There are three (3) assessment tasks in this subject. 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.

Assessment Task 1: Presentation / Debate

This assessment requires you to deliver a presentation on a theorist or dominant view of early childhood education covered in the subject. The aim of this assessment is for students to think critically about the different theorists / dominant views of early childhood education.

Working in small groups (from your tutorial group), students will present on a theorist / dominant view of early childhood covered in the subject, to their peers in tutorials in weeks following the lecture on that theorist / dominant view. The schedule of theorists / dominant views is outlined in the table below. Students must pick their theorist / dominant view in week one tutorial (or as soon as possible). The aim is to cover as many theorists / dominant views as possible in tutorials. Therefore, only one group of students can choose each theorist / dominant view. Once students have selected and indicated a theorist / dominant view they are committed, no changes will be permitted.

Presentations should:

• focus on the key points about the chosen theorist / dominant view of early childhood education;
• present the key points in a logical and cohesive way;
• be engaging, informative and promote debate amongst peers.
• last no longer than 10 minutes.

Presentations about theorists should:

• Summarise the theorist’s ideas. Consider:

  • What are their views of the child?

  • What are their views on the role of parents?

  • What types of learning / development environments does the theorist advocate?

  • What is the role of curriculum / learning frameworks from this theoretical

    perspective?

  • What is the theorist’s opinion on the role of the teacher?

• Also consider:

  • How these ideas might influence your role as a teacher.

  • Why this theorist’s ideas appealed to you.

Presentations about dominant views of early childhood education should:

• Provide an explanation and example of the view being presented. Consider:

  • How are children positioned within this view of early childhood education?

  • How are parents / families positioned within this view of early childhood

    education?

  • What types of learning / development environments does this view promote?

  • How are teachers positioned within this view of early childhood education?

  • What are the implications of this view of early childhood education for society?

• Pose (at least) two questions to the audience to promote discussion.

Students are encouraged to use a variety of media / ways of delivering their presentation. Different types of resources can be utilised. The presentations can be digital or not. They can use videos (self-created not ready made from the internet); posters; concept maps; dramatisation; puppets; music; accessories; handouts; or whatever resources students think will make their presentation more exciting and engaging. Student pairs can also demonstrate debates about the pros and cons of the theory. Pairs that are in the same week can prepare together and ‘interview each other’ or form a ‘debate panel’. The important thing is to be WELL- ORGANISED, ORIGINAL AND CREATIVE! None of us want to sit through boring presentations.

Assessment 1 Marking Criteria

• A marking rubric for this assessment will be provided in i-Learn.
• Grading for this assessment will be conducted within the tutorial by the tutor, based on the marking rubric.
• Grades will be recorded in Gradebook – but will not be released until all students have completed this assessment.

Assessment Task 2: Research essay: Dominant views of early childhood education

This essay requires students to consider the diverse ways that early childhood education has been viewed in the past and today. How have views about early childhood education developed, what has informed the ways it is viewed today, and what are the implications of those diverse views for early childhood education, children, families and society more broadly?

Students will be provided with one contemporary and one historical media story about early childhood education. Students are required to choose one additional (contemporary or historical) media story. Students must then prepare an essay that discusses similarities and differences in the ways that early childhood education is written about in these media stories.

The essay must to be submitted via Turnitin on the iLearn page.

In their reflection on these media stories, students will need to draw on the compulsory readings and at least two more academic readings. The assignment must follow APA referencing style.

Students may choose current or archival newspaper or television stories about early childhood education. Archived newspaper stories about early childhood education can be found by searching Trove: https://trove.nla.gov.au/

Reflecting on the stories, students are encouraged to consider:

• What dominant views about early childhood education are evident in the stories? (e.g. Who / what was it for?)

• What do these views about early childhood education suggest about the ways children, families and / or educators are viewed? (e.g. Are they valued?)

• How are these views different / similar from the views of early childhood education that have been dominant throughout history?

• What are the implications of these views for early childhood education, children, families, educators, and society more broadly?

Essays must:

• draw on the media stories;

• demonstrate a sound understanding of the topics covered in this subject;

• refer to at least four scholarly readings. These may be the required and/or recommended readings for this subject, or other scholarly texts identified through your own searching. DO NOT USE WIKIPEDIA!

Essays should include:

• an engaging introduction that outlines the purpose of the essay;

• a clearly written body with illustrations from your media story and in-text reference to

  scholarly sources to support your discussion;

• a conclusion that provides a completion to your thinking.

It is important that the essay:

• synthesises information from the sources;

• uses paragraphs to structure the argument;

• demonstrates an ability to use in-text referencing using both / either paraphrasing and / or direct quotes; and

• provides an accurate and complete end-of- text reference list, that adheres to APA style.

Assessment Presentation and Submission Guidelines

Please follow these guidelines when you submit your essay:

• 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.

• Your essay must be submitted through Turnitin in .doc or .pdf format

• It is the responsibility of the student to ensure that all assessments are successfully submitted through Turnitin.

• 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,

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

•  

• Faculty assignment cover sheets are NOT required.

Assessment 2 Marking Criteria

The marking criteria used to assess essays are outlined in a marking rubric (see i-Learn). Students are strongly advised to ensure that they understand each of the criteria. If, after reading the marking criteria, students require further explanation, please post a discussion on i-Learn or send a dialogue to the unit convenor.

Assessment 3: Open Book Exam

Students will reply to four out of a possible eight essay questions related to content from Weeks 7, 8, 9, 10 & 11 lectures and the associated required readings.

• Please note: students may take up to 10 pages of notes with them into the exam.

• Notes should be on paper no larger than A4. Notes can be handwritten or word processed, or a combination of both, and you can use both sides. There are no specifications for margins or font size.

This type of exam demands critical thinking and synthesising skills (not memorization). This can be achieved via weekly engagement with the readings / lectures and tutorial activities - working systematically throughout the session and not just before the exams.

Students are required to be available throughout the duration of the exam period http://www.m q.edu.au/policy/docs/examination/procedure.html If you are unavailable on the day of the exam and it's not due to unavoidable circumstances such as hospitalisation, then you will be marked as absent from the exam and you will fail the unit. The exam cannot be completed before the date listed in the University exam timetable. Students who live outside of the Sydney Metropolitan Area who are registered for a regional exam centre will be able to complete the exam at their exam centre.

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 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. 

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

Withdrawing from this 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. 

Required texts

Ailwood, J., Boyd, W., & Theobald, M. (Eds.) (2016). Understanding early childhood education and care in Australia: Practices and perspectives. Crows Nest: Allen & Unwin

Nolan, A. & Raban, B. (2015). Theories into practice. Albert Park, Victoria: Teaching Solutions.

You are required to purchase you own copies of these two texts. Readings from the required texts will be used to support lecture and tutorial content.

The unit comprises one one-hour lecture and one two-hour tutorial (internal students) per week.

Lectures

Weekly lectures are available on i-Learn. You must listen to all lectures.

PowerPoint slides are available in iLearn in advance of the weekly lecture and/or are available in the Active Learning Tool.

Tutorials

Tutorials form an essential component of this subject.

Tutorials provide opportunities for sharing learning materials and resources, developing critical thinking and are the venue for students to present their Assessment 1. 

Materials required for weekly tutorials will be available in iLearn in advance of the tutorial.

In tutorials, students will discuss issues and questions arising from the lectures and prescribed readings. They are expected to base their arguments/discussions on evidence from published research and other relevant material.

Attendance Requirements

Attendance at one two hour tutorial is expected every week.

Access to iLearn and ICT skills

This unit has a full web presence through iLearn. The iLearn page will provide students with additional readings, links and materials. Lectures will also be available through Echo in iLearn from the following website link: http://ilearn.mq.edu.au

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

• Students will need regular access to a computer and skills in word processing, visual representations, and document formatting: You are required to use an appropriate form of software to present your assignments

• Internet access: The iLearn site contains materials for this unit; it is also required for the online Turnitin submission of Assessment Task 2.

• Weekly access to iLearn is compulsory for all students. Important assessment information will be posted here, as will other relevant unit notices and materials, including a reading template and guide to lecture note taking to assist your studies. Various activities and materials for discussion and critical reflection are included and students are encouraged to use electronic links and suggested references. Please check the iLearn unit regularly.

• Information for students about access to the online component of this unit is available at ilearn.m q.edu.au/login/MQ/. You will need to enter your student username and password.

  Assistance is available from IT Helpdesk ph: 1800 67 4357, or log a request at help.mq.edu.au. OneHelp is the online IT support service for students.

  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. 

A Lecture & Reading Guide and Weekly Tutorial Tasks will be available in i-Learn.