Students

ECHE118 – Infancy and Early Development

2017 – S2 Day

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit Convenor
Helen Little
Contact via iLearn dialogue
X5B235
By appointment
Tutor
Emma Sutherland
Contact via iLearn dialogue
Tutor
Sanobia Palkhiwala
Contact via iLearn Dialogue
Tutor
Leyla Eide
Contact via iLearn Dialogue
Tutor
Jody Anagnos
Contact via iLearn dialogue
Credit points Credit points
3
Prerequisites Prerequisites
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description
This unit focuses on the development of infants and young children aged 0-4 years within the Australian social context. Theories and research, which attempts to describe and explain early childhood development and individual differences are critically examined. Implications for the prenatal, cognitive, social/emotional, language and motor development during the first three years of life are also examined. Pre-service teachers are encouraged to make links between content, research, to observations and experiences with infants and very young children within early childhood settings.

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:

  • Apply knowledge of theory, current research, and issues in infancy and early development to early childhood settings
  • Appreciate the unique contribution of cultural, historical, contextual and individual factors in early child development, applying this knowledge to meet the needs of children from diverse backgrounds
  • Be able to plan appropriate and effective learning experiences for children based on accrued knowledge of unit content in infancy and early development
  • Critically evaluate new research findings within the basic scientific framework, and in the context of theoretical approaches to early child development

General Assessment Information

Full details about each assignment is provided in the Unit Outline on iLearn.

When preparing your assignments, it is essential that:

  • Students regularly save a copy of all assignments before submission,
  • 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.

Please follow these guidelines when you submit each assignment:

  • 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.
  • All assessments must be submitted through Turnitin in .doc or .pdf format for submission.
  • It is the responsibility of the student to ensure that all assessments are successfully submitted through Turnitin.
  • Faculty assignment cover sheets are NOT required.

Draft Submissions & Turnitin Originality Reports

  • Students may use Turnitin’s Originality Report as a learning tool to improve their academic writing if this option is made available in the Unit.

Final Submissions

  • Students are responsible for checking that their submission has been successful and has been submitted by the due date and time.
  • Do not contact staff asking them to check your submission.
  • Late submissions due to last minute technical difficulties may incur a lateness penalty.
  • Your assignment will be marked based on what is received – any omissions will not be accepted after your submission. Please check very carefully.

EXTENSIONS and LATE PENALTIES

Applications for extensions must be made via AskMQ at https://ask.mq.edu.au as a "Disruption to Studies" request before the submission date. Students who experience a disruption to their studies through ill-health or misadventure are able to apply for this request. Extensions can only be granted if they meet the Disruption to Studies policy and are submitted via ask.mq.edu.au. This will ensure consistency in the consideration of such requests is maintained.

In general, there should be no need for extensions except through illness or misadventure that would be categorised as unavoidable disruption according to the University definition of same, and currently available at:

https://students.mq.edu.au/study/my-study-program/special-consideration/disruption-to-studies

Late submissions without extension will receive a penalty of 5% reduction of the total possible mark for each day late (including weekends and public holidays). You are reminded that submitting even just 1 day late could be the difference between passing and failing a unit. Late penalties are applied by unit convenors or their delegates after tasks are assessed.

No assessable work will be accepted after the return/release of marked work on the same topic. If a student is still permitted to submit on the basis of unavoidable disruption, an alternative topic may be set. 

Students should keep an electronic file of all assessments. Claims regarding "lost" assessments cannot be made if the file cannot be produced. It is also advisable to keep an electronic file of all drafts and the final submission on a USB untouched/unopened after submission. This can be used to demonstrate easily that the assessment has not been amended after the submission date.

Disruption to Studies

The following link takes you to the Disruption to Studies policy, which makes clear the ways in which you can apply for special consideration in times of difficulty.

https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policies/disruption-to-studies

 

 

 

 

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Online quiz 10% No 17 August
Major Essay 42% No 6 October
Participation in research 3% No 12 November
Exam 45% No S2 Exam period

Online quiz

Due: 17 August
Weighting: 10%

Multiple choice questions from content delivered up to and including 7 August, 2017 (i.e including pre-recorded lectures).

  • Note: The quizzes are an individual assessment task and MUST be completed by each student individually. 

On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Apply knowledge of theory, current research, and issues in infancy and early development to early childhood settings
  • Appreciate the unique contribution of cultural, historical, contextual and individual factors in early child development, applying this knowledge to meet the needs of children from diverse backgrounds

Major Essay

Due: 6 October
Weighting: 42%

Your 1500 word essay will be on a specific area of development.

Refer to details of task provided on iLearn.


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Apply knowledge of theory, current research, and issues in infancy and early development to early childhood settings
  • Appreciate the unique contribution of cultural, historical, contextual and individual factors in early child development, applying this knowledge to meet the needs of children from diverse backgrounds
  • Be able to plan appropriate and effective learning experiences for children based on accrued knowledge of unit content in infancy and early development
  • Critically evaluate new research findings within the basic scientific framework, and in the context of theoretical approaches to early child development

Participation in research

Due: 12 November
Weighting: 3%

Throughout the semester, you will see information about research you can participate in (e.g. completing online surveys, being interviewed).  You can accumulate up to 3 marks based on your participation in research.

If you do not want to participate in research, you can submit a 800 word essay instead.


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Critically evaluate new research findings within the basic scientific framework, and in the context of theoretical approaches to early child development

Exam

Due: S2 Exam period
Weighting: 45%

The final exam covers content from lectures, textbook and tutorials.


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Apply knowledge of theory, current research, and issues in infancy and early development to early childhood settings
  • Appreciate the unique contribution of cultural, historical, contextual and individual factors in early child development, applying this knowledge to meet the needs of children from diverse backgrounds
  • Be able to plan appropriate and effective learning experiences for children based on accrued knowledge of unit content in infancy and early development
  • Critically evaluate new research findings within the basic scientific framework, and in the context of theoretical approaches to early child development

Delivery and Resources

Early Childhood Relevant Documents

The information in this Unit Guide must be read in conjunction with the following documents available for download from iLearn:

*Unit Outline;  Lecture, tutorial and weekly reading schedule; Assessment information

Electronic Communication

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

* Dialogue function on iLearn

* Official MQ Student Email Address

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

 

Unit Expectations 

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

* Internal Students: Participate in at least 80% of all tutorials – punctuality is expected.

* External Students: Participate in on-campus sessions – punctuality is expected.

* Contribute to online and tutorials tasks

* Students are expected to read weekly readings before attending tutorials

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

* All assessment tasks must be submitted

 

Teaching Methods

The content of the unit is delivered through a combination of lectures and tutorial tasks. There are two lectures per week and these are timetabled as follows:

Monday 1pm and 4pm. All lectures will be recorded and available on iLearn via ECHO360. 

Internal students will have a 2 hour tutorial each week (on either Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday). Internal students are expected to have listened to the relevant lecture prior to attending their tutorials each week. Tutorial tasks will require familiarity with the content covered in the lectures in order to fully participate in the tutorials. 

External students will complete the tutorial tasks during the on campus days scheduled for 27th and 28th September.

A tutorial workbook is available on iLearn - all students are expected to bring this with them to their tutorial/ on campus days (either as hardcopy or electronic).

Some lectures have been pre-recorded and will be available from iLearn before Week 1 and you should listen to these lectures before the first tutorial.

Withdrawing from this UG Unit: If you are considering withdrawing from this unit, please seek academic advice by writing to DES.ug@mq.edu.au before doing so as this unit may be a co-requisite or prerequisite for units in the following semesters and may impact on your progression through the degree.

Unit Schedule

Lectures are Monday 1pm (X5BT1) & Monday 4pm (Price Theatre) 

 

 

DATE

Topic

Lecturer

Prerecorded

Introduction to key issues in CD & Maturation/ethology

Helen Little

 

 

 

Week 1

Research Methods 1

Shirley Wyver

31 July

Research Methods 2

Shirley Wyver

Week 2

Dynamic systems theory

Helen Little

7 August

Behaviourism/learning theory

Helen Little

Week 3

Genetics & Individual differences

Helen Little

14 August

Prenatal

Helen Little

Week 4

Physical

Helen Little

21 August

Motor

Helen Little

Week 5

Perception

Shirley Wyver

28 August

Perception

Shirley Wyver

Week 6

Cognition

Carol Newall

4 September

Cognition

Carol Newall

Week 7

Developmental neuroscience

Carol Newall

11 September

Attachment

Carol Newall

Week 8

Temperament (Public Holiday - lecture prerecorded)

Helen Little

2 October

Emotion (Public Holiday - lecture prerecorded)

Rebecca Andrews

Week 9

Joint Attention

Shirley Wyver

9 October

Language

Helen Little

Week 10

No classes –

 

17 October

1st year prac (16 – 27 Oct)

 

Week 11

No classes –

 

23 October

1st year prac (16 – 27 Oct)

 

Week 12

Self

Rebecca Andrews

30 October

Parenting

Carol Newall

Week 13

Non-parental care

Helen Little

6 November

Peers

Helen Little

 

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_2016.html

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

Complaint Management Procedure for Students and Members of the Public http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/complaint_management/procedure.html​

Disruption to Studies Policy (in effect until Dec 4th, 2017): http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/disruption_studies/policy.html

Special Consideration Policy (in effect from Dec 4th, 2017): https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policies/special-consideration

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://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources 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

  • Be able to plan appropriate and effective learning experiences for children based on accrued knowledge of unit content in infancy and early development

Assessment task

  • Major Essay

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 outcomes

  • Apply knowledge of theory, current research, and issues in infancy and early development to early childhood settings
  • Appreciate the unique contribution of cultural, historical, contextual and individual factors in early child development, applying this knowledge to meet the needs of children from diverse backgrounds
  • Be able to plan appropriate and effective learning experiences for children based on accrued knowledge of unit content in infancy and early development
  • Critically evaluate new research findings within the basic scientific framework, and in the context of theoretical approaches to early child development

Assessment tasks

  • Online quiz
  • Major Essay
  • Exam

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

  • Appreciate the unique contribution of cultural, historical, contextual and individual factors in early child development, applying this knowledge to meet the needs of children from diverse backgrounds
  • Be able to plan appropriate and effective learning experiences for children based on accrued knowledge of unit content in infancy and early development
  • Critically evaluate new research findings within the basic scientific framework, and in the context of theoretical approaches to early child development

Assessment tasks

  • Major Essay
  • Exam

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:

Assessment tasks

  • Online quiz
  • Major Essay
  • Participation in research

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:

Assessment task

  • Major Essay

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

  • Appreciate the unique contribution of cultural, historical, contextual and individual factors in early child development, applying this knowledge to meet the needs of children from diverse backgrounds

Textbook

Peterson, C. (2015). Looking forward through the lifespan. Developmental psychology: Birth to middle childhood. (Custom edition). Sydney: Pearson. 

Go to: http://www.coop.com.au/textbook/search/macquarie-university/1602/eche118

Note: It is also fine to use the 6th edition of Peterson (2014). Looking forward through the lifespan. Developmental psychology. Sydney: Pearson. Please do not buy another textbook if you already have this version. 

Early Childhood (EC) students have been recommended Perrin (2015) Pocket Guide to APA Style, 5E as their guide for APA style, so should have this book for other units.  If you are not an EC student, you may prefer to use a free online source for APA referencing.  Recommended online sources are:

http://libguides.mq.edu.au/Referencing http://www.apastyle.org/learn/tutorials/basics-­‐tutorial.aspx http://www.apastyle.org/learn/quick-­‐guide-­‐on-­‐references.aspx https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/section/2/10/

Changes since First Published

Date Description
27/07/2017 On campus dates