General Submission Information

Please format assessments using 12-point font and 1.5 spacing.

All assessments must be submitted electronically. Turnitin plagiarism detection software is used to check all written assessments. It is the responsibility of all students to ensure that their submitted work is in a format compatible with Turnitin software for plagiarism checking. Submissions must meet the required file type and formatting specifications outlined in the assessment guidelines. Failure to submit work in an acceptable format may result in delays in processing your submission and potential penalties for non-compliance with assessment requirements. If you are unsure about the file format or have technical difficulties, it is your responsibility to seek assistance before the submission deadline. Students should be careful to 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. 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 contact the unit convenor.

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. Word limits are strictly applied. Work above the word limit will not be marked.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Students should be aware of and apply the University policy on academic integrity (see: https://policies.mq.edu.au/document/view.php?id=3). Any student suspected of using unauthorised AI in an assignment will be referred to the Faculty of Arts Discipline Committee. Penalties can include reduced marks for an assessment, being awarded '0' for a task, failing an entire unit, being excluded from a course of study. Please see each assessment task description/rubric for expectations about AI.

Special Consideration / Late Penalties

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (of the total possible mark) will be applied each day an assessment is not submitted, up until the 7th day (including weekends) (see: https://students.mq.edu.au/study/assessment-exams/special-consideration). Applications for extensions must be made via Service Connect. 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 assessments (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. A Special Consideration outcome may result in a new question or topic.

Marking

All assessments are marked using a rubric. Marking of all assessments is moderated by the Unit Convenor.

Quiz

The quiz is 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

Assignments will be awarded grades ranging from HD to F according to guidelines set out in the University's Grading System and University Assessment Policy. To attain a pass or higher grade in Professional Experience a student must obtain a satisfactory in both the Professional Experience component and a pass or higher grade in the academic component. For Professional Experience units the Professional Experience Evaluation Report is marked as Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory. The Macquarie Teaching Performance Assessment (MQTPA - in final WIL/PEx units) is marked as Not met, Met or Exceeds.

Results

Results shown in iLearn, or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed because 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 Service Connect.

Withdrawing from this unit

If you are considering withdrawing from this unit, please seek academic advice via Service Connect 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.

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.

Note that there are many textbooks on educational research methods that contain the same information. We will try and provide alternative resources in case you have difficulty accessing this textbook.

Information about the unit iLearn site

This unit has a full web presence through iLearn.

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: via email onehelp@mq.edu.au or Ph: 9850 4357 or 1800 67 4357. 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 methdology 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 the scheduled tutorials we will provide opportunities to apply and develop your newly learned knowledge - more details will be provided on the iLearn site ahead of the tutorial. During the tutorial some time will be set aside to address any questions you have about the presentations from that week, and to think about development of your own research topic and research plan. 

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.