ARTS232 Learning in the Community Page 1

FACULTY OF ARTS & SCIENCES

School of Arts & Sciences

Strathfield Campus

Semester 1 2012

ARTS232: Learning in the Community

UNIT OUTLINE

CREDIT POINTS N/A

PREREQUISITES/COREQUISITES/INCOMPATIBLES Nil

. LECTURER-IN-CHARGE Ms Michelle Black

Office Location: E.78

Email: Michelle.Black@acu.edu.au

Telephone : 02 9701 4094

DESCRIPTION

Australian Catholic University endeavours to develop students who are able to exercise moral and professional autonomy in a pluralistic society. The Mission Statement identifies the University as having a commitment to serving the common good with a fundamental concern for justice and equity, and for the dignity of all human beings. The current ACU Strategic Plan supports the development of student awareness of social responsibility to the wider community. Graduates should be persons whose moral development is mature and who are professionally competent, and able to make significant contributions to the profession and the wider community. The Learning in the Community unit enables students to contribute to community service in tangible ways that may enable ethical, spiritual and personal development.

NOTE: Students are normally expected to complete this unit by the end of Semester 2 of the 2nd year at Australian Catholic University. It is a student’s responsibility to enrol, organise and satisfy this unit in order to proceed towards the course completion for Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Visual Arts & Design.

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MODE AND DURATION

Mode/Attendance Pattern:

Students undertake a period of voluntary service with a community organisation for a period of 105 hours.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

On successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:

1. demonstrate professional behaviour and attitudes (GA1, 5)

2. demonstrate a heightened awareness of the ethical and social responsibility of decision

makers in business, government and community organisations (GA 2, 3)

3. reflect upon the impact of the community engagement experience on personal values,

assumptions and attitudes (GA 4)

4. communicate personal reflections about a voluntary community engagement experience

(GA 5, 6, 7)

Each unit in your course contributes in some way to the development of the ACU Graduate

Attributes which you should demonstrate by the time you complete your course.

You can view the ACU Graduate Attributes for all courses by following this link Graduate Attributes

(http://www.acu.edu.au/241467).

All Australian universities have their expected Graduate Attributes – ACU’s Graduate Attributes

have a greater emphasis on ethical behaviour and community responsibility than those of many

other universities. All of your units will develop some attributes.

On successful completion of this unit, students will have developed their ability to:

GA1 demonstrate respect for the dignity of each individual and for human diversity

GA2 recognise their responsibility to the common good, the environment and society

GA3 apply ethical perspectives in informed decision making

GA4 think critically and reflectively

GA5 demonstrate values, knowledge, skills and attitudes appropriate to the discipline and/or profession

GA6 solve problems in a variety of settings taking local and international perspectives into account

GA7 work both autonomously and collaboratively

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CONTENT & STRUCTURE

Students will be able to select the organisation in which they serve for a total of 15 days/105 hours. It is not restricted to the list of participating non-profit community service organisations.

Each student and participating organisation will need to complete a placement agreement form that clarifies the role to be performed by the student and expectations of both parties.

The service period may be completed in a full or part-time capacity depending upon the needs of the organisation.

There is to be no payment for the service performed.

The range of service activities undertaken may encompass serving as a general volunteer in an establishment conducted by one of the charitable or non-profit organisations, or assisting with a volunteer community project.

Some organisations may require students to undergo a background check because of the high 'duty of care' that those organisations have in relation to their clients.

After completion of the period of Learning in the Community a student may wish to retain

her or his involvement with the participating organisation, but that involvement is entirely a

matter between the student and the participating organisation.

SCHEDULE

There is no regular class scheduled because of the nature of this unit except Information/Orientation sessions will be held in the early weeks of Semester 2.See LEO/Moodle for further information.

Read the ‘Learning in the Community Information Guide 2012’ carefully.

You need to make contact with suitable non- profit community organisation(s).

1 Each student and the host organisation complete a Placement Agreement Form. If work is

undertaken in more than one organisation, the students must complete a form for each.

2 This Placement Agreement Form must be submitted for approval to the Co-ordinator of

Learning in the Community PRIOR to the student commencing service with the host

organisation. No credit will be given for time spent working with an organisation BEFORE

approval.

3 The student performs the equivalent of 105 hrs work in an unpaid (volunteer) capacity

at the approved placement(s).

The student keeps his/her diary/journal record.

4 The host organisation completes a Verification Form which confirms the numbers of

days/hours worked by the student. If a student volunteer at more than one organisation,

they must submit a separate form for each.

5 The host organisation is invited to complete a brief Appraisal Form for the student. This

should be submitted along with the Verification Form(s) as well as 6 below.

6 The student submits a completed journal and a report together with

4 & 5 above as a package by the due date: SEE DUE DATE Page 4.

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ASSESSMENT PROCEDURES

OVERVIEW OF ASSESSMENTS

Brief Description of Tasks Due Date Learning Outcome/s Assessed

Graduate Attributes Assessed

1. Placement Agreement Form for Approval

Before placement 1 GA 1

2. Learning in the Community - (Volunteer service)

Placement/service period 105 hrs or 15 days

1, 2, 3 GA 1

3. Diary /journal During service period

3, 4. GA 4

4. Verification & Appraisal Forms (Organise to be completed by host organisation)

When student completes the service

1 GA 1, 2

5. Report Semester 1 Monday 4 June 2012

3, 4 GA 2, 3, 4

Description of the tasks

Task 1: Learning in the Community Placement Agreement Form (Guide p.8)

See Schedule 1 & 2 above.

Task 2: Learning in the Community

See Schedule 3 above.

Task 3: Diary/journal

A dairy/journal that includes the student’s activities for each day or part day at the

organisation(s).

There should be an entry on a dated separate page for each day or part day of service.

The journal must be a small, bound notebook and NOT loose-leaf paper or electronic journal by arrangement.

NB: If the service includes self directed work, i.e. web design, a portfolio should be

attached to the diary/ journal.

Task 4: Verification (Guide p.9) & Appraisal Forms (Guide p.10)

See Schedule 4 & 5 above

Task 5: A report Length: 500 words (word-processed). This can be submitted electronically

(soft copy) with an ACU assessment cover sheet and/or hard copy with ACU assessment cover

sheet.

In order to pass this unit you must normally achieve a satisfactory standard in each component

and have completed all the hurdle requirements. The unit will be assessed on a pass/fail basis.

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Students must notify the Coordinator in a timely manner and provide substantiating documentation

of any problems in relation to placement with the host organisation(s).

Marking Criteria

Report

ability to express reflectively upon the impact of the Learning in the Community on their values, assumptions and attitudes

ability to communicate their reflections about their experience effectively

organisation/presentation

‘Application for Extension of Time for an Assignment Form’,

If you are unable to complete the Learning in the Community within the enrolled

semester/term for any reason, you MUST apply for extension of time in the same manner as

other academic units on or before the due for submission set in this Unit Outline. (6.1.8

Academic Regulations: http://my.acu.edu.au/51686)

While students are expected to fulfil all the requirements as soon as practical, the maximum

extension which maybe granted is the end of the following consecutive semester/term within 6

months. The University will not accept an application for extension beyond this point.

SUBMISSION OF ASSIGNMENTS Assignments are to be placed in the School of Arts and Sciences Assignment Box located outside Room 3.05, Building S, Strathfield Campus (Mount Saint Mary) and submitted electronically to the coordinator using ACU student email account. Assignments must be submitted before 3.30 pm on the day the assignment is due. Assignments submitted after 3.30pm will be stamped with the next day’s date. Students are reminded to keep a copy of all work submitted for assessment. Please submit a signed ACU Assignment Cover Sheet with your assignment.

Assignment Returning Timing:

Assignments should be picked up by students 4 weeks after the date they are submitted. Please note that the diary/journal component only will be returned when the formal assessment is completed. Therefore you are required to make copies of the original forms.

OTHER UNIT INFORMATION

You may not enrol in this unit if you have previously passed, or are currently enrolled in, any unit identified as incompatible with this unit.

Students who are in their first study term are not encouraged to enrol in this unit. If you do not meet these requirements then you must see your Course Coordinators.

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The details of Course Coordinators are as below.

John Barlow Ph: 9701 4039 BA/BTeaching, Michelle Black Ph: 9701 4094 BAA/BSW Jennifer Carpenter Ph: 9701 4054 BA

Dr Uros Cvoro Ph: 9701 4264 BVAD

This unit is NOT offered/ available for Summer Term A in December 2012 at MSM campus.

You should also become very familiar with the Student Tutorials in Moodle, since almost all ACU

units now utilise eLearning.

STUDENT FEEDBACK AND CHANGES TO UNIT

The required hours for student service has been reduced to 105 hours from 120 hours (while 15

Days is remained the same).

REQUIRED TEXT

Learning in the Community Guide 2011, School of Arts & Sciences (NSW), ACU,

available from the Moodle site.

POLICIES, RESOURCES AND SUPPORT

(Unit Outline Resources) http://www.acu.edu.au/241467

It is the responsibility of all students to access, read and familiarise themselves with the following

ACU Policies and Regulations. These are to be found in the ACU Handbook, which is readily

available in the Library or on the Internet. The Academic Honesty Policy is very important and you

must understand that plagiarism, collusion and recycling of assignments are not acceptable. You

must read the Assessment Policy and Procedures. If you have any queries please see your

Lecturer in Charge.

Policies This area includes the Academic Honesty Policy (including information on plagiarism); Academic

Regulations and Policies - see especially Assessment (attendance, extension for an assignment,

factors affecting performance completion of assessment tasks, group work and collaborative

assessment, personal circumstances affecting assessment, submission, collection and retention of

assessment tasks, resubmission of assessment tasks); Examinations (including deferred exams);

Review and appeals; Acceptable use of IT facilities; Conduct and responsibilities; Graduate

Attributes.

Resources

This area includes the ACU Handbook, the eLearning Login (Blackboard); eLearning Assistance and eLearning Tutorials and guidance. Support

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If you are experiencing difficulties with learning, life issues or pastoral/spiritual concerns, or have a

disability/medical condition which may impact on your studies, you are advised to notify your

Lecturer-In-Charge, Course Coordinator and/or one of the services listed below as soon as

possible. The support areas include

Academic Skills which offers a variety of services, including workshops (on topics such as

assignment writing, time management, reading strategies, referencing), drop-in sessions,

group appointments and individual consultations. It has a 24-hour online booking system for

individual or group consultations.

Campus Ministry offers pastoral care, spiritual leadership and opportunities for you to be

involved with community projects. The Career Development Service can assist you with

finding employment, preparing a resume and employment application and preparing for

interviews. The Counselling Service is a free, voluntary, confidential and non-judgmental

service open to all students and staffed by qualified social workers or registered psychologists.

Equity and Disability can assist you if you need educational adjustments because of a

disability or chronic medical condition; please contact them as early as possible. Indigenous

Units on each campus provide information and support for students. For all aspects of support

please contact the Office of Student Success.