EDUC 7055 - Research Communication

North Terrace Campus - Semester 2 - 2015

This course focuses on developing the student's written and spoken English skills with regard to research genres in their specific disciplines.

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Course Details

Course Code	EDUC 7055
Course	Research Communication
Coordinating Unit	School of Education
Term	Semester 2
Level	Postgraduate Coursework
Location/s	North Terrace Campus
Units	3
Contact	1 x 1.5 hour lecture per week, 1 x 1.5 hour seminar per week
Available for Study Abroad and Exchange	Y
Assessment	Reflective blog postings and essay (30%), portfolio of research writing tasks (50%), grammar and self editing tasks (20%)

Course Staff

Course Coordinator: Mr Richard Warner

Course Coordinator: Richard Warner

Phone: 08 8313 6038

Email: richard.warner@adelaide.edu.au

Lecturer: Dr Julia Miller

Phone: 08 8313 4721

Email: julia.miller@adelaide.edu.au

Campus: North Terrace

Office hours for course: Tuesdays 9 am - 12 pm

Course Timetable

The full timetable of all activities for this course can be accessed from Course Planner.

Full details are on access adelaide.

Course Learning Outcomes

1. Communicate verbally as appropriate in a variety of research contexts.

2. Communicate in writing as appropriate in a variety of research contexts.

3. Apply argument structure and appropriate academic critique in a variety of spoken and written genres.

4. Communicate in accordance with the conventions of their discipline, using appropriate grammatical structures and vocabulary.

5. Produce appropriate ethics documentation that demonstrates an awareness of ethical and social issues in the Australian research environment.

University Graduate Attributes

This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attribute(s) specified below:

University Graduate Attribute	Course Learning Outcome(s)
Knowledge and understanding of the content and techniques of a chosen discipline at advanced levels that are internationally recognised.	1,2,3,5
The ability to locate, analyse, evaluate and synthesise information from a wide variety of sources in a planned and timely manner.	1,3,4
An ability to apply effective, creative and innovative solutions, both independently and cooperatively, to current and future problems.	1,2,5
Skills of a high order in interpersonal understanding, teamwork and communication.	1,2,4,5
A proficiency in the appropriate use of contemporary technologies.	5
A commitment to continuous learning and the capacity to maintain intellectual curiosity throughout life.	3
A commitment to the highest standards of professional endeavour and the ability to take a leadership role in the community.	3,4,5
An awareness of ethical, social and cultural issues within a global context and their importance in the exercise of professional skills and responsibilities.	5

Learning Resources

Required Resources

There is no textbook for this course. Rather, students will be required to read selected literature and notes on key communication issues covered in the course and disciplinary texts as appropriate.

Recommended Resources

Additional course-related material is available through MyUni.

Online Learning

Additional course-related material is available through MyUni.
Learning & Teaching Activities

Learning & Teaching Modes

The course is built around a series of lectures/workshops covering the fundamental research communication issues. These are complemented by seminars providing practice in written and spoken communication contexts. Related assignments are designed to consolidate the learning of key principles and development of communication skills.

Workload

The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.

The information below is provided as a guide to assist students in engaging appropriately with the course requirements.
1 x ½ hour lecture per week (x12) = 18 hours
1 x 1 ½ hour seminar per week (x12) = 18 hours
1x 4 hour reading per week (x12) = 48 hours
4+x Graded editing tasks = 12 hours
1 x Discipline-specific corpus and reflection (x1) = 20 hours
5 x Research documents for different audiences = 40 hours
Total = 156

Learning Activities Summary

Week 1: Diagnostic Exercise and exploration of Course Outline
Homework: Bring along a disciplinary research article

Week 2: Lecture/Workshop: Reading and note-taking for researchers
Seminar: Application of macro-reading skills to disciplinary research articles. Look at diagnostic exercise and error correction code and diagnose own language errors. Introduction to reflective practice.
Homework for next week: 1) Create a set of notes using one of the note-taking techniques on a research article in your discipline. Hand in article AND notes. 2) Complete first reflective blog entry. 3) Bring along a research article for week 3.

Week 3: Lecture: Taking a critical approach to the Scholarship in the Field
Seminar: Abstracts for research documents (proposals, articles and conferences)
Homework: Write a summary/abstract for a research article or your topic to hand in in week 4.

Week 4: Lecture: Appropriate Citation and Avoiding Plagiarism
Seminar: Voice and citation exercises based on diagnostic. Introduction to Language Learning Log.
Homework: Responding to Turnitin.com feedback and Springer.exemplar on abstracts and hand in week 6.

Week 5: Lecture: Reviewing literature
Seminar: Endnote Workshop
Homework: a) Tables with at least 2 categories/subtopics of literature and notes under each category. Hand in week 5. Notes on at least 4 articles must be included. B) 2nd Reflective Blog due.

Week 6: Lecture: Presenting a Seminar in your discipline
Seminar: Appropriate Powerpoint Design
Homework: Design a short 5 slide Powerpoint presentation to hand in week 7, Refletive Blog 3 due.

Week 7: Lecture: Pronunciation and Intonation for researchers
Seminar: Practice intonation exercises applying rules. Work on speaking practice reading disciplinary texts aloud and summarising content verbally in a coherent fashion.
Homework: Sound scripting of presentation scripts.

Week 8: Lecture: Written and Oral Research Genres
Seminar: Introduction to posters and comparison with Powerpoint as a genre.
Homework: 1) Write a short media article on the topic of a research paper or a presentation (e.g. Research Tuesdays) to hand in in week 10. 2) Reflective Blog 4 due 3) Intonation class test online

Week 9: Lecture: Listening for Researchers
Seminar: Corpus and Concordancing
Homework: 1) Work on popular media article for hand in week 10. 2) Use AdTat/Springer.exemplar to assist in completing the task and to add to your language learning log.

Week 10: Lecture: Grammar for researchers
Seminar: More detailed work on sentence structure, word form and sentence clarity.
Homework: 1) Study for test on sentence structure, word form and sentence clarity using the practice exercises and Complete online test. 2) Reflective Blog 5 due

Week 11: Lecture: Readability in research documents
Seminar: Exercises and input on tense, articles and agreement of subject and verb
Homework: Study for test on tense, articles and agreement and complete test online.

Week 12: Editing and self-editing
Seminar: Prepositions and collocation exercises and input. Look at exemplar Reflective essay and mark in class.
Homework: 1) Prepositions and collocation study and complete online test 2) Reflective Blog 6 due

Week 13: Lecture: Class farewell and feedback/questions
Seminar: Office hours for feedback on tasks

Specific Course Requirements

This course involves active learning, therefore at least 90% attendance is necessary.

The University's policy on Assessment for Coursework Programs is based on the following four principles:

Assessment must encourage and reinforce learning.
Assessment must enable robust and fair judgements about student performance.
Assessment practices must be fair and equitable to students and give them the opportunity to demonstrate what they have learned.
Assessment must maintain academic standards.

Assessment Summary

Item 1: Discipline-specific language tool log and reflection
Task: Creation of a language tool log, bi-weekly reflections and discussions on vocabulary, and other skills development and a 1000 word reflective essay on language use in their discipline
Nature: Formative & Summative
Timing: Week 2 onwards and Reflective essay handed in Week 13
Grade allocation: 30% (14% reflective essay; 4% language learning log; 12% blog entries)
Graduate attributes: 1,3,4,5

Item 2: Graded editing tasks/tests
Task: Completion of editing tasks
Nature: Formative & Summative (Including tasks on tense, articles, intonation, voice, sentence structure/ word form, readability and self-editing)
Timing: Weeks 8-13
Grade allocation: 20% (4x5%)
Graduate attributes: 2,3,4,5

Item 3: Research communication portfolio
Task: Written/ oral tasks for different research contexts (Including abstract, media article, poster, powerpoint, notes on research articles, ethics document). One of these items may be peer-assessed.
Timing: Weeks 3-13 (Completed in week 12)
Grade allocation: 50% (5 x10%)
Graduate attributes: 1,2,3,4,5

Although students work in groups to prepare for tasks and in class, all items are individually assessed.

Assessment Detail

No information currently available.

Submission

1000 word essay due by midnight on Wednesday 4 November. Upload to MyUni.

Course Grading

Grades for your performance in this course will be awarded in accordance with the following scheme:

M10 (Coursework Mark Scheme)
Grade	Mark	Description
FNS		Fail No Submission
F	1-49	Fail
P	50-64	Pass
C	65-74	Credit
D	75-84	Distinction
HD	85-100	High Distinction
CN		Continuing
NFE		No Formal Examination
RP		Result Pending

Further details of the grades/results can be obtained from Examinations.

Grade Descriptors are available which provide a general guide to the standard of work that is expected at each grade level. More information at Assessment for Coursework Programs.

Final results for this course will be made available through Access Adelaide.

Student Feedback

The University places a high priority on approaches to learning and teaching that enhance the student experience. Feedback is sought from students in a variety of ways including on-going engagement with staff, the use of online discussion boards and the use of Student Experience of Learning and Teaching (SELT) surveys as well as GOS surveys and Program reviews.

SELTs are an important source of information to inform individual teaching practice, decisions about teaching duties, and course and program curriculum design. They enable the University to assess how effectively its learning environments and teaching practices facilitate student engagement and learning outcomes. Under the current SELT Policy (http://www.adelaide.edu.au/policies/101/) course SELTs are mandated and must be conducted at the conclusion of each term/semester/trimester for every course offering. Feedback on issues raised through course SELT surveys is made available to enrolled students through various resources (e.g. MyUni). In addition aggregated course SELT data is available.
Student Support
Policies & Guidelines
This section contains links to relevant assessment-related policies and guidelines - all university policies.
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Students are reminded that in order to maintain the academic integrity of all programs and courses, the university has a zero-tolerance approach to students offering money or significant value goods or services to any staff member who is involved in their teaching or assessment. Students offering lecturers or tutors or professional staff anything more than a small token of appreciation is totally unacceptable, in any circumstances. Staff members are obliged to report all such incidents to their supervisor/manager, who will refer them for action under the university's student’s disciplinary procedures.

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Authorised by:	Deputy Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President (Academic)
Maintained by:	Course Outlines Administrator