Students

ECHP499 – Early Childhood Internship

2015 – S2 External

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit Convenor
Catherine Patterson
Contact via catherine.patterson@mq.edu.au
Credit points Credit points
6
Prerequisites Prerequisites
ECHP421 or ECST330
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description
This unit is based on the concept of an internship as a bridge between university life and a career as an early childhood teacher. It is designed to develop independent graduates who become confident and competent professional decision makers. Students have the opportunity to develop skills in working with children and their families by taking substantive professional responsibility in an early childhood centre or a school classroom. Students are required to attend the internship site for 30 days and work closely with a professional mentor. Critical and analytical thinking and self-evaluation are key components of this unit.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • Refine your teaching practices as an early childhood teacher,
  • Take substantial responsibility for your own learning
  • Develop confidence in justifying your professional decision-making
  • Demonstrate a depth of knowledge about a selected aspect of early childhood practice

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Due
Professional experience 0% October 31
Professional portfolio 70% November 9
Professional Research Project 30% November 9

Professional experience

Due: October 31
Weighting: 0%

Students must successfully complete 30 days of internship teaching in a childcare centre, preschool or primary school. They are supported in this endeavour by a mentor teacher


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Refine your teaching practices as an early childhood teacher,
  • Take substantial responsibility for your own learning
  • Develop confidence in justifying your professional decision-making

Professional portfolio

Due: November 9
Weighting: 70%

The portfolio of professional practice  will focus on the question:  "What does being a teacher mean to me?" It will contain evidence of the student's practical work during the internship, along with reflections and self-evaluation of professional growth. The development of the portfolio is supported by feedback to regular work-in-progress reports throughout the semester.


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Refine your teaching practices as an early childhood teacher,
  • Take substantial responsibility for your own learning
  • Develop confidence in justifying your professional decision-making

Professional Research Project

Due: November 9
Weighting: 30%

 

This project enables students to engage in purposeful inquiry into an aspect of their professional practice with children, families and/or staff. The focus of the project is an in-depth exploration of an issue that concerns the student's  practice while completing the internship.  The project requires students to identify ways to deal with the problem, trial these ideas and evaluate their effectiveness.


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Refine your teaching practices as an early childhood teacher,
  • Take substantial responsibility for your own learning
  • Develop confidence in justifying your professional decision-making
  • Demonstrate a depth of knowledge about a selected aspect of early childhood practice

Delivery and Resources

Technology used and required

Access to ilearn is required

 

 

Classes

Two compulsory Saturday on-campus sessions will be held

 

 

What has changed?

There have been no changes since the previous offering of this unit.

Unit Schedule

 

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central. Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Academic Honesty Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/academic_honesty/policy.html

Assessment Policy  http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/assessment/policy.html

Grading Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/grading/policy.html

Grade Appeal Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/gradeappeal/policy.html

Grievance Management Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/grievance_management/policy.html

Disruption to Studies Policy http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/disruption_studies/policy.html The Disruption to Studies Policy is effective from March 3 2014 and replaces the Special Consideration Policy.

In addition, a number of other policies can be found in the Learning and Teaching Category of Policy Central.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/support/student_conduct/

Results

Results shown in iLearn, or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au.

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

Learning Skills

Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to improve your marks and take control of your study.

Student Services and Support

Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.

Student Enquiries

For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://informatics.mq.edu.au/help/

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.

Graduate Capabilities

Capable of Professional and Personal Judgement and Initiative

We want our graduates to have emotional intelligence and sound interpersonal skills and to demonstrate discernment and common sense in their professional and personal judgement. They will exercise initiative as needed. They will be capable of risk assessment, and be able to handle ambiguity and complexity, enabling them to be adaptable in diverse and changing environments.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcome

  • Refine your teaching practices as an early childhood teacher,

Assessment tasks

  • Professional experience
  • Professional portfolio
  • Professional Research Project

Discipline Specific Knowledge and Skills

Our graduates will take with them the intellectual development, depth and breadth of knowledge, scholarly understanding, and specific subject content in their chosen fields to make them competent and confident in their subject or profession. They will be able to demonstrate, where relevant, professional technical competence and meet professional standards. They will be able to articulate the structure of knowledge of their discipline, be able to adapt discipline-specific knowledge to novel situations, and be able to contribute from their discipline to inter-disciplinary solutions to problems.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcome

  • Demonstrate a depth of knowledge about a selected aspect of early childhood practice

Assessment tasks

  • Professional experience
  • Professional Research Project

Critical, Analytical and Integrative Thinking

We want our graduates to be capable of reasoning, questioning and analysing, and to integrate and synthesise learning and knowledge from a range of sources and environments; to be able to critique constraints, assumptions and limitations; to be able to think independently and systemically in relation to scholarly activity, in the workplace, and in the world. We want them to have a level of scientific and information technology literacy.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • Take substantial responsibility for your own learning
  • Develop confidence in justifying your professional decision-making

Assessment tasks

  • Professional experience
  • Professional portfolio
  • Professional Research Project

Problem Solving and Research Capability

Our graduates should be capable of researching; of analysing, and interpreting and assessing data and information in various forms; of drawing connections across fields of knowledge; and they should be able to relate their knowledge to complex situations at work or in the world, in order to diagnose and solve problems. We want them to have the confidence to take the initiative in doing so, within an awareness of their own limitations.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • Take substantial responsibility for your own learning
  • Demonstrate a depth of knowledge about a selected aspect of early childhood practice

Assessment tasks

  • Professional experience
  • Professional portfolio
  • Professional Research Project

Effective Communication

We want to develop in our students the ability to communicate and convey their views in forms effective with different audiences. We want our graduates to take with them the capability to read, listen, question, gather and evaluate information resources in a variety of formats, assess, write clearly, speak effectively, and to use visual communication and communication technologies as appropriate.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcome

  • Refine your teaching practices as an early childhood teacher,

Assessment task

  • Professional experience

Engaged and Ethical Local and Global citizens

As local citizens our graduates will be aware of indigenous perspectives and of the nation's historical context. They will be engaged with the challenges of contemporary society and with knowledge and ideas. We want our graduates to have respect for diversity, to be open-minded, sensitive to others and inclusive, and to be open to other cultures and perspectives: they should have a level of cultural literacy. Our graduates should be aware of disadvantage and social justice, and be willing to participate to help create a wiser and better society.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcome

  • Develop confidence in justifying your professional decision-making