mangroves to protect the younger fish. The mangroves are their nursery, their school and their home. The mangroves represent life – the obstacles and tangles that we need to navigate. Once we learn the right path to take, we are safe in that knowledge and in our lives"¹. 

¹ Walanga Muru. Accessed from https://www.mq.edu.au/about/about-the-university/our-commitment-to-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-peoples 

The 5Rs Framework

At Macquarie University we aim to produce graduates who not only have relevant discipline knowledge and teaching know-how, but who also understand and strive for those capabilities that will make teaching a sustaining career for years to come. Embedded in all our teaching courses is the Macquarie’s 5R’s framework which helps develop our graduates to be:

1. Resilient

2. Reflexive in their teaching practice

3. Responsive to children, colleagues, parents, professionals and communities

4. Ready to learn, and

5. Research engaged

In this unit you will learn using the 5Rs framework in the following ways: