• Students should be aware of and apply the University policy on academic honesty (see: https://policies.mq.edu.au/document/view.php?id=3)
• Unless a Special Consideration (see: https://students.mq.edu.au/study/assessment-exams/special-consideration) request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (of the total possible mark) will be applied each day a written assessment is not submitted, up until the 7th day (including weekends). After the 7th day, a mark of‚ 0 (zero) will be awarded even if the assessment is submitted. Submission time for all written assessments is set at 11.55pm. A 1-hour grace period is provided to students who experience a technical issue.
• This late penalty will apply to non-timed sensitive assessment (incl essays, reports, posters, portfolios, journals, recordings etc). Late submission of time sensitive tasks (such as tests/exams, performance assessments/presentations, scheduled practical assessments/labs etc) will only be addressed by the unit convenor in a Special consideration application. Special Consideration outcome may result in a new question or topic.
• Please format assessments using 12-point font and 1.5 spacing.
• All assessments are submitted electronically. Turnitin plagiarism detection software is used to check all written assessments.
• Students can use Turnitin’s Originality Report as a learning tool to improve their academic writing if this option is made available in the unit.
• Students should carefully check that they submit the correct file for an assessment as no re-submissions will be accepted after the due date and time, including instances where students upload an incorrect file in error.
• Word limits are strictly applied. Work above the word limit will not be marked.
• All assessments are marked using a rubric.
• Marking of all assessments is moderated by the Unit Convenor.
• Applications for extensions must be made via AskMQ (https://ask.mq.edu.au/).
• It is not the responsibility of unit staff to contact students who have failed to submit assessments.  If you have any missing items of assessment, it is your responsibility to make contact with the unit convenor.

Quiz Assessments

Online quizzes are an individual assessment task and MUST BE COMPLETED by each student individually. Similarities in responses between students will be checked and investigated for possible collusion.

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

Assignments will be awarded grades ranging from HD to F according to guidelines set out in the University's Grading Policy. For Professional Experience units the PE Report is marked as satisfactory or unsatisfactory and the Teaching Performance Assessment (in final PE units) is marked as not meets, meets or exceeds. 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.

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 course progression.

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

A variety of readings will be used throughout this course, and where possible we aim to ensure that these are freely and electonically available. More information will be provided on the iLearn site.

The following textbook covers most of the content discussed in this unit. A new copy of the 7th edition is expensive, but you may be able to find a cheaper second hand version. Alternatively, an earlier edition is fine and you may find a freely available copy with a quick search of the internet.

Johnson, B., and Christensen, L. (2019). Educational Research: Qualitative, Quantitative and Mixed Approaches. (7th Edition). Thousand Oaks California: Sage.

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.

Weekly access to iLearn is compulsory for all students, but we recommend checking more regularly (preferably daily). Important assessment information will be posted here, as will other relevant unit notices and materials. Various activities and materials for discussion and critical reflection are included, along with electronic links and suggested references. Weekly lectures are available on the web through the ECHO360 lecture component or will be posted as Powerpoint files or other online videos. 

Access and technical assistance

Information for students about access to the online component of this unit is available at https://ilearn.mq.edu.au/login/index.php. You will need to enter your student username and password.

Please do NOT contact the Unit Convenor regarding iLearn technical help.

Assistance is available from IT Helpdesk

Ph: 9850 4357 or 1800 67 4357

Email: help.mq.edu.au.

On Campus: Ground floor at 18 Wally’s Walk

This unit comprises 2 core research blocks - qualitative methods and quantitative methods. Within each block multiple staff members with expertise in a particular methodology will lead each week. This unit follows a flipped delivery - while there may be some differences from week to week depending on the lecturer, generally you will be provided with content presentations to listen to in your own time, along with some additional tasks to develop your understanding or apply your knowledge. In some weeks there will also be a virtual meeting - please try and attend these as they are an opportunity to reflect on your learning, think about how your new knowledge can be applied in your own research plans, and ask the staff member questions about the content. The staff member leading each week will provide specific details on the iLearn site.  If you have any concerns please contact the unit convenor. Please be tolerant of slight differences in style between the lecturers - they have been chosen because they are experts in that particular methodology, not because they all teach in exactly the same way!!

The following table gives an overview of topics covered in each each week.

The 5Rs Framework, developed by the School of Education at Macquarie University, is embedded throughout your teacher education course. Your use of the 5Rs Framework will help you develop the capabilities that will make your teaching career sustainable and fulfilling. In this unit, you will learn using the 5Rs framework in the following important ways:

RESILIENT: For many students, the content of this unit will be completely new and may seem daunting and challenging. Students are encouraged to seek support from, and provide support to, other students in the unit. Students are also encouraged to plan ahead and manage their workload.

REFLEXIVE: Students engage critically with research evidence and the methodological rigor of that evidence. They are expected to make meaningful links between the research, their own professional context and experience, and their own research ideas.

RESPONSIVE: Research methods highlight the communities that impact on practice - students, families, educators, cultures, and systems. This unit requires students to identify an educational issue and to develop a research plan to examine that issue. The ultimate aim of the unit is to develop teachers as researchers who can identify important educational issues, and who will be able to evaluate and conduct research that impacts at all levels of the community.

READY TO LEARN: Students identify their own research topic (of personal and professional interest to them) that will be the focus of their research plan and to which they will apply their newly acquired knowledge of methodological approaches.

RESEARCH ENGAGED: Students are exposed to various research approaches and complete assignments which assess their research knowledge and their ability to critically evaluate research studies. The final assignment draws together their learning in the submission of a research plan for a study.