Parallel Teaching Policy

This policy exists to guide the delivery of units where students from different Australian Qualification Framework (AQF) levels of study are taught simultaneously in the same class.
This policy is necessary to ensure that:

• The content of units delivered in a parallel teaching format addresses the requirements of different levels of the AQF;
• The teaching and learning arrangements are designed so that faculty teach to the higher AQF level, with additional scaffolding and support provided to lower-AQF level students to enable them to engage successfully with the content; and
• The assessment requirements for all students remain in accordance with their relevant AQF levels.

Parallel Teaching – “any form of teaching that involves a significant component of undergraduate content forming part of a postgraduate course, or any form of teaching that involves undergraduate and postgraduate students being located in the same class” (University of Adelaide, 2006) or where the form of teaching addresses two different levels of the AQF.

Unit Co-ordinator – the Academic Staff member responsible for the day-to-day teaching and assessment in individual units. Where visiting lecturers are invited to teach units or segments of units they are responsible to Unit Coordinators.

Course Co-ordinator – an academic member of the College who is responsible for the development and management of a course of study in the College, wherever it is undertaken.

Academic in Charge – the lecturer who has primary responsibility for teaching the classes for a particular unit of study.

The Academic Board of the College shall authorise Course Coordinators, Unit Coordinators and Academics-in-Charge to deliver “Parallel teaching”. Parallel teaching may be utilised when the requirements of a unit  shares a significant amount of content, resources, or learning activities with a unit of a different AQF level.

The LTR Committee shall oversee the implementation of parallel teaching to ensure that:

1. Unit content aligns with both AQF requirements and relevant external professional standards (e.g., Teaching or Counselling) to ensure vocational competency.

1. The learning outcomes of all students meet the distinct criteria of their respective  AQF level

1. The assessment of students provides adequate evidence that the learning outcomes of the relevant AQF level have been met.
2. Neither higher nor lower AQF level students are disadvantaged through the process of parallel teaching,
3. Teaching staff are adequately supported to deliver at the higher AQF level while providing the scaffolding required for lower-AQF level students to succeed..

In most circumstances, differentiation occurs through additional scaffolding or instructional support (e.g. specific tutorials or guided learning materials) for the lower AQF level students, and through distinct assessment tasks for each level.

Assurance and Reporting:

The LTR Committee shall, through student surveys and quality assurance frameworks, seek feedback, impacts and suggestions for improvement from students attending classes taught in parallel.

The LTR Committee shall review and evaluate this feedback to ensure scaffolding is effective and that any relevant external professional benchmarks are being met. The LTR Committee will provide an assurance within each Annual Course Review to the Academic Board confirming that academic and professional standards (where relevant) are being maintained across all levels.

The Academic-in-charge, shall ensure that the unit outline and course materials explicitly acknowledge the parallel teaching format.

Academic Validity: To preserve the academic validity of the respective AQF levels of study : :

• Students must be enrolled in different units, e.g. XX522 (Diploma Level) or XX822 (Graduate Certificate or Graduate Diploma Level);
• Lower AQF level students shall be offered additional scaffolding, support, or discussion opportunities to facilitate their engagement with higher-AQF level content; and
• Higher AQF level students shall be offered level-specific assessment tasks designed to acknowledge advanced expectations and prior knowledge.

It shall be the responsibility of the Academic in Charge to ensure that different AQF level students enrolled in a class taught in parallel derive the best possible learning experience from the combined cohort.

Evidence:
Annual Course Reviews