Overview
This unit gives students an opportunity to undertake a project of their choice in any discipline area in the school in which they have already done a substantial amount of study. The project could involve researching an academic topic or involve using practical skills or relate to a work placement in an approved organisation. NOTE: The unit is only offered subject to the availability of an appropriate supervisor, who will stipulate the learning activities and the precise assessment task(s) to be completed by students. Students considering this unit are advised to contact a potential supervisor(s) and the unit coordinator. Once a topic or a work placement has been agreed, the course advisor will confirm the student's enrolment in the unit.
Details
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
A prerequisite of 72 credit points is required, which means students need to have done at least half their degree in any area relevant to their choosing research topics.
Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).
Offerings For Term 2 - 2025
Attendance Requirements
All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).
Recommended Student Time Commitment
Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.
Class Timetable
Assessment Overview
Assessment Grading
This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of 'pass' in order to pass the unit. If any 'pass/fail' tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully ('pass' grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the 'assessment task' section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%). Consult the University's Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades.
All University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
You may wish to view these policies:
- Grades and Results Policy
- Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework)
- Review of Grade Procedure
- Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - Domestic Students
- Monitoring Academic Progress (MAP) Policy and Procedure - International Students
- Student Refund and Credit Balance Policy and Procedure
- Student Feedback - Compliments and Complaints Policy and Procedure
- Information and Communications Technology Acceptable Use Policy and Procedure
This list is not an exhaustive list of all University policies. The full list of University policies are available on the CQUniversity Policy site.
Feedback, Recommendations and Responses
Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.
Feedback from Unit Coordinator self-assessment
Students engagement
Continue to promote regular meetings between supervisors and students, with sessions scheduled in advance.
- Meet pre-established objectives and criteria for the work placement/project.
- Analyse and assess the work practices - process and content - relating to the negotiated placement/project.
- Participate in and successfully complete a variety of humanities and communication and/or other cognate related tasks.
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
| Assessment Tasks | Learning Outcomes | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment - 100% | |||
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
| Graduate Attributes | Learning Outcomes | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| 1 - Communication | |||
| 2 - Problem Solving | |||
| 3 - Critical Thinking | |||
| 4 - Information Literacy | |||
| 5 - Team Work | |||
| 6 - Information Technology Competence | |||
| 7 - Cross Cultural Competence | |||
| 8 - Ethical practice | |||
| 9 - Social Innovation | |||
| 10 - Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultures | |||
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
| Assessment Tasks | Graduate Attributes | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | |
| 1 - Written Assessment - 100% | ||||||||||
Textbooks
There are no required textbooks.
IT Resources
- CQUniversity Student Email
- Internet
- Unit Website (Moodle)
- Adobe Premiere Pro (Adobe Creative Cloud student subscription recommended) or other NLE software (eg. DaVinci Resolve)
- Access to a digital camera and microphone for video and audio capture (a smartphone is sufficient)
All submissions for this unit must use the referencing style: American Psychological Association 7th Edition (APA 7th edition)
For further information, see the Assessment Tasks.
j.cattoni@cqu.edu.au
Module/Topic
Project Planning
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
All students and teaching staff meet via Zoom
Confirmation of schedule and equipment
Module/Topic
Reviewing existing narratives
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
All parties travel to Cairns
Meet and greet hosted by SEA Dean Professor Stephen Dobson, Cairns Campus
Module/Topic
Filming with First Nations Communities: Protocols and IP
Chapter
Equipment review
Technical instruction
Events and Submissions/Topic
Meet partners at Waalmbal Birri Heritage and Culture Centre
Pre-production planning for re-enactment of Cook's landing at Reconcillation Rocks
Module/Topic
The Place of Plants
Chapter
Shooting on location
Capturing action and the place
Interviewing techniques
Events and Submissions/Topic
Maaramaka Walkabout
Tours
Culture and Rainforest Tour Lilian & Richie Bowen
HopeVale Art Cente
Language recordings
Module/Topic
Reframing the Past
Post Producton
Reflective Practice
Chapter
Events and Submissions/Topic
Multi-cam production of Cook's landing at Reconciliation Rocks
All groups return to base
Module/Topic
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Events and Submissions/Topic
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Post Producton
Reflective Practice
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Events and Submissions/Topic
Assignment 100% Due: Friday 29th August
Storytelling on Shared Ground Due: Week 6 Friday (29 Aug 2025) 11:59 pm AEST
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Events and Submissions/Topic
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Storytelling on Shared Ground Project
In Term 2 2025, this Unit will be run in conjunction with teaching staff and screen production students from Dalarna University (Sweden), Girffith Film School (Brisbane), and CQUniversity (Cairns). Students will undertake an initial shared 12 day storytelling project work with the communities of Cooktown and Hopevale in far North Queensland followed by post production work and reflective practice.
Collaborating with Traditional Owners, artists, and community members, students will create a series of short documentaries and other visual and written works that explore local knowledge systems, historical narratives and the natural environment, revealing the enduring relationships between people and place – in a location that continues to shape conversations around reconciliation and identity in Australia today.
1 Written Assessment
This assessment is in 2 parts and is drawn from the project work and activities undertaken during your 12-day stay in Cooktown and surrounding areas. Additional information is available on the Assessment Tile on the Unit Moodle site.
PART A: Stories on Shared Ground 60%; Creative Synthesis
Part A consists of three production exercises that explore place, history, and intercultural collaboration. Each piece contributes to a larger collection of shared stories that reflect on how histories are made, remembered, and reimagined.
Exercise 1. Reframing the Past - Multi-camera collaborative recording of the 1770 Re-enactment
Students work as one production team to record multi-camera coverage of the annual reenactment of the landing of Captain Cook in 1770 and his meeting with the Guugu Yimithirr Bamaat at the heritage-listed Reconciliation Rocks in Cooktown. This exercise emphasises collective authorship, technical coordination, and ethical storytelling when reinterpreting historical events. Each student is to submit a 5 min excerpt of the multi-cam production they have edited themselves with a 100 word statement outlining their decision making process.
Exercise 2. Creative Custodians
In consultation with First Nations collaborators and university teaching staff, students will choose 1 story (2-3 minutes) that would be suitable for broadcast on ICTV. (https://ictv.com.au) Students will partake in discussions with individuals and community around consent and approval processes. Students will then post-produce the story to a standard suitable for broadcast. Suggestions for this exercise include portraits of artists at the Hope Vale Arts Centre, language stories, cultural practice stories and place stories. This exercise focuses on building trust, highlighting creative practices grounded in community, and experimenting with visual storytelling techniques.
Exercise 3. Grounded Reflections - Individual essay film; 3-5-minutes
This exercise facilitates students to produces a personal essay film that weaves together their experience of place, personal reflections and thoughts on their encounter with nature and traditional knowledge. Drawing from observation and introspection, this exercise invites students to connect their own story with Guugu Yimithirr country.
Purpose
The Production exercises are designed to provide a framework to test and develop your technical and creative skills both individually in a team.
PART B: Reflective Diary 40%
Document and reflect on your learning, using daily diary entries in the form of written reflections, video diaries, photographs, drawings, audio notes, or any other creative medium that helps you frame your experience. We will encourage you to share your notes during group conversations and reflective dialogue.
Purpose: The Reflective Diary asks you to engage as a reflective practitioner – documenting and analysing your evolving understanding of screen production and storytelling in an intercultural, community-engaged context.
Reflection Framework
- Production Practices: How have your screen production skills developed? Have you experimented with new techniques, tools, or collaborative methods?
- Professional Context: What have you learned from the creative and technical exchanges during this project? Is there a standout skill/process? What challenges arose from working interculturally? How have you adapted your thinking or creative process in response? How does working alongside community members, artists, and other students shape your understanding of professional practice and responsibility? What have you learned and negotiated with community members about IP and consent?
- Shaping History & Place: How have you engaged with place, history, culture and environment? Use your senses in this reflection, sight, sound, smell and feel. How has screen technology supported or hindered your engagement? Has the experience (re)shaped your sense of how stories shape history and the communities that hold it, rather than merely record ‘facts’?
AI Assessment scale tool:
Level 3: You may use AI to assist with specific tasks such as drafting text, refining and evaluating your work. You must critically evaluate and modify any AI-generated content you use. Any misuse or lack of disclosure regarding the use of AI tools will be considered a breach of academic integrity.
Submission Format: A curated selection of diary entries (a traditional written diary or curated multimodal portfolio), to be is agreed in collaboration with the Unit Coordinator. This is to be accompanied by a brief framing statement (approx. 200–300 words) outlining what is being presented, key learnings & personal/professional development. Use a minimum of 3 references using APA 7th Ed. Completed movies are to be exported in a format appropriate for the intended platform/audience and uploaded to Echo360. All documents are to be uploaded to Moodle in PDF format.
Week 6 Friday (29 Aug 2025) 11:59 pm AEST
Submit via Moodle website
Return to students two weeks after submission
- Intercultural Competence 20%
- Impact of creative storytelling 20%
- Visual, audio and technical execution 20%
- Engagement with reflective process 20%
- Standard of documentation and presentation 20%
- Meet pre-established objectives and criteria for the work placement/project.
- Analyse and assess the work practices - process and content - relating to the negotiated placement/project.
- Participate in and successfully complete a variety of humanities and communication and/or other cognate related tasks.
- Communication
- Problem Solving
- Critical Thinking
- Ethical practice
As a CQUniversity student you are expected to act honestly in all aspects of your academic work.
Any assessable work undertaken or submitted for review or assessment must be your own work. Assessable work is any type of work you do to meet the assessment requirements in the unit, including draft work submitted for review and feedback and final work to be assessed.
When you use the ideas, words or data of others in your assessment, you must thoroughly and clearly acknowledge the source of this information by using the correct referencing style for your unit. Using others’ work without proper acknowledgement may be considered a form of intellectual dishonesty.
Participating honestly, respectfully, responsibly, and fairly in your university study ensures the CQUniversity qualification you earn will be valued as a true indication of your individual academic achievement and will continue to receive the respect and recognition it deserves.
As a student, you are responsible for reading and following CQUniversity’s policies, including the Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure. This policy sets out CQUniversity’s expectations of you to act with integrity, examples of academic integrity breaches to avoid, the processes used to address alleged breaches of academic integrity, and potential penalties.
What is a breach of academic integrity?
A breach of academic integrity includes but is not limited to plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion, cheating, contract cheating, and academic misconduct. The Student Academic Integrity Policy and Procedure defines what these terms mean and gives examples.
Why is academic integrity important?
A breach of academic integrity may result in one or more penalties, including suspension or even expulsion from the University. It can also have negative implications for student visas and future enrolment at CQUniversity or elsewhere. Students who engage in contract cheating also risk being blackmailed by contract cheating services.
Where can I get assistance?
For academic advice and guidance, the Academic Learning Centre (ALC) can support you in becoming confident in completing assessments with integrity and of high standard.
What can you do to act with integrity?
