Unit Outline

Effective teachers bring dynamic interrelated skills of curiosity, personal reflection and active research into their everyday professional lives to improve student learning. In this capstone unit, you will learn about the processes and possibilities of practitioner action research and apply them in an independent project related to your proficiency subject area. This unit will allow you to demonstrate your growing proficiency area expertise, as well as deepen your understanding of reflection and reflective practice which is one of the four pillars of your Graduate Teacher Performance Assessment. This unit marks a transition from being a teacher education student to becoming a professional educator with a readiness for engaging in reflective professional practice with your peers.

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	Reflect on issues of professional relevance, which draw upon personal understanding, professional knowledge, context and learning area proficiency
2	Identify a subject of teacher inquiry that will contribute to the improvement of student learning through reflection on your learning area curriculum proficiency and its interdisciplinary links to other areas of learning.
3	Apply scholarly skills to systematically investigate, critically analyse and present the academic literature and pedagogic opportunities in relation to your subject inquiry.

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:	Reflective Journal	Week 4	20 %	LO1, LO2, LO3
Assessment Task 2:	A Dilemma of Practice	Week 7	40 %	LO1, LO2, LO3
Assessment Task 3:	Strategy for Action	Week 11	40 %	LO1, LO2, LO3

Assessment details

Assessment Task 1: Reflective Journal

Task Description:

Starting in week 2, you will be required to make weekly entries on the Tutorial discussion board for this Unit in MyLO. These entries will be directly related to the weekly readings. In your entries you will reflect on the readings and as a result create new knowledge about your own values and beliefs in relation to teaching and learning. The entries for weeks 2, 3 and 4 will be submitted for this assessment task. You must submit reflections for each week to be successful in this task.

Completion of this Assessment Task relates to Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST) 6.3

Task Length:

800 words

Due Date:

Week 4

Weight:

20 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Apply a reflective practice model to support reflection on a professional issue	LO1
2	Analyse your thnking using critical self-questioning	LO1, LO2, LO3
3	Demonstrate development of thinking in relation to learning about self and your chosen proficiency	LO1, LO2, LO3
4	Communicate and share newly created knowledge in a cohesive and ethical manner	LO3

Assessment Task 2: A Dilemma of Practice

Task Description:

In this assessment task, you will identify a professional dilemma that is relevant for the practitioner research process (please note you MUST choose a dilemma relevant to your specialisation). This may be a hypothetical scenario or something you have personally experienced in professional practice.

Drawing on relevant literature from your chosen specialisation, you will provide a rationale for the need for change.

Completion of this Assessment Task relates to Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST) 1.2, 3.6, 6.3

Task Length:

1600 words

Due Date:

Week 7

Weight:

40 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Identify a dilemma relevant for practitioner inquiry	LO1, LO2, LO3
2	Justify current thinking, drawing on prior experiences and relevant research	LO1, LO2, LO3
3	Reflect on the dilemma and justify the need for change	LO1, LO2, LO3
4	Communicate and share newly created knowledge in a cohesive and ethical manner	LO3

Assessment Task 3: Strategy for Action

Task Description:

Based on your dilemma identified in AT2, you are required to develop an action research plan that will bring about change. You will show how your plan will provide relevant data to enable you to make informed changes to your practice to enhance student learning. The plan must be presented in report writing style and cover the following areas:
- Proposed title of the strategy for action.
- The aim/s of the strategy for action (including research question).
- A detailed description of the data gathering methods, along with a rationale for why the data you propose to gather is relevant.
- A detailed description of how the data would be analysed.
- A list of references cited in the plan.

Reference to relevant literature to support your claims throughout the assignment is necessary. The plan needs to be written in formal academic style. You may use headings/subheadings. You must write in complete sentences. You may write in either first person or third person. (Please note this is a plan only. You will NOT be undertaking data gathering in this unit.)

Completion of this Assessment Task relates to Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST) 1.2, 7.1

Task Length:

1600 words

Due Date:

Week 11

Weight:

40 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Scope and develop effective strategies for gathering data and justify your choices	LO1, LO2, LO3
2	Scope and develop effective data analysis methods and justify your choices	LO1, LO2, LO3
3	Communicate and share newly created knowledge in a cohesive and ethical manner	LO3

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.