Full assignment instructions

This Unit Guide provides a brief description only of each required assessment piece. Full instructions are provided via the 'unit essentials', which will be available on the iLearn site from Day1 of Session 2.

Assignment expectations

In order to achieve a passing grade, it is expected that all assignments are completed, and that all assignments demonstrate a serious attempt to address the assignment task.

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.

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.

University policy on grading

Assignments will be awarded grades ranging from HD to F according to guidelines set out in the University's Grading 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.

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.

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.

Before commencing ECED/X822, please read this Unit Outline in conjunction with the  Readings, Assessment and Other Resources (RAOR) document available for downloading in the iLearn site for this unit. The Unit Outline provides essential basic unit information and full details about the unit including information about the Unit Schedule is provided in the RAOR document. It is the student's responsibility to ensure that you can understand the requirements of this unit.

During the semester, 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.

Classes and attendance

The unit is run in both internal and external modes as well as through Open Universities Australia (OUA). 

All students are expected to watch and listen to relevant lectures and complete the specified reading preparation before their seminars (internal) or by completing online study tasks (external and OUA students).

Students are expected to watch and listen to all recorded lectures. The lectures will be recorded and made available progressively by Wednesday each week. Students can access them by clicking on the link to ECHO360 (on the right side of the screen) on the unit’s iLearn website.

To complete this unit successfully, ALL students are expected to actively contribute to seminars and/or online and on-campus session discussions, and must complete and submit all assignments.

Internal students

The internal seminars are held  on Mondays between 6-8pm  in 29 Wally’s Walk (X5B), Room 136. Internal students are expected to attend, prepare for and participate in these seminars to successfully complete the unit. See the Unit Schedule available in the 'RAOR' document on iLearn for details.

External students

In order to complete this unit, external students are expected to actively contribute to online discussions, by posting their responses to study tasks and responding to others’ postings.

There is also a non-compulsory on-campus session (OCS) on 7 September 2019

(Saturday), 10am - 1pm. Please register your RSVP in iLearn. Depending on the number of students attending, the venue details will be announced closer to the date. Typically, students in previous years have always enjoyed this opportunity to meet and network with peers face-to-face.

External students enrolled in ECED822 are also welcome to attend any or all of the internal seminars.

OUA students enrolled in ECHX822

In lieu of class attendance, OUA students are expected to complete study tasks and participate actively in related online discussions. If you wish to attend the on-campus session as well, they are welcome to email the unit convenor to register their interest.

Resources

Unit resources include a set textbook, additional readings, weekly recorded lectures and weekly study tasks. Readings can be accessed through the MQ Library's Multisearch engine and other resources can be accessed from the unit's iLearn site.

Prescribed Textbooks

These two books can be purchased from the Co-op Bookshop on campus or http://www.coop.com.au

Both books involveds authors who are early childhood academics from MQ. The text by Waniganayake, Cheeseman, Fenech, Hadley and Shepherd (2017) examines policy matters of interest to those concerned with leadership in early childhood settings. The text by Fleet, Patterson and Robertson (2017) will be used for the pedagogy components of this unit.

• Fleet, A., Patterson, C., & Robertson, J.  (Eds.) (2017). Pedagogical documentation in early years practice. Seeing through multiple perspectives. London: SAGE Publications
• Waniganayake, M., Cheeseman, S., Fenech, M., Hadley, F., & Shepherd, W. (2017). Leadership: Contexts and complexities in early childhood education. (second edition) South Melbourne: Oxford University Press.

A detailed list of required and recommended readings is provided on iLearn.

Web presence

Information for students about access to the online component of this unit is available at ilearn.mq.edu.au/login/MQ/

Weekly access to iLearn is compulsory for all students. Important assessment information will be posted here, as will other relevant unit notices and materials.

Please do NOT contact the Unit Convenor regarding iLearn technical help.

No extensions will be given for any technical issues. Allow enough time for your submissions.

Technology

Student learning in this unit is supported by the unit's iLearn site.

This unit requires students to use several ICT and software skills:

• Internet access: The iLearn site contains materials for this unit; it is also required for the online submission of all Assessment Tasks, and for the use of Turnitin submission for ALL tasks. 

• Word processing, visual representations, and document formatting: You are required to use an appropriate form of software to present your assignments.

• Uploading of assessment tasks to iLearn.

• Library databases: You are required to use various research databases to locate sources for your assignments.

Using Turnitin

• Turnitin is used to assist students with appropriate referencing and paraphrasing, and to detect plagiarism. A link to Turnitin is embedded in iLearn. You must submit your work to Turnitin.

APA Style Central

This referencing guide is accessed through the Library’s Multisearch function. It provides tools and templates to assist you to format citations correctly in APA 6th. Basic information about APA 6th is available on the library’s site: https://libguides.mq.edu.au/referencing/APA