Academic honesty

• At all times, students should be aware of and apply the Macquarie University policy on academic honesty (https://policies.mq.edu.au/document/view.php?id=3)

 

Assessment preparation guidelines

• Allow a left and right-hand margin of at least 2cm in all assignments.
• All assignments should be typed using a minimum of Arial,12-point font and SINGLE spacing for ePortfolio.
• A complete ePortfolio checklist must be included.
• Students must use the Turnitin Similarity Report as a learning tool to improve their academic writing and, in consideration of the report outcome, attend to any potential academic integrity issues, prior to submission of the final version of the assignment.
• Students are strongly encouraged to upload a draft copy of each assignment to Turnitin at least one week prior to the due date to obtain a Turnitin Similarity Report. The Turnitin Similarity 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.

 

Assessment submission guidelines

• The assignment title page should include the student’s name, student number, unit code, title of the assessment and correct submitted word count.
• All assignments must be submitted electronically through Turnitin as a word document – do not submit as a pdf.
• It is the responsibility of the student to ensure that all assignments are successfully submitted through Turnitin - 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.  
• For written assignments in SPED8909 a Turnitin Similarity Report is NOT required to be submitted.

 

Application for Special Consideration – extensions

• Applications for Special Consideration - extensions must be made via AskMQ (https://ask.mq.edu.au/).

 

Late submission of assessments

• 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 7^th day, a mark of zero (0) 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 (including 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.

 

Assessment marking

• Word limits are not applied to SPED8909 assignments.
• All assessments are marked using a rubric.
• Marking of all assessments is moderated by the Unit Convenor.
• Turnitin plagiarism detection software is used to check all written assessments.

 

University policy on grading

Criteria for awarding grades for assessment tasks

Assignments will be awarded a grade according to guidelines set out in the University's Grading Policy.  SPED8909 is a pass/ fail unit. Students who demonstrate a 'Graduate' level of competency in their Professional Experience will be awarded an Ungraded Pass.

 

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.The following generic grade descriptors provide university-wide standards for awarding final grades. 

 

Grade	Descriptor
P (Pass).	Provides sufficient evidence of the achievement of learning outcomes. There is demonstration of understanding and application of fundamental concepts of the field of study; routine argumentation with acceptable justification; communication of information and ideas adequately in terms of the conventions of the discipline. The learning attainment is considered satisfactory or adequate or competent or capable in relation to the specified outcomes
F (Fail)	Does not provide evidence of attainment of learning outcomes. There is missing or partial or superficial or faulty understanding and application of the fundamental concepts in the field of study; missing, undeveloped, inappropriate or confusing argumentation; incomplete, confusing or lacking communication of ideas in ways that give little attention to the conventions of the discipline.

 

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 contact the Course Director Sue Silveira on 0477202129 or susan.silveira@mq.edu.au, prior to withdrawing, for advice related to your progression. You can also seek academic advice via https://ask.m q.edu.au before withdrawing 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.

 

SPED8909 has a full web presence through iLearn. The iLearn site is available ahead of Session 1 to facilitate the completion and uploading of all Mandatory Check Forms. All other requirements for this unit begin Session 1 Week 1, 2023. Students are expected to access the iLearn site and engage with unit materials regularly during Session 1. Students are responsbile for the organisation and completion of Professional Experience placements/ online learning to ensure block 1 is completed before the online tutorial 1 presentation and block 2 is completed by week 13 of the session.

Structure

This unit includes 2 online tutortrial days.  In the tutorials students will present their learning from their Professional Experiences in relation to the Unit Learning Outcomes and their chosen Focus Areas.  There will be a supporting information on the iLearn site.

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.

Unit Schedule for SPED8909

The unit is divided into a series of topics; the materials are open for the entirety of the session:

• Completion of Critical Reflection Tool (prior to starting Professional Experience block 1)
• Completion of Focus Area planning, setting of individual SMART learning goals and outline of literature review (prior to starting Professional Experience)
• Professional Experience placements (online/ observations) in 2 blocks of 6 days plus 2 online tutorial presnetation at the end of block 1 and block 2
• Submission of block 1 ePortfolio with mid-term reflection post and block 2/ FINAL ePortfolio with end-session reflection post

SPED8909
Week	Week Begins	Activities and Assessments	Due Dates
1	20 Feb	Activity 1 Completion of Critical Reflection Tool Activity 2 Completion of Focus Area planning, setting of individual SMART learning goals (based on Focus Areas to improve) and outline of proposed initial  literature review/research	Mandatory checks and Task 1 and 2 due 23:55 on 26/02/2023
2	27 Feb	Ongoing Focus Area planning and reading of identified literature. Initial references submitted are to be added to throughout the Prof Exp. as you deepen your understanding or your chosen Focus Areas for improving.
3	6 Mar	Assessment 1 Start Block 1 Placements Online/ Observations	The placement dates outlined here are only a guide to assist you in ensuring that you will finish by the end of the Session.
4	13 Mar	Placements Online/ Observations	Ensure Block 1 dates have been authorised/ signed approval given by Professional Experience Coordinator 23:55 on 27/03/2023
5	20 Mar	Placements Online/ Observations
6	27 Mar	Placements submission of Block 1 ePortfolio, as a guide only	BLOCK 1 MUST BE SUBMITTED FOR MARKING BEFORE TUTORIAL AND BEFORE STARTING BLOCK 2. NOTE: Ensure 2-week gap between submission of Block 1 ePortfolio and starting of block 2, to allow sufficient time for marking and feedback.
7	3 Apr	Placements Online/ Observations Complete mid-session online reflection (as part of block 1 ePortfolio) and comment on at least 2 other student’s reflections.	Ensure Block 2 dates have been authorised/ signed approval given by Professional Experience Coordinator
		University Recess	starts Monday 10 Apr
		University Recess	starts Monday 17 Apr Block 1 ePortfolio due 20/04/2023
8	24 Apr	Block 1 online Tutorial presentation Placements Online/ Observations	Tuesday 25 April- morning session
9	1 May	Placements Online/ Observations
10	8 May	Placements Online/ Observations
11	15 May	Placements Online/ Observations
12	22 May	Block 2 online Tutorial presentation	Tuesday 23 May- morning session
13	29 May	Assessment 2 Submission of Block 2/FINAL ePortfolio. Complete end-session online reflection (as part of block 2 ePortfolio) and comment on at least 2 other student’s reflections.	As stated in the handbook all coursework needs to be completed and submitted for marking in week 13 of the Session in which you enrol in the course. Final date for submission of ePortfolio is 23:55 on 04/06/2023 General Assessment Information Students requesting an extension for the final assignment should submit this at https://ask.mq.edu.au/. The Professional Experience Coordinator should be notified prior to the submission being made.

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

Resilient	Reflexive	Responsive	Ready to learn	Research engaged
Students gain exposure to the disability sector and develop an understanding of the critical role they will play, the need for personal resilience and resilient approaches when supporting people with disability.	Students are encouraged to critically reflect in the context of themselves as a practitioner, their previous and future professional experiences and the engagement they will have with people, organisations and society in general.	The individualised learning content encourages students to be responsive to clients, organisations and critical issues faced in the disability sector. Students are expected to be responsive to the ideas of peers and provide meaningful and supportive feedback.	Students are encouraged to reflect and then identify their own learning needs for their context, to pursue learning that achieves great outcomes for all people they work with now and into the future. Students take responsibility for learning independently as well as fostering collaborative learning in other students.	Students engage with literature and base their practice on evidence. Students practice academic integrity as they learn to explore contemporary and relevant literature.