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Learning Portfolio (to be submitted in two stages)

overview

The learning portfolio is designed to give you the chance to explore ideas and issues raised in lectures and tutorials. In early lectures you will also be given some specific questions/issues to address, however the way to you structure the rest of your portfolio is up to you so long as you address the requirements which are outlined below. The portfolio is to be submitted in two stages, the first will allow you to receive some feedback on your progress so that you can correct any weaknesses prior to submitting the second stage. Part of your portfolio includes submitting your one page preparation responses, and reflecting on the tutorial discussions so it is vital that you attend tutorials.

You should type up your portfolio and divide it into clearly marked and separated sections that include the following, though extra categories are welcome:

Support material | Marking criteria

In this document:

 

Stage one - submit in your tuts in week 5 - worth 5%

length

4000 words in total though less is fine!

Required graded tasks (weeks 1-4)

  1. One page summaries for tuts - even for ones you could not attend - all the instructions are on the web so you can do this even if you missed them

  2. Brief reflections on learning from lectures and panels - if you missed more than two you should attached a note explaining why.

  3. Brief reflections on learning from tuts - if you miss more than one tutorial you should attached a note explaining why.

  4. One page collaborative responses to the first collaboration exercises with the NUS (Tragedy of the Commons). See relevant tutorial for more information.

  5. Annotated Bibliography

  6. Webography

Helpful hints

  • If two lectures/panels are closely linked (such as week 1) you are most welcome to write one entry on both.

  • Please note the marking criteria! You are encouraged to make connections with what you learnt elsewhere eg other courses, life in general, the media etc.

    • Your reflections on what you have learnt can be a few dot points on things that had not occurred to you previously, or connections you made with points made in other parts of the course or with your reading or indeed other courses. If you disagree with anything that I (or any other lecturer) says you can say so and explain why - such notes would provide particular good evidence that you are thinking about things.

  • NB a learning portfolio is NOT a summary of what was said in a lecture (or a tutorial) ie we don't want to read your notes of what was said in a lecture. Instead we are interested in some short reflections from you on what was said, see example from my third year course.

As the learning portfolio is due in your week 5 tutorial, you are only expected to include reflections and tutorial summaries up to and including week 4. Please include material from week 5 onwards in your stage two learning portfolio.

Required in your stage one learning portfolio but not graded

1 mark (of your 5 for stage one) deducted for any of the required tasks we have set that you do not complete:

  1. From the first lecture - your definition of learning and that of your partner and comment on the significance of the difference

  2. Read Yolngu Metaphors for learning and use this as a starting point to reflect on what type of learning you are. Jot down some ideas on what are the keys for you to achieve “Galtha” ie creating the space/place/state of mind where you learn best.

  3. Your 2070 "road rule" for the environment and the keys required to make this rule actually work. Remember you were asked to read the Road Rule article and think of a similar simple rule that would make environments and societies to work together in 2070 in a similar way to how this has made roads "work".

  4. A question that you asked (or wanted to ask) in each of the panel sessions - if you miss more than two sessions you should attached a note explaining why

Late submissions will have marks deducted at the rate of 10% of the total possible mark per day.

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Stage 2 - submit by noon Friday june 6th - worth 20%

length

8000 words though less is fine!

required tasks (weeks 5-13)

  1. One page summaries for tuts - even for ones you could not attend - all the instructions are on the web so you can do this even if you missed them

  2. Reflections on learning from lectures and panels- if you missed more than two you should attached a note explaining why.

  3. Reflections on learning from tuts - if you miss more than one tutorial you should attached a note explaining why.

  4. One page collaborative response to the last 2 collaboration exercises with the NUS from weeks 4 & 6 (Campus Sustainability, and Population). See relevant tutorials for more information.

  5. Field trip 500 words and annotated map (this is worth 10% outright)

  6. brief note on your week 12 feedback session about your essay with your tutor on what you will do next time to get a better mark

Helpful hints

  • The field trip report is worth 10% outright so you risk losing that full amount from your final mark if you don't submit it or make submit a report of poor quality.

  • If two lectures/panels are closely linked you are most welcome to write one entry on both.

  • Please note the marking criteria! You are encouraged to make connections with what you learnt elsewhere eg other courses, life in general, the media etc.

    • Your reflections on what you have learnt can be a few dot points on things that had not occurred to you previously, or connections you made with points made in other parts of the course or with your reading or indeed other courses. If you disagree with anything that I (or any other lecturer) says you can say so and explain why - such notes would provide particular good evidence that you are thinking about things.

  • NB a learning portfolio is NOT a summary of what was said in a lecture (or a tutorial) ie we don't want to read your notes of what was said in a lecture. Instead we are interested in some short reflections from you on what was said, see example from my third year course.

Required in your learning portfolio but not graded

2 marks (of your 20) deducted if not done adequately:

  1. A question that you asked (or wanted to ask) in each of the panel sessions - if you miss more than two sessions you should attached a note explaining why

Late submissions will have marks deducted at the rate of 10% of the total possible mark per day.

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Other things you can include in your learning portfolio

  1. Any extra material relevant to learning that you wish eg brochure on an ACT environmental protest explaining relevance to course, photocopies of things you have read, newspaper cuttings
  2. Suggested improvements for the course
  3. An appendix that is not assessed and does not count towards your word count with any comments on any aspect of the course and and suggested improvements or changes you see fit.

Note that you must still adhere to the word limit for each respective stage of the learning portfolio.

 

Layout of your portfolio

Please make it easy for us to read and mark it!

There is nothing quite so frustrating as having to waste time working out what you have done. Please put your surname clearly on the spine of your folder. Give me a table of contents listing all the sections. Please clearly label each section. The easiest way to organise it is probably week by week but you can if you wish have all your lecture reflections in one section and all your tutorial ones in another section.

 

Support material | Marking criteria

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