Assessment presentation and submission

Unless otherwise specified assignments will be submitted electronically via Turnitin. 

​Some important things to note when submitting your assignment through Turnitin:

• Ensure that your assignment is complete before submitting it
• Do not attach a coversheet to your assignment when using Turnitin
• Allow a left and right-hand margin of at least 2cm in all assignments.
• Please type all assignments using 12-point font and 1.5 spacing.
• Submit to turnitin using either .doc or .pdf format
• You will be able to access your Turnitin originality report once you have submitted. You will also be allowed to resubmit multiple times up until the due date of the assignment. This allows you to make any necessary changes based on the originality report. 
• Should your final assignment show evidence of possible plagiarism you will be contacted by the Unit Co-ordinator via your student email and your assignment may be referred to the Faculty Student Discipline Committee for review.

When preparing your assignments, it is essential that:

• You retain a copy of all assignments before submission, and retain the copy until your final grade for the subject has been received;
• Marks will be deducted if you submit your assessment late (refer to the ‘late assessments’ section below for more details);
• Unless there are exceptional circumstances, no assessment will be accepted after the date that the assessment has been returned to other students.
• If an assessment is considered to be below passing standard, another staff member on the unit will provide a second opinion. No failed assessment may be re-submitted.

Final Submissions:  

* Students are responsible for checking that their submission has been successful and has been submitted by the due date and time. 

* Late submissions due to last minute technical difficulties may still incur a lateness penalty

Late Assessments:

A deduction of 5% of the total possible mark allocated for that assessment would be made for each day or part day that assessment is late, weekends counting as two days. For example, if an assessment is worth 20 marks and you submit it 2 days late, you will have 2 marks (2 x 5% of 20 marks) subtracted from your awarded mark.

Extensions:

In extenuating circumstances, students may apply to the unit coordinator for an extension to the assessment due date. Reasons for the extension need to be documented through the special consideration form accessible through ask.mq.edu.au and supported (e.g., a doctor’s certificate in the case of illness).

Note that:

• Students MUST speak with the unit coordinator prior to submitting their request through https://ask.mq.edu.au
• Extensions will only be granted in receipt of the completed form submitted through ask.mq.edu.au plus documentation.
• Emails are not appropriate means of extension requests.
• It is essential that you plan ahead and organise your study time effectively. Poor time management is not grounds for an extension.
• In the case of computer malfunction, a draft of your assignment may be requested. Please ensure that you print out a draft regularly, so that it is available for submission on request.   
• Extensions are usually not granted on the due date.

Referencing:

All assignments should cite and provide full bibliographical details of all material that you have used to inform or support your ideas. At the Institute of Early Childhood, students are required to use the American Psychological Association (APA) referencing procedures. Full details about how to cite and reference correctly can be found in Perrin (2015) and in the IEC Referencing Guide on iLearn. All students will need to download this guide and use it as they prepare their assignment.

Highly recommended text:

Perrin, R. (2015). Pocket guide to APA style (5^th ed.). Wadsworth: Cengage Learning.

Grading of assessments:

Assessment work completed in this unit will be awarded a grade according to the Macquarie University grading policy: (http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/grading/policy.htm):

HD:  (high distinction = 85 –100%) denotes work of exceptional quality as demonstrated by deep and critical understanding of the unit content, original and insightful analysis, and wide-ranging use of relevant literature.

D:      (distinction = 75 – 84%) denotes work of superior quality as demonstrated by a high level of analytical thinking, logical argument, a demonstrated extensive knowledge of the topic, and broad use of relevant literature.

C:       (credit = 65 – 74%) denotes work that is of good quality, displays evidence of learning that goes beyond replication of content knowledge or skills relevant to the learning outcomes, demonstrated ability to organise the assignment effectively and sustain critical and analytical thinking in reference to relevant literature.

P:       (pass = 50 - 64%) denotes work of satisfactory quality that demonstrates fundamental understanding of the topic, and demonstrated ability to adequately organise the assignment and express ideas clearly and coherently in relation to assigned readings.

F:       (Fail = 0 – 49%) denotes that the student has failed to complete the requirements of the assignment. There is missing, partial, superficial or faulty understanding and application of fundamental concepts; missing, undeveloped, inappropriate or confusing argumentation; and incomplete, confusing or lacking communication of ideas in ways that give little attention to the conventions of the discipline.

If an assignment is considered to be below passing standard, it will be re-assessed by another staff member on the unit; the agreed mark will be assigned. No failed assignment may be re-submitted. 

The final grade a student receives signifies their overall performance in meeting the learning outcomes for the unit. The number assigned to a grade (Standard Numerical Grade or SNG) reflects the extent to which student attainment matches the grade descriptors.

Your raw mark for the unit (i.e., the total of your marks for each assessment item) may not be the same as the SNG which you receive. Results may be scaled to ensure there is a degree of comparability across the university, so that units with the same past performances of their students should achieve similar results. The process of scaling does not change the order of marks among students. A student who receives a higher raw score mark than another will also receive a higher final scaled mark.

IEC Unit Expectations: 

In order to be eligible for a passing grade overall, students must meet the following attendance requirements: 

* Internal Students: Attend at least 80% of all tutorials – punctuality is expected. Consistent lateness or absence will jeopardise a passing grade 

* External Students: Attend all on-campus sessions – punctuality is expected. 

* Students are required to contribute to all online and tutorials tasks 

* Students are expected to read weekly readings before completing tasks and attending tutorials 

* Students are expected to listen/attend weekly lectures before completing tasks and attending tutorials 

* All assessment tasks must be submitted

CLASSES

Timetable for ECH 435

Lecture:          Wednesday    9 - 10am    W5A T1

Tutorials:        Wednesday    12 - 2pm    X5B 138

                        Wednesday    2 - 4pm     X5B 138

                        Friday       1 - 3pm    X5B 138

Lectures will be recorded and made available through the ECHO system on the iLearn page.  

External students who wish to receive a CD of the lectures can request this through the Centre for Open Education (COE) via the following link:  http://mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/centre_for_open_education/request_for_audio_cd/

NB: There are no lectures (or tutorials) in Weeks 10, 11 or 12 due to ECHP323 & ECHP421 prac.

Internal students are required to attend weekly tutorials, commencing week 1. These tutorials will be used to explore the readings and lecture content in more detail. There are no tutorials in weeks 10, 11 & 12 to allow for ECHP421 and ECHP 323 Professional Experience. Any students enrolled in ECHP222 must complete this unit externally. To be eligible for an overall passing grade internal students must attend at least 80% of scheduled tutorials.

All students are expected to have listened to the weekly lecture and completed all assigned readings BEFORE tutorials or on-campus sessions. 

External students must attend the compulsory on-campus days on Friday 22nd and Saturday 23rd April. Time and room details will be posted on Unit iLean page closer to the on-campus dates. Sessions run at the on-campus day will provide external students with the opportunity to clarify unit content and undertake activities similar to those covered in the tutorials for internal students.

External students are expected to have listened to the weekly lectures and completed all assigned readings up to the date of the on-campus.  

UNIT iLEARN PAGE

The unit ilearn page contains links to all of the lectures and readings required for this unit. In addition a discussion forum is provided. Internal and external students are expected to access the discussion forum for peer interaction, support and general questions directed to the unit coordinator. The unit coordinator will monitor the website regularly but the discussion board is essentially provided for students to talk with each other.  The logon for the web site can be found at: https://ilearn.mq.edu.au/login/MQ/

Ilearn is used to communicate general announcements and provide a forum for discussion about unit content.  A separate discussion forum will be set up for each assessment task.  This is where you can ask questions about specific assessment issues.  All students are expected to visit this site regularly (at least once each week) to keep up to date with announcements and postings, and to communicate with peers enrolled in this unit. It is expected that all postings made on iLearn will relate to the Unit and will be done respectfully and constructively. 

ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION

During semester time, staff may contact students using the following ways: 

* Dialogue function on iLearn 

* Official MQ Student Email Address 

It is each student’s responsibility to check all electronic communication on a regular weekly basis.

Unit content is similar to previous offerings of this unit however assessment tasks have been revised for this year.