Tasmanian Qualifications Authority - Student-Directed Inquiry

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Student-Directed Inquiry

Student-directed Inquiry Course Frameworks
The course frameworks available in which an award can be received are:

Student-Directed Inquiry - SDI5C - [contributes to the calculation of Tertiary Entrance Ranks]
Student-Directed Inquiry - SDI3C

Student-Directed Inquiry SDI5C has a complexity level of TQA 3 and a size value of 15 (150 hours design time).
Student-Directed Inquiry SDI3C has a complexity level of TQA 2 and a size value of 15 (150 hours design time).

This course provides students in year 12 with the opportunity to explore their learning in an area of personal interest. The student-directed inquiry will be in greater depth than currently exists within existing senior secondary subjects. The study will be trans-disciplinary in nature involving students in making connections between bodies of knowledge. The largely self-paced style of learning will allow students to work beyond a strictly time-tabled time allocation.

The course promotes learning skills and ways of thinking essential for the development of self-directed, self-managing, lifelong learners in the 21st century.

Course Documents and Support Material

SDI_Version1

(105 Kb PDF)

Course Document (Expires Dec 31, 2012)

SDI3C_assessment_grid	(175 Kb PDF)	Form to be submitted to the TQA (Updated Oct 15, 2009)
SDI5C assessment proforma	(429 Kb PDF)	Form to be submitted to the TQA (Updated Oct 15, 2009)

Learning Designs

Each school / college offering this course will develop a learning design. The learning design will be submitted to the Tasmanian Qualifications Authority for approval before students start study. A learning design will be approved if it demonstrates that the school's implementation of the course framework will meet the mandatory requirements about content, processes and assessment, meet any requirements for the selection and sequencing of optional aspects of the course, have a coherent assessment program consistent with the learning outcomes and standards for achievement levels given in the course framework.

The learning design will include:

mandatory content
optional content
duration of the program
methods of selecting students
staff allocated to the program
method of approving student proposals
level of support to be provided to students
method of assessment.

Quality Assurance

A) The TQA may undertake an audit of the approved learning design against evidence of implemented practice.

B) The following process will be facilitated by the TQA to ensure there is:

a match between the standards for achievement specified in the course and the standards demonstrated by students
community confidence in the integrity and meaning of the qualifications.

Assessment decisions made by schools / colleges will be ratified and validated by a TQA panel established for this purpose plus provider participation in quality assurance processes managed by the Tasmanian Qualifications Authority.

Evaluation of Student-directed Inquiry 2006 Trial

This report of the evaluation of Student-directed Inquiry was produced by an independent external evaluator, commissioned by the Tasmanian Qualifications Authority. The views in it are those of the evaluator and not of the Authority.

Evaluation of SDI 2006 Trial

(598 Kb PDF)

(Updated Feb 9, 2007)

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