Overview
Positive Learning for University introduces you to a variety of concepts through the framework of Positive Psychology. Techniques will be taught to: enhance clarity and identify personal meaning and values; increase optimism through changes in thinking; consider how gratitude and mindfulness improve personal well-being; identify personal strengths; provide opportunities to develop positive relationships; improve communication skills; and integrate healthy living to ensure a healthy environment for study. Through a mixture of theory, practical activities and reflection, you will demonstrate how personal attitudes and ways of thinking affect your learning, and you will consider solutions to the challenges that may be encountered in higher education. Additionally, in order to navigate an online world, you will be introduced to a number of technology platforms that will further support your learning and assist you to demonstrate understanding of concepts using technology.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
There are no requisites for this unit.
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 - 2018
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 Non-award 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 CQUniversity Policy and reflection on Unit
Indigenisation of the Curriculum
Identify Indigenous leaders from the field of Positive Psychology and include them in the recommended readings.
Feedback from Self-reflection on Unit contents
Enhanced support for students undertaking this unit
Increase follow up with students who identify as having an access plan or self-identify as being vulnerable
Feedback from Feedback from students
Identify positive outcomes for students
Testimonials from past students will be featured on the Moodle site.
Feedback from Non-attendance at planned sessions
Low participation in Zoom sessions
Vary times of sessions or do a survey early in the term to find the most suitable time for the majority of students
Feedback from Student evaluations
Navigation difficulties with the Moodle site
Ascertain where the problems lie by working with students, and see if there is a way to resolve this issue by investigating the visual aspects of using handheld devices or changing the colour palette.
- identify the key principles that underpin Positive Psychology
- apply positive strategies and techniques to enhance learning and personal success
- reflect on how Positive Psychology concepts affect learning
- navigate online technologies to promote engagement and share knowledge
- apply Positive Psychology concepts to real life contexts
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
1 - Online Quiz(zes) - 10% | |||||
2 - Portfolio - 20% | |||||
3 - Portfolio - 40% | |||||
4 - Practical and Written Assessment - 30% |
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | |
1 - Self Management | |||||
2 - Communication | |||||
3 - Information Literacy | |||||
4 - Information Technology Competence | |||||
5 - Problem Solving | |||||
6 - Critical Thinking | |||||
7 - Cross-Cultural Competence | |||||
8 - Ethical Practice | |||||
9 - 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 | |
1 - Online Quiz(zes) - 10% | |||||||||
2 - Portfolio - 20% | |||||||||
3 - Portfolio - 40% | |||||||||
4 - Practical and Written Assessment - 30% |
Textbooks
There are no required textbooks.
Additional Textbook Information
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
- Access to personal computer
- Webcam (inc microphone) required for Zoom Session
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: Harvard (author-date)
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
t.james@cqu.edu.au
Module/Topic
Introduction to Positive Psychology and the CHOOSE model
Chapter
Technology: GoSoapBox
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Positive Life - Know where you are going - Learn from where you have been
Chapter
Technology: Zoom
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Positive Health - Reaping the benefits of a healthy lifestyle
Chapter
Technology: Dropbox
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Positive Emotions - Developing positive emotions for a positive outlook
Chapter
Technology: Jing/Snipping Tool
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Optimism - Always look on the bright side of life
Chapter
Technology: Blog/Weebly
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Optimism - Education to personal empowerment
Chapter
Technology: Prezi
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Positive Strengths - Using your best to make you better
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Stress & Resilience - Making molehills out of mountains
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Positive Relationships - Gaining perspective on life, yourself and others
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Positive Communication - Communicating with others
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Self-empowerment - Be inspired to flourish
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Enjoyment - Enjoy the moment
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Module/Topic
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
I am Trixie James, the Unit Coordinator, support lecturer and marker for this unit (otherwise known as PLU).
You can contact me via email at t.james@cqu.edu.au or by phone (07) 4150 7146. I am located on the Bundaberg campus.
1 Online Quiz(zes)
After reading Module 1 and the additional reading “The new science of happiness” (both accessible through Moodle), you will be required to complete a quiz to demonstrate your understanding of the principles behind Positive Psychology and what research has found to support this theory.
This quiz is an open book test which means you may have these resources on hand to assist you when responding to the questions. The quiz is located on Moodle in the ‘Assessment’ block on the left-hand side. You will be given 2 hours to complete this quiz and you only have one attempt to complete the 20 questions.
Do not attempt this quiz until you have:
1) Completed reading both Module 1 and the additional reading “The new science of happiness”
2) Ensured you have a steady internet connection
3) Allowed the full two hours to complete the quiz (if required)
1
Week 2 Friday (16 Nov 2018) 11:59 pm AEST
Results will be provided automatically on completion of the quiz
This quiz assesses your understanding of the key concepts around Positive Psychology from Module 1.
- identify the key principles that underpin Positive Psychology
- Self Management
- Information Technology Competence
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Ethical Practice
2 Portfolio
From Week 2 to Week 4, there will be weekly tasks to complete for the Reflective Portfolio.
A template is provided for you to fill with your responses to the weekly reflective tasks. Title it Reflective Portfolio A for submission. These weekly tasks can be accessed through the weekly Module blocks or through the Assessment Overview tab on Moodle. When formatting the document, headings are suggested in order to ensure the marker can clearly and explicitly identify the individual answers.
In order to complete each task, you will need to reflect on the material in the study guide as well as the additional material provided on the Positive Learning for University Moodle site and apply the content to your current situation as a student. There may be some activities for which additional information in the form of worksheets, articles, websites or other resources may be required.
Upload the final word document to Moodle through the 'Assessment' block on the left hand side of Moodle.
Full details of these tasks are available on Moodle under the Assessment Overview tab.
Week 5 Monday (10 Dec 2018) 9:00 pm AEST
Week 6 Friday (21 Dec 2018)
You will be assessed according to the quality and depth of your responses. The criteria that will guide the marker includes:
- Completion of all reflective portfolio tasks
- Demonstrated understanding of each concept
- Depth of thinking and evidence of ability to apply concepts to life
You are expected to write in an academic style using complete sentences when responding to questions and reference all sources using Harvard style referencing.
- apply positive strategies and techniques to enhance learning and personal success
- reflect on how Positive Psychology concepts affect learning
- Self Management
- Communication
- Information Literacy
- Information Technology Competence
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Cross-Cultural Competence
- Ethical Practice
3 Portfolio
From Week 5 to Week 8, there will be weekly tasks to complete for Reflective Portfolio B. These tasks will ask you to reflect on the Positive Psychology content and write a response. In addition, you will also be asked to demonstrate your competence with the technology elements taught throughout these weeks.
A template is provided for you to fill with your responses to the weekly reflective and technology tasks. Title the template Reflective Portfolio B for submission. These weekly tasks can be accessed through the weekly Module blocks or through the Assessment Overview tab on Moodle. When formatting the document, headings are suggested in order to ensure the marker can clearly and explicitly identify the individual answers.
In order to complete each task, you will need to reflect on the material in the study guide as well as the additional material provided on the Positive Learning for University Moodle site and apply the content to your current situation as a student. There may be some activities for which additional information in the form of worksheets, articles, websites or other resources may be required.
Upload the final word document to Moodle through the 'Assessment' block on the left hand side of Moodle.
Full details of these tasks are available on Moodle under the Assessment Overview tab.
Week 9 Friday (18 Jan 2019) 11:59 pm AEST
Week 11 Friday (1 Feb 2019)
You will be assessed according to the quality and depth of your responses. The criteria that will guide the marker includes:
- Completion of all workbook tasks
- Demonstrated understanding of each concept
- Demonstrated competence at navigating the technology elements
- Depth of thinking and evidence of ability to apply concepts to life
You are expected to write in an academic style using complete sentences when responding to questions and reference all sources using Harvard style referencing.
- apply positive strategies and techniques to enhance learning and personal success
- reflect on how Positive Psychology concepts affect learning
- navigate online technologies to promote engagement and share knowledge
- Self Management
- Communication
- Information Literacy
- Information Technology Competence
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Cross-Cultural Competence
- Ethical Practice
4 Practical and Written Assessment
In order to demonstrate your understanding of the theory of Positive Psychology, you have 3 options to choose from for the final assessment task. These three options have specific criteria that align to each one. Please read through the descriptions below and then go to the Assessment Overview Tab on Moodle for more explicit details.
Educational Campaign: As you reflect on the past term, you will notice that there have been many theories and strategies presented to you in order to assist you in becoming a more positive student and person. Your task is to choose a concept that has been covered this term and develop an Educational Campaign to further expand on this subject.
Motivational Video: This task requires you to create an inspirational video that aligns to one of the modules. Within this inspirational/motivational video, each of the key elements within that Module needs to be presented in a positive and encouraging manner using one of the technology elements taught in this unit or in Computer Skills for University.
Random Acts of Kindness: This summative task consists of an applied element alongside a reflection of current research. Random Acts of Kindness is an approach taught within the realm of positive psychology and is instrumental in creating well-being and a sense of satisfaction for those doing the act of kindness. This task requires you to dedicate some time to completing some Random Acts of Kindness and then reflect upon this experience. In addition, students will read some current research findings on the benefits of altruism.
Full details on each of these are available on Moodle. Once you have chosen the task, please email the Unit Coordinator with your decision.
Week 12 Friday (8 Feb 2019) 11:59 pm AEST
Exam Week Friday (15 Feb 2019)
The three options have specific criteria that align to each one. These criteria can be found on Moodle alongside the Assessment description.
You will be assessed according to the quality and depth of your responses. The criteria that guide the marker includes:
-
Completion of all tasks outlined in the Assessment description
-
Demonstrated understanding of the Positive Psychology concepts
-
Demonstrated ability to apply concepts using technology
You are expected to write in an academic style using complete sentences when responding to questions and reference all sources using Harvard style referencing.
- navigate online technologies to promote engagement and share knowledge
- apply Positive Psychology concepts to real life contexts
- Self Management
- Communication
- Information Literacy
- Information Technology Competence
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- 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.