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Each unit in the DBT consists of weekly interactive lectures (intro video, reading materialintroductory video plus text), set readings, and short quizzes that are automatically graded.   

3.2. Assessment

In terms of assessment, all units have a set of quizzes (either weekly quizzes of about 8 questions each, or five quizzes across the semester of 20 questions each), and a major final assessment (essay or reflection). If the final assessment is an essay, then there are also two graded development workshop activities during the semester: 

• An essay reading workshop, and 

• An essay structure workshop 

Workshops 

In each of these workshops, students submit a piece of work leading up to their final essay. They then give feedback on work and then grade their peers’ submissions. by a peer or peers. Giving feedback is primarily to assist students to focus on the assessment criteria and produce a better essay themselves.  

As a tutor, you will also mark each submission , giving a reference score for each submission’s quality. Based on your mark, students get a second score, based on how accurately they marked their peers’ assessment. The aim of these workshops is to ‘build’ and give feedback to help them write a better final assessment. These workshops build towards the final essay. Thus in addition to the grade, your feedback on each submission is instrumental in helping helps your students write better essays. assessments. (Students must pass their Final Assessment to pass the unit.).  

Some units will have additional workshops, unrelated to the major assessment, that focus on the exposition of material. 

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Marking Weeks – The two weeks after Final Assessment Week, when you will need to grade and give feedback on all final assessments. During this period, you will have to submit grades to the RegistrarsRegistrars will email you a spreadsheet to enter your grades on. 

3.4. Our students

Our students range in age and life stage from fresh out of high school to retired. They are located across Australia and around the world. In terms of academic background, they range from having completed only secondary education to education in different cultures to higher research degrees. Some are highly skilled in reading, writing, and thinking in the ways of Western academia, while others are strangers to such discourses and ways of thought. And some will be highly confident (for better or worse), while others will doubt their abilities and skills, or be overwhelmed by the work. 

But all are brothers and sisters in the image of God and have been admitted to the DBT because we believe they have the ability to learn and to pass the course. 

Enrolments

Until the end of Orientation Week, we may open a new class if we have too many students for one cohort. Until the end of Week 1, students may enrol in a class if there is room. After that, we will open no new classes and enrol no new students. 

3.5. Our tutors (you!)

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• Students who are in their first semester will need extra encouragement, and some will need help with technology and assessments. This includes all students in the Biblical Theology unit, and in any electives they choose that semester. 

• The DBT Tutor Coordinator will send through details each semester of students to keep an eye on because they may need extra support. Please monitor these students and their work throughout the semester.  

Monitoring Monitor your students:   

• Keep an eye on all your students. Most will do fine, but a couple might fall behind on quizzes or suddenly disappear from any online engagement. Please follow up quickly with a personal message. Encourage your students to stay consistent in   

• Encourage them to stay up to date on their quizzes from Week 1 onwards, and their participation to participate in workshops and forums. Getting behind makes it harder for them to complete the course.   

• Low quiz scores may indicate a struggling studentstruggles. A gentle query may reveal important struggles.  can be helpful.   

• If a student stops completing quizzes or otherwise ‘goes silent’ for more than a week, please make contact to ensure they are all right. follow up with a personal message.  

• If a student does not participate, submit work, or respond to your messages, please notify the Registrars and copy the DBT Tutor Coordinator.   

Supporting your students: 

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• If you believe a student has breached academic integrity guidelines, please contact the Registrars ASAP with details of the student and any evidence you have noted. They will investigate and deal with the matter from there. It is your responsibility only to detect and report such instances and suspicions of such instances.  Enrolments: We are endeavouring to set our enrolment process so that students have an incentive to register early, so that we open no new classes after the start of O-Week. We may allow students to join classes that are not full until the end of Week 1. But no classes will start in Week 1, and any new students will commence by the end of Week 1.  

Grading and feedback 

• Feedback on development workshops and on forums is valuable formative feedback to students. 

• If you have to make a choice, pour more effort into feedback for formative assessments than into feedback for the summative, final assessment. The formative can be implemented and make a final difference. Feedback on the final assessment shapes future semesters. Pour more energy into the formative if you must make a choice. 

• However, our students are generally keen. Please provide thoughtful feedback on their final assessments too.  

• Good feedback should include (if at all possible) a couple of comments on what they did well, but also, one to three key areas for improvement. Focus on where they can make their biggest gains. 

• See the Tutor FAQ’s on the Tutor Resource page of the MOD for more info on marking assessments and using Teams. 

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