Outline

Overview

Critical questioning is important in all project communication and action. This unit explores ways of testing assumptions, and challenging the logical validity of arguments. The ability to critically question is a fundamental competency for effective project management, whether that be exploring the finer points of contracts, constructing an argument to win a bid or challenging project decisions.

Unit details and rules

Academic unit	Civil Engineering
Credit points	6
Prerequisites ?	None
Corequisites ?	None
Prohibitions ?	None
Assumed knowledge ?	None
Available to study abroad and exchange students	Yes

Teaching staff

Coordinator	Ken Chung, ken.chung@sydney.edu.au
Lecturer(s)	Michael Buhagiar, michael.buhagiar@sydney.edu.au

Type	Description	Weight	Due	Length
Assignment	Reflective Learning Journal Written assessment to be submitted online	5%	Week 03	300 words
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Reflective Learning Journal Written assignment to be submitted online	5%	Week 04	300 words
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Reflective Learning Journal Written assignment to be submitted online	5%	Week 05	300 words
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Reflective Learning Journal Written assignment to be submitted online	5%	Week 06	300 words
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Critical Response Essay Written assignment to be submitted online	40%	Week 08 Due date: 20 Apr 2020 at 23:59	1,500 words
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Poster presentation & peer review Poster	25%	Week 10	Lengths will vary
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Defense of poster The review findings will be fed back to the assessed team, for defense	2.5%	Week 11	Durations will vary
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Defense of poster (cont.) Review findings will be fed back to team, for defense	2.5%	Week 12	Durations will vary
Outcomes assessed:
Assignment	Participation Assessment of contribution to unit	10%	Week 12	Durations will vary
Outcomes assessed:
= group assignment ?

Assessment summary

Reflective Learning Journals. These take the form of written reflections, to be submitted online in Weeks, 3, 4, 5, and 6. Each reflection to be of 300 words, and worth 5 %, 20% in total.
Critical Response Essay. On a topic to be provided. To be submitted online on Monday of Week 8. Length = 1,500 plus or minus 10%. Worth 40 % of total mark for unit.
Poster Presentation. On a topic to be provided. To be presented in Week 10. Each team will also review another team’s poster. Poster = 25% of total marks for unit.
Poster Review and Defense. To be conducted in Weeks 11 and 12. Feedback will be given to teams, who will be required to defend their work. Review and Defense = 5% of total mark for unit.
Participation. Assessed on basis of contributions to workshops throughout the semester. Worth 10% of final mark.

Please see Canvas – Home – Assessment information for more details

Assessment criteria

The University awards common result grades, set out in the Coursework Policy 2014 (Schedule 1).
As a general guide, a high distinction indicates work of an exceptional standard, a distinction a very high standard, a credit a good standard, and a pass an acceptable standard.

Result name	Mark range	Description
High Distinction	85-100
Distinction	75-84
Credit	65-74
Pass	50-64
Fail	0-49	When you don’t meet the learning outcomes of the unit to a satisfactory standard

For more information see guide to grades.

Late submission

In accordance with University policy, these penalties apply when written work is submitted after 11:59pm on the due date:

Deduction of 5% of the maximum mark for each calendar day after the due date.
After ten calendar days late, a mark of zero will be awarded.

This unit has an exception to the standard University policy or supplementary information has been provided by the unit coordinator. This information is displayed below:

For every calendar day up to and including ten calendar days after the due date, a penalty of 5% of the maximum awardable marks will be applied to late work. The penalty will be calculated by first marking the work, and then subtracting 5% of the maximum awardable mark for each calendar day after the due date. Example: Consider an assignment's maximum awardable mark is 10; the assignment is submitted 2 days late; and the assignment is marked as 7/10. After applying the penalty, marks will be: 7 - (0.5 x 2) = 6/10. For work submitted more than ten calendar days after the due date a mark of zero will be awarded. The marker may elect to, but is not required to, provide feedback on such work. Refer to section 7A of Assessment procedures policy available at: http://sydney.edu.au/policies/showdoc.aspx?recnum=PDOC2012/267&RendNum=0

Academic integrity

The Current Student website provides information on academic integrity and the resources available to all students. The University expects students and staff to act ethically and honestly and will treat all allegations of academic integrity breaches seriously.

We use similarity detection software to detect potential instances of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breach. If such matches indicate evidence of plagiarism or other forms of academic integrity breaches, your teacher is required to report your work for further investigation.

Use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and automated writing tools

You may only use generative AI and automated writing tools in assessment tasks if you are permitted to by your unit coordinator. If you do use these tools, you must acknowledge this in your work, either in a footnote or an acknowledgement section. The assessment instructions or unit outline will give guidance of the types of tools that are permitted and how the tools should be used.

Your final submitted work must be your own, original work. You must acknowledge any use of generative AI tools that have been used in the assessment, and any material that forms part of your submission must be appropriately referenced. For guidance on how to acknowledge the use of AI, please refer to the AI in Education Canvas site.

The unapproved use of these tools or unacknowledged use will be considered a breach of the Academic Integrity Policy and penalties may apply.

Studiosity is permitted unless otherwise indicated by the unit coordinator. The use of this service must be acknowledged in your submission as detailed on the Learning Hub’s Canvas page.

Outside assessment tasks, generative AI tools may be used to support your learning. The AI in Education Canvas site contains a number of productive ways that students are using AI to improve their learning.

Learning support

Simple extensions

If you encounter a problem submitting your work on time, you may be able to apply for an extension of five calendar days through a simple extension.  The application process will be different depending on the type of assessment and extensions cannot be granted for some assessment types like exams.

Special consideration

If exceptional circumstances mean you can’t complete an assessment, you need consideration for a longer period of time, or if you have essential commitments which impact your performance in an assessment, you may be eligible for special consideration or special arrangements.

Special consideration applications will not be affected by a simple extension application.

Using AI responsibly

Co-created with students, AI in Education includes lots of helpful examples of how students use generative AI tools to support their learning. It explains how generative AI works, the different tools available and how to use them responsibly and productively.

Weekly schedule

WK	Topic	Learning activity
Week 01	Introduction to unit	Workshop (2 hr)
Week 02	Why do projects fail?	Workshop (2 hr)
Week 03	Journaling for project success	Workshop (2 hr)
Week 04	The discipline of critical thinking	Workshop (2 hr)
Week 05	Recognising fallacies	Workshop (2 hr)
Week 06	Teamwork. Hard and soft paradigms.	Workshop (2 hr)
Week 07	Heuristics and biases	Workshop (2 hr)
Week 08	Communicating effectively	Workshop (2 hr)
Week 09	Cultural factors in project performance	Workshop (2 hr)
Week 10	Poster presentations	Workshop (2 hr)
Week 11	Peer review and defense of poster presentations	Workshop (2 hr)
Week 12	Peer review and defense of poster presentations	Workshop (2 hr)

Attendance and class requirements

Students are expected to attend and participate in all workshops. This will count towards your Participation mark.

Study commitment

Typically, there is a minimum expectation of 1.5-2 hours of student effort per week per credit point for units of study offered over a full semester. For a 6 credit point unit, this equates to roughly 120-150 hours of student effort in total.

Required readings

All readings will be available on Canvas

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes are what students know, understand and are able to do on completion of a unit of study. They are aligned with the University's graduate qualities and are assessed as part of the curriculum.

Outcomes
Graduate qualities

At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:

LO1. Appreciate role of critical thinking in project problem solving and structuring
LO2. Understand role of cognitive biases in undermining project success
LO3. Understand the behavioural and rational reasons for project failure
LO4. Appreciate the contribution of reflection to critical thinking
LO5. Understand the origins of fallacious conclusions
LO6. Appreciate the usefulness of hard and soft concepts in project management
LO7. Appreciate the key role of communication in project success
LO8. Understand the role of cultural factors in project success
LO9. Appreciate the value of dichotomous thinking for project success

Graduate qualities

The graduate qualities are the qualities and skills that all University of Sydney graduates must demonstrate on successful completion of an award course. As a future Sydney graduate, the set of qualities have been designed to equip you for the contemporary world.

GQ1	Depth of disciplinary expertise Deep disciplinary expertise is the ability to integrate and rigorously apply knowledge, understanding and skills of a recognised discipline defined by scholarly activity, as well as familiarity with evolving practice of the discipline.
GQ2	Critical thinking and problem solving Critical thinking and problem solving are the questioning of ideas, evidence and assumptions in order to propose and evaluate hypotheses or alternative arguments before formulating a conclusion or a solution to an identified problem.
GQ3	Oral and written communication Effective communication, in both oral and written form, is the clear exchange of meaning in a manner that is appropriate to audience and context.
GQ4	Information and digital literacy Information and digital literacy is the ability to locate, interpret, evaluate, manage, adapt, integrate, create and convey information using appropriate resources, tools and strategies.
GQ5	Inventiveness Generating novel ideas and solutions.
GQ6	Cultural competence Cultural Competence is the ability to actively, ethically, respectfully, and successfully engage across and between cultures. In the Australian context, this includes and celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, knowledge systems, and a mature understanding of contemporary issues.
GQ7	Interdisciplinary effectiveness Interdisciplinary effectiveness is the integration and synthesis of multiple viewpoints and practices, working effectively across disciplinary boundaries.
GQ8	Integrated professional, ethical, and personal identity An integrated professional, ethical and personal identity is understanding the interaction between one’s personal and professional selves in an ethical context.
GQ9	Influence Engaging others in a process, idea or vision.

Outcome map

Learning outcomes	Graduate qualities
Learning outcomes

Responding to student feedback

This section outlines changes made to this unit following staff and student reviews.

This is the first iteration of PMGT2711. However, it is based on a unit which has successfully been taught to the Masters students for several years. One of the lessons from the Masters unit is that students may need support in undertaking the reading required, and in completing the written assignments, and the teaching staff will be mindful of that throughout semester.

Disclaimer

The University reserves the right to amend units of study or no longer offer certain units, including where there are low enrolment numbers.

To help you understand common terms that we use at the University, we offer an online glossary.

Current students

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

When you don’t meet the learning outcomes of the unit to a satisfactory standard

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links

PMGT2711: Critical Thinking for Projects

Semester 1, 2020 [Normal day] - Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney

Overview

Overview

Unit details and rules

Teaching staff

Assessment

Assessment

Assessment summary

Assessment criteria

When you don’t meet the learning outcomes of the unit to a satisfactory standard

Late submission

Academic integrity

Learning support

Learning support

Simple extensions

Special consideration

Using AI responsibly

Weekly schedule

Weekly schedule

Attendance and class requirements

Study commitment

Required readings

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes

Graduate qualities

Outcome map

Responding to student feedback

Responding to student feedback

Disclaimer

On this page

Useful links