Induction Day

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Induction Day

• 2009

Associate Professor Simon Pyke Associate Dean
(Learning Quality) Faculty of Sciences
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Welcome to the Faculty of Sciences
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Structure of todays events

• Academic Mentoring Program
• University Culture
• Things you need to know
• Key contacts
• Key dates
• Life after 1st Year
• Academic Writing
• Lunch
• Guided tours

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Academic Mentor Program
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University culture
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Things you need to know

• NAMES
• Each of you has enrolled in a PROGRAM of study.
• Each program contains a series of COURSES.
• Each course will contain a range of a LEARNING
  ACTIVITIES
• Lectures
• Tutorials
• Practicals (laboratory field trips)

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Things you need to know

• COURSE PRE-REQUISITES
• Many courses REQUIRE a certain level of prior
  knowledge.
• E.g. In order to enrol in Chemistry III, you need
  Passes (minimum) in both Chemistry IIA
  Chemistry IIB.
• A grade of Conceded Pass is NOT sufficient to
  meet a higher level course pre-requisite.
• Some courses ASSUME a certain level of prior
  knowledge.
• E.g. If you enrol in Sedimentary Geology II it is
  assumed that you are familiar with the material
  in either Earths Interior I or Earth Systems I.

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Things you need to know

• STUDENT WORKLOAD
• A full-time student should expect to spend, on
  average, a total of 48 hours per week on their
  studies.
• This includes both the formal contact time
  required to the course (e.g. lectures, tutorials,
  practicals), as well as non-contact time (e.g.
  reading and revision).
• For a 3-unit course, the expected workload would
  be, on average, 12 hours per week

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Things you need to know

• MyUni
• MyUni is the University of Adelaide's online
  learning environment. https//myuni.adelaide.edu.
  au/
• It is used to support traditional face-to-face
  lectures, tutorials, practicals and workshops at
  the University.
• MyUni provides access to various features
  including announcements, course materials,
  discussion boards and assessment items for each
  course of study.

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MyUni
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Things you need to know

• STUDENT EMAIL
• All students are provided with an email account
  (university system or gmail)
• You need to make sure that you check your inbox
  regularly
• NOT reading your email will not be a valid excuse
  for missing important deadlines etc. (also
  applies to MyUni announcements)

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Things you need to know

• ASSESSMENT
• Each course will have clear articulation of the
  assessment requirements for that course.
• This should include details about
• the type of assessment (diagnostic, formative,
  summative)
• the form of assessment (practical report, essay,
  online quiz etc.)
• the relative weighting of each assessment task
• any minimum requirements that must be met to pass
  the course and the consequences of failure to
  meet any such requirements.

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Things you need to know

• ASSESSMENT (2)
• For each course you will also be given details
  about HOW work is to be submitted for assessment
  (e.g. paper based or digital) and WHERE work is
  to be submitted.
• You should also be informed of the turn around
  time to receive feedback on work you have
  submitted for assessment.

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Things you need to know

• REASONABLE ADJUSTMENTS TO TEACHING
• Students with disabilities or who require special
  consideration should consult with the Course
  Coordinator at the beginning of the course to
  arrange any necessary adjustments to the teaching
  or assessment arrangements.
• You should also consider consulting a Disability
  Liaison Officer.

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Things you need to know

• EXTENSIONS FOR ASSESSMENT TASKS
• Extensions of deadlines for assessment tasks may
  be allowed for reasonable causes (e.g. medical or
  compassionate grounds).
• Evidence for the grounds must be provided when an
  extension is requested.
• You are required to apply for an extension to the
  Course Co-ordinator before the assessment task is
  due.
• Extensions will not be provided on the grounds of
  poor prioritising of time.
• The assessment extension application form can be
  obtained from MyUni of the Faculty website.

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Things you need to know

• PENALTY FOR LATE SUBMISSION OF WORK
• Assessment tasks must be submitted by the stated
  deadlines.
• There will be a penalty for late submission of
  assessment tasks the submitted work will be
  marked without prejudice and 10 of the
  obtained mark will be deducted for each working
  day (or part of a day) that an assessment task is
  late, up to a maximum penalty of 50 of the mark
  attained.
• An examiner may elect not to accept any
  assessment task that a student wants to submit
  after that task has been marked and feedback
  provided to the rest of the class

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Things you need to know

• ALTERNATIVE ARRANGEMENT EXAMINATIONS
• Under exceptional circumstances, a student may
  apply for a variation to the location, time, or
  conditions of centrally administered examinations
  on the basis of medical and some non-medical
  grounds.

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Things you need to know

• SUPPLEMENTARY EXAMINATIONS
• Supplementary Examinations on academic grounds
  are automatically offered to students who achieve
  a final course mark of 45-49.
• Supplementary examinations may also be granted to
  provide an opportunity for students whose
  academic performance was impaired by
  circumstances beyond their control in the primary
  examinations (i.e. medical and/or compassionate
  grounds). These must be applied for.

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Things you need to know

• GRADES
• Grades are awarded based on final course marks.
• Your Grade Point Average (GPA) is used to monitor
  academic progress.

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Key Contacts

• COURSE COORDINATORS
• Biology I Molecules, Genes CellsDr Grant
  Booker
• Chemistry IA / Foundations of Chemistry IADr
  Natalie Williamson
• Earth Systems IDr Karin Barovich
• Physics IADr Judith Pollard
• Physics for the Life Earth Sciences
  IA/Physics Principles Applications I Dr Rod
  Crewther

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Key Contacts

• FACULTY OF SCIENCES
• The Faculty of Sciences Office is directly
  opposite the entrance to the Barr Smith Library.
• Drop in for assistance with
• Course advice
• Changing your enrolment
• Study Abroad enquiries
• Etc.

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Key Contacts

• LANGUAGE LEARNING SERVICE
• The Language and Learning Service (LLS) is part
  of the Centre for Learning and Professional
  Development (CLPD).
• LLS staff facilitate a range of academic seminars
  for undergraduate students including academic
  writing and skills development seminars held each
  semester, as well as a range of online resources
  available from Writing and Speaking at Uni
  through MyUni, and the LLS printed learning
  guides. http//www.adelaide.edu.au/clpd/students
  .html

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Key Contacts

• MATHS LEARNING SERVICE
• The Maths Learning Service (MLS) is also part of
  the Centre for Learning and Professional
  Development (CLPD).
• The MLS offers free support for students learning
  maths and/or stats in their studies.
• The MLS includes the 'Maths Drop-In Centre' which
  is open 1000am to 400pm during teaching weeks,
  swot vacs and selected times during mid-semester
  breaks (see their website). http//www.adelaide.
  edu.au/clpd/maths

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Key Contacts

• INTERNATIONAL STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES
• This website provides information and links to
  the International Student Centre, Overseas
  Students Association and a range of other
  services for international studentshttp//www.in
  ternational.adelaide.edu.au/support/

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Key Contacts

• EDUCATION WELFARE OFFICERS
• Education and Welfare Officers (EWOs) advise
  students on welfare related issues, financial
  matters (Youth Allowance, Austudy, Abstudy,
  Social Security) personal issues and academic
  matters.
• The EWOs also assess eligibility for Student
  loans and Subsidised Housing and for a number of
  small grants.
• All services are provided within a professional
  and confidential environment.

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Key dates (Semester 1)
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The student voice
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Academic Writing
Avoiding Plagiarism
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Academic Writing Avoiding Plagiarism

• WHATS THIS ALL ABOUT?
• Plagiarism using words, ideas or works of others
  without proper reference.
• Focus here is Academic writing and how to
  achieve it.
• Good academic writing makes the issue of
  plagiarism redundant.
• So what is academic writing, and how is it
  different from other writing?

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Academic Writing Avoiding Plagiarism

• ACADEMIC WRITING
• Academic writing is different from the writing
  you see in a blog, or a magazine, a newspaper, or
  a novel.
• You dont usually find any citing or referencing
  in a magazine, newspaper or novel but these are
  always present in academic writing.
• So why is it expected in academic writing?

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Academic Writing Avoiding Plagiarism

• PURPOSE OF UNIVERSITY STUDY
• Yes you are here to gain knowledge, but more
  importantly youre here to learn HOW to gain
  knowledge.
• You will learn how to research a field of
  knowledge that is new to you, and how to write up
  the results of what you find.
• So the assignments you do at university are meant
  to help you to learn how to do research and how
  to write about it.

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Academic Writing Avoiding Plagiarism

• WHAT IS RESEARCH?
• Some people think that research is only something
  you do in the laboratory, by doing experiments,
  or by doing other types of investigations.
• But there is a step before that the researcher
  needs to know what has already been researched,
  theorised and written about in the field.
• So they check the literature, that is, academic
  articles that have been written about the topic.
• They can see how their own ideas fit in with what
  has gone before they may disagree with some
  things they read, and form new ideas from others.

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Academic Writing Avoiding Plagiarism

• YOUR ASSIGNMENTS RESEARCH?
• YES! They are a little bit like that first step
  in the research process.
• They may be small scale, a short essay, or
  perhaps just a paragraph but theyre the
  beginning of practising, and therefore learning,
  to write like a researcher.

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Academic Writing Avoiding Plagiarism

• RESEARCHING ON A TOPIC?
• If you are given a question or topic, you check
  out the literature for whats been said about it
  so far, and from this you form some opinions.
• Then you write up your views on the topic as your
  assignment.

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Academic Writing Avoiding Plagiarism

• WHATS SPECIAL ABOUT ACADEMIC WRITING?
• Writing up your opinions in a research context is
  very different from an entry in a blog, or an
  opinion piece in The Advertiser.
• What makes research writing special is that other
  people can check its reliability.
• They might criticise it, or they might find it
  useful to build their own research on it.

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Academic Writing Avoiding Plagiarism

• LOGIC OF THE PROCESS
• Research writers need to show HOW they arrived at
  their position so they draw on the articles they
  have read, and they cite bits from them as
  evidence to support their views.
• They also give a complete reference to each
  article cited.
• This way a reader can check out the original
  sources and re-trace the writers logic.
• A reader may disagree with your views, or build
  on it in their own thinking.

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Academic Writing Avoiding Plagiarism

• LIKE REPORTING AN EXPERIMENT?
• YES! Writing up a literature-based component of
  research projects is much the same as reporting
  on an experiment.
• When you perform an experiment, you take careful
  notes of every step. You include this information
  in your write-up, and this means that another
  person can follow the same steps and try to
  replicate your results.
• So, in reading your views that are based on
  evidence that is easily checked (by good quotes
  and references) the reader can trace it and
  replicate your train of thought, and check its
  credibility.
• Your work can become part of the process!

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Academic Writing Avoiding Plagiarism

• BECOMING A GOOD RESEARCHER
• Your assignment is probably not being published,
  but it is good practice on the way towards your
  becoming a good researcher of new information.
• You are learning to become a person who can
  search out relevant information, analyse,
  evaluate and synthesise it in a meaningful way
  for a specific purpose, and communicate the
  results in writing in a way that provides plenty
  of evidence for the reader.

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Academic Writing Avoiding Plagiarism

• WHY SHOULD I WRITE LIKE THIS?
• The skills of a researcher are skills and
  attributes that University of Adelaide graduates
  are expected to have.
• This is what employers are looking for in
  graduates from a research-intensive university
  like the University of Adelaide.

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Academic Writing Avoiding Plagiarism

• WHAT ABOUT PLAGIARISM?
• When you are able to write like a researcher,
  accidental plagiarism becomes redundant, because
  you know what constitutes good research.
• It involves you showing how your views relate to
  those in the literature, and for this you will
  need to give excellent quotes and easy to follow
  references.

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Academic Writing Avoiding Plagiarism

• TAKING SHORTCUTS
• Deliberate plagiarism is another matter.
• That is FRAUD, pretending that someone elses
  research is your own.
• This would not only be dishonest and quite
  unethical, it would also not help you develop as
  an effective research writer.

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Academic Writing Avoiding Plagiarism

• SUBMITTING WORK FOR ASSESSMENT
• When you submit a piece of work for assessment,
  you will be required to fill in and sign an
  Assessment Cover Sheet that states
• I declare that all material in this assessment
  is my own work except where there is clear
  acknowledgement and reference to the work of
  others. I have read the University Policy
  Statement on Plagiarism (http//www.adelaide.edu.a
  u/policies/?230). I give permission for my
  assessment work to be reproduced and submitted to
  other academic staff for the purposes of
  assessment and to be copied, submitted to and
  retained by the University's plagiarism detection
  software provider for the purposes of electronic
  checking of plagiarism.

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Academic Writing Avoiding Plagiarism

• SUBMITTING WORK FOR ASSESSMENT (2)
• You may be asked to submit your work via
  Turnitinhttp//www.turnitin.com
• Turnitin is a totally web-based tool which
  provides an online plagiarism prevention service
  for both educators and learners.

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Academic Writing Avoiding Plagiarism

• IN SUMMARY
• The skills of good academic writing are highly
  valued.
• You will be rewarded for good research writing,
  with clear references to show where your ideas
  come from.
• But you can (and will!) be penalised if you use
  words, ideas or works of others without proper
  reference, even if it is unintentional.

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Academic Writing Avoiding Plagiarism

• ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
• Based on an online module Avoiding Plagiarism
  Achieving Academic Writing available from
   http//www.adelaide.edu.au/clpd/plagiarism/stude
  nts/
• References McGowan, U. (2005) Does educational
  integrity mean teaching students NOT to 'use
  their own words'? International Journal for
  Educational Integrity 1(1) http//www.ojs.unisa.ed
  u.au/index.php/IJEI/article/view/16/6 McGowan,
  U. (2008) International Students A conceptual
  framework for dealing with unintentional
  plagiarism. In Tim S. Roberts (ed.) Student
  Plagiarism in an Online World Problems and
  Solutions. Information Science Reference,
  Hershey, New York, pp. 92-107. Barr Smith
  Library Call Number 378.195 R647s

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Take a break
Meet someone new!

• Share three things with three people sitting near
  you
• Your name.
• Why you chose the program youre in.
• One interesting fact about yourself.

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This is just the beginning

• Make the most of the opportunities that come your
  way.

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And finally

• Please join us for lunch and guided tours of key
  locations (lecture theatres, laboratories etc.)

• Thank you for listening.

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