Unit Outline

The unit focuses on three main areas: 1) the development of professional identity, 2) the practice of appreciative inquiry and collegial moderation, 3) evaluating the impact of independent professional learning on educational environments. It asks you to contextualise your professional identity in a current workplace environment as well as in the broader community. The practices of collegial, constructive criticism and peer mentoring are integral to this unit, and you will gain valuable knowledge in these processes through an appreciative, strength analysis of your professional capabilities. You will learn and apply skills in appraising
ideas and evaluating their impact on educational practice. You will be introduced to portfolios as a reflective tool to help you to identify and contextualize your capacities, and the reflective journal as a foundation for independent and collaborative professional learning. In this unit you will create and share a professional artefact and align this with relevant professional standards. You will participate in a peer-review process to appreciate and evaluate the divergent educational environments of your peers and the potential for increased sharing of knowledge through a range of online tools. You will explore these issues by engaging with educational theory, critical reflection, collegial moderation, and peer discussion.

Intended Learning Outcomes

As per the Assessment and Results Policy 1.3, your results will reflect your achievement against specified learning outcomes.

On completion of this unit, you will be able to:


1	Apply the theory of reflective practice to demonstrate the increasing capacity to reflect on, identify and justify professional learning needs.
2	Engage in professional discourse to evaluate the role and application of professional standards in divergent educational environments.
3	Examine the effectiveness of collegially moderated peer-review and involvement in professional collaboration to improve teaching practice.
4	Engage with the literature which informs the theoretical frameworks for professional educational identity and learning in communities of inquiry and use multiple source types to evaluate different perspectives.

Requisites


REQUISITE TYPE	REQUISITES
Anti-requisite (mutual excl)	EAL501

Alterations as a result of student feedback

How will I be Assessed?

For more detailed assessment information please see MyLO.

Assessment schedule


ASSESSMENT TASK #	ASSESSMENT TASK NAME	DATE DUE	WEIGHT	LINKS TO INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES
Assessment Task 1:	Quiz	Week 4	5 %	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4
Assessment Task 2:	Reflective Journal Analysis	Week 8	45 %	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4
Assessment Task 3:	Collegially Moderated Strength Analysis	Week 13	50 %	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4

Assessment details

Assessment Task 1: Quiz

Task Description:

This task is a quiz that will help you to consolidate your learning concerning week 2 to week 11 in
preparation for Assessment Tasks 2 and 3.

Please refer to assessment description in MyLO for all quiz (Part A, B, C) due dates.

Task Length:

200 word equivalent

Due Date:

Week 4 (16/Aug/2024)

Weight:

5 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Apply reflective professional practices.	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4

Assessment Task 2: Reflective Journal Analysis

Task Description:

AT2
Throughout week 2 to week 8 of the unit, you will be actively contributing to discussion boards and responding to and extending the perspectives of your fellow students. You will concurrently maintain your reflective journal that will focus on the relationship between your learning and discussions in the unit and consider how the interactive reflective process impacts your perspectives in your workplace or teaching situation. This assessment task will be presented as a portfolio page that examines the effectiveness of the reflective discussion process, the potential for your continuing learning, and the applicability of the dialogic process to improve education. For the second part of this assessment task, you should copy all of your postings from the discussion boards and examine them alongside the reflective journal.

Task Length:

2000 words or equivalent

Due Date:

Week 8 (18/Sep/2024)

Weight:

45 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Apply reflective professional practices.	LO1, LO3, LO4
2	Apply professional knowledge and teaching standards to improve educational environments.	LO1, LO2, LO4
3	Engage with the contribution of others and help extend your thinking and that of your peers to develop collaborative professional learning.	LO2, LO3, LO4
4	Demonstrate professional language and literacy skills, using academic writing conventions and APA referencing.	LO4

Assessment Task 3: Collegially Moderated Strength Analysis

Task Description:

AT3
Professional learning can only be of value when it transforms our individual professional perspectives, translates into improved teaching or workplace performance, and then generates further learning needs that are acted upon. However, before we can address weaknesses and seek the help of others, we need to appreciate our strengths, match them to professional standards, produce valid evidence, and then share them with at least two of our colleagues for constructive comment and advice. In this assessment task delivered as a portfolio page, you will identify an area of personal professional, or teaching strength in accordance with professional standards.

Task Length:

2000 words or equivalent

Due Date:

Week 13 (25/Oct/2024)

Weight:

50 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Evaluate professional skills, knowledge, and practice using professional teaching standards.	LO2, LO4
2	Reflect on professional practice and identification of areas for improvement.	LO1, LO3, LO4
3	Assess own and peer professional learning.	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4
4	Demonstrate professional language and literacy skills, using appropriate academic writing conventions and APA referencing.	LO4

How your final result is determined

To pass this unit, you need to demonstrate your attainment of each of the Intended Learning Outcomes, achieve a final unit grade of 50% or greater, and pass any hurdle tasks.

Submission of assignments

Where practicable, assignments should be submitted to an assignment submission folder in MYLO. You must submit assignments by the due date or receive a penalty (unless an extension of time has been approved by the Unit Coordinator). Students submitting any assignment in hard copy, or because of a practicum finalisation, must attach a student cover sheet and signed declaration for the submission to be accepted for marking.

Academic integrity

Academic integrity is about acting responsibly, honestly, ethically, and collegially when using, producing, and communicating information with other students and staff members.

In written work, you must correctly reference the work of others to maintain academic integrity. To find out the referencing style for this unit, see the assessment information in the MyLO site, or contact your teaching staff. For more detail about Academic Integrity, see Important Guidelines & Support.

Requests for extensions

If you are unable to submit an assessment task by the due date, you should apply for an extension.

A request for an extension should first be discussed with your Unit Coordinator or teaching support team where possible. A request for an extension must be submitted by the assessment due date, except where you can provide evidence it was not possible to do so. Typically, an application for an extension will be supported by documentary evidence: however, where it is not possible for you to provide evidence please contact your Unit Coordinator.

The Unit Coordinator must notify you of the outcome of an extension request within 3 working days of receiving the request.

Late penalties

Assignments submitted after the deadline will receive a late penalty of 5% of the original available mark for each calendar day (or part day) that the assignment is late. Late submissions will not be accepted more than 10 calendar days after the due date, or after assignments have been returned to other students on a scheduled date, whichever occurs first. Further information on Late Penalties can be found on the Assessments and Results Procedure.

Review of results and appeals

You are entitled to ask for a review of the marking and grading of your assessment task if there is an irregularity in the marking standards or an error in the process for determining the outcome of an assessment. Details on how to request a review of a mark for an assignment are outlined in the Review and Appeal of Academic Decisions Procedure.