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

Employers expect graduates to be competent in these professional skills areas. This unit provides students with essential communication and research skills for their Justice degree and for their future as competent criminal justice professionals. The unit is scheduled in first semester as students will require these skills to successfully complete assessment in other units.

Aims

The aim of this unit is to provide students with basic professional and research skills, including library research and IT literacy, written communication skills, professional research skills, and criminological research and critical analysis skills.

Objectives

1. Understand the importance of forward planning and professional self-management and demonstrate the graduate attributes of time management and teamwork
2. Understand the difference between and be able to demonstrate the graduate attributes of information and IT literacy
3. Understand and apply the mechanics of academic and professional writing and demonstrate the graduate attributes of written communication and multidisciplinary knowledge
4. Understand the basic parameters of criminological research methods and demonstrate the graduate attributes of research and ethical knowledge

Content

This unit will introduce students to basic research skills they will use in their day to day work as professionals working in criminal and social justice professions. It will also make students proficient in a range of skills they will need to complete their degree studies. The unit will therefore work through the following broad content areas:

- Working as a justice professional: managing time, communication, and team work
- Doing research as a justice professional: research methods and ethics
- Finding and acknowledging scholarly sources: searching databases and referencing
- Strategically reading and assessing sources: critical thinking and analysis
- Writing about sources: academic writing and presentations
- Synthesising sources: the literature review and academic argument

Approaches to Teaching and Learning

This unit is offered internally and externally, and will be taught using a blended approach of face-to-face and online modes. The unit lectorials will be conducted only in the first week of semester as a block of teaching. The unit coordinator communicates with students using Blackboard notices. All students are expected to maintain regular contact with the Blackboard site for the unit and to check their email daily to ensure they are aware of important information concerning the unit. The unit is taught using a combination of lectorials and online activities.

Two hour Lectorials (a combined lecture and tutorial) are conducted face-to-face so two-way discussion of topics can be incorporated. Lectorials will involve direct instruction from the unit coordinator and addresses by guest lecturers. These will be recorded using Blackboard Collaborate and microphones will be used to ensure student discussion can be heard by external students online and in the recording. Lectorials will include some activities and application of practical skills. Internal students are expected to attend lectorials and external students are encouraged to attend online through Collaborate where possible or to listen to the recording at a later date (recordings are made available immediately following the lectorial). Online Tutorials are convened by the unit coordinator the week before major assessment is due to discuss the assignment in detail (again to be conducted and recorded using Collaborate). Dates and times of lectorials and online tutorials are outlined in the Unit Information document available on the JSB172 Blackboard site.

Lectorials and online tutorials are supplemented by a detailed Study Guide to foster independent learning from all students. The study guide includes weekly Online Activities and key readings to be completed by all students in preparation for (i.e. before) lectorials.

Assessment

Assessment in this unit targets professional research and work practice as a future practitioner working in criminal and social justice. Therefore, assessment is designed to put these research and workplace skills into practice to ensure students' capacity to do this in real world workplaces. It is expected all assessment will evidence engagement with current literature in this area and students adhere to the QUT Harvard referencing style. Students need to refer to the extended Unit Information document for the unit for more detailed information about all assessment items for this unit. All assessment in this unit is to be submitted electronically only, as per the guidelines in the Unit Information document.Students in this unit are provided with individual feedback on assessment items. Assessment will receive formative feedback in the form of detailed electronic comments in the assignment documents (using track changes and electronic commenting function in Word) from the markers. Additional feedback will also be provided in the marking criteria sheets for all assessment items (except the end of semester examination). All assessment is summative and contributes to the students' final grade in the unit. General feedback (including comments about what was done well and what required improvement) about each assessment item is also provided to all students under the 'Feedback' section on the Blackboard site (except the end of semester examination).

Assessment name: Problem Solving Task 1
Description: Problem solving task: Part one: Literature review.
The problem-solving task is designed to engage students with real world scenarios drawn from employment outcomes from their degree. Students will research and respond to a scenario-based problem from a particular role (for example, lawyer, security officer, criminal psychologist) and write a 1600 word report summarising the main findings and recommendations from their research.

Part one of this assignment will build students knowledge of searching databases and critically assessing sources they find and writing about them as a short literature review. Students will:

• find ten scholarly, authoritative, current sources related to their chosen scenario and role using library databases


• critically evaluate the sources in terms of scholarliness and authoritativeness


• read, analyse, and organise these sources into key themes


• write about these sources according to key themes in an 800 word literature review


• include a 150 word introduction and 150 word conclusion

Students will learn how to find sources and assess scholarliness and authoritativeness in lectorials. The students will get detailed electronic feedback on their writing and their content. They then use this feedback to improve their literature review for submission with the Part Two. The problem solving task will be uploaded using Safe Assign (as a Word document) and the assignment upload areas on the Blackboard unit site (as a Word document).
Relates to objectives: 2. Understand the difference between and be able to demonstrate the graduate attributes of information and IT literacy
3. Understand and apply the mechanics of academic and professional writing and demonstrate the graduate attributes of written communication and multidisciplinary knowledge
Weight: 30%
Internal or external: Both
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: Week 5

Assessment name: Problem Solving Task 2
Description: Problem-solving task: Part two: Research report.
The problem-solving task is designed to engage students with real world scenarios drawn from employment outcomes from their degree. Students will research and respond to a scenario-based problem from a particular role (for example, lawyer, security officer, criminal psychologist) and write a 1600 word report summarising the main findings and recommendations from their research.

This final research report will incorporate the revised and improved literature review that received feedback in Part One. The students will address their chosen scenario tasks from their chosen role and will report about the outcomes in the following format:

• Introduction (approx. 200 words)


• Review of research literature noting key issues (approx. 800 words)


• Field research discussion (approx. 600 words)


• Three key emerging recommendations (approx. 200 words)


• Conclusion (approx. 200 words)


• Appendices (if applicable - example: definition from legislation)


• References (not included in word count)

The scenario documents available on the JSB172 Blackboard site detail the precise tasks they are to undertake for this task. The problem solving task will be uploaded using Safe Assign (as a Word document) and the assignment upload areas on the Blackboard unit site (as a Word document).
Relates to objectives: 1. Understand the importance of forward planning and professional self-management and demonstrate the graduate attributes of time management and teamwork
3. Understand and apply the mechanics of academic and professional writing and demonstrate the graduate attributes of written communication and multidisciplinary knowledge
4. Understand the basic parameters of criminological research methods and demonstrate the graduate attributes of research and ethical knowledge
Weight: 40%
Internal or external: Both
Group or individual: Individual
Due date: Week 10

Assessment name: Examination
Description: This examination will test students understanding of all content in the unit using a series of multiple choice questions in an online quiz available on the Blackboard unit site. This will include 80 questions and will test your knowledge of all 13 weeks of content knowledge over the course of the unit.

To make you familiar with the types of questions on the examination, you will be provided with an online practice quiz during semester. The unit coordinator will inform you via email when this online quiz is available on the JSB172 Blackboard site during the semester. The final lecture will partly focus on preparing for multiple choice examinations and the JSB172 Blackboard site includes additional resources that will assist with your preparation for the examination.
Relates to objectives: 2. Understand the difference between and be able to demonstrate the graduate attributes of information and IT literacy
4. Understand the basic parameters of criminological research methods and demonstrate the graduate attributes of research and ethical knowledge
Weight: 30%
Internal or external: Both
Group or individual: Individual
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

Hay, I., Bochner, D., Blacket, G. & Dungey C. 2012. Making the Grade: A Guide to Successful Communication and Study. 4th edn. South Melbourne: Oxford University Press.

Risk assessment statement

There are no out of the ordinary risks associated with this unit.

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: 14-Feb-2013