VCE Extended Investigation

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• VCE Extended Investigation
• A senior secondary study
• for the 21st century

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Characteristics of the study

• Designed for independent learners seeking
  challenge
• No set curriculum
• Student led, minimal teacher direction
• Formulation of research question and pursuit of
  findings
• Critical thinking
• Research methods

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Assessment in the study

• Unit 3
• 3 outcomes 40 of study score
• 2 SACs and CT test
• Unit 4
• 2 outcomes 60 of study score
• Externally-assessed Task
• Written report
• Oral presentation
• No statewide written examination

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Assessment

• Validity and reliability
• Submission of research questions
• Mandated assessment criteria
• Critical thinking test
• Highly specified conditions of assessment for
  orals

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Quality assurance

• Fairness
• Statistical moderation
• internal assessments against external
  assessments for the group
• Checks
• Inter-rater reliability
• Application of school assessment criteria

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Authentication

• Extended Investigation student journal
• Submission of research question
• Critical thinking test
• Oral defence
• Authentication declaration

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Approval of research question
Criteria

• ? substantial and significant
• ? practical, realistic and manageable
• ? critical distance and an impersonal or
  objective stance
• ? systematic and sound research methods
• ? access to appropriate and relevant primary and
  secondary sources
• ? likely to produce a useful result
• ? clearly and precisely worded
• ? contained and focused scope
• ? responsible and ethical research
• ? sustain student inquiry
• ? no duplication with any current VCE study

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Sample research questions

• How is awareness of Kyphosis and Scoliosis
  promoted to young people in Australia and what
  programs are needed to support young people
  diagnosed with these conditions?
• How does the current model of mental health
  funding and programs provided by the public
  health system meet the needs of young people in
  XXXXXX (city) and what alternative models could
  be considered?
• Has the 21st century brought the need to legalise
  performance enhancing drugs in sport?
• How have Karen refugees been integrated into the
  XXXXXX (city) community and in what ways have
  these interactions challenged the perceptions of
  local residents towards refugees?
• ? How did the introduction of steam technology
  to the construction of the Panama Canal affect
  the development, efficiency and success of the
  project?

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• What is the difference between Australia's
  cultural constructs of poverty and those in East
  Timor?
• ? Does the use of educational apps on Apple
  iPads in the junior section of XXXXXX Special
  School Bundoora have an impact on students'
  ability to work autonomously whilst engaged in
  classroom activities?
• Examined through poetry with focus on two
  particular points in time, how has existential
  thought progressed?
• Was Osama bin Laden the most dangerous man alive
  in the 21st Century to date?
• ? To what extent do migration waves affect the
  enrolment at selective entry schools and what
  predictions can be made about future enrolment?
• ? Are the promoted strategies of conservation
  at the Melbourne Zoo an effective method of
  informing people about the importance of wildlife
  conservation?

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• ? How effective is the Karkarook Park wetland
  filtration system in improving water quality? A
  case study.
• ? Can Israel and a potential future state of
  Palestine coexist?
• What is the effect, if any, on an XXXXX High
  School middle school students academic results
  when they are using their mobile phones in class?
• What change of attitude towards speeding whilst
  driving do the Transport Accident Commission
  (TAC) ads have on young XXXXXX High male and
  female drivers?
• How have traditional cultural values and modern
  feminism shaped the identity and roles of
  Aboriginal women in contemporary Australia?
• How does human presence contribute to
  environmental degradation? Current and future
  threats to native flora and fauna in Blind Creek
  flood area and reserve a case study.

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Critical thinking

• Skills of questioning, evaluation of evidence
• Argument and reasoning
• Fact and belief
• Qualitative and quantitative
• Socio-cultural influence

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Sample of CT questions drag and drop
1 No one should be excluded from tertiary education because they cannot pay, but if and when they can pay, they should pay. 2 Tertiary education is very important to the country and tertiary studies should be made as accessible as possible. 3 Those who directly benefit should pay for that benefit. Those who do not directly benefit should not subsidise those who do.
For Against
Like primary and secondary education, free tertiary education should be a right. Tertiary education is a privilege rather than a right.
Answer Tertiary education is a benefit to students, and it will continue to be popular even if it is not free.
The more tertiary education the better for the country as a whole. Answer
Economic growth is dependent on a skilled educated work force in the modern world. More students are studying at tertiary institutions, and the system is very expensive.
Australia needs more tertiary graduates and tertiary fees dissuade students from further education. Students should be properly motivated and fees mean that students have to be serious about their studies.
Free education at all levels is a cornerstone of equality of opportunity Answer
Answer Providing large numbers of government funded tertiary education places leads to a dumbing down of our universities and the graduates they produce.
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Sample CT questions multiple choice

• The more closed-circuit television cameras in
  public spaces the better.
•  
• Choose the alternative (AD) that most
  appropriately describes the relationship of the
  statement to the proposition of the debate about
  closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras.
•  The statement CCTV cameras do not reduce crime
  they simply move it to different locations
•  
• ? A is most likely part of the argument for the
  proposition.
• ? B is most likely part of the argument against
  the proposition.
• ? C could possibly be part the argument for or
  against the proposition.
• ? D is not relevant to either the argument for or
  against the proposition.
•  

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Sample CT questions short answer

• Below are four possible research questions (A to
  D) about music and study.
• Which one of the research questions do you think
  is most specific and answerable? Justify your
  answer.

A What is the relationship between listening to music and the amount of study done?
B Does listening to music have an effect on understanding and memory?
C Why do students listen to music while studying?
D What effect does listening to music have on the success of studying?
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Setting different parameters

• Cross-curricular
• Role of the teacher
• Resourcing
• Mentors
• Links with universities
• Linkage between written report and
• oral presentation and defence

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Whats in it for students?

• Follow a passion
• Develop skills of inquiry and the nature of the
  dialectic
• Learn about each others research
• Get a taste of expectations of tertiary study

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