Program Guide

What is HSC: All My Own Work?

HSC: All My Own Work is a program designed to help HSC students to follow the principles and practices of good scholarship. This includes understanding, valuing and using ethical practices when locating and using information as part of their HSC studies.

Students who have completed the program will also know about penalties for cheating and how to avoid malpractice when preparing their work for assessment.

The HSC: All My Own Work consists of five modules:

  1. Scholarship Principles and Practices
  2. Acknowledging Sources
  3. Plagiarism
  4. Copyright
  5. Working with others

The program builds on existing programs in schools and provides flexibility in delivery. It also recognises the rapid growth in information available to students through the internet.

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How is HSC: All My Own Work related to HSC eligibility?

From 2009, all students entered for one or more Preliminary or HSC courses will be required to have satisfactorily completed HSC: All My Own Work or its equivalent. This requirement includes students who are entered for Life Skills courses or Board Endorsed courses.

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What are the objectives and outcomes for HSC: All My Own Work?

The values and attitudes students will develop through completing the HSC: All My Own Work program are:

In addition, the program addresses the following objectives and outcomes:

Objectives

Outcomes

Students will develop:

A student:

1. knowledge and understanding about scholarship principles, academic honesty and ethical practices in the context of the Higher School Certificate

1.1 demonstrates an understanding of what constitutes good scholarship and ethical practices in the context of the HSC

1.2 demonstrates an understanding of the legal context of ethical practices such as copyright law and intellectual property rights

1.3 analyses the factors that may lead to inappropriate practices

1.4 explains the benefits of respecting the integrity of works created by self and others

1.5 demonstrates an understanding of the consequences of malpractice in the context of the HSC

2. skills in working appropriately with others in the context of the HSC

2.1 distinguishes between appropriate and inappropriate collaboration in completing school assessment tasks

2.2 evaluates opportunities to access assistance from others in completing school assessment tasks

2.3 identifies appropriate methods of acknowledging the assistance of others in completing school assessment tasks

3. skills acknowledging the work of others appropriately to avoid plagiarism

3.1 identifies inappropriate practices such as plagiarism

3.2 attributes the work of others appropriately using referencing, bibliographic and citation conventions

3.3 applies knowledge of ethical practices to the context of the internet

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What is included in the HSC: All My Own Work program?

The HSC: All My Own Work program is divided into five modules, each of which is organised around five or six focus questions.

Each module includes:

A glossary of key terms used in the program can be accessed from each module as well as through the main menu bar.

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What is included in the content of each module?

Scholarship Principles and Practices

The module considers what scholarship principles and practices are, why they are important and how students can benefit from making sure they follow the principles of ethical practice in their study for the HSC.

The module focus questions are:

Acknowledging Sources

This module explains how and why sources used in the creation of students' work should be acknowledged.

The focus questions are:

Plagiarism

This module explains plagiarism and its implications for HSC students.

The focus questions are:

Copyright

This module explains copyright and its relevance to students.

The focus questions are:

Working with Others

This module considers how students can work collaboratively in their senior years while, at the same time, maintaining the academic integrity of their work.

The focus questions are:

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How does HSC: All My Own Work relate to the curriculum?

HSC: All My Own Work has clear links to the mandatory Years 7-10 curriculum, particularly syllabus outcomes and content related to information literacy knowledge and skills.

Mapping the Years 7-10 English, Mathematics, Science, History, Geography, Languages, Music and PDHPE syllabuses outcomes and content, and other syllabus requirements, to HSC: All My Own Work shows the clear links to the curriculum. Schools may use the mapping in determining their implementation strategies. (curriculum mapping table)

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What options do schools have in delivering the program?

HSC: All My Own Work is designed to be delivered flexibly. It is expected that the program will take between 5 and 10 hours to complete, with approximately 1-2 teaching periods per module.

Schools can use a variety of different methods of delivery such as:

A number of different implementation strategies can also be used. These include:

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How should teachers and teacher-librarians use the modules and related materials?

The modules can be used in a 'stand-alone' mode by students working individually online. All of the material is also available in printable (pdf) format that can be downloaded and used off-line.

The first module, Scholarship Principles and Practices is intended as an introduction to the program while the remaining modules can be delivered in any order.

Depending on the school context, teachers may choose to:

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What are some tips for navigating the HSC: All My Own Work site?

Teachers and students will find the HSC: All My Own Work site very easy to navigate.

The main menu bar enables users to access directly all modules (including the Summaries), Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), Resources, Quizzes and the Glossary.

When accessing each module, students are able to move through the module screen-by-screen or use the navigational tools to access different parts of the module, the Summary, FAQs, Resources, Quiz or Glossary.

Links within each module to related websites provide easy access to these resources.

Downloadable pdf versions of modules and components of modules are also provided. There is a link to the full printable version on the first screen of each module, while each screen can also be printed separately via the button at the bottom of the screen. There are also links to print out the quizzes in each module.

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What are the technical requirements for the website?

The website operates on a wide range of browsers on PC operating systems, both Windows and Macintosh.

The quizzes are provided in several formats:

The home page of the website provides download links to the latest Adobe Flash and Acrobat Reader installers. These are free to download and install.

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How are the quizzes to be used?

Each module in the program includes formative quiz items designed to facilitate individual student learning about ethical scholarship and how it applies to their work. These quiz items are placed at appropriate places in each module and are designed to be used by students interactively.

A summative quiz that comprises all the quiz items incorporated in the module is provided separately for each module. Each summative module quiz can be undertaken and scored online or downloaded and used in a printed form.

The Quiz page provides all of the module quizzes in both interactive and downloadable format, together with a set of downloadable quiz answers.

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How will students be certified for satisfactory completion of the program?

Program completion will be certified on both the Preliminary and HSC Confirmation of Entry - Principal's Certification forms that principals sign and submit in conjunction with the confirmed Preliminary and HSC entries from their schools. A check box is included in the list stating that all students have satisfactorily completed the HSC: All My Own Work program or its equivalent.

The criteria for satisfactory completion of HSC: All My Own Work are similar to the criteria for satisfactory completion of a School Certificate, Preliminary or HSC course.

A student is considered to have satisfactorily completed the HSC: All My Own Work program if, in the principal's view, there is sufficient evidence that the student has:

  1. systematically addressed the content covered by the program; and
  2. applied themselves with diligence and sustained effort to the set tasks and experiences provided in the program by the school; and
  3. achieved some or all of the program outcomes.

As with decisions about satisfactory completion of a course, the professional judgement of principals and teachers is a key element in decisions about a student's satisfactory completion of the HSC: All My Own Work program.

Principals are also able to deem that satisfactory completion has been demonstrated through equivalent programs.

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How will schools indicate student completion of the program?

Students who have completed the program or its equivalent must be identified through the Data Collection function in Schools Online before entries can be made for either Preliminary or HSC courses.

When a cohort is selected (School Certificate, Preliminary or HSC), all the students' names are displayed with a check box next to each name. A function allowing 'Check all students' is available, while students can also be checked off individually. The function also allows schools to select 'Not yet certified' or 'All students' to view corresponding lists of students.

Where a student has already been certified, the screen will display the calendar year, study year and school that certified the student. The function incorporates appropriate validation and is available for schools to update throughout the year. As validation is available on Schools Online, schools can check the status of students irrespective of their previous school.

Preliminary and HSC course entries for individual students cannot be accepted until this process is complete.

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Where can students, parents and teachers obtain further information?

Teachers, students and parents can access the following to obtain further information about ethical scholarship:

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