Units

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Sample subject outline - Semester 1 2013

Note: Subject outlines often change before the semester begins. Below is a sample outline.

Rationale

Developing an understanding of your profession is fundamental to becoming a practitioner. Understanding both professional identity and the key practices of your profession are important to you as you progress in this course. Sustainability is key to communities futures. Employers of graduates from every professional discipline expect you to be competent not only with the conceptual and technical knowledge of your discipline but also with professional capabilities of effective communication, writing, research and teamwork.

This unit is your first exposure to these professional skills. The unit is deliberately located in your first semester because you'll need the perspective and the skills introduced here to understand and support your academic work across the rest of the course.

Aims

This unit aims to develop your professional skills, knowledge and capabilities at an introductory level within the context of environmental sustainability.

Objectives

On successful completion of this unit you should be able to demonstrate the following capabilities at a beginning professional level. You should be able to:

1. Demonstrate critical thinking and reflection in reference to sustainability and the implications of the concept for society and your profession
   
2. Recognise and be able to utilise creative thinking and a sense of professional identity to inform planning, development and production processes
   
3. Explain how ethics, values and a person's sense of social responsibility shape the processes they use and the products they create
   
4. Demonstrate the ability to gather, evaluate and present information as an individual and as a member of a collaborative team
   
5. Gain certification to work safely in our studios, laboratories and workshops and for future site/factory visits

Content

In this unit, we introduce you to the professional issues that are most compelling to your profession and many of the foundation skills that you will use at university and in your profession to communicate and share your ideas and information with others. You are introduced to important skills that will help you understand and approach the academic expectations that are an important aspect of university studies.

Key topics will include:

1. Sustainability - principles of sustainability and becoming a sustainable practitioner
   
2. Information literacy- gather and use information for professional and reporting purposes
   
3. Communication - of information, ideas and critical thinking independently and with your peers
   
4. Teamwork - principles and practice of effective teamwork including communication, time and task management and collaborative work
   
5. Ethics - an ethical framework for personal, academic and professional practice

Approaches to Teaching and Learning

Teaching mode:
Hours per week: 3
Lecture: 1 hr
Tutorial: 2 hr

Material in this unit will be presented in lectures, hands-on tutorials and through independent learning projects that are undertaken in teams outside of normal class time. Each group of students will be engaged in a learning team which will support and assist their learning, providing a support network.

1. Some tasks will be open ended requiring students to make choices and set their own goals.
2. Some tasks may be directed while others will focus on problem based learning strategies.
3. Some tasks will require critical thinking, professional reflection and debate.

Assessment

You will be required to complete a number of pieces of assessment including a compulsory Health and Safety Induction. Some tasks will provide early formative feedback to you as a learner and may not contribute to your overall grade. One assessment quiz has been included to gather information on your current information and management skills both for you and the unit lecturers. Three assessable tasks have been included in this unit - their weightings and percentage grading have been included.Students will receive a mixture of peer feedback through early response to their assessment pieces and teacher feedback that is both general to the cohort's overall performance and specific to students demonstrated achievement on specific assessment tasks.

Assessment name: Quiz/Test
Description: Skills Quiz
Quiz on initial concepts/skills covered in first 5 weeks for early feedback.
Relates to objectives: 2. Gather, process, reflect upon and present information in a relevant and appropriate manner;
3. Describe the central tenets of sustainability and how these apply in the global and local contexts of your chosen discipline.
Weight: 30%
Internal or external: Internal
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: Week 6

Assessment name: Workbook
Description: Workbook
A weekly tutorial workbook in which you record and respond to a series of activities and questions including your group project. Milestones to be met through-out the semester.
Relates to objectives: 1. Communicate using a selected range of professional strategies
3. Apply the practice of critical thinking, problem solving and reflection about sustainability to a 'real world' (design) challenge or scenario
Weight: 30%
Internal or external: Internal
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: Week 13

Assessment name: Report
Description: Group Project Report
A group report and presentation addressing a case study in sustainability.
Relates to objectives: 1. Communicate using a selected range of professional strategies;
2. Gather, process, reflect upon and present information in a relevant and appropriate manner;
3. Describe the central tenets of sustainability and how these apply in the global and local contexts;
4. Apply the practice of critical thinking, problem solving and reflection about sustainability to a realistic challenge or scenario;
5. Participate effectively as an individual and as a collaborative team member throughout the phases of a set learning challenge
Weight: 40%
Internal or external: Internal
Group or individual: Group
Due date: Week 13

Academic Honesty

QUT is committed to maintaining high academic standards to protect the value of its qualifications. To assist you in assuring the academic integrity of your assessment you are encouraged to make use of the support materials and services available to help you consider and check your assessment items. Important information about the university's approach to academic integrity of assessment is on your unit Blackboard site.

A breach of academic integrity is regarded as Student Misconduct and can lead to the imposition of penalties.

Resource materials

Resource materials might include:
- required textbooks
- online resources (e.g. particular software)
- equipment, personal protective clothing includes a safety helmet and steel-toe caps for White Card
- travel and accommodation costs for field trip.

Risk assessment statement

Students enrolled in this unit must complete a General Health and Safety Induction online.
Students enrolled in this unit may need to complete the White Card Construction Induction.

Disclaimer - Offer of some units is subject to viability, and information in these Unit Outlines is subject to change prior to commencement of semester.

Last modified: 20-Feb-2013