Assessment Presentation & Submission Guidelines

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
• It is the onus 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.
• 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.
• Generally, one Originality Report is generated every 24 hours up to the due date.

Please note:

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

Assignment extensions and late penalties

Applications for extensions must be made via AskMQ at https://ask.mq.edu.au as a Special Consideration 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 Special Considerations policy and are submitted via https://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, see:  https://students.mq.edu.au/study/my-study-program/special-consideration

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.

Requesting a remark of an assignment

If you have evidence that your task has been incorrectly assessed against the grade descriptors you can request a re-mark.  To request a re-mark you need to contact  the unit convenor within 7 days of the date of return of the assignment and provide a detailed assessment of your script against the task criteria. Evidence from your assignment must be provided to support your judgements.

Note: Failed assessments can not be re-submitted as they are all double-marked as a part of the moderation process.

Please note: The outcome of a re-mark may be a higher/lower or unchanged grade. Grades are standards referenced and effort is NOT a criterion.

University policy on grading

Criteria for awarding grades for assessment tasks

Assignments will be awarded grades ranging from HD to F according to guidelines set out in the University's Grading Policy. The following descriptive criteria are included for your information.

Note: If you fail a unit with a professional experience component the fail grade will be on your transcript irrespective of the timing of when the placement takes place.

Criteria for awarding grades in the unit

Students will be awarded grades ranging from HD to F according to guidelines set out in the policy: https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policies/assessment-in-effect-from-session-2-2016

The following generic grade descriptors provide university-wide standards for awarding final grades.

Lectures available online: weeks 1- 9 and week 13. 

Weekly tutorials: weeks 1-9 and week 13. 

On campus dates: Wednesday and Thursday, September 19th and 20th

Attendance for undergraduate units

All classes for this unit begin in week 1. This includes lectures, and tutorials

Activities completed during weekly tutorials (internal) or on campus days (external) are essential for building the core knowledge and/or skills required to demonstrate the learning outcomes of this unit and to meet the AITSL Graduate Teacher Standards and/or ACECQA requirements. Attendance at all tutorials or on campus days is expected and the roll will be taken.

Students are required to attend the tutorial in which they are enrolled. Any changes to tutorial enrolments must be completed officially through e-student. Please do not contact the unit convenor requesting a change.

Unit Texts

The following texts are required for this unit:

McLachlan, C., Fleer, M., & Edwards, S. (2018). Early childhood curriculum: Planning, assessment & implementation. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press

Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. (2010). Educators’ guide to the early years learning framework. Retrieved from http://docs.education.gov.au/system/files/doc/other/educators_guide_to_the_early_yea rs_learning_framework_for_australia.pdf

Department of Education, Employment & Workplace Relations. (2009). Belonging, being & becoming. The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia. Canberra, ACT: Commonwealth of Australia. Retrieved from http://docs.education.gov.au/system/files/doc/other/belonging_being_and_becoming_t he_early_years_learning_framework_for_australia.pdf

Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority. (2011). Guide to the National Quality Standards. Retrieved from http://files.acecqa.gov.au/files/National-Quality-Framework- Resources-Kit/NQF03-Guide-to-NQS-130902.pdf

It is also expected that you will use the following referencing guide in preparing written assignments:

Perrin, R. (2016). Pocket guide to APA style (6th ed.). Boston: Cengage Learning.

Required Readings: 

There are required readings each week. These are on iLearn. 

Electronic Communication 

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

Dialogue function on iLearn

Other iLearn communication functions

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: 

• 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 

Note: It is not the responsibility of unit staff to contact students who have failed to submit assignments.  If you have any missing items of assessment, it is your responsibility to make contact with the unit convenor.

Withdrawing from this unit

If you are considering withdrawing from this unit, please seek academic advice by writing to https://ask.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.

The unit is broken into four  modules, each of which consider key aspects of early childhood education, curriculum and pedagogy. A more detailed unit schedule, with weekly topics and readings will be available on iLearn.