• 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 clear marking scheme or 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. 

Units with Quiz Assessments 

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. 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 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. 

Recommended text books.

These books are useful references to help you with your academic writing.

American Psychological Association (2020). Concise guide to APA style 7^th edition. The official APA Style Guide for Students. Washington, DC. ISBN:978-1-4338-3273-4

Faigley, L., Carey, M., & Munoz, G. (2017). The Little Pearson Handbook 4^th edition, (An academic writing skills and grammar textbook). Pearson Education Australia, Melbourne, Victoria. ISBN 9781488616846.

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. Important assessment information will be posted here, as will other relevant unit notices and materials, including a reading template and guide to lecture note taking to assist your studies. 

Various activities and materials for discussion and critical reflection are included and students enrolled in INFQ mode are especially encouraged to use this web component. Electronic links and suggested references will be included in the Resources section. Please check the iLearn unit regularly.  

Weekly lectures are available on the web through the ECHO360 lecture component. You must listen to and make notes for all lectures. 

PowerPoint slides are available in iLearn in advance of the weekly lecture and/or are available in the Active Learning Tool.  

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  

Log a request: help.mq.edu.au. 

On Campus: Ground floor at 18 Wally’s Walk 

Structure 

The unit structure can be found in the university timetable https://timetables.mq.edu.au/2023/  In the tutorial students will discuss issues and questions arising from the lectures and prescribed readings. They are expected to base their arguments/discussions on evidence from published research and other relevant material. There will be a supporting iLearn site for the unit providing additional readings, links and materials.  

The weekly program for the course with the accompanying readings/ preparation is available on the following pages or on the unit iLearn site. 

Check iLearn for details.

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. The 5 Rs are:

Resilience practiced inside and outside of the classroom.

Reflexive in their teaching practice.

Responsive to students, colleagues, parents and professional communities.

Ready to learn.

Research engaged throughout their career.

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

Resilience will be developed through a major focus on critical thinking skills via exposure to a diversity of ideas (i.e., problematic knowledge) which challenge belief systems and academic orthodoxy. Tutorial and assessment tasks encourage reflection on pseudo-science perpetuated within teacher education programs and their comprehension from a critical thinking lens. The subject develops research and investigative skills, i.e., students critically evaluate a range of claims and evidence from a number of academic and non-academic sources.