• 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.

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 (PEx) 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.

Descriptive Criteria for awarding grades in the unit

To meet the unit outcomes and successfully pass this unit, students should attempt all assessment tasks.

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 https://ask.mq.edu.au

Required and recommended texts

The following texts are prescribed for this unit:

Cavanagh, M. & Prescott, A. (2022). Your Professional Experience Handbook (2e). Pearson.

De Nobile, J., Lyons, G., & Arthur-Kelly, M. (2021). Positive learning environments: Creating and maintaining productive classrooms. (2nd ed.) Cengage Learning. (You can use copies of these books from your EDST2000 unit).

We will assume that you have a copy of both books and that you will use them in preparation for classes and assessment tasks.

Structure

The unit comprises 1 hour weekly lecture and 2 hour workshop. In the workshop (listed in Timetables as Tutorial) students will discuss issues, answer questions arising from the lectures and prescribed readings and engage in hands-on tasks. They are expected to base their arguments/discussions/products on evidence from published research and other relevant material. There will be a supporting website for the unit providing additional readings, links and materials. Lectures will also be available through Echo in iLearn from the following website link: http://ilearn.mq.edu.au.

Students are required to participate in small group activities, whole class discussion, to read the weekly material in advance, and to complete brief tasks either as individuals or in pairs. The weekly program for the course with the accompanying readings/ preparation is available on the following pages or on the unit 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

Log a request: help.mq.edu.au.

On Campus: Ground floor at 18 Wally’s Walk

A full schedule of learning and teaching is available on the unit iLearn site. 

The Macquarie School of Education 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 Wallumettagal 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 Wallumettagal 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"*.

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

In addition, the following policies and procedures of the School of Education are applicable in this unit.

Attendance for undergraduate units

See the university timetable for information about when classes begin in this unit. https://timetables.mq.edu.au/2024/

Activities completed during weekly tutorials (DAY or ONLINE DAY mode) or on campus days (INFQ mode) are essential for building the core knowledge and/or skills required to demonstrate the learning outcomes of this unit [and to meet the AITSL Graduate Teacher Standards and/or ACECQA requirements]. Attendance at all tutorials or on campus days is expected and the roll will be taken. Make up tasks may be given if attendance is missed to ensure all content is covered to meet accreditation requirements.

Students are required to attend the tutorial in which they are enrolled. Any changes to tutorial enrolments must be completed officially through e-student. Please do not contact the unit convenor requesting a change.

Electronic Communication

It is the student’s responsibility to check all electronic communication on a regular weekly basis.  Communication may occur via:

• Official MQ Student Email Address
• The Dialogue function on iLearn
• Other iLearn communication functions

Infrequent Attendance Students

Information about the dates of the on-campus sessions can be found in the university timetable. https://timetables.mq.edu.au/2024/

• The on-campus sessions are essential to student engagement and learning and attendance is expected. Failure to attend or to have an approved Special Consideration may result in a Fail grade for the unit.
• Prior to the on-campus sessions, you should have read the prescribed readings and listened to the lectures. Summarise the main points and make a note of the key terms and definitions. Prepare any discussion questions of your own that you wish to share.
• Please make effective use of the online component of the unit and access iLearn regularly. Keep up to date with listening to the lectures on a weekly basis.
• Further specific details and any updates about times and locations will be posted on iLearn as an Announcement during first half of the semester.

Fail Rule

This unit is a part of a professional course listed on Schedules 2 and 3 of the Academic Progression Policy. This course has additional requirements that are applicable for the full duration of the course, including course-specific inherent requirements, Fitness to Practice requirements and other compulsory course requirements. It also has rigorous academic progression standards. Inability to meet these requirements may result in a withdrawal of offer of admission and/or permanent exclusion from the course in accordance with the General Coursework Rules.

Passing a Professional Experience Unit

To pass a Professional Experience unit, students must achieve a satisfactory result for their professional experience placement AND achieve a satisfactory result overall for their academic assessment tasks (where applicable) in the unit.

Professional Experience Unit Placement Expectations

• Students must be able to present evidence of completion of several tasks prior to session census date (or as otherwise advised) in order to receive a placement for Professional Experience. Please check your email from the Work Integrated Learning (WIL) Office. Requirements are outlined here as well: https://education.nsw.gov.au/teaching-and-learning/professional-learning/pl-resources/pre-service-teacher-resources/induction-for-pre-service-teachers/mandatory-pre-requisites-for-pre-service-teachers-participating-  
• Students must have submitted all written assessment tasks and/or associated unit component requirements prior to the commencement of the block.
• Students who are completing a unit offered by another department are expected to inform and negotiate with that unit convenor about their professional experience block dates and to discuss how that unit's requirements can be met. For some situations, it may mean that you are enrolled externally for that unit so that your attendance for tutorials for that unit is not impacted.
• Feedback from Tertiary Supervisors and/or Supervising Teachers is of a general nature. It is incumbent on the student to check the requirements of any assessments or bookwork prior to submission.
• If a Student is identified as being in need of additional support for Professional Practice and/or Bookwork, the School of Education’s ‘Additional Support’ procedure will be activated.
• Students may not be able to commence their placement until all alleged academic honesty breaches have been investigated and concluded. 
• The timing of placements can vary. For placements early in the Session, Fail grades may be approved by the University prior to the end of Session for students who do not meet the placement expectations of the Unit.

Fitness to practice requirements

• Macquarie University operates under a ‘Fitness to Practice’ model as specified in the University's Academic Progression Policy.  For this Unit, this means that, when undertaking a placement, a student is declaring that they are able to demonstrate professional competence, acceptable professional behaviour, freedom from impairment, and compliance with program specific requirements needed for a student to practice properly and safely throughout their Practical, Clinical or Professional program or unit. It is the responsibility of the student to determine whether they are fit to undertake a placement. Therefore, if a student is feeling unfit to undertake a placement, they should not do so. For more information https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policies/academic-progression

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: