Assessment presentation

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.
• Faculty assignment cover sheets are NOT required for this unit.

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.
• Students are strongly encouraged to upload a draft copy of each assessment to Turnitin at least one week prior to the due date to obtain an Originality Report.
• The Originality Report provides students with a similarity index that may indicate if plagiarism has occurred. Students will be able to make amendments to their drafts prior to their final submission on the due date.
• Only one Originality Report is generated every 24 hours up to the due date.

When preparing your assignments, it is essential that:

• Students must 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 will incur a lateness penalty.

Assignment 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: http://students.mq.edu.au/student_admin/exams/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.

Referencing:

All assignments should cite and provide full bibliographical details of all material that you have used to inform or support your ideas. 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 Academic Honesty Handbook. All students will need to download this guide and use it as they prepare their assignment.

Compulsory text

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

Academic Honesty

The University defines plagiarism in its rules:  "Using the work or ideas of another person and presenting this as your own without clear acknowledgement of the source of the work or ideas.” Plagiarism is a serious breach of the University's rules and carries significant penalties. Students must read the University's practices and procedures on plagiarism.  These can be found on the web at: http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/academic_honesty/policy.html

The policies and procedures explain what plagiarism is, how to avoid it, the procedures that will be taken in cases of suspected plagiarism, and the penalties if you are found guilty.  Penalties may include a deduction of marks, failure in the unit, and/or referral to the University Discipline Committee.

Classes

The timetable for classes can be found on the University web site at: http://www.timetables.mq.edu.au/  

• 1 hour lectures will be held on Fridays 11.00 o'clock in W5AT1.
• 2 hour tutorials will be held weekly for internal students. Tutorials are timetabled for Friday It is expected that students tutorial will attend the lecture prior to their tutorial.
• External students are to attend two compulsory on campus day on 21st and 22nd April 9am-4.30pm
• In order to be eligible for a passing grade, students must meet the following requirements:
• Internal students must attend at least 80% of all tutorials
• External students must attend the compulsory on-campus sessions
• Satisfactorily complete a three week professional experience placement from May 1st- May 19th (including 5 observation days before this block)
• Complete all three assessments.

Texts Required

• Porter, L. (2016). Young children’s behaviour. Guidance approaches for early childhood educators. (4^th Ed.). Marrickville: Allen and Unwin.
• Arthur, L, Beecher, B. Death, E. Dockett, S. & Farmer, S. (2015). Programming and planning in early childhood settings. (6th Ed.). Victoria: Cengage. (required text for  ECHP122)
• Department of Education, Employment & Workplace Relations. (2009). Belonging, Being and Becoming. The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia. Canberra, ACT: Commonwealth of Australia. (required text for  ECHP122)
• Perrin, R. (2015). Pocket guide to APA style (5th ed). Boston, USA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. (required text for degree)