Overview
Volunteering provides an opportunity to develop civic awareness and participation as well as developing personal skills of self-understanding, discretion and learning to work with others.This unit allows students to engage with communities in a way that encourages them to use their volunteering experiences to promote a deeper understanding of community as well as their role within their communities as professionals upon graduation. It encourages students to understand the theory that underpins volunteering activities and to apply this thinking to their own experiences. Students are expected to volunteer for a minimum of 25 hours with a community agency.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
Successful completion of 48 credit points.
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 1 - 2017
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).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 6-credit Undergraduate 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
Assessment Overview
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.
All University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
You may wish to view these policies:
- Grades and Results Policy
- Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework)
- Review of Grade Procedure
- Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure – Domestic Students
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure – International Students
- Student Refund and Credit Balance Policy and Procedure
- Student Feedback – Compliments and Complaints Policy and Procedure
- Information and Communications Technology Acceptable Use Policy and Procedure
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
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 Course Evaluation Response
It would have been good to have less exercises to complete for each model.
The student was talking about the formative portfolio exercises. Taking this into account it was thought acceptable to lessen the number of activities completed as part of the formative portfolios. This minor change had no real impact on the assessment.
No further action deemed necessary.
- Evaluate the role volunteering plays in building communities.
- Apply the theory associated with volunteering in a community setting.
- Realistically reflect on learning resulting from volunteering experiences.
- Demonstrate communication and culturally competent skills and knowledge appropriate to the volunteer experience.
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment - 0% | ||||
| 2 - Portfolio - 10% | ||||
| 3 - Written Assessment - 25% | ||||
| 4 - Portfolio - 65% | ||||
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1 - Communication | ||||
| 2 - Problem Solving | ||||
| 3 - Critical Thinking | ||||
| 4 - Information Literacy | ||||
| 5 - Team Work | ||||
| 6 - Information Technology Competence | ||||
| 7 - Cross Cultural Competence | ||||
| 8 - Ethical practice | ||||
| 9 - Social Innovation | ||||
| 10 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures | ||||
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment - 0% | ||||||||||
| 2 - Portfolio - 10% | ||||||||||
| 3 - Written Assessment - 25% | ||||||||||
| 4 - Portfolio - 65% | ||||||||||
Textbooks
Learning through serving
Edition: 2nd edn (2013)
Authors: Cress, CM, Collier, PJ & Reitenauer, VL
Stylus
Sterling Sterling , VA , USA
ISBN: 9780729537995
Binding: Paperback
Additional Textbook Information
Learning through serving: This textbook is also available as a free eBook via CQUniversity Library
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: Harvard (author-date)
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
d.trott@cqu.edu.au
Module/Topic
Module 1: Preparation for community experience
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Events and Submissions/Topic
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Events and Submissions/Topic
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Module 2: Establishing community experience
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Events and Submissions/Topic
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Events and Submissions/Topic
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Module 3: Learning from community experience
Chapter
Chapters 6, 7, 8, 9 & 10 of your text
Events and Submissions/Topic
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Events and Submissions/Topic
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Events and Submissions/Topic
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Module 4: Reflecting on and evaluating community experience
Chapter
Chapters 11, 12, 13 & 14 of your text
Events and Submissions/Topic
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Events and Submissions/Topic
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Events and Submissions/Topic
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Events and Submissions/Topic
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Events and Submissions/Topic
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Events and Submissions/Topic
1 Written Assessment
Objectives
This assessment item relates to the unit learning outcomes numbers 3 & 4.
Details
For this assessment you will need to negotiate to participate in at least 25 hours of volunteer experience with a community-based organisation. If you are not sure that what you would like to do meets these requirements, you should discuss your placement with your lecturer. The negotiation will involve completion of a Volunteer Experience Negotiation form, provided on Moodle, in collaboration with the community organisation. As part of the negotiation process, you will also need to complete a CQUniversity Risk Assessment form. Both forms must be submitted as part of this assessment task. University Insurance cover will not be valid unless your negotiation and risk assessment forms have been completed and approved by your unit coordinator and you must achieve a passing grade for this task before you commence your volunteer experience.Week 2 Friday (17 Mar 2017) 5:00 pm AEST
Week 3 Friday (24 Mar 2017)
Students have successfully:
- Negotiated a volunteer experience; and
- Completed a risk assessment.
- Apply the theory associated with volunteering in a community setting.
- Communication
- Information Technology Competence
- Ethical practice
2 Portfolio
Objective
This assessment item relates to the unit learning outcomes numbers 1, 2, 3 & 4.
Details
You are required to undertake a number of prescribed activities allocated from your text, Modules 1 & 2, i.e. identified on Moodle. You must complete and submit these activities in a Q&A format as your Formative Portfolio (the tasks to be completed are identified in Moodle).
Week 5 Friday (7 Apr 2017) 5:00 pm AEST
Submit to Moodle
Week 7 Friday (28 Apr 2017)
The Formative Portfolio will be awarded a grade based on the level of thought and effort applied in responding to the set activities, i.e. 1% minimal thought to 5% deep thought.
- Evaluate the role volunteering plays in building communities.
- Apply the theory associated with volunteering in a community setting.
- Realistically reflect on learning resulting from volunteering experiences.
- Demonstrate communication and culturally competent skills and knowledge appropriate to the volunteer experience.
- Communication
- Information Literacy
- Cross Cultural Competence
- Ethical practice
3 Written Assessment
Objective
This assessment item relates to the unit learning outcomes numbers 1, 2 & 4.
Details
Write a 1500 word essay that evaluates the role of volunteering in building communities. Contrast the benefits and risks associated with service learning units for undergraduate students.
Week 8 Friday (5 May 2017) 5:00 pm AEST
Week 10 Friday (19 May 2017)
The marking criteria for this essay will be based on the following components:
- Benefits (5%)
- Risks (5%)
- Evaluation (5%)
- Quality of evidence (5%)
- Structure and communication (5%)
- Evaluate the role volunteering plays in building communities.
- Communication
- Critical Thinking
- Cross Cultural Competence
- Ethical practice
4 Portfolio
Objective
This assessment item relates to the unit learning outcomes numbers 1, 2, 3 & 4.
Details
The Portfolio provides an overview of your key learning for the term to provide you with a better understanding of your voluntary experience.
Your Portfolio must include:
- A critical reflection - a first person reflection on your voluntary experience. Your reflection should refer to your civic engagement in the context of all prescribed activities from the text, connecting these activities with your voluntary experience. Your reflection can be a written paper (2000 words), a video or audio production (15-20 minutes in length) or another negotiated format; and
- An appendix - including all prescribed activities from Modules 1-4 in a Q&A format (Modules 1 & 2 revised taking into consideration the feedback provided on your Formative portfolio and completed activities for Modules 3 & 4).
Week 12 Friday (2 June 2017) 5:00 pm AEST
Results for final assessment are released following Certification of grades.
The final Portfolio will be marked according to the following criteria:
- Application of theoretical constructs to community learning experience (25%);
- Reflection on unit content and relevance to service experience (20%); and
- Communication and cultural competence (20%).
- Evaluate the role volunteering plays in building communities.
- Apply the theory associated with volunteering in a community setting.
- Realistically reflect on learning resulting from volunteering experiences.
- Demonstrate communication and culturally competent skills and knowledge appropriate to the volunteer experience.
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Team Work
- Cross Cultural Competence
- Ethical practice
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?
