units

EDF4610

Faculty of Education

Monash University

Postgraduate - Unit

This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2015 only. For students planning to study the unit, please refer to the unit indexes in the the current edition of the Handbook. If you have any queries contact the managing faculty for your course or area of study.

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12 points, SCA Band 1, 0.250 EFTSL

Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered.

LevelPostgraduate
FacultyFaculty of Education
OfferedClayton First semester 2015 (Flexible)
Clayton Second semester 2015 (Flexible)
Hong Kong Term 3 2015 (Online)
Singapore Term 3 2015 (Online)
Coordinator(s)Dr Dat Bao (Clayton); Dr Leone Wheeler (Hong Kong, Singapore)

Synopsis

This unit orientates students to the field of education and engages them with academic traditions and scholarly practices in the field of education at the postgraduate level. Students review academic texts and research papers which represent diverse standpoints in understanding education. Students examine how education researchers position themselves within the field in terms of different theories and understandings of education. Students develop capacities in critical reading, analysis and synthesis and use these to prepare their own well-crafted and well-supported academic arguments in written and oral forms. Through this unit, students explore a topic or theme of interest to them, critically review the evidence related to it and practise building an academic argument related to this theme.

Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this unit students should be able to:

  1. identify a range of standpoints that characterise some key ideas in the field of education
  2. critically read academic texts related to education research and identify the main theories and concepts which underpin these texts
  3. conduct a review of academic literature in response to a thematic issue or question
  4. build a convincing argument using education research and present this argument in both spoken and written form
  5. demonstrate familiarity with academic practices and conventions that support academic engagement in the field of education.

Assessment

Online learning activities (1500 word equivalent, 10%)
Annotated bibliography (2000 words, 20%)
Oral presentation (1500 word equivalent, 20%) leading to a critical essay (3000 words, 50%)

Workload requirements

Flexible mode offers a stand-alone online offering that allows students to learn and engage in content and assessment in a supported way. It also provides a face-to-face component of 18 hours over the semester to engage students with the online learning content, which students can attend if they are able and interested.

Minimum total expected workload equals 288 hours per semester comprising:

(a.) Contact hours for flexible students:

  • 18 contact hours and 18 hours equivalent of online activities over the semester or
  • 36 hours equivalent of online activities over the semester

(b.) Requirements for offshore Kaplan based students:

  • one intensive block (usually from Thursday to Sunday)
  • at least fourteen hours of online study per term

(c.) Additional requirements (all students):

  • independent study to meet the minimum required hours per semester

See also Unit timetable information

Chief examiner(s)

This unit applies to the following area(s) of study