Quiz Date:

Week 7 Wed, Sept 12 (internal students) & Week 7 Sat, Sept 15 (external students)

The in-lecture quiz comprises 25 multiple-choice questions, each with four alternatives. It assesses your understanding and application of Week 3-6 content.

For external students, the quiz will be completed at the beginning of the first On Campus Day. For internal students, the class quiz will be held during the 9am lecture on Wednesday, Week 7. This will require lecture attendance for any internal students who usually listen to iLecture.

Please note: if you are in a mixed-mode enrolment (internal tutorials with iLecture), you must register to indicate whether you will sit the quiz (i) during the Monday lecture with internal students, or (ii) at the beginning of the On Campus Day with external students. A registration sheet will be placed on iLearn closer to the time. You must attend one of these two sittings.

Due Date: Week 11 Wed, Oct 24                                    Length: 2000 words

Education is a scholarly discipline, and research is critical. Good teachers use research findings as part of an everyday evidence-based approach to practice, and conduct their own research to troubleshoot problems that occur (Cochran-Smith & Lytle, 1999; Everton et al., 2002). Nonetheless, Deemer (2009) states that:

“Many pre-service teachers fail to understand the importance of learning about, and conducting, educational research... many fail even to see the link between being a critical consumer of educational research and developing into an outstanding teacher” (p.1).

To ensure that we develop strong research skills amongst our EDUC262 cohort, we will conduct our own collaborative research projects in educational psychology.

1. You will personally collect data from one learner aged 5 to 15, using the interview prompts provided. There are two topics to choose from, and you are free to work alone or in pairs to collect your data.
2. We will pool all of the data for each topic together, so that everyone in EDUC262 has access to a large dataset to write their reports from.
3. Finally, you will write a structured research report outlining the research question and findings. Your report must be completed independently.

In previous years, some students have found writing the report challenging. To assist you in this process:

1. We will provide a research report template on iLearn. This reduces the working memory load (extraneous cognitive load) related to the report structure, and allows you to direct your attention to the report content itself.

2. We will write some sections of the report for you. These are pre-filled in the research report template on iLearn. You simply fill in the rest.

3. We have developed an iLearn site called ResearchEd, which contains a full writing guide and additional resources. The site was built in collaboration with a group of EDUC262 student volunteers in 2011 and trialled in 2012. All current EDUC262 students are enrolled. If you see a way to enhance this site please let us know: we’d love to work with you on this.

Formatting

Your research report should be word-processed using 12-point font and 1.5 spacing. Please insert page numbers, and do not increase your borders, decrease your font size, or decrease your spacing. Finally, please do not use footnotes. These are used rarely in this field.

Referencing

You are expected to use APA referencing style in your research report. An APA referencing guide can be accessed through the Library’s Multisearch function. It provides tools and templates to assist you to correct format citations in APA 6. If you would like additional assistance, the following website is also particularly useful: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/10/

Word count

State your word count on your title page. Reports that exceed the word limit by 10% or more will be penalised. The reference list is not counted in the word limit, but (i) in-text references and (ii) pre-filled sections on the report-writing template both are.

Submitting your assignment

All assignments are submitted digitally to Turnitin. A Turnitin submission link will be posted to iLearn. Please note your responsibilities below:

• You must keep a second backup copy of your assignment, unaltered, in case of any system troubles. Claims regarding "lost" assessments cannot be made if the file cannot be produced.

• You must ensure you have uploaded the correct file. It is your responsibility to check this at the time of submission. Unfortunately, if you upload the incorrect file, you will lose late marks until the correct file is uploaded. This is the only way to ensure fairness to all students in the cohort.

• We strongly recommend that you check your originality report, which is available upon submission. This report highlights sections in your text that match other text in the Turnitin system. Anything that should match (e.g. data we have given all students to use) are not problematic, however, inadvertent instances of plagiarism/poor referencing should be fixed immediately. Resubmissions to Turnitin may take 24 hours to appear; allow time for this.

Extensions / special consideration

Assignments must be submitted by the due date. If due to illness or other extenuating circumstances your assignment cannot be submitted on time, a Disruption to Studies request outlining your case and presenting evidence must be made within 5 days via ask.mq.edu.au (see Section 13 below). You must meet the conditions for an extension.

Late penalties and fails

Late submissions without extension will receive a penalty of 5% reduction of the total possible mark for each day late (including weekends and public holidays). These penalties add up quickly, so please ensure you do not put yourself in this position.

Late penalties are applied by unit convenors or their delegates after tasks are assessed. No assessable work will be accepted after the return/release of marked work on the same topic. No failed assessment may be re-submitted, and there are no extra credit tasks.

The final exam, held in the formal examination period, is 2 hours long plus reading time. It is designed to test your ability to apply conceptual knowledge developed throughout the unit, and will include:

• Ten short answer questions (20 marks)
• Two extended response questions (20 marks)

You will be given a list of six questions in the final lecture, from which the two extended response questions will be chosen. All modules will be examinable.

• The University Exam period begins at the conclusion of Week 13.
• Please view the exam timetable at http://www.timetables.mq.edu.au/exam. The exam timetable does not typically become available until the midsession holidays. Once it is available, please mark the date in your calendar. 
• Please note: EDUC262 teaching staff do not set the exam date, do not have any power to change the date, and do not know the date in advance.
• You are expected to present yourself for examination at the time and place designated in the exam timetable.
• Macquarie University policy requires that no early examinations be set for individuals. Late examinations are only given in exceptional circumstances. Please do not book holidays until you have seen the Exam Timetable.
• The only exception to not sitting an examination at the designated time is because of documented illness or unexpected and unavoidable misadventure. In these circumstances you must apply for Disruption to Studies as soon as it is feasible to do so.