Assignment Instructions

A full set of instructions for each assignment can be found in the Assignment guide, attached to the relevant section of the ABEC120 iLearn site. 

Presentation and submission guidelines

When preparing your assignments, it is essential that you note that:

• Students must retain a copy of all assignments before submission, and retain the copy until your final grade for the unit has been received;
• Assignment marks will be deducted if you submit your assignment late (refer to the ‘late assignments’ section below for more details);
• Unless there are exceptional circumstances, no assignment will be accepted after the date that the assignment has been returned to other students.  
• In the case of computer malfunctions, a draft of your assignment may be requested. You are therefore required to back up your drafts regularly on an external storage device (e.g., flash drive or iCloud), so that it is available for submission on request.   
• All failing assignments will be checked by a second marker when the failure is due to unsatisfactory content.  Failures that are the result of deductions for lateness may not be checked;
• Assignments will not necessarily be marked by your tutor.

Submission requirements

All assignments are submitted electronically via Turnitin. The direct link to Turnitin for each assignment is provided on the relevant module section of the ABEC120 iLearn site.

Assignments are due before midnight on the specified date.

IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO CHECK THAT YOUR SUBMISSION HAS BEEN SUCCESSFUL AND TAKE ANY MEASURES TO ENSURE THAT YOUR ASSIGNMENT HAS BEEN SUBMITTED TO THE TURNITIN SITE BY THE DUE TIME AND DATE. YOU MUST ENSURE THAT YOU ALLOW SUFFICIENT TIME FOR YOUR ONLINE SUBMISSION TO BE PROCESSED, AS LATE SUBMISSIONS DUE TO LAST MINUTE TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES WILL INCUR LATENESS PENALTIES.  

For each assignment, the online instructions page will ask you to acknowledge that you have complied with the academic honesty declarations as required by Macquarie University and the Faculty of Human Sciences. By submitting your assignment electronically, you are declaring that you have read and agreed to the statements on this declaration.

All written submissions are to be legible and professionally presented. Please follow the guidelines below:

• Please type all assignments using 12 point font and 1.5 or double-space the lines.
• Allow a right and left-hand margin of at least 3cm in all assignments. This allows us to attach, and you to read your feedback comments easily.
• Use APA referencing style to acknowledge your sources and support your ideas with in-text referencing (See IEC referencing guide for more information).
• Include a full reference list of all works that are cited within your assignment

Understanding the Assessment process for this unit

For details on how assignments in this unit are assessed, including information on expected performance in the academic literacy and knowledge content outcomes, please refer to the Assignment Guide attached to the iLearn site.

Organising your time

As a tertiary student, you are expected to develop study skills that will enable you to work towards meeting the unit expectations and requirements. As ABEC120 is a 3 credit point unit, you are expected to spend the equivalent of 9 hours study time per week over the semester. This includes two (2) on campus Blocks, listening to lectures via iLearn, as well as independent study time each week to complete readings and unit assessment tasks.

Blocks 1 & 2 study is VERY INTENSIVE, so it is very important that you fully commit yourself at this time. To be successful in this unit, you should keep this time commitment in mind and organise your study program accordingly.

Prescribed and recommended readings

Compulsory Texts:

1. Chapters from Custom Publication: Degotardi, S (compiler, 2013) ECH113 Unit readings. Sydney: Pearson: this is available from the Co-op Bookshop on campus. Please note that there are significant changes in this edition from previous editions, so it will be important to obtain the 3rd edition (i.e. the one linked to here).

Curtis, D. & Carter, M. (2008). Learning together with young children: A curriculum framework for reflective teachers (Chapter 3). St Paul: MN: Redleaf.

Degotardi, S. & Pearson, E. (2010). Knowing me, knowing you: The relationship dynamics of infant play, In M. Ebbeck & M. Waniganayake (Eds.) Play in early childhood education: Learning in diverse contexts (pp.46-66). Melbourne: Oxford University Press.

Wyver, S., Tranter, P., Sandseter, E.B.H., Naughton, G., Little, H., Bundy, A., Ragen, J., & Engelen, L. (2012). Places to play outdoors: Sedentary and safe or active and risky? In P. Whiteman & K. De Gioia, (Eds.). Children and childhoods: Contemporary perspectives, places and practices (pp. 85-107). Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

2. Kennedy, A. & Barblett, L. (2010). Learning and teaching through play: Supporting the Early Years Learning Framework. Canberra, ACT: Early Childhood Australia Inc.

Other required and additional readings

You will need to access supplementary readings for your tutorial and assignment preparation:

The Resource Readings are ones that you require for your tutorial preparation and assignment 1. These are found in an appropriately labeled folder in the Study Resources and Assignment Links section of the ABEC120 iLearn website.

Additional resources are not required for tutorial preparation, but can help you to develop a deeper understanding of the topic. These are listed as either stimulus readings, which are available in an appropriately labeled folder in the Study Resources and Assignment Links section of the ABEC120 iLearn website or E-reserve readings, which can be found via the Macquarie University library website. E-reserve readings are usually book chapters that have been converted to a pdf file for you to print or download onto your computer. These chapters plus other useful books can be found by typing ‘ABEC120’ to the Multisearch function on the library homepage and then using the chapter title or author name to locate them. Please familiarise yourself with this facility as it contains some essential readings. 

Unit Website

There is a website for this unit. Access to this unit is available online through iLearn, at  ilearn.mq.edu.au.   You will need to login using your Macquarie ID. This site is an essential unit resource. You are required to check this website at least twice per week for any announcements. In addition, it has the following features and functions:

Links to required readings and assignment resources

Assignment submission links: For you to submit your assignment work

Discussion forums: For you to clarify any assignment expectations with your peers

Dialogue: for private messages to members of the teaching staff.

Please note:

• The discussion and dialogue functions on the website are not substitutes for reading the unit outline and associated expectations, guidelines or information. It is not a personal ‘help-line’, but is there to support your engagement in the unit and communication with other students and teaching staff.

• Unit staff will respond to dialogue emails in a timely manner. Please be aware that we have multiple teaching and researching commitments, so may take a couple of days to respond. It is unrealistic to expect us to respond after work hours or during weekends.

• Finally, please follow accepted modes of communication that are appropriate for an academic website.  E.g., Please use standard English in your posts and emails (don’t ‘SMS/text type’ –We’re way too old for that!), and please consider the tone of any email or posting – respectful communications are expected, and disrespectful ones will be deleted or returned to sender. 

Unit Structure and content