School of Psychology Tutors’ Guidebook
Griffith University
School of Psychology (Mt Gravatt campus)
Prepared by Professor Keithia Wilson, Dr Maddy Phillips & Ms Karla Norris
Tutors’Guidebook
2010
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School of Psychology Tutors’ Guidebook
Griffith University
IMPORTANT TELEPHONE NUMBERS
Technical problems in rooms .................................................... (07) 373 56883
Security .................................................................................... (07) 373 57777
University Switchboard ............................................................. (07) 373 57111
(or dial 9 from an internal telephone)
Student Administration ............................................................. (07) 373 57700
Mt Gravatt Library ..................................................................... (07) 373 55691
Mt Gravatt Library (Fax) ........................................................... (07) 373 55901
Health Service (Nathan campus) .............................................. (07) 373 57299
For After Hours and Emergencies contact:
QEII Hospital ............................................................................ (07) 373 56111
Accommodation Services ......................................................... (07) 373 57889
Exams and Timetabling ............................................................ (07) 373 53622
or .............................................................................................. (07) 373 53872
Office of Community Services (Mt Gravatt) .............................. (07) 373 55809
Student Services (Mt Gravatt) .................................................. (07) 373 55669
School of Psychology homepage:
www.gu.edu.au/school/psy/
NOTE:
Numbers with the last five (5) digits in bold can be contacted directly
from internal telephones by dialling the last five (5) digits only.
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This guide contains important information
for all tutors of the School of Psychology.
It is published for information purposes only and is subject to change.
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Table of Contents
Introduction from School of Psychology........................................................... 1
Staff contact details ......................................................................................... 2
Tutors’ Academic Responsibilities
a) Professionalism and conduct ............................................................... 5
b) What is expected of you as a Tutor ...................................................... 5
Unable to conduct tutorial
c) Consultation .......................................................................................... 5
d) Establishing the workload .................................................................... 6
e) Systems support, problem solving and grievance process……………..7
f) Marking of assessment ........................................................................ 7
g) Marker’s shorthand sheet..................................................................... 9
h) What to do when students are unhappy with their results................... 11
i) Paperwork related to assessment items ............................................. 11
j) Tutor training...................................................................................... 11
k) Tutorial job enrichment....................................................................... 11
Convenors’ Academic & Administrative Responsibilities with Tutors
a) What is expected of the convenor with regard to tutorials ................ 12
b) Lead time for tutorial content .............................................................. 12
c) Meetings between convenors and tutors ............................................ 12
d) Written assessment criteria ................................................................ 12
e) Moderation of assessment……………………………………………….. 12
f) Class allocations……………………………………………………………12
g) Response time to student emails………………………………………...13
Teaching Tips
a) Fairness and respect ......................................................................... 13
b) Class discussion ................................................................................ 13
c) Strategies for increasing student engagement ................................... 13
d) Questioning skilfully ........................................................................... 15
e) What to avoid in questioning .............................................................. 15
f) Classroom management .................................................................... 16
g) Dealing with students who are having problems ................................ 17
h) Selected teaching resources .............................................................. 19
i) Teaching strategies for tutorials ......................................................... 20
Tutors’ Administrative Responsibilities
a) Applying for tutorial work ................................................................... 25
b) Contracts ........................................................................................... 25
c) Teaching evaluations………………………………………………………25
d) Rate of pay ........................................................................................ 26
e) Pay queries ........................................................................................ 26
General Administration
a) Stationery .......................................................................................... 27
b) Photocopying ..................................................................................... 27
c) Equipment codes ............................................................................... 27
d) Technical problems ............................................................................ 27
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Keeping you informed
a) Email.................................................................................................. 27
b) Official Mail ........................................................................................ 27
c) Noticeboards...................................................................................... 28
Resources
a) Library................................................................................................ 28
b) Computing ......................................................................................... 28
Griffith University Information
a) Security.............................................................................................. 29
b) How to find… ................................................................................... 29
Griffith University Health and Safety Policy ............................................... 29
Griffith University Harassment and Discrimination Policy .......................... 30
Griffith University Smoking Policy ............................................................. 31
Appendix
…(Almost) everything you need to know about assessment.......................... 32
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Griffith University
Introduction from the School of Psychology
The School of Psychology (Brisbane), Griffith University takes great pride in the
quality of the education that we offer our students. Our undergraduate programs
consistently have been ranked by past graduates as amongst the very best in the
country. The high demand for entry to our program, as reflected in the OP cut off for
admission, are also amongst the highest in Australia. The School is dedicated to the
maintenance and further enhancement of the high quality of learning opportunities
we provide to our students.
People who work as sessional tutors within the School of Psychology make an
enormous contribution to the quality of the learning opportunities we offer our
students. The vast majority of the sessional tutors are postgraduate students. We
hope in providing part–time employment as sessional tutors we are assisting the
professional development of our postgraduate students, and providing them with the
opportunity to share their developing expertise with our undergraduate students. We
are keen to assist you as a sessional tutor to be the best possible facilitator of
learning that you can be. This booklet is one of the ways in which we will attempt to
assist you to develop your teaching skills.
We have a very experienced and highly skilled set of academic staff who convene
the courses in which you will be tutoring. I hope that you will take the opportunities
offered to interact with the staff and learn from their experience, and also give them
the opportunity to learn from you.
This booklet is intended to provide you with a range of information about the key
responsibilities that you have as a tutor, the people who are available to support you,
and the other resources there to support your roles. We do expect very high
standards of the people whom we appoint as teachers within our system, and we
hope to offer a commensurately high level of support for you in the work that you will
be doing. We thank you in anticipation of the quality of the work that you will be
doing.
Associate Professor Alf Lizzio
Dr Analise O’Donovan
Head of School
Deputy Head of School
School of Psychology
School of Psychology
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Staff contact details
Administrative staff
Undergraduate Course Convenor
Dr Mark Chappell
Rm 3.18 ext. 53376
First Year Advisor
Dr Laurance Robillard
Rm
Ms Karla Norris
Rm
Sessional Coordinator
Tutor Development Coordinator
Prof Keithia Wilson
Rm 4.04 ext 53389
Ms Mayumi Hay
Rm 4.10 ext. 53355
School Administrative Officer
School Secretary
Ms Diana Fisher
Rm 4.09 ext. 53333
School Office Assistant
Ms Sharyn Pearce
Rm 4.09 ext. 53397
Salaries (Finance & Business Services)
Ph: 3875 3998
Course Convenors – Semester 1
1001PSY
Introductory Cognitive & Biological Psychology
Dr Tim Cutmore
Rm 3.07 ext. 53358
1008PSY
Interpersonal Skills
Dr Liz Jones
Rm 4.20 ext. 53365
2000PSY
Research Methods & Statistics 2
2004PSY
Organisational Psychology
Dr Tim Cutmore
Rm 3.07 ext. 53358
Dr Paula Brough
Rm 3.13 ext. 53378
2005PSY
Personality & Individual Differences
Dr Ruth Ford
Rm 2.18 ext. 53375
2007PSY
Biological Psychology
Dr Trevor Hine
Rm 3.12 ext. 53357
2011PSY
Process Facilitation
Paul Grieve
Rm 2.22 ext. 53312
3001PSY
Research Methods & Statistics
Ass/Pro Brett Myors
Rm 4.32 ext. 53446
Mr Matthew Gullo
Rm 4.16 ext. 53391
3005PSY
Counselling Psychology
Dr Michael Free
Rm 2.15 ext. 53309
3011PSY
Lifespan Development 1
Dr Ruth Ford
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Rm 2.19 ext. 53375
Undergraduate Courses – Semester 2
Convenor
1002PSY
Intro Individual & Social Psychology
TBA
1003PSY
Research Methods & Statistics
TBA
1009PSY
Intro to Psychological Science & Society
TBA
2001PSY
Research & Design Analysis
TBA
2006PSY
Cognition, Memory & Learning
TBA
2008PSY
Social Psychology
TBA
3006PSY
Psychological Assessment
TBA
3009PSY
Abnormal Psychology
TBA
3010PSY
Cognitive Neuroscience
TBA
3012PSY
Adult Development & Ageing
TBA
3034PSY
Community Psychology
TBA
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Tutor’s Academic Responsibilities
a) Professionalism and conduct
Tutors, like staff members have an ethical responsibility in their role of teaching, advising
and guiding students. This position must not be compromised or abused in any way
either during class, consultation times or socially. Tutors must at all times ensure that
their relationship with students is purely professional and ethically correct.
If a tutor feels that their impartiality is compromised by a non-professional
relationship with a student or students, they must consult with the course convenor
and make alternative arrangements immediately. Examples of relationships are:
family relationships (siblings, parent/child, husband/wife, cousins, relations by
marriage such as brother or sister-in-law); emotional relationships (which might
include de facto spouses, other sexual relationships and close friendships); financial
relationships (commercial relationships where pecuniary interest is present).
Tutors must also note that they should not have in any of their classes, students who
are receiving private tutoring from them outside the University. Such a situation
produces a conflict of interest and is professionally unethical.
b) Your role as a tutor
The main responsibilities of the tutor are to prepare for the tutorial, successfully run
the tutorial/workshop, and consult with students. Like lectures, tutorials are generally
expected to last fifty minutes of the allocated hour. In addition, tutors are required to
meet with the convenor several times throughout the semester to discuss work
issues and to mark any work (e.g., essays, research reports, presentations, exams)
that is part of the assessment for the course.
You will be required to attend moderation meetings where staff compare their results
with each other. In preparation for this meeting you will need to calculate the mean
score for the piece of assessment and list how many students received high
distinctions, distinctions, credits, passes and fails.
Unable to conduct tutorial
If you are ill and unable to make your tutorial please contact the course convenor as
soon as possible so alternative arrangements can be made. If they are unavailable
please telephone the other tutors in the course to see if they can cover for you. When all
else fails please contact the School Secretary or the School Administrative Officer.
c) Consultation
Tutors are to be paid for six (6) one hour consultation sessions with students,
whether it be by email, telephone or in face-to-face meetings. These sessions are to
coincide with the approaching assessment items. All tutors need to give their contact
university details to students (phone/email/room number) in their first week of
teaching and state when their four sessions will be held throughout the semester. If
they need help in other weeks then they are to go directly to the course convenor.
Your elected consultation times need to be displayed on your office door together
with your contact details. Except in cases of emergency, you should be in your office
during consultation hours. If you have to dash out for a moment leave a note on your
door to say you’ll be back in a minute. Let students know of any changes in your
consultation hours, or emergency cancellations. Tell the office and get them to put a
note on your office door. Consultation systems should be time efficient. Good
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practice is to communicate to all students the same piece of information via class
email lists or by placing a message on the Learning@Griffith website. Please note
that all staff in the School (convenors and tutors) are committed to a 48 hour
turnaround in responding to student emails. This response involves providing an
actual answer to the student inquiry in terms of either an answer, or directing the
student to an appropriate source/person who can do so. It is important to advise
students of this response time, and it is an expectation of School management that
this will be adhered to. Our students need to know that we will respond to their
queries, some of which will be urgent, within a short time frame.
Being a casual tutor means being in close contact with the students, closer contact
than either the lecturers or convenor. Students will want to engage you outside the
classroom. You may find this flattering and validating of your knowledge, but it does
have its pitfalls and it is best discouraged to some extent. Try and deal with students
concerns in the ten-minute period at the end of tutorials and in your consultation
time. It is not a good idea to give out your home phone number to students in your
tutorials – student related business should be kept at work.
If students approach you with issues related to content in lectures please refer them
to the course convenor. It is the responsibility of tutors to deal with content of
tutorials and writing up of reports/practicals/essays.
If students are having problems writing for academia, they can be directed to
external support services such as the learning assistance unit, library services,
student services and mentoring groups. Also, see the Writing for Psychology
handbook on the web or purchase a copy from the bookshop. If you have any
difficult students please refer them directly to the convenor. If students are having
problems with administrative aspects of their program, they can be directed to the
School Administrative Officer for assistance.
d) Establishing the workload
At the beginning of a course, the convenor is to provide tutors with an indication,
preferably written, of how the convenor expects their working time to be broken down in
terms of activities for which the tutor is paid. Time must be allocated for the following
activities: in class teaching/workshopping, preparation for class, student consultation,
and meetings with the convenor, attendance at lectures and marking of assignments
and/or exams.
An example of this is information about the number of assignments and exams you will
be expected to mark during the semester, and how long each will take. As a rule of
thumb, no assignment should take longer than about thirty minutes to mark. Of course,
you may take longer than this to mark the first assignments of a batch, even though you
may have been given guidelines on marking from the course convenor. However, you
really ought to be aiming at an average of around 20 minutes for a 2000 – 2500 word
assignment.
In extraordinary cases where the marking load is particularly high, the Head of School
may have allowed the Course Convenor to pay for additional marking above and
beyond that factored into ‘associated working time’. The current rate for standard
marking is $30.45 an hour. You need to check with the convenor if this is the case.
What if you find that you are taking much more time than you are being paid for in your
casual tutoring? One simple reason for this is that you are putting too much effort into
preparation and/or into the marking. Even though the students may appreciate this, try
not to lose sight of the fact that you are only getting paid for a certain number of hours
outside the classroom. If there are still problems, go to your Course Convenor, talk
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about your workload and try to reach a compromise. If an agreement cannot by reached
with the course convenor about your workload please contact the Head of School.
e) Systems Support and Problem Solving, including Grievance
Process
The School has established a system to support you in your role as tutor, and a
grievance process should the need arise. A range of information seeking and problem
solving mechanisms are in place to support you in your role.
 Peer Support – feel free to discuss issues with your tutor colleagues in the first
instance.
 Course Convenor – your convenor is always available for consultation and
problem-solving on any teaching and student related issues. It is important to raise
any concerns, including those you may have about your convenor’s behaviour,
directly with your convenor in the first instance. In the event that you are not happy
with the outcome, you can approach a range of other people listed below who will
assist you to problem solve.
 Sessional Coordinator – your sessional coordinator is available to answer any
general queries, will assist you to problem solve issues, and, if necessary, will direct
you to additional resources in the system for assistance.
 Tutor Development Coordinator – your tutor development coordinator is available
for discussion on any issues or concerns related to your role, will assist you to
problem solve issues that arise, and, if necessary, will direct you to additional
resources in the system for assistance.
 Head of School and Deputy Head of School – if a situation arises where you are
unable to resolve a concern with your colleagues, course convenor or a student,
you are welcome to consult with the sessional coordinator and/or the tutor
development coordinator who will assist you with strategies to problem solve. You
are also welcome to go directly to your Head of School or Deputy Head of School to
seek assistance. You can either email the person, or arrange a time to meet with
them via the School Secretary in the Office on level 4. These meetings are
confidential.
 Grievance Process - In the event that you are unable to resolve an issue related
to your tutor role, you are welcome to initiate a grievance process via a written letter
to the Head of School detailing the situation and your concerns. The University has
a formal mechanism for dealing with staff and student grievances.
f) Marking of assessment
Equity in marking across tutors
In courses with many tutors, there must be equity in assessment loads among tutors,
that is, work is to be apportioned by the number of tutorials run by each tutor. If you
feel this is not the case please speak to the convenor about this.
Marking Criteria
Convenors are required to give tutors marking criteria for each assessment item.
Please make sure you are clear about what the criteria means. If in doubt, ask your
convenor.
Fostering Consistency across Markers
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When you meet for moderation you will need to take with you your marking average
for the group, and the number of fails, passes, credits, distinctions and high
distinctions that you have given to students. In the meeting it is a good idea to at
least double-mark the very worst and very best paper from each marker. This will
help give an indication of the marking standard. Some convenors will require you to
submit a paper from each category so they are happy that you are marking
appropriately.
Perhaps a tutorial group is actually performing better or worse than others, so that
their different marks are an actual reflection of reality. To assess whether this is the
case, it’s useful to get an outside marker to look at some of the best and worst
papers from each tutorial (blind to which tutorial is which).
Referencing
For the purposes of standardisation, all convenors are to make students aware of
American Psychological Association format of presenting written material. In
assessing written work, adherence to this format should be one of the marking
criteria. To encourage this practice, all materials given to students will be in this
format (i.e. course outlines).
In 2007, all students studying psychology should purchase a handbook, “Writing
for psychology: An introductory guide” explaining APA (5th edition) referencing
and how to write research reports and essays.
When marking students work please adhere to the format listed as this is now
recognised as school policy.
Feedback to students
When providing written feedback to students on work submitted for marking please
ensure that your comments are constructive, are clear in meaning and are in plain
English. For example circled words, exclamation and question marks, or smiling
faces, are meaningless. Markers’ shorthand sheet is now to be used on all
assessment items. See example on next page.
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g) Marker’s shorthand sheet
The following abbreviations have been used with respect to your work.
AA
APA
CA
CW
DEF
DP
DS
FE
GP
INQ
IP
JUST
LS
MW
NA
NAL
NGAP
NP
NS
OT
PL
PN
PR
PS
REF
REP
SP
SS
TLP
TSP
YB
List references in alphabetical order (Barnes, 1992; Crocker & Smith, 1945)
This is not APA style – see APA handbook for correct format
Good critical analysis
Clear and concise writing
You need to define specialist terms to the reader
What is the year of publication for this reference?
Double space your writing
Further explanation is needed here.
Good point raised
Indent quote if more than 40 words
Indent paragraph
Need to justify your choice/decision
Long sentence and could be better rewritten as two or more short sentences
Missing words
Do not use contractions of words eg. “don’t” – write them in full – “do not”
Non-academic language eg jargon, slang, dramatic language or colloquialism
No gap between paragraphs
New paragraph
Not a proper sentence
Off topic in answering the question
On the edge of plagiarism. Ensure adequate acknowledgement is made to
sources. If it is not your words you need to reference it.
Page number needed for direct quote
Needs serious proof-reading
Paragraph structure needs attention
Reference needed to acknowledge the source of this information or idea
Repetition of words / ideas
Spelling mistake
Sentence structure needs improvement
Too long for a paragraph
Too short for a paragraph.
Need year in brackets following this.
Additional Lab Report Codes
DV
HYP
IV
OP
What are your dependent variables?
Need to state specific hypothesis
What are your independent variables?
Need to operationalise your constructs
The markers abbreviation sheet is designed to make the marking workload lighter for
you. Students will still need a sentence or two from you regarding their specific
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strengths and weaknesses. Please make sure the feedback is constructive. A best
practice, evidence based proforma on how to write constructive feedback is detailed
below. It is strongly recommended that tutors follow this format when providing
feedback on written work e.g., essays, laboratory reports. Providing constructive
and encouraging feedback is a critical skill in your tutoring role.
Structure for concluding feedback on assessment
1.
Identify achievements and acknowledge strengths

What I like about your approach is….

You were able to clearly…
Provides:
2.
Identify learning gaps and provide constructive learning

You could improve this report / essay by…
Provides:
3.
1. Learning and identifies areas for future
improvement
 learning
2. Justification for the mark / grade
 outcome justice
Provide invitation to dialogue

If you would like to discuss this further then…
Provides:
4.
1. Learning on strengths and skills
2. Builds trainee’s personal confidence
3. Contributes to a supportive, trusting relationship
and perceptions of fair treatment
 interpersonal justice
1. Possibility of trust in you as a tutor
2. Implies expressed concern for trainee
3. Offers “voice” or opportunity for expression of views
 sense of procedural justice
Provide progressive as well as concluding feedback
When marking student’s work throughout the semester, please take care to
mark as fairly as possible and to ensure that your marked work is returned
to the convenor on time. Course convenors will advise you about deadlines
for completing assessment.
The School Policy has a two-three week turn-around on assessment
items for students.
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Helping Students Recover from Failure
When students have failed at something, help them to accept it. Help them see that
failure is a learning opportunity. Everyone has recovered from failure at some time.
Emphasise that ‘failure’ is a transient stage, a mismatch between what they did and
the requirements at that stage. It doesn’t mean they can’t ever do it, just that they
couldn’t do it yet. Emphasise they’re not the failure; it’s something they did.
Encourage small groups of students who’ve failed something to work together to
analyse their failure; it can be comforting. Suggest students look at their approaches
to learning the subject, not just the content.
Dealing with Plagiarism or Cheating
Give students some practice in paraphrasing readings, before the assignment is due.
Plagiarism can be suspected if there are marked variations in writing style from
assignment to assignment, if the student seems to have difficulty understanding the
work in class but writes excellent assignments, or if the style appears more
sophisticated than you would expect at a particular level. If you do suspect
plagiarism please first see your convenor highlighting the areas of concern.
Students with English as their second language
The language of instruction in the University is English and students are accepted
into the University on the basis that they have reasonable proficiency in English. All
assignment work needs to be marked with that in mind. This does not mean that staff
should be insensitive to cultural differences, but it does mean that the same
academic standards apply to all students in the school. Where students’ work
indicates that they have significant problems with English expression, they should be
referred to the Learning Assistance Unit for help.
h) What to do when students are unhappy with their results
All first year students will be given written information about the assessment policies
for the School of Psychology. (See Appendix A – “Almost everything you need to
know about assessment”). Please read through this guide, as you need to be aware
of all school policies regarding assessment.
i) Paperwork related to assessment items
If you are given any documentation from students about extensions and/or deferment of
examinations please make sure you give this to the course convenor within 24 hours.
This is most important as delays in submitting this information could result in students
being failed in the course or not being able to sit for examinations.
j) Tutor training
A tutorial workshop is run at the beginning of each year for beginning tutors to
prepare them for the tutoring process.
Tutoring work will only be given to those students who have completed the training
workshops.
k) Tutorial job enrichment
Tutoring should be an enriching job experience. Tutors are to have access to
developmental processes such as a range of tutoring positions, in particular, the
ability to changes courses in which they tutor once every two years if they wish.
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Convenors’ Academic & Administrative Responsibilities
with Tutors
a) What is expected of the convenor with regard to tutorials?
It is the convenor’s responsibility to provide for the tutor, in written form, minimum
requirements of:

goals of the tutorial

key questions to be answered in the tutorial

procedures to be carried out in the tutorial

links with the content of the lectures

list of, or provision of materials to run the tutorial.
b) Lead time for tutorial content
It is the convenor’s responsibility to provide, except in special circumstances, a
minimum of two week’s notice to tutors on the content of tutorials/ practical/
workshops, preferably four weeks.
c) Meetings between convenors and tutors
Tutors are to meet with their convenor a minimum of three times per semester: an
orientation meeting before the beginning of the semester, a meeting before the
marking of assessment items, and an evaluation of the course meeting near the end
of the semester, including exam moderation.
d) Written assessment criteria
It is the convenor’s responsibility to provide tutors with written criteria for assessment
including:

an indication of weightings for each component of the assessment item

how much feedback to give to students

the type of feedback.
General feedback on how the students fared on an assessment item is to be
provided to tutors by the convenor.
e) Moderation of Assessment


It is the convenor's responsibility to meet with their team of tutors to moderate each
assessment item, and to finalise all marks and grades.
It is the convenor's responsibility to second mark all assessment items with an initial
grade of fail.
f) Class allocations
The automatic student allocation process occurring before the beginning of each
semester is designed to distribute students evenly among tutorials. However,
students may still want to transfer between tutorials. The easiest way for a student to
do this is to make a straight swap with another student in the tutorial the student
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wants to attend. If this is not possible refer to the course convenor. As a rule of
thumb, the students must have either health reasons (doctor's certificate required),
work related reasons (employer's letter) or family related reasons (childcare times) to
change tutorials allocations.
g) Response time to student emails
All staff in the School (convenors and tutors) are committed to a 48 hour
turnaround in responding to student emails. This response involves providing an
actual answer to the student inquiry in terms of either an answer, or directing the
student to an appropriate source/person who can do so. It is important to advise
students of this response time, and it is an expectation of School management that
this will be adhered to. Our students need to know that we will respond to their
queries, some of which will be urgent, within a short time frame.
If you are unable to resolve concerns with your course convenor about any
issues, please use the problem solving strategies outlined on page 7. It is
important that you move quickly to resolve issues of concern.
Teaching Tips
a) Fairness and respect

Aim to create the sense that you’ll treat students fairly and without favouritism.
Try to spread your time fairly around different members of the class; don’t favour
the better students, even if it’s easier to do so!

Remember that you may not always be the best qualified person to whom a
student with severe personal problems should be talking. Familiarise yourself
with the University’s Student Services; and refer students to them where
necessary.

Despite your desire to help students, don’t allow yourself to be put in the
position of surrogate parent or psychotherapist. The creation of dependency
relationship could be harmful to you and to the student.

If you’re good friends with someone in your tutorial group, don’t assess their
work. If they’re assessed on tute performance you may want to ask them to
change tutes.
b) Class discussions

The discussion leader should aim to encourage participation, keep students
focused on specific topics and help tem gain insight into the material covered.
Skills include acknowledgement, reflection, clarification, rephrasing, refocussing
and summarising.

Yield to class members during discussion; try not to say too much.

Remember and refer to students’ ideas, by name if possible.

Avoid interrupting. If you must do it, interject with an ‘excuse me’, make your
point, then ask the student to carry on.

Group activities are likely to be more successful if you tell the student why
they’re doing the activity; give the students clear instructions; set a time limit;
and have debriefing session during which students summarise what they’ve
learnt.
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
Come quickly to the rescue if particular students seem seriously uncomfortable as
they contribute to discussion. Get to know which students are ‘robust’ enough to
weather any difficulties, and which ones will appreciate your helpful intervention.
c) Strategies for increasing student engagement

Help students work out some ground rules for the tutorial early in the course.
When the ownership of the ground rules rests with the students themselves,
they’re more likely to try to live up to them, including everyone contributing.

Ask small groups of students to be responsible for planning and leading some
discussions. This works best when students are responsible for a limited topic,
problem or research area.

Ask student to use the board to solve problems or list ideas or possible answers.

Play ‘devils’ advocate’ if necessary to prompt students to get involved in or
animated about class discussion. Even if you agree with the students’
arguments about a certain topic, challenge them with the most cogent argument
against their position. This often makes for a good debate in class.

Avoid repeatedly calling on the first student ready to reply; slower or shyer
students deserve the right to participate. Consider establishing a pattern of
asking questions of individual students, with their right to ‘pass’ without fear of
embarrassment.

Ask students to spend a few minutes writing down their ideas or questions and
then compare their efforts with a neighbour. This will give them a starting point
from which to participate.

If the material lends itself to open-ended questions where a variety of ideas can
aid understanding, have a brainstorming session. During the first part of the tute
pose a question and list every idea that students come up with in response.
During the second part of the tute, synthesise, relate and judge the ideas as you
approach a solution.

If the group is large, divide it into smaller size units (buzz groups), each dealing
with the same or separate problems. They’re particularly useful to get things
moving or when the large group has run out of ideas or energy. Float from group
to group, giving guidance and answering questions when needed. After a
reasonable interval, reassemble the whole group. Allow volunteers from each
group to report back in whatever format they prefer to use, giving a suggested
maximum time for each.

In a pyramid, students first work by themselves (eg. Read a short article for 5
minutes), then in pairs (eg. For 10 – 15 minutes). Then the pairs form groups of
four or six or larger to develop ideas (eg. 15-30 minutes) The large groups
report to the whole group (eg. 10-15 minutes). The strategy is useful to
overcome problems with lack of reading, bring reading to the class and have
students work through in a pyramid, with focussed questions to report on.

Fishbowls can help students develop their listening skills. A small group of
students sit in a circle. The rest of the group sit behind them and listen. A
variation is to allow other students to break in after a time period, changing
places with one of the speakers. It can be used either to discuss an issue or a
process.
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
Pose an either / or question. Have the class divide physically into those who
favour each side and those who are undecided. Have the pro and con sides
debate, with undecided free to contribute at any time. When students change
their view ask them to move to the group with which they now agree.

Pose a ‘compare and contrast’ question about two or more concepts from
readings. Have the students list all the various similarities and differences. Then
synthesise the lists and use them to analyse the concepts or theories, or to
introduce and evaluate the readings.

Begin a discussion by asking a question about a common experience of the
group and then relate it to the reading, asking compare and contrast questions
or creating a disagreement by playing devil’s advocate or presenting an
alternative view.

A good discussion is impossible unless the participants have the data necessary
for the discussion and students may not do the required reading before a tute. It
often helps a discussion get started if it’s centered on data presented at the
beginning of the discussion period. This presentation must be short, but might
be an important paragraph from the text, an OHP, a short demonstration, or a
graphic demonstration. Such a move assures that all participants will have
access to the data.

Try rounds. Get the group to sit in a circle. A student makes a brief statement of
comment. The round then continues around the group. Each person speaks
briefly. Students have the right to pass.. You can use rounds at the start, middle
or end of a session. They can also be used to summarise or review points
raised in a tutorial.

Try to arrange the seating so that either you or a talkative student sits opposite a
quiet student. Eye contact can often encourage interaction.
d) Questioning skillfully

The way to start a discussion and keep it going is to use questions to provide a
focus. Plan a logical series of questions.

It’s usually best to begin with simple questions, designed to probe for student’s
understanding or misunderstanding of the lecture of the readings. Start with
easy to answer, concrete level questions.

To get maximum participation use an ‘open-ended’ question, with many correct
answers: eg. “What are some of the things you remember about…? These also
give students who didn’t do their reading or didn’t understand it some info to work
with.

Move on to more abstract questions, that require thinking instead of just
memorising or reporting. These ask students to find similarities and differences,
to give an explanation, or to draw an inference. These questions should be
based on the data collected from the first sort of questions.

Be supportive of students. If an answer is completely incorrect, but the student
has made a genuine effort, encourage the student to refine the idea or take one
strand of it and build on it. This strategy builds the students’ confidence and is
likely to discourage any students trying to irritate you.

Alternatively, rephrase students’ questions and near misses and redirect them back
to the students eg. “Would anyone else like to comment on that last statement?”
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
Encourage your students to ask questions of ane another, rather than providing
answers yourself.

Phrase questions so students their grasp of the material. Avoid questions that
have right or wrong answers.

Phrase questions at a level appropriate for the class. You may have to shift
gears if you’ve just come from working on your coursework thesis!

Wait long enough to give students a chance to think, even if a silent classroom
makes you feel anxious. If you’re too eager to give your views, students will get
the message that you’re not really interested in their opinions. Try counting to 10
slowly after asking a provocative question. Once students are confident you’ll
give them time to think their responses through, they’ll participate more freely.
e) What to avoid in questioning

Non-specific feedback questions. Don’t assume that students have no questions
if no-one responds when you ask, “Are there any questions? Do you all
understand?” Those who do respond are the ones who comprehend most of the
material and need only a minor point made clear. Those with real problems are
often too intimidated or confused to ask. Try something like this: ‘ This concept
can be a difficult one to grasp. Let’s try together to give some examples of what
this means’ or ’ Why did I substitute that value of theta in this equation?’ or ‘
What conclusions can we generalise from this?’ Another way to check for
understanding is to ask students to indicate with a gesture whether they
understand or not. eg. (thumbs up or thumbs down)
f) Classroom management

Classroom conditions should optimise comfort and visibility. For example, if
student are too warm they may get drowsy.

It’s a good idea to reduce the psychological and actual distance between the
students and yourself. If you’re tied to the front of the room because of an OHP
or board use, don’t stand behind your desk – stand in front of it. At least move
from side to side of the front of the room. If you’re not tied to the front of the
class, you can circulate around the classroom. This fosters participation if you’re
having a discussion, and better allows for checking of student needs if they’re
working on something.

Continually scan the class. Watch the body language of the students, eg. Are
they listening and nodding, or shaking their heads? Do they look confused? Is
their head on their desk? Are they looking out the window?

Keep an eye on your own body language. An open, forward leaning posture
suggests receptivity and attention, arms folded and feet spread apart
communicates closed defensiveness. While students are responding, the class
may be distracted if you pace nervously or study your notes.

Classroom seating should be arranged appropriately for the task in hand and to
minimise disruptive behaviour. For example:
o
For small group discussions move seats and or desks into clusters.
o
For individual work, rows are more efficient
o
Moving desks into horseshoe or circle reduces disruption(as no-one’s in
the back row) and fosters classroom discussions.
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o
Disruptive students can be moved closer to you, away from their
colleagues.
o
Ask students to help move desks/seats around. At the end of the class,
return furniture to how it was when you entered.

Educational research suggests that reinforcing on-task behaviour is more
effective than reprimanding disruptive behaviour, provided that positive
reinforcement is immediate, abundant, consistent, and immediately follows the
desired behaviour (contingent) It should also express precisely what is being
approved of. Once you’ve brought about a change, you can maintain it on a
reduced schedule of reinforcement (ie. not as abundant)

Reprimands are much more effective when used sparingly in a predominantly
positive context. If you do need to reprimand, ask the student in a neutral tone
what he or she should be doing (as a prompt for appropriate behaviour) Use
humour if you can, but never sarcasm, to defuse a situation. Ignore trivial
disruptions.
g) Dealing with students who are having problems
Students who don’t turn up
Don’t feel depressed if class numbers fall away – this is common, particularly as
exams approach or if students have a major assignment in your or other subjects.
However, poor attendance may be due to other factors, such as boredom,
frustration, or a feeling they can learn more in private study. The best way to find
out why students aren’t attending is to ask some or all the students.
Disenchanted students
Though some disenchanted students may skip class, others may be unreliable,
fail to submit work or prepare for tutes, or appear disruptive or even aggressive.
Perhaps they don’t know why they’ve come to uni, uni may be a shock, or your
classes may not meet their expectations (common in psychology, where students
often enter with high expectations).
 Try talking to the student after class. Perhaps they need some help they’re
unwilling to ask for.
 Reflect on your method of running tutorials to try to ensure you cater for variety
of needs and abilities, or at least make it clear to students from the start of
semester what they can expect and why.
 Seek the support of the lecturer if the student is causing you and their
classmates real difficulty. You shouldn’t tolerate any behaviour which interferes
with the learning of other students.
 Refer the student to the lectures, or perhaps to Counselling Services if it
seems warranted.
Students who dominate discussions
 Thank a persistent speaker for their contribution and call for others to have an
input.
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 Sit next to talkative students to reduce the likelihood that they’ll make eye
contact and be the first to answer your questions.
 Ask the dominant student to record the main points of the discussion and
present a summary at the end.
 Ask each person for their opinion and don’t allow others to speak until each
student has made a contribution (or elected to pass)
Students who don’t participate in discussions
Be wary of assuming that student’s that don’t participate haven’t prepared for the
class. Perhaps they have a preference for listening or learning from others, or
perhaps they have language or learning difficulties. International students or recent
migrants may also be unfamiliar with the norms or academic interaction in Australia.

Many of the ideas in ‘Strategies for Student Engagement’ will be useful here;
eg. Breaking the group into smaller units or pairs.

Talk to international students after class to discuss the norms of academic
interaction in Australia. Alternatively, you can refer them to Counselling Services.

If a student who doesn’t participate in tutorials also appears to have other
difficulties in completing written work’ you may wish to consider suggesting
privately tot eh student that they see one of the learning assistance
specialists at Counselling Services, who can work individually or in groups
with them on academic skills.
Students who talk at the back of the class

Use humour if you can, but never sarcasm, to defuse the situation.

Pleasantly ask students if they’d like to come down front and share their
conversation with the rest of the class.

Talk to the offenders privately after the class.

Mention that the current section of the tutorial will be on the exam.

If students take a long time to settle down, don’t enter the room until you’re
ready to start. Enter from the start of the room, open your notes, and begin.
Students will become accustomed to this method and will settle down faster.

Get these students to distribute handouts, present a summary of a class
discussion, or do something else for you to get them to focus on the class.
Wisecracks and smart alecs

Some remarks of course, should be ignored. Refuse to play the game.

If you have aggressive but uninformed students, ask them to apply the course
material to the point they’re making. Explain to them that not sticking to the
course material gets the whole class off track.
Some common problems

Non-cooperative member (little work, lack of care)

Loss of a group member (left course)

Dominating member
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
Non-participating / silent / withdrawn member

Absences – who deals with this, the group or the tutor?

Request for a change to another group – students should learn, as in life, to
sort out the problem, not run from it.

Lack of belief in the process: eg. Wanting more lectures. Perhaps the process
is too threatening and personal for them?
Possible solutions

Set ground rules beforehand; eg. Everyone will try to contribute, come on time,
do homework. Discuss with the class how any final report is to be marked. One
idea is for students to award marks to their peers, as well as for you to.

Discuss group dynamics before the class becomes involved in group activity.
Talk over the need to allocate tasks to each member, and to rotate tasks.

Remind students that they learn skills from group participation, and that they’ll
need to be able to work in groups in the workplace.

Groups work best if there is a task for the session, to focus the work on the
group. Note though, that groups may want more free sessions, so get feedback.

Keep an eye on how groups are operating. Sit in on groups and involve quiet
students with questions.

Evaluate every session, eg. Ask everyone at the end how they think the group
went today. Make it a habit. In time, trust and honesty may come.

See students individually to ask what’s wrong, stress to them that group work
needs to involve all group members, etc.
Information contained in this section has been taken from the University of
Queensland, Department of Psychology, Tutor Training Program Teaching Tips
Booklet compiled by Lucy Zinkiewicz, 1996.
h) Selected teaching resources
BENDER, E (1994) Quick Hits: Successful strategies by award winning researcher.
Bloomington, IN: Indiana University press
Benjamin, L,T Daniel, R,S & Brewer, C,L (Eds) (1985) Handbook for Teaching
introductory Psychology. Hillsdale, NJ: LEA
Bertola, P & Murphy, E, (1994) Tutoring at University: A beginners practical guide.
Perth: Paradigm Books. TEI
Habeshaw, S Gibbs, G, & Habeshaw, T (1992) 53 interesting things to do in your
seminars and tutorials. Bristol, UK: Technical and Educational Services.
Lublin, J, (1987). Conducting Tutorials. Kensington, NSW: Higher Education
Research and Development Society of Australasia.
Makovsky, V.P, Selice, S, Sileo, C.C & Whitmore, L.G. (Eds) (1990) Activities handbook
for the teaching of psychology. Washington, DC. American Psychological Association.
Ramsden, P (1992) Learning to teach in higher education. London: Routledge.
Weimer, M (1993). Improving your classroom teaching. Newbury Park, CA:Sage
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Whitford, F.W (1992) Teaching Psychology: A guide for the new instructor.
Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Whitemore, L.G & Roghers, A.M (Eds) (1998) Activities handbook for the teaching
of psychology. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
The American Psychological Society WWW pages have some interesting resources
on teaching psychology, including tutorials and demonstrations in different areas,
and relevant articles from the APS Observer. http://psych.hanover.edu/APS
i) Teaching strategies for tutorials
(From Newble, D & Cannon, R (1989) A Handbook for Teachers in Universities &
Colleges, pp 39-53. Kogan Page: New York.
Structured
Case
Discussion
session
1
2
Preliminaries / housekeeping matters.
5 mins
A student presents the initial history and examination
finding of one of his/her ward patients.
5 mins
3
Group asked to generate hypotheses and diagnosis,
discuss immediate management and initial investigation.
15 mins
4
Information provided on what the student (and
consultant) thought was the diagnosis, what was done,
and which investigations were ordered. Group discusses
any disparities.
10 mins
5
Student presents further data on investigations and
progress. Group discusses any disparities.
10 mins
6
Group leader offers concluding remarks and opportunity
for clarification of unresolved issues.
5 mins
TOTAL: 50 mins
Snowballing
Group
Discussion
(after
Northedge)
INDIVIDUAL WORK
10 mins
Students read brief background document on topic, read case
history and examine laboratory results.
IN PAIRS
10 mins
Students compare understandings, clear up difficulties, make
preliminary diagnosis and decide on further tests.
WORK IN SMALL GROUP
15 mins
Pairs report to the small group. Group discusses diagnosis
and further tests, seeking agreement or clarifying
disagreements. Group prepares report for whole group.
REPORTING BACK TO WHOLE GROUP
20 mins
Each small group presents report. Teacher notes main points
on board, butchers paper or overhead transparency. As group
contributes, teacher and students offer comments. Teacher or
students attempt summary of points raised and some form of
conclusion.
TOTAL: 55 mins
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Conducting
a Buzz
Group
 The group is divided into subgroups of 3 – 4 students.
 Discussion occurs for a few minutes (the term “buzz”) comes from the
hive of verbal activity!


Structured
session for
teaching
intellectual
skills (after
Black)
Conducting
an Evaluation
Discussion
A clear task must be set.
Each group reports back to the whole group.

A set of prepared problems.

A group large enough to be divided for part of the time into four
subgroups of about four students each.

Subgroups working for about half the time on the problems.

A brief report on the work of each group.
 Class discussion based on the group’s report

Before the group meeting students are asked to write a 1 – 2 page
evaluation of the group’s work focusing equally on their reactions to
the processes of teaching and what they are learning.

Each student reads this evaluation to the group.

Each member of the group is then free to ask questions, agree or
disagree, or to comment.
 For success you must be sure to create an atmosphere of acceptance
where negative as well as positive information can be freely given.
Listen rather than react.
Conducting a
Role Play
 Explain the nature and purpose of the exercise
 Define the setting and the situation
 Select the students to act out roles.
 Provide players with a realistic description of the role or even a script.
Allow time for them to prepare and if necessary, practice.
 Specify observational tasks for non-players
 Allow sufficient time for the role play\
 Discuss and explore the experience with players and observers.
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Conducting a
Plenary
Session

Subgroups to sit together facing other subgroups.

The chair of subgroup A briefly reports the substance of the discussion
in subgroup A

The chair of subgroup B then invites members of subgroups B<C<D
etc to ask questions of any member of group A

After 10 minutes chair B reports on the discussion in subgroup B and
the process is repeated for each subgroup
 The 10 minute (or other) time limit must be adhered to strictly
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Conducting a
One-to-One
Discussion
A
Procedure
 Group members (preferably the teacher) divide into pairs and
each person is designated ‘A’ or ‘B’
 Person A talks to person B for an uninterrupted period of 3-5
minutes on the topic of discussion
 Person B listens and avoids prompting or questioning.
 Roles are reversed with B talking to A
 At the conclusion the group reassembles.
 Each person in turn introduces themselves before introducing
the person to whom they were speaking. They then briefly
paraphrase what was said by that person
B
Use as ice-breaker
 Group members are asked to respond to a question such as”
Tell me something about yourself” or “What do you expect to
learn from this course?”
C
General use
 Group members respond to appropriate questioning, eg.
“What is your opinion about….?”
It is useful to insist on the no interruption rule (though not so
much when used as an ice breaker) Prolonged periods of silence
may ensue, but person A will be using this time for uninterrupted
thinking, a luxury not available in most situations. Often the first
superficial response to a question will be changed after deeper
consideration.
Conducting a
Brain-storming
session
Procedure
 Explain these rules of brainstorming to the group:
o criticism is ruled out during the idea generation stage
o all ideas are welcome
o quantity of ideas is the aim ( so as to improve the chances of
good ideas coming up)
o combination and improvement of ideas will be sought once all
new ideas are obtained.
 State the problem to the group
 A period of silent thoughts is allowed during which students write
down their ideas.
 Ideas are then recorded (in a round-robin format) on a blackboard,
overhead transparency or butcher’s paper for all to see
 When all ideas are listed, and combination and improvement of
ideas are complete, discussion and evaluation commences.
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Rounds
This is a very useful activity to get all students quickly involved, especially the shy
ones. Get the group to sit in a circle. A student makes a brief statement of comment.
The round then continues around the group. Each person speaks briefly. Students
have the right to pass.
Pyramids
In a pyramid, students first work by themselves, then in pairs, and so on. It can lead
to very useful discussion and to important learning outcomes. For example:
Students work by themselves perhaps by reading a short article (about 5 mins). They
discuss their ideas in pairs (10-15 mins). They form groups of four or six or larger to
develop ideas (15-30 mins). The large groups report to the whole group (10-15 mins)
This strategy can also be used to overcome problems with lack of reading. Bring
enough copies of a key article in to the tutorial and have the students work through it
in a pyramid fashion or in small groups with focussed questions to report on.
Fishbowls
In this method a small group of students sit in a circle. The rest of the group sit
behind them and listen. Fishbowls can help students develop their listening skills. A
variation is to allow other students to break in after a time period, changing places
with one of the speakers.
This can be a fun, creative problem solving activity. It even helps break down student
inhibitions. It can be used either to discuss an issue or a process:
“How can we increase public sensitivity to race issues?”
“How to study more effectively”…..
(REF: Bertola, P & Murphy, E. 1994. Tutoring at University, a Beginners Practical
Guide. Perth. Paradigm Books: 11-13)
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Tutor’s Administrative Responsibilities
a) Applying for tutorial work
At the end of the semester you will receive an email about work opportunities for the
next semester. Please complete the attached forms and return them to the Sessional
Coordinator as soon as possible. Delays in returning your information will decrease
your chances of obtaining sessional work.
If your availability to work changes please notify the Sessional Coordinator as soon
as you can so they can amend your details.
All who apply for tutoring work will be notified by email or phone of the outcome.
Those who are successful will be given their tutorial times by the Sessional
Coordinator. Tutors will then need to contact the course convenor to further discuss
their workload and arrange their first meeting.
b) Contracts
When commencing tutoring for the first time you will need to complete an Academic
Casual/Sessional Contract and an Australian Taxation Office Employment
Declaration. These forms will be given to you by the Sessional Coordinator to
complete and it is up to you to make sure that all your details are correct.
If you have tutored before you will only need to complete the Academic Casual/
Sessional Contract. Please note that these forms now ask for all your banking
details so make sure to have these handy.
Please make sure you complete all forms correctly as any missing sections or
signatures are likely to result in a delay in your first pay. If you change any of your
details (eg. banking details or address) you will need to contact the pay section
immediately with your new details. It is your responsibility to make sure that your
contract is accurate before signing off on it.
c) Teaching evaluations
Why do we need teaching evaluations? As a new initiative for monitoring the
quality of teaching in the School, tutors are now required to conduct Student
Evaluations of Teaching (SET) at the end of each semester. The reason for this is to
assist the School with quality assurance for our teaching program. This initiative
brings tutors in line with other academic staff, who are required by the University to
evaluate their courses regularly. This new and independent SET process was
implemented by the University in 2005. As you are key teachers and learning
facilitators in our School, we think it is important that you also have the opportunity to
evaluate and improve your practice. At a systems level, the SET also allow us to
monitor the effectiveness of our tutorial and lecturing processes. This SET process
encourages all of us to be accountable for the quality of our learning and teaching
practice.
What happens with the outcome of my evaluations? A summary of your
evaluation will be forwarded both to yourself, and to other staff in the School with
responsibility for teaching effectiveness, namely, your Convenor, the Head of
School, the Deputy Head of School, the Tutor Development Coordinator, and the
Sessional Coordinator. These people will receive a quantitative summary of the
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data, which includes the range of responses and a mean for each question
presented in graph form. No other staff members will have access to your
evaluations. The original response sheets which include qualitative comments from
students are returned directly to you, and are not viewed by staff within the School.
The Tutor Development Coordinator is available to discuss your evaluations with
you, on request, for the purpose of enhancing your personal and professional
development in the learning facilitator role. Evaluations with developmental
implications will be followed up with individual tutors by the Tutor Development
Coordinator, again, for the purpose of assisting the tutor to develop their teaching
practice. We give you our assurance that the outcomes of these evaluations will be
handled with sensitivity and care.
What is the SET process? The SET process needs to be conducted according to
the GIHE guidelines and will be administered towards the end of the final tutorial. As
the GIHE guidelines require that the SET evaluation is conducted independently,
tutors will need to appoint a pair of students in the tutorial to both complete and
conduct the evaluation. The students will then place the evaluations in an envelope
which they will seal and put in the mail to Logan for data analysis. The School has
designed a mandatory set of questions for you to use which can be accessed at
evaluations@griffith through the Griffith Portal. You will need to look for the SET for
The School of Psychology. You are welcome to include additional questions in your
evaluation (maximum of 20 questions in total). Alternatively, you can simply
photocopy the list of questions you will have received in the Tutor Training Program.
You will also need copies of the "Questionnaire Response Sheet" for each of your
students to fill out. These are available from the School Secretary, Diana Fisher in
the Psychology Office on level 4. Thus, you will need to organise both your SET
questions and your Response Sheets in advance. For full information on the
process, see: http://www.griffith.edu.au/centre/gihe/evaluation/
It is important to note that for future tutoring applications SET will now be requested.
d) Rate of pay
The rate of sessional pay is $91.36 per hour for the original tutorial and $60.91 per
hour for repeat tutorials. It is expected that for each tutorial you give, you will be paid
for one-hour preparation (original only), one hour is for teaching and one hour is for
marking. Extra marking approved by the Head of School is paid at $30.45 per hour.
e) Pay queries
Please note: the first payment for tutorial work is not usually until the third week of
the semester. In the first pay period you often only receive payment for work
conducted in week one of the semester. If you have any pay inquiries please contact
Salaries in the Finance and Business Services on extension 53998.
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General Administration
a) Stationery
If you need stationery supplies (paper, pens, overhead transparencies, butchers
paper etc.) for tutorials you can access them from either of the photocopy rooms on
second or fourth floor. If you do not have access to these rooms please contact the
school secretary to obtain a key.
b) Photocopying
Photocopying for tutorials can be carried out in either of the photocopy rooms on 2 nd
or 4th floor. A pin number is required for photocopying. The sessional coordinator will
advise you of the pin number each semester. Please note that this code is only to be
used for tutorial photocopying (not private use). For large volume copying ( eg., 20
copies of 20+ pages) please send the job to Uniprint. Work can usually be turned
around in 24 hours and is less expensive than photocopying. Uniprint requisition
forms are available from outside the General Office on level 4.
c) Equipment code
To run the videos and projectors in some rooms you need to insert a code. The
current code is 1111.
d) Technical problems in rooms
When you are conducting a tutorial and you have a technical problem, (eg.,
overhead projector will not work or you cannot remember the code for projectors)
please telephone the Office of Technical Services 3735 5607 for help. Internal
telephones are available in most teaching rooms.
Keeping you informed
a) Email
Email will be used to remind tutors and students of important dates and disseminate
other information from time to time. All students have access to email via their
computer accounts and are required to check their student email. The University now
considers the use of email as “official University correspondence”. If you do not use
your student email, please contact Diana Fisher (School Secretary) with your private
email address and she can add it to our school postgraduate email list.
b) Official mail
All official University correspondence is sent to the mailing address supplied by you.
If your address changes, you must submit advice of a new address to a Student
Administration Centre on the appropriate form. Student Residences staff do not
forward mail during student vacations, so it is essential that you keep the University
advised of your current mailing address at all times. Mail sent to the current mailing
address is deemed to have been received by the student.
*Note: Do not give change of address or change to enrolment details to the School
Administrative Officer.
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c) Noticeboards
School initiated notices for students, such as tutorial allocations will be placed on the
noticeboards on level two and three of the Psychology Building.
Information about timetables and examinations will no longer be pinned to
Noticeboards. Students are advised that this information is only available on the GU
web site http://www.gu.edu.au/ua/aa/sta/timetables.html
Students are advised to check the Griffith University website at least once a week
during semester for any changes that may be made to the examination and class
timetables. Students are advised to check with both Schools for important notices if
they are undertaking a double degree.
Students are deemed to have been advised of these matters once a notice has been
posted to the web site.
Resources
a) Library – Division of Information Services (INS)
If you haven’t already done so, familiarise yourself with the layout of the libraries at
both the Mt Gravatt and Nathan campuses. The Mt Gravatt campus library has
copies of required and recommended readings in the Reserve Collection for all
psychology courses. Both campus libraries will also have useful additional resources
for research and study. Bookmarks are available that give you the most appropriate
call number ranges for your discipline.
If required, tours of the libraries are conducted during the first few weeks of semester
on both campuses. A self-paced Library Research Tutorial is available on the web.
The address for the program is: http://www4.gu.edu.au/shr/lrt/index.htm
Ask at the Information Desk if you need more help using the library - staff there will
gladly assist you.
The Librarian for Psychology at the Mt Gravatt Library is Ms Dianne Selzer (ext.
21217). Her email address is d.selzer@griffith.edu.au
b) Computing – Information Technology Services (ITS)
HELP DESK - Ext 55555
You can contact the Mt Gravatt Help Desk staff on extension 55555 between 8.00am
and 4.00pm, Monday to Friday. Help Desk staff are available to help students and
staff with technical problems.
Learning Centre – Mt Gravatt
3rd Floor, Psychology Building
Lab Opening Hours:
7.00am–10.00pm (Mon–Fri)
9.00am–5.00pm (Weekends)
For detailed computing information including accounts, logins and passwords,
software, printing, code of conduct, email etc. please refer to the web.
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Griffith University information
a) Security
The University has a 24-hour security service at each of its campuses. Officers patrol
around the clock to deal with inquiries and provide assistance and support to
students, staff and visitors to the University. It is the duty of security officers to
respond to requests such as providing an escort to vehicles for those working or
studying after hours. Officers can be contacted by using the security telephones
positioned outside each security office and also at strategic points around campus.
How to call Security from an internal telephone:
Dial: 57777
How to call Security from external telephones:
Dial: 1800 800 707 (Free Call) or dial: 3735 7777
The Security Service is provided to ensure everyone’s safety. Make sure you use it!
b) How to find …
The University has an internal telephone directory on the GU website. If you cannot
find a directory and you want to make an internal call (or if you cannot find what you
are looking for in the directory), dial 9 for the University Operator.
Dial 9 or 373 57111.
For detailed information on parking, Inter-campus bus service, Student Services,
Health Services and Campus Life (was Office of Community Services), please refer
to the appropriate sections in the 2003 Undergraduate Handbook
Griffith University Health and Safety Policy
http://www62.gu.edu.au/policylibrary.nsf
Griffith University aims for excellence in workplace health and safety, as it does in all
fields of activity, and is committed to minimising workplace hazards. The Office of
Human Resource Management (HR) Health and Safety Sub-Committee establishes
and monitors safety procedures across the University and works closely with Health
and Safety Committees in Schools and Elements to implement safe practices.
Objectives
The University is committed to complying with legislative and statutory requirements,
codes of practice and industry standards by:

protecting the health and safety of its staff, students and visitors

providing a safe place to work and study

minimising workplace hazards

providing sufficient information to staff and students on possible risks to health
and safety

training and instructing all staff and students in safe work practices
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
providing suitable safety equipment if hazards cannot be eliminated.
The University encourages cooperation among its members to promote and maintain
healthy and safe working conditions.
All members of the University have a duty to adopt and maintain appropriate health
and safety standards in all their work activities. Management and supervisory staff
are committed to these objectives.
Griffith University Harassment and Discrimination Policy
http://www62.gu.edu.au/policylibrary.nsf
Griffith University is committed to a policy of equal opportunity in employment and
education.
The University recognises the right of all students and staff to work and study in an
environment free from harassment and discrimination. Harassment may be sexual in
nature or based on gender, race, disability, sexual preference or a range of other
factors. Harassment or discrimination of staff or students by any member of the
University community is unacceptable and contrary to the educational and
employment policies of the University.
Harassment and discrimination in general, and sexual harassment in particular, is of
concern as it may:

create an intimidating, hostile, offensive or distressing work or study
environment

adversely affect the work performance of individual staff or students

adversely affect a person's admission to a course or progress within a course

adversely affect an individual's recruitment, level of appointment, promotion
and progress opportunities

adversely affect an individual's access to and participation in the range of
educational opportunities, support services, social and recreational facilities
provided by the University

adversely reflect on the integrity and standing of the University

cause the University as an employer and an educational institution to assume
a position of vicarious liability, as sexual harassment is illegal.
The University aims to eliminate harassment and discrimination from its campuses.
The Pro Vice-Chancellor (Business, Equity) is the senior officer responsible for
supervising the management of this program, which includes:

educating students and staff about acceptable behaviour at work and in an
educational environment

promptly, effectively and confidentially resolving complaints of harassment

actively encouraging appropriate behaviour by those in positions of authority
ie supervisors, managers and teaching staff

providing an appropriate and effective process, structure and resources.
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Reports of harassment and discrimination will be treated seriously by the University
and will be investigated expeditiously in a thorough and confidential manner,
ensuring that complainants and witnesses are not victimised in any way.
This policy applies to all staff, students and visitors at Griffith University.
The University will ensure that staff, students and members of the University
community are informed of this policy and that managers and other supervisory staff
are aware of their responsibilities in the prevention and resolution of complaints of
harassment.
Associate Professor Keithia Wilson, School of Psychology, telephone (07) 3735
3389, is the contact for assistance with this policy.
Ms Melanie Wedgwood, School Administrative Officer, telephone (07) 3735 3355, is
also a contact officer in relation to the University Harassment policy.
Griffith University Smoking Policy
Smoking is prohibited in buildings or parts of buildings under the University’s control,
and in University vehicles.
Smoking is also prohibited within three (3) metres of air intakes, external doors, open
windows and ventilation louvres.
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Appendix
School of Psychology
…(Almost) everything you need
to know about assessment
This Guide should be read in conjunction with individual Course
Outlines as provided by your Course Convenor.
Frequently used Griffith University websites
Griffith Policies
Bookmark or add to Favourites the web address for the Griffith University Policy
Library http://www62.gu.edu.au/policylibrary.nsf. You need to be familiar with where
the following policies are and their general content.

Assessment Policy

Academic Misconduct Policy (which includes Plagiarism)

Exams and Timetabling Policy

Student Grievances & Appeals Policy

Student Administration Forms
Programs and Courses
http://www.gu.edu.au/academicprogramsandcourses/
Timetables
http://www.gu.edu.au/ua/aa/sta/timetables.html
Class Lists
http://passerver.ua.gu.edu.au/new/current/cls_lst_input/home.html
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If, after reading the following questions and answers, you are still unsure about what
to do, make a time to meet with the School Administrative Officer in the Psychology
Building (M24) in Room 4.10.
Q 1. What final grades are awarded?
Firstly there are two different results awarded for assessment in each course. During the
semester individual assessment items are given a “mark” which is expressed as a
percentage.
At the end of semester these individual marks are combined to produce a “final grade”.
The grades awarded are:
Grade
Marks range*
Abbreviation
High Distinction
85% - 100%
HD
Distinction
75% - 84%
D
Credit
65% - 74%
C
Pass
50% - 64%
P
Fail
0% - 49%
F
Fail Non Submission
0%
FNS
Withdrawal with failure
0%
WF
* This is indicative only, as the range is decided by Faculty Assessment Board and
may vary slightly from that shown.
Q 2. What type of work is required to achieve these grades?
Extract from Griffith Assessment Policy http://www.gu.edu.au/ua/aasta/policy.html
Students' results in courses are recorded using the following grades. The description
that accompanies each grade is given as a guideline to assist comparability across the
University, but these descriptions must be interpreted within the context of each course.
High Distinction (HD)
Complete and comprehensive understanding of the course content; development of
relevant skills to a comprehensive level; demonstration of an extremely high level of
interpretative and analytical ability and intellectual initiative; and achievement of all
major and minor objectives of the course.
Distinction (D)
Very high level of understanding of the course content; development of relevant skills
to a very high level; demonstration of a very high level of interpretive and analytical
ability and intellectual initiative; and achievement of all major and minor objectives of
the course.
Credit (C)
High level of understanding of course content; development of relevant skills to a
high level; demonstration of a high level of interpretive and analytical ability and
achievement of all major objectives of the course; some minor objectives not fully
achieved.
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Pass (P)
Adequate understanding of most of the basic course content; development of relevant
skills to a satisfactory level; adequate interpretive and analytical ability and achievement
of all major objectives of the course; some minor objectives not achieved.
Non-graded Pass (NGP)
Successful completion of a course assessed on a pass/fail basis, indicating satisfactory
understanding of course content; satisfactory development of relevant skills; satisfactory
interpretive and analytical ability and achievement in all major objectives of the course.
Fail (F)
Inadequate understanding of the basic course content; failure to develop relevant
skills; insufficient evidence of interpretive and analytical ability; and failure to achieve
some or all major and minor objectives of the course.
Pass Conceded (PC) is not used by the School of Psychology (Health)
Fail No Assessment Submitted (FNS)
Did not present any work for assessment, to be counted as failure.
Withdraw with failure (WF)
Cancelled enrolment in the course after the final date for which withdrawal without
failure (See Student Administration Policy, section 6).
Q 3. Who marks my work?
Assessment items submitted for marking are distributed to markers (usually tutors
within the course) by the course convenors. Individual course convenors may do this
in a variety of ways. For example the assessment items may be distributed randomly
in equal numbers to the markers; or items may be grouped according to
topic and each marker will be given one topic to mark. In other words, your individual
tutor may not be marking your work.
When all of the markers are finished various procedures are followed to moderate
results across each course. The distribution of marks awarded by all markers are
compared and any discrepancies discussed. This may result in the distributions for
individual markers being moved or down. This process is intended to remove any
bias that might come about from how “hard” or “easy” individual tutors may mark.
Any piece of assessment that receives a fail grade on the first marking is remarked by a
different marker, nominated by the course convenor prior to the release of the mark.
This process is intended to ensure that all assessment items are marked fairly and
without bias.
Course Convenors then present their final grades for each course to the School
Assessment Board. At this stage the spread of grades is looked at and any
anomalies are discussed. Recommendations are made concerning cut-offs and
whether they will be varied from the standard. Requests for Special Consideration
and Deferred Exams are also discussed at this meeting.
All approved grades are then taken by the Head of School and the Program
Convenors to a Faculty Assessment Board where again the results are considered
and recommendations from School Assessment Board are approved.
There are many checks and balances to ensure students are assessed fairly and
without bias.
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Q4. What do I do if I am not happy with my mark?
a) An appeal against the award of a MARK for an individual assessment item.
This is a School based process and is therefore handled within the School and is
less formal but equally binding as the University policy governing an appeal against
a Final Grade (see point b).
Students should discuss the mark with the marker in the first instance. If a student
believes that the mark they have been awarded for an individual assessment item is
unfair then they may request a re-mark of the item. A request for a remark should be
submitted to the Course Convenor, within 14 days of the official notification to the
student that the assessment item is ready for collection. Students can ask to see
their exam script (the answers they wrote in the exam) and to discuss their results
with the Convenor. Students are not able to take exam scripts away.
The request should be made in writing to the Course Convenor and should state on
what grounds the student is requesting a remark. A clean unmarked copy of the
assessment piece should be submitted. The student puts only their student number,
not their name, on the re-submitted assessment item. The Course Convenor is
responsible for assigning the work for remarking. The Course Convenor may remark
the item or pass it to another marker (not the original marker). The mark assigned to
the remark is the final mark for the work.
* Students should be very aware when they enter this process that the second
mark awarded as a result of a request for a remark will be the final mark
awarded, even if that second mark is lower than the original mark.
Refer to your copy of the School Assessment Policy on page 18 of your
Undergraduate Handbook for more detailed information.
b) An appeal against the award of a Final Grade
This is a formal University process and is covered by a University policy. Refer to the
web address http://www.gu.edu.au/ua/aasta/policy.html to see the complete policy.
You should make sure you read and understand the policy before submitting your
request for a Review of Grade.
Students are encouraged to discuss with academic staff their performance in
assessment items during a course. If you believe that an error has been made or an
injustice done in respect of the grade awarded for a course, you may request a
review of the grade. This request must:
(a) be made in writing on the appropriate form (available from Student
Administration Centres or from http://www.gu.edu.au/ua/aa/sta/forms.html
(b) state the grounds for the review request
(c) lodge the form with a Student Administration Centre within 14 days of the
date on which student grades are posted on the University's web site.
All requests for review of grade shall be dealt with by the Chairperson of the School
Assessment Board, normally the Dean, who shall seek the advice of the relevant
Course Convenor.
Students will be notified of the outcome of the requested review of grade.
A student who is dissatisfied with the outcome of the review of grade may lodge a
formal appeal to the University Appeals Committee (refer to the Student Grievances
& Appeals Policy http://www.gu.edu.au/ua/aasta/policy.html).
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Q5. Special Consideration – what is it, when & how do I apply?
A student can request special consideration be given when awarding results for
assessment items submitted. A typical situation where this might occur is if the student
had been unwell in the period leading up to the submission of a piece of assessment
and the student believed that this would have effected their ability to work to their usual
standard. In general the grounds for special consideration are unforseen or unavoidable
circumstances that can be expected to have an impact on performance.
An application for special consideration is applicable only where the assessment
item or examination has been attempted. If you have been unable to attempt the
assessment item or examination, it would be more appropriate to apply for deferred
assessment or an extension of time to submit an assignment.
Requests for special consideration must be made in writing and accompanied by
appropriate documentary evidence. Forms for Special Consideration are available from
Student Administration Centres and from http://www.gu.edu.au/ua/aa/sta/forms.html
Requests for special consideration in respect of an examination must be lodged at a
Student Administration Centre no later than three working days after the date of the
examination.
Requests for special consideration in assessing an assignment must be lodged with
the submission of the assignment.
Requests for special consideration in respect of performance across all assessment
items in a course must be lodged at a Student Administration Centre no later than
three working days after the date of the final examination or assessment item.
Full details about Special Consideration are on the Assessment Policy at
http://www.gu.edu.au/ua/aasta/policy.html. You should make sure you read and
understand this policy before submitting your application.
Q6. Where do I submit my assignments?
ALWAYS KEEP A COPY OF ANY ASSESSMENT ITEM SUBMITTED. It is your
responsibility to keep a copy of any work submitted for assessment and where a
receipt is given keep this with your copy of the assessment item. If for whatever
reason your work goes missing this is your insurance policy!
Students are required to submit assessment items by the due date, as advised in the
Course Outline. Assessment items submitted after the due date will be course to a
penalty unless an extension of time for submitting the item is approved by the
Course Convenor. (See Q 7).
An assessment item submitted after the due date, without an approved extension,
will be penalised. The standard penalty is the reduction of the mark allocated to the
assessment item by 10% of the maximum mark applicable for the assessment item,
for each day or part day that the item is late. Weekends count as one day in
determining the penalty. Assessment items submitted more than five days after the
due date are awarded zero marks.
Some Course Convenors may ask that you submit Assessment Items through the
Off Campus & Assignment Handling Service (GFLS) collection points. On the Mt
Gravatt campus students should submit their assessment at the Lending Desk of the
Library. A designated area has been set aside inside the entrance to the Library for
students to complete their assignment coversheets and place in the Assignment
Submission Box provided, or hand to Library Lending Staff if they require an
assignment receipt.
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Q7. How and when do I apply for an extension?
Requests for extension of time to submit an assessment item must be made in
writing to the Course Convenor. Where the request is made on medical grounds, an
appropriate medical certificate must be submitted (see Assessment Policy
http://www.gu.edu.au/ua/aasta/policy.html. In general, some documentary form of
support for the claim for an extension must accompany the request.
The request for an extension should be lodged by the due date for the assessment
item. A copy of the extension request should be attached to the assessment item
when it is submitted. Standard Forms for Extension request are available from
Student Administration Centres and from http://www.gu.edu.au/ua/aa/sta/forms.html
Q8. Deferred Assessment – what is it, when and how do I apply?
Students may apply for deferred assessment if they were prevented from performing an
assessment item, such as an examination, test, seminar presentation, or other
assessment activity scheduled for a particular date, on the grounds of illness, accident,
temporary disability, bereavement or other compassionate circumstances. Where a
student is prevented from attending an examination for reasons other than those specified
in the Examinations Timetabling Policy http://www62.gu.edu.au/policylibrary.nsf the
student may apply for an alternative sitting.
Requests for deferred assessment must be made on the form provided for this
purpose and accompanied by appropriate documentary evidence. Standard Forms
for deferred assessment request are available from Student Administration Centres
and from http://www.gu.edu.au/ua/aa/sta/forms.html
Requests for deferred assessment in respect of an examination must be lodged at a
Student Administration Centre no later than three working days after the date of the
examination.
Requests for deferred assessment in respect of other assessment items must be
lodged with the Course Convenor no later than three working days after the date
pertinent to the assessment item.
Q9. What is “appropriate documentation” required to support an Application
for Special Consideration, Extension or Deferred Assessment
Students applying for deferred assessment or special consideration on medical
grounds must submit the Griffith University Student Medical Certificate, completed by
a registered medical practitioner (normally a doctor, but it can be an allied or
alternative health professional) or dental practitioner stating (i)
the date on which the practitioner examined the student;
(ii) the severity and duration of the complaint;
(iii) the practitioner's opinion of the effect of the complaint on the student's
ability to undertake the assessment item.
A statement that the student was not "fit for duty" or was suffering from a "medical
condition" will not be accepted unless the information required in (i), (ii) and (iii)
above is included.
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Students applying for Special Consideration, Extension or Deferred Assessment on
other grounds must submit suitable documentary evidence, such as a funeral notice
or a letter from a counsellor.
Q10. What is plagiarism?
Plagiarism is knowingly presenting the work or property of another person as if it
were ones own.
Examples and penalties are described in detail in the policy on Academic Misconduct
http://www.gu.edu.au/ua/aasta/policy.html Make sure you read this policy and if you
have doubts about work you are submitting - talk to your tutor or Course Convenor!
Examples of plagiarism include:
a) word-for-word copying of sentences or paragraphs from one or more sources which
are the work or data of other persons (including books, articles, thesis, unpublished
works, working papers, seminar and conference papers, internal reports, lecture
notes or tapes) without clearly identifying their origin by appropriate referencing;
b) closely para-phrasing sentences or paragraphs from one or more sources without
appropriate acknowledgment in the form of a reference to the original work or
works;
c) using another person's ideas, work or research data without appropriate
acknowledgment;
d) submitting work which has been produced by someone else on the student's
behalf as if it were the work of the student;
e) copying computer files, including web documents, in whole or in part without
indicating their origin;
f)
submitting work which has been wholly or partially derived from another student's
work by a process of mechanical transformation. For example, changing variable
names in computer programs.
Q11. What happens if I am caught plagiarising?
Within the School, the process that will be followed if a student is caught plagiarising is
that the Course Convenor will contact the student and request that they attend an
interview with the academic staff member to discuss the alleged plagiarism. The School
will normally ask the School Administrative Officer to sit in on the interview to provide
advice on the process to the student and to record notes on the meeting. This interview
is the student’s opportunity to put their side of the story, in some cases this may resolve
the issue and no further action will be taken. If however there is evidence of plagiarism
the Course Convenor will report the matter to the Chair of the Faculty Assessment
Board and include a recommendation of the penalty to be imposed.
One or more of the following penalties may be imposed:

a reduced or nil result for the assessment item affected by the academic
misconduct;

a fail grade for the course in which academic misconduct occurred;

exclusion from enrolment in the program for a specified period;

exclusion from the program; readmission to the program is at the discretion of
the Dean based on consideration of the student's case for readmission.
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Q12. Exams
End of semester exams are scheduled during the period commencing Saturday of
week 15 through week 16 and week 17. Exams will be scheduled between the hours
of 8am and 9pm on weekdays and 8am and 6pm on Saturdays. Examinations will
not be held on Sundays or public holidays. On any day, students are expected to be
available for morning, afternoon or evening examination sessions. Exams will
normally be scheduled on the campus where the teaching in the course takes place.
Within these guidelines the timetable for an individual student will normally conform
to the following constraints:

No more than 2 examinations in a day

Total working time for examinations in a single day should not exceed 6
hours

A break of at least one and a half hours between examinations

No more than 4 consecutive examinations in 3 successive days.
If you find that your individual exam timetable does not fall within these guide then you
should contact Exams and Timetabling and apply for an alternative exam sitting. It is the
student’s responsibility to check for the exam timetable from the web. Information about
exams will not be given over the phone because of the risk of error. Exam timetables
can be found at http://www.gu.edu.au/ua/aa/sta/timetables.html
Alternative exam sittings
Where for exceptional circumstances a student can’t sit a scheduled exam they may
be granted an alternative exam sitting. These may be scheduled during the normal
examination period or be scheduled as a deferred exam during the Supplementary /
Deferred examination period.
You can apply for an alternative exam sitting in the following circumstances:

Your individual exam timetable falls outside the timetable guidelines

Religious convictions

Medical or compassionate grounds, such as confinement or surgery

Work commitments, beyond the student’s control

Competitive sporting events at state, national or international level

Weddings (only in the case of a close relative where the relationship is
supported by a Statutory Declaration

Military service.
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