Educational Investigations (9870.1)

Required texts

There is not a set textbook for this unit. All set weekly readings will be available through the Reading List via Canvas.

Once your topic has been selected for your group assessment, you should start reading widely in that area and beyond.

Additional resources will be made available on the unit Canvas site.

Submission of assessment items

Extensions & Late submissions

Students are required to submit an electronic copy of their poster, flyer and reference list via Canvas on the day of the Conference presentation. 

In the event that the Group Poster must be presented in a virtual environment, due to Covid restrictions increasing, students will be required to submit their digital posters 2 days prior to the conference. Students will be advised of this via Canvas should it become a necessity. 

Attendance at the conference is compulsory as each group will be presenting their posters and flyers to their classmates, colleagues and invited guests from within and outside the University. Any group member that is absent from this presentation without relevant documentation may influence the final grade for this component of the assessment.

Approval of extenuating circumstances will be dependent upon the production of supporting documentation and at the discretion of the unit convener.

All assessment items required to be submitted online must be submitted via the appropriate Canvas drop box. It is the student's responsibility to upload the correct and corresponding draft or assessment item to the right submission section. Assignments must be submitted in a format accessible to the assessor(s), as stated on the relevant canvas site. If the unit convener and/or tutor are unable to access a submission, a standard late penalty of 5% of the total marks possible for the task may be applied per day until the assignment is made accessible.

Special assessment requirements

Normally an aggregate mark of 50% is required to pass the unit.

Academic integrity

Students have a responsibility to uphold University standards on ethical scholarship. Good scholarship involves building on the work of others and use of others' work must be acknowledged with proper attribution made. Cheating, plagiarism, and falsification of data are dishonest practices that contravene academic values. Refer to the University's Student Charter for more information.

To enhance understanding of academic integrity, all students are expected to complete the Academic Integrity Module (AIM) at least once during their course of study. You can access this module within UCLearn (Canvas) through the 'Academic Integrity and Avoiding Plagiarism' link in the Study Help site.

Use of Text-Matching Software

The University of Canberra uses text-matching software to help students and staff reduce plagiarism and improve understanding of academic integrity. The software matches submitted text in student assignments against material from various sources: the internet, published books and journals, and previously submitted student texts.

Provision of valid documentation

Please note that the University takes student conduct very seriously. All documentation provided to University staff must be valid and the provision of fraudulent documentation carries with it potentially serious consequences, including suspension and/or exclusion from the University. Note that all allegations of student misconduct will be referred to the Associate Dean for Education (ADE) as a prescribed authority for investigation.

Learner engagement

Educational Investigations is a 6-credit point unit. Therefore, the expectation is that all students will engage in 300 hours of study to contribute to the learning and assessment in this unit. 

The following is an indicative workload allocation of time and may vary from group to group:

Weekly Tutorials:  20 hours

Poster Conference: 3 hours (including set-up and take-down)

Weekly preparation, personal study and assignment preparation*: 277 hours (that is approximately 23 hours/week over the 12 weeks of the unit) 

*Students will be required to engage with their group members outside of scheduled tutorial times to ensure that their group projects are completed to a satisfactory standard. Students will not be able to achieve this in the scheduled classtimes alone and a significant amount of work will need to be done outside of these times.

Participation requirements

Attendance at all scheduled sessions in this unit is compulsory and absences could result in a fail. All absences need to be supported by appropriate documentation (e.g. medical certificate).

Successful engagement with all learning activities in this accredited Initial Teacher Education course is necessary to demonstrate that you have met the Graduate career stage of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (AITSL, 2011).

It is recognised that sometimes absence is unavoidable. If you are absent for more than two sessions, however, your engagement with the unit could be considered unsatisfactory.

Required IT skills

Students will need to become familiar with relevant poster production software, such as Microsoft PowerPoint, Publisher or Canva. Time will be given to investigate this in tutorials. Students will also need to have basic word processing skills for written assignments.

In-unit costs

The final poster presentation will require each group to have their posters professionally printed in at least A0 (841 x 1189mm) size (sizes can be negotiated with the tutor). This service can be obtained from Officeworks at an approximate cost of $40 per poster (this is a group cost, not an individual one). Groups may choose to have their posters laminated at an additional cost of approximately $25. However, this is not compulsory.

Work placement, internships or practicums

None

Additional information

Provision of information to the group

Notifications through the Canvas Announcements Forum or the Canvas Discussion Forums are deemed to be made to the whole class.  It is the responsibility of the student to ensure that they check for announcements on the Unit's Canvas website (forum messages are also emailed to student email addresses only).  Students should ensure they check their student email regularly.

Use of student email account

The University Email policy states that "students wishing to contact the University via email regarding administrative or academic matters need to send the email from the University account for identity verification purposes".  Therefore all unit enquiries should be emailed using a student university email account. Students should contact servicedesk@canberra.edu.au if they have any issues accessing their university email account.

Research Led Education:This unit is run by active researchers who are able to engage students in deep and active learning and transmit to students their passion for the research they are carrying out. 

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