Full assignment instructions

This Unit Guide provides a brief description only of each required assessment piece. Full instructions, assessment criteria and detailed assessment rubrics are provided via the ECH231 ESSENTIALS document, which will be available on the iLearn site from Day 1 of Session 2.

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 Turnitinin .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 

• In general, there should be no need for extensions except through illness or misadventure that would be categorised as serious and unavoidable disruption according to the University definition of same, see:  https://students.mq.edu.au/study/my-study-program/special-consideration 

• Applications for extensions must be made via AskMQ according to the Special Consideration policy. 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.  

• 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 re-assessment 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 cannot be re-marked 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. 

Descriptive Criteria for awarding grades in the unit 

In order to meet the unit outcomes and successfully pass this unit, students must make a genuine attempt at all assessment tasks. Where any submitted assessment task is considered to be unsatisfactory in this regard, the highest possible final grade that can be awarded for the unit will be 45. 

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. 

Academic Honesty Guidelines

All assignments should cite and provide full bibliographical details of all material that you have used to inform or support your ideas. At the Department of Educational Studies, 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 (2017) and on the university's library website at https://libguides.mq.edu.au/referencing/APA .

The following guide can be purchased from the Co-op Bookshop. This is a recommended text. A copy is also available in Reserve in the Library:

Perrin, R. (2017). Pocket guide to APA style (6th ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.

Units with Submissions of Family & Children’s Records

Family and Children’s Records at Department of Educational Studies (EC)

Some assessment tasks require students to submit records about families and about children and their learning. It is expected that the records submitted are original, authentic, adheres to ethical practices and is the work of the student. Issues with the authenticity of such records will be investigated for possible forgery. Please note that submitted records can only be used once for assessment purposes.

Confidentiality

Students must respect the need for sensitivity and confidentially and ensure that privacy obligations are met. There should be nothing in assessment submissions that identifies a centre or school. Use only the first name for children, families and staff. Do not record details that enable identification of the site, and of the adults or children.

Withdrawing from this UG Unit 

If you are considering withdrawing from this unit, please seek academic advice via https://ask.mq.edu.au before doing so as this unit may be a co-requisite or prerequisite for units in the following sessions and may impact on your progression through the degree. 

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. 

1. About this unit

This unit focuses on children's language and literacy development as they move from home to prior-to-school settings and into the first years of school, and the ways it can be fostered through children's literature. It introduces students to the theory and practice of early reading and writing, multimodal and critical literacy development, and to research on the literacy experiences of children from diverse contexts and with different abilities. Students are given opportunities to develop and apply their understanding of the role of teachers in planning and evaluating experiences that support young children's literacy development within prior-to-school and early primary school settings. 

Relation between assessment task and learning outcomes

ACECQA Standards

The Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA) standards addressed in ECH231 are:

1. Psychology and child development

1.1 Learning, development and care

1.2. Language development

1.6. Diversity, difference and inclusivity

1.8. Transitions and continuity of learning (including

transition to school).

2. Teaching Pedagogies

2.1. Alternative pedagogies and curriculum approaches

2.2. Play-based pedagogies

2.4. Teaching methods and strategies

2.5. Children with diverse needs and backgrounds

2.6. Working with children who speak languages other than, or in addition to, English

2.7. Contemporary society and pedagogy

3. Education and curriculum studies

3.1. Early Years Learning Framework

3.2. The Australian Curriculum

3.4. Language and literacy

3.5. English as an additional language

3.9. Curriculum planning, programming and evaluation

4. Family and community contexts

4.1. Developing family and community partnerships

4.3. ATSI perspectives

4.4. Socially inclusive practice

4.5. Culture, diversity and inclusion

2. Student workload and requirements

Before commencing ECH231, please read this document very carefully and ensure that you can meet all requirements, including workload requirements, attendance requirements, and assessment submission requirements.

Credit points indicate the approximate hours per week that a student is expected to spend studying in order to pass a unit. One credit point equals 3 hours; thus, students are expected to spend approximately 9 hours per week (including the two weeks of session recess) studying ECH231 (i.e. approximately 135hr). Study includes attending or listening to lectures, attending tutorials, completing set readings and background readings, completing assignments, and using the unit’s iLearn site.

Independent study is strongly encouraged in this unit as is participation in online discussions and the completion of study tasks posted on iLearn.

Please ensure that you have sufficient time to dedicate to your studies before attempting this unit. We are sympathetic that students often have significant domestic and work-related responsibilities. To be fair to our staff and to other students, however, these cannot be used to justify incomplete work or extension requests.

The estimate provided in the following table is based on average student performance required to pass this unit. Students who are attempting to achieve high grades or who encounter problems in understanding the material and meeting unit requirements would need to spend more time on these tasks. See Unit Schedule below for more details on unit content.

Note: To give yourself the best chance of completing the unit successfully, please allow yourself minimum the amount of study time specified in the table above.

3.   Classes and attendance

All students are expected to:

• Attend and/or watch and listen to all lectures (note that there are both live and pre-recorded lectures; see unit schedule for details)

• Be familiar with relevant lectures and complete the specified reading preparation before their Tutorials (internal) or On Campus Session (external)
• Actively contribute to tutorials and/or online and on-campus session discussions
• Complete and submit all assignments.

Attendance at all internal seminars or on campus days is expected of all students enrolled in ECH231. Attendance will be recorded. Activities completed during seminars (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 ACECQA and the AITSL Graduate Teacher Standards.

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.

Internal students

To successfully complete the unit, internal students are expected to:

• Attend or watch and listen to the lecture/s each teaching week; live lectures will take place in 17 Wally’s Walk, Collaborative Forum,  Wednesdays, 12-1 in weeks 1-9 & 13
• Attend, prepare for and actively participate in one 1.5 hr tutorial in weeks 1-9 & 13. See Unit Schedule for details

External students

In order to complete this unit, external students are expected to:

• watch and listen to all the lectures in the unit
• actively contribute to discussions online and at the on-campus session
• attend a two-day compulsory on-campus session (OCS) on:

24 September 2019 (Tuesday)          9-5pm

and

25 September 2019 (Wednesday)    9-5pm

Attendance at ALL on-campus sessions is compulsory. Punctuality is expected: please arrive on time in the correct tutorial room! If you foresee problems in attending all or part of the OCS, it is essential to let the Unit Convener know as soon as possible as non-attendance can lead to exclusion from the Unit.

Please do not enrol in external mode if you cannot attend all of these days.

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

General unit expectations

• Students are expected to read weekly readings before completing tasks and attending tutorials.
• Students are expected to listen to/attend weekly lectures before completing tasks and attending tutorials.
• Students are expected to complete online activities as required.

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

4.   Required texts

There is an expectation that you complete the scholarly reading in this unit. It is an integral part of your study of ECH231.

There is one textbook for the unit, which is available from the Macquarie Co-op Bookshop on campus (Ph: (02) 8986 4000).  The details are:

Fellowes, J. & Oakley, G. (2014). Language, literacy and early childhood education (2^nd ed.). South Melbourne: Oxford. ISBN: 9780195521177

If you already own a copy of the first edition you may use this:

Fellowes, J. & Oakley, G. (2010). Language, literacy and early childhood education. South Melbourne: Oxford. ISBN: 9780195566284

You can also purchase the book online from http://www.coop-bookshop.com.au/bookshop/home/homepage.html.

There are also two required curriculum documents:

1. Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) (2009). Belonging, being, becoming: The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia. Barton, ACT: Commonwealth of Australia. Retrieved from: https://docs.education.gov.au/system/files/doc/other/belonging_being_and_becoming_the_early_years_learning_framework_for_australia.pdf
2. NSW Board of Studies. (2012). English K-10 Syllabus.  Sydney: NSW Board of Studies. Retrieved from: https://syllabus.nesa.nsw.edu.au/english/english-k10/

NOTE: There are also other required readings that will be available through the library’s e-reserve collection and/or the unit’s iLearn website. All required and recommended readings are listed in the ECH231 ESSENTIALS document on iLearn.

Note: This schedule is a guide only and topics, their order or required readings may be varied in response to factors such as students’ progress and feedback or to the availability of some of the readings.

When a week has several readings, read at least 2 prior to the lecture and the remaining ones soon after.

For a complete list of required and recommended readings, please see the ECH231 ESSENTIALS document provided on iLearn.