CQUniversity Unit Profile
EDED20495 Special Needs
Special Needs
All details in this unit profile for EDED20495 have been officially approved by CQUniversity and represent a learning partnership between the University and you (our student).
The information will not be changed unless absolutely necessary and any change will be clearly indicated by an approved correction included in the profile.
General Information

Overview

In this unit, you will gain awareness of your professional obligations, roles and responsibilities in relation to the Disability Standards for Education and the way these standards inform policy and procedures for meeting the needs of students with disabilities in inclusive school settings. You will build knowledge of the definitions and criteria used to categorise disabilities in educational environments and explore the concept of “person first” approaches to meeting the needs of learners with disability in the middle years of schooling. You will take an holistic view of supporting the access and participation of learners with special needs and evaluate specific differentiation, accommodation and management strategies to make recommendations that support inclusion, wellbeing, safety and learning of all students in inclusive mainstream settings. You will research and document examples of good practice for consulting with students, parents, specialist services and wider community support agencies and demonstrate knowledge of how to access and facilitate partnerships that improve the educational outcomes for individuals with disabilities.

Details

Career Level: Postgraduate
Unit Level: Level 9
Credit Points: 6
Student Contribution Band: 7
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load: 0.125

Pre-requisites or Co-requisites

Pre-requisite: EDED20493 Diversity and Inclusion

Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).

Offerings For Term 3 - 2024

Online

Attendance Requirements

All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).

Class and Assessment Overview

Recommended Student Time Commitment

Each 6-credit Postgraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.

Class Timetable

Bundaberg, Cairns, Emerald, Gladstone, Mackay, Rockhampton, Townsville
Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, Sydney

Assessment Overview

1. Written Assessment
Weighting: 50%
2. Written Assessment
Weighting: 50%

Assessment Grading

This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of 'pass' in order to pass the unit. If any 'pass/fail' tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully ('pass' grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the 'assessment task' section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%). Consult the University's Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades.

Previous Student Feedback

Feedback, Recommendations and Responses

Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.

Feedback from evaluations

Feedback

Moodle Content

Recommendation

Review Moodle content for broken links.

Unit Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
  1. Appraise the roles and responsibilities of educational stakeholders under legislation and policy for students with disabilities
  2. Propose processes that overcome barriers to successful inclusion of students with disabilities
  3. Evaluate strategies that support the psychological wellbeing, behaviour, accessibility and learning of students with special needs within whole class groups
  4. Explain the rationale for accommodations and modifications that support the learning and social needs of students with disabilities
  5. Interpret research literature and primary data sources to make recommendations that support the needs of students with disabilities.

Successful completion of this unit provides opportunities for students to demonstrate the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers focus areas of:

1.1 Physical, social and intellectual development and characteristics of students

1.5 Differentiate teaching to meet the specific learning needs of students across the full range of abilities

1.6 Strategies to support full participation of students with disability

2.6 Information and Communication Technology (ICT)

3.7 Engage parents/carers in the educative process

4.1 Support student participation

4.3 Manage challenging behaviour

4.4 Maintain student safety

6.2 Engage in professional learning and improve practice

6.4 Apply professional learning and improve student learning

7.2 Comply with legislative, administrative and organisational requirements

7.3 Engage with the parents/carers

7.4 Engage with professional teaching networks and broader communities

Alignment of Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Graduate Attributes
N/A Level
Introductory Level
Intermediate Level
Graduate Level
Professional Level
Advanced Level

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes

Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5
1 - Written Assessment - 50%
2 - Written Assessment - 50%

Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes

Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5
1 - Knowledge
2 - Communication
3 - Cognitive, technical and creative skills
4 - Research
5 - Self-management
6 - Ethical and Professional Responsibility
7 - Leadership
8 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures
Textbooks and Resources

Textbooks

Supplementary

Diversity, Inclusion and Engagement

Edition: 4th (2021)
Authors: Hyde, M., Dole, S., & Tait, K.
Oxford University Press
ISBN: 9780190329488
Binding: eBook

Additional Textbook Information

Diversity, inclusion and engagement (4th edition) Oxford University Press by Hyde, Dole & Tait (2022) is recommended as a supplementary text for this unit.  While it is not a prescribed text, it provides meaningful explanations and information relating to the unit learning outcomes and thus may be a useful source for research and planning assessment responses.   

The CQU Library holds a small number of e-copies of this text, and therefore only a small number of students (e.g. 6) can access the ebook at any one time.  You should be mindful that during assessment time, access to texts may be in high demand and you may not be able to access it via the CQU Library, at your convenience.   

IT Resources

You will need access to the following IT resources:
  • CQUniversity Student Email
  • Internet
  • Unit Website (Moodle)
Referencing Style

All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: American Psychological Association 7th Edition (APA 7th edition)

For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.

Teaching Contacts
Kerry Aprile Unit Coordinator
k.aprile@cqu.edu.au
Schedule
Week 1 Begin Date: 04 Nov 2024

Module/Topic

Topic 1 - Terminology

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 2 Begin Date: 11 Nov 2024

Module/Topic

Topic 2 - Disability Standards for Education

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 3 Begin Date: 18 Nov 2024

Module/Topic

Topic 3 - Identification of a Disability

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 4 Begin Date: 25 Nov 2024

Module/Topic

Topic 4 - Taking a Team Approach

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 5 Begin Date: 02 Dec 2024

Module/Topic

Topic 5 - Formal Adjustments

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Assessment Task One – Examining the Disability Standards for Education Due: Week 5 Thursday (5 Dec 2024) 11:45 pm AEST
Week 6 Begin Date: 09 Dec 2024

Module/Topic

Topic 6 - Informal Adjustments

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 7 Begin Date: 16 Dec 2024

Module/Topic

Non-Teaching Week

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

University Closure Begin Date: 23 Dec 2024

Module/Topic

Non-Teaching Week

Chapter

 

 

Events and Submissions/Topic

University Closure Begin Date: 30 Dec 2024

Module/Topic

Non-Teaching Week

Chapter

 

 

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 8 Begin Date: 06 Jan 2025

Module/Topic

Topic 7 - Students with Communication or Sensory Needs 
Topic 8 - Students with Academic and Wellness Needs

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 9 Begin Date: 13 Jan 2025

Module/Topic

Topic 9 - Physical Needs
Topic 10 - Assistive Technologies and Instructional Practices

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 10 Begin Date: 20 Jan 2025

Module/Topic

Topic 11 - Case Studies
Topic 12 - Review

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Week 11 Begin Date: 27 Jan 2025

Module/Topic

Non-Teaching Week

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Assessment Task Two: Case Study of a Child with Disability Due: Week 11 Thursday (30 Jan 2025) 11:45 pm AEST
Week 12 Begin Date: 03 Feb 2025

Module/Topic

Non-Teaching Week

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Exam Week Begin Date: 10 Feb 2025

Module/Topic

Chapter

Events and Submissions/Topic

Term Specific Information

Schedule

Due to Term 3 coinciding with end of year commitments, celebrations and holidays, the teaching and learning schedule of this unit has been altered to align with university-wide closure dates and allow for the nature of the season.

Assessment Tasks

1 Written Assessment

Assessment Title
Assessment Task One – Examining the Disability Standards for Education

Task Description

Compile a written response of 2000 words that demonstrates careful consideration of the Disability Standards for Education 2005 (Commonwealth of Australia) by addressing the following:

  • Define each of the following key terms used in the Standards: “on the same basis”, “consultation”, “unjustifiable hardship” and “reasonable adjustment” and provide an example of each key term. In this explanation, you will need to show your understanding of not only this legislative act but also have your examples refer to the administrative and organisational policies and processes required for teachers.
  • Demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of the rights and responsibilities of all stakeholders under the Disability Standards. In doing this you will need to describe a broad range of strategies for involving parents/carers in the educative process in an effective, sensitive and confidential way. You will also need to demonstrate an understanding of the need for continued professional learning and how this impacts student learning.
  • Describe the obligations of teachers under the Standards, focussing particularly on your knowledge and understanding of strategies for differentiating teaching to meet the specific learning needs of students across the full range of abilities.
  • Describe how the Disability Standards legislation works to overcome barriers to inclusion. You will need to provide practical examples of strategies that support inclusive student participation and engagement in classroom activities.

 

Word count for written assignments:

The word count is considered from the first word of the introduction to the last word of the conclusion. It excludes the cover page, abstract, contents page, reference page and appendices. It includes in-text references and direct quotations.

Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence agents for written assignments:

Generative Artificial Intelligence agents (Gen AI) is as follows: 

No Gen AI use at any point during this assessment.


Assessment Due Date

Week 5 Thursday (5 Dec 2024) 11:45 pm AEST


Return Date to Students

Assessment Task 1 will be marked, moderated and returned to students in a timely manner that provides sufficient time for feedback to inform Assessment Task 2 submission.


Weighting
50%

Assessment Criteria

Knowledge and understanding of specific key concepts relating to the Disability Standards legislation and how they relate to administrative and organisational policies and processes required for teachers according to school stage (APST 7.2).
Understanding of potential issues related to the rights and responsibilities of all stakeholders that explicitly relates to effective, sensitive and confidential parent engagement in the educative process and the need for continued professional learning (APST 3.7, 6.4 & 7.3).
Knowledge and understanding of the obligations of teachers under the Disability Standards legislation and of strategies for differentiating teaching to meet the specific learning needs of students across the full range of abilities (APST 1.6).
Understanding of how the Disability Standards legislation works to ensure that schools implement strategies that support inclusive student participation and engagement in classroom activities (APST 4.1).
Application of academic writing conventions and adherence to APA style and referencing.


Referencing Style

Submission
Online

Submission Instructions
Task to be submitted as a Word Docx file (or equivalent file) that adheres APA style protocols.

Learning Outcomes Assessed
  • Appraise the roles and responsibilities of educational stakeholders under legislation and policy for students with disabilities
  • Propose processes that overcome barriers to successful inclusion of students with disabilities


Graduate Attributes

2 Written Assessment

Assessment Title
Assessment Task Two: Case Study of a Child with Disability

Task Description

Develop a 2000-word case study that profiles a student (including educational and social needs) for the purpose of providing detailed information to another teacher, who will be teaching this student in the future.  The case response should focus on a specific child with a disability and may include a student from a case study presented in this unit, or a child that is known personally (all personal information should be deidentified to maintain confidentiality). 

  • Profile the student by documenting detailed demographic data about the student that includes:
    • Personal details such as age, gender, socio-economic status, ethnic background, language, family background and context and geographical details.
    • Any medical history.
    • Description of the specific disability.
  • Discuss the student's disability by referring to current literature and identify where appropriate sources of professional learning can be accessed to support this child's inclusion. 
  • Discuss the potential impact of this student's disability on learning, and access to and social participation in a mainstream classroom.
  • Identify recommendations, which can be used by the next teacher in this student's educational journey, that promote the student’s learning, social participation and well-being, safety, health and personal care in a mainstream educational setting.  These should include appropriate technological aides, and accommodations and modifications to learning, assessment and the learning environment. 
  • Recommend communication strategies for consulting with the student, other students in the classroom, parents/ carers, specialists and community support services that form the student's support network.

 

Word count for written assignments:

The word count is considered from the first word of the introduction to the last word of the conclusion. It excludes the cover page, abstract, contents page, reference page and appendices. It includes in-text references and direct quotations.

Use of Generative Artificial Intelligence agents for written assignments:

Generative Artificial Intelligence agents (Gen AI) is as follows: 

No Gen AI use at any point during this assessment.


Assessment Due Date

Week 11 Thursday (30 Jan 2025) 11:45 pm AEST


Return Date to Students

Assessment Task 2 will be returned to students within appropriate timeframes that accommodate marking, moderation and preparation for Certification of Grades.


Weighting
50%

Assessment Criteria

Knowledge of case study development for the purpose of understanding how physical, social and intellectual development and characteristics of students may affect learning (APST 1.1).

Knowledge of chosen disability and where to access appropriate professional learning (APST 6.2).

Understanding of the impacts of disability on access, learning and social participation for the child with disability (APST 1.1 & 4.1).

Knowledge and understanding of accommodations and modifications to learning, assessment and participation and understanding of relevant technology aids and other resources to promote learning, engagement, social participation, well-being, safety and personal care (APST 1.5 2.6, 4.1, 4.3, 4.4 & 6.2).

Application of communication strategies with all stakeholders in effective, sensitive and confidential ways, and with an understanding of how these interactions can also broaden a teacher’s professional knowledge and practice (APST 3.7, 7.3 & 7.4).

Application of academic writing conventions and adherence to APA style and referencing.


Referencing Style

Submission
Online

Submission Instructions
Task to be submitted as a Word Docx file (or equivalent file) that adheres APA style protocols.

Learning Outcomes Assessed
  • Appraise the roles and responsibilities of educational stakeholders under legislation and policy for students with disabilities
  • Propose processes that overcome barriers to successful inclusion of students with disabilities
  • Evaluate strategies that support the psychological wellbeing, behaviour, accessibility and learning of students with special needs within whole class groups
  • Explain the rationale for accommodations and modifications that support the learning and social needs of students with disabilities
  • Interpret research literature and primary data sources to make recommendations that support the needs of students with disabilities.


Graduate Attributes

Academic Integrity Statement

As a CQUniversity student you are expected to act honestly in all aspects of your academic work.

Any assessable work undertaken or submitted for review or assessment must be your own work. Assessable work is any type of work you do to meet the assessment requirements in the unit, including draft work submitted for review and feedback and final work to be assessed.

When you use the ideas, words or data of others in your assessment, you must thoroughly and clearly acknowledge the source of this information by using the correct referencing style for your unit. Using others’ work without proper acknowledgement may be considered a form of intellectual dishonesty.

Participating honestly, respectfully, responsibly, and fairly in your university study ensures the CQUniversity qualification you earn will be valued as a true indication of your individual academic achievement and will continue to receive the respect and recognition it deserves.

As a student, you are responsible for reading and following CQUniversity’s policies, including the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure. This policy sets out CQUniversity’s expectations of you to act with integrity, examples of academic integrity breaches to avoid, the processes used to address alleged breaches of academic integrity, and potential penalties.

What is a breach of academic integrity?

A breach of academic integrity includes but is not limited to plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, cheating, contract cheating, and academic misconduct. The Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure defines what these terms mean and gives examples.

Why is academic integrity important?

A breach of academic integrity may result in one or more penalties, including suspension or even expulsion from the University. It can also have negative implications for student visas and future enrolment at CQUniversity or elsewhere. Students who engage in contract cheating also risk being blackmailed by contract cheating services.

Where can I get assistance?

For academic advice and guidance, the Academic Learning Centre (ALC) can support you in becoming confident in completing assessments with integrity and of high standard.

What can you do to act with integrity?