Students

ECHE8250 – Early Childhood Professional Practice 2

2025 – Session 1, In person-scheduled-intensive, North Ryde

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Convener
Belinda Davis
belinda.davis@mq.edu.au
Contact via via ilearn dialogue
25B WW Room 612
by appointment
Tutor
Rosemary Dunn
rosemary.dunn@mq.edu.au
Contact via via ilearn dialogue
25B WW Room 612
by appointment
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
Admission to MTeach (0-5) and 20cp at 8000 level and (ECED603 or ECHE6030)
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

In this unit students will build on the knowledge of early childhood theory and practice gained from your experiences in ECHE6030. Students will extend understanding of critical reflection and personal professional philosophy as a developing teacher. Central to this unit is a 15 day professional experience placement to develop awareness of the professional role and responsibilities of an early childhood teacher working with children from birth to three years. This unit therefore combines theory and practice to enable students to construct practical knowledge of teaching and learning through guided reflection.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • ULO1: Explore different theories and intentional teaching strategies for observing and planning for children  
  • ULO2: Recognise the importance of relationship-based pedagogy in early childhood settings
  • ULO3: Critically apply the Early Years Learning Framework in interpretations, planning and documenting children's learning  
  • ULO4: Understand the professional environment of early childhood teaching  
  • ULO5: Demonstrate an understanding of the role of the reflective practitioner

General Assessment Information

General Submission Information

Please format assessments using 12-point font and 1.5 spacing. All assessments must be submitted electronically. Turnitin plagiarism detection software is used to check all written assessments. It is the responsibility of all students to ensure that their submitted work is in a format compatible with Turnitin software for plagiarism checking. Submissions must meet the required file type and formatting specifications outlined in the assessment guidelines. Failure to submit work in an acceptable format may result in delays in processing your submission and potential penalties for non-compliance with assessment requirements. If you are unsure about the file format or have technical difficulties, it is your responsibility to seek assistance before the submission deadline. Students should be careful to check that they submit the correct file for an assessment as no re-submissions will be accepted after the due date and time, including instances where students upload an incorrect file. It is not the responsibility of unit staff to contact students who have failed to submit assessments. If you have any missing items of assessment, it is your responsibility to contact the unit convenor. Students can use Turnitin’s Originality Report as a learning tool to improve their academic writing if this option is made available in the unit. Word limits are strictly applied. Work above the word limit will not be marked.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Students should be aware of and apply the University policy on academic integrity (see: https://policies.mq.edu.au/document/view.php?id=3). Any student suspected of using unauthorised AI in an assignment will be referred to the Faculty of Arts Discipline Committee. Penalties can include reduced marks for an assessment, being awarded '0' for a task, failing an entire unit, being excluded from a course of study. Please see each assessment task description/rubric for expectations about AI.

Special Consideration / Late Penalties

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (of the total possible mark) will be applied each day an assessment is not submitted, up until the 7th day (including weekends) (see: https://students.mq.edu.au/study/assessment-exams/special-consideration). Applications for extensions must be made via Service Connect. After the 7th day, a mark of 0 (zero) will be awarded even if the assessment is submitted. Submission time for all written assessments is set at 11:55pm. A 1-hour grace period is provided to students who experience a technical issue. This late penalty will apply to non-timed sensitive assessments (incl. essays, reports, posters, portfolios, journals, recordings etc). Late submission of time sensitive tasks (such as tests/exams, performance assessments/presentations, scheduled practical assessments/labs etc) will only be addressed by the unit convenor in a Special Consideration application. A Special Consideration outcome may result in a new question or topic.

Marking

Marking All assessments are marked using a rubric. Marking of all assessments is moderated by the Unit Convenor. 

University Policy on Grading

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

To attain a pass or higher grade in Professional Experience a student must obtain a satisfactory in both the Professional Experience component and a pass or higher grade in the academic component. For Professional Experience units the Professional Experience Evaluation Report is marked as Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory.

Results

Results shown in iLearn, or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed because 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 Service Connect.

Withdrawing from this unit

If you are considering withdrawing from this unit, please seek academic advice via Service Connect  before doing so as this unit may be a co-requisite or prerequisite for units in the following sessions and may impact your course progression.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Professional Experience Report 0% Yes 23:55 13/06/2025
Newsletter 50% No 23:55 31/03/2025
Professional Experience documentation 50% No 23:55 13/06/2025

Professional Experience Report

Assessment Type 1: Field work task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 1 hours
Due: 23:55 13/06/2025
Weighting: 0%
This is a hurdle assessment task (see assessment policy for more information on hurdle assessment tasks)

Evaluation report for Professional Experience
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Explore different theories and intentional teaching strategies for observing and planning for children  
  • Recognise the importance of relationship-based pedagogy in early childhood settings
  • Critically apply the Early Years Learning Framework in interpretations, planning and documenting children's learning  
  • Understand the professional environment of early childhood teaching  
  • Demonstrate an understanding of the role of the reflective practitioner

Newsletter

Assessment Type 1: Practice-based task
Indicative Time on Task 2: 9 hours
Due: 23:55 31/03/2025
Weighting: 50%

This assessment will enable students to develop resources and plan appropriately for teaching children birth-3 years. Word count: 1000 words
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Explore different theories and intentional teaching strategies for observing and planning for children  
  • Recognise the importance of relationship-based pedagogy in early childhood settings

Professional Experience documentation

Assessment Type 1: Portfolio
Indicative Time on Task 2: 10 hours
Due: 23:55 13/06/2025
Weighting: 50%

Professional Experience Documentation: Students submit material from their Professional Experience folder (what they did whilst on PE Placement). These are tasks that are completed on PE. Word Count 4000 words
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Explore different theories and intentional teaching strategies for observing and planning for children  
  • Recognise the importance of relationship-based pedagogy in early childhood settings
  • Critically apply the Early Years Learning Framework in interpretations, planning and documenting children's learning  
  • Understand the professional environment of early childhood teaching  
  • Demonstrate an understanding of the role of the reflective practitioner

1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

  • the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
  • the Writing Centre for academic skills support.

2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation

Delivery and Resources

Required texts

Arthur, L., Beecher, B., Death, E., Dockett, S., & Farmer, S. (2021). Programming and planning in early childhood settings (7th ed.). Cengage.

Australian Government Department of Education [AGDE] (2022). Belonging, Being and Becoming: The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia (V2.0). Australian Government Department of Education for the Ministerial Council. 

Information about the unit iLearn site 

This unit has a full web presence through iLearn.   

Students will need regular access to a computer and the Internet to complete this unit.  

Regular access to iLearn is compulsory for all students. Important assessment information will be posted here.

Lectures are available on the web through the ECHO360 lecture component. 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.  

Access and technical assistance  

Information for students about access to the online component of this unit is available at https://ilearn.mq.edu.au/login/index.php. You will need to enter your student username and password. 

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

Assistance is available from IT Helpdesk  

Ph: 9850 4357 or 1800 67 4357  

Log a request: help.mq.edu.au. 

On Campus: Ground floor at 18 Wally’s Walk 

Unit Schedule

Please see ilearn for details

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Students seeking more policy resources can visit Student Policies (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/policies). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/student-conduct

Results

Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) 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 connect.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Academic Integrity

At Macquarie, we believe academic integrity – honesty, respect, trust, responsibility, fairness and courage – is at the core of learning, teaching and research. We recognise that meeting the expectations required to complete your assessments can be challenging. So, we offer you a range of resources and services to help you reach your potential, including free online writing and maths support, academic skills development and wellbeing consultations.

School of Education Procedures

In addition, the following policies and procedures for the Macquarie School of Education apply to this unit.

Academic Progression Policy 

This unit is a part of a professional course listed on Schedules 2 and 3 of the Academic Progression Policy. This course has additional requirements that are applicable for the full duration of the course, including course-specific Inherent Requirements, Fitness to Practice requirements and other compulsory course requirements. It also has rigorous academic progression standards. Inability to meet these requirements may result in a withdrawal of offer of admission and/or permanent exclusion from the course in accordance with the General Coursework Rules.

Fitness to practice in a Professional Experience unit 

Macquarie University operates under a ‘Fitness to Practice’ model as specified in the University's Academic Progression Policy.  For this unit, this means that, when undertaking a placement, a student is declaring that they are able to demonstrate professional competence, acceptable professional behaviour, freedom from impairment, and compliance with program specific requirements needed for a student to practice properly and safely throughout their Practical, Clinical or Professional program or unit. It is the responsibility of the student to determine whether they are fit to undertake a placement. Therefore, if a student is feeling unfit to undertake a placement, they should not do so. For more information Academic Progression Policy.

Communication

It is the student’s responsibility to check all electronic communication on a weekly basis.  Communication may occur via:

  • Official MQ Student Email Address
  • The Dialogue function on iLearn
  • Other iLearn communication functions

Attendance and Participation 

See the University timetable for information about when classes begin in this unit. Creating your timetable - Enrolling | Macquarie University, Sydney (mq.edu.au)

Attendance at all synchronous activities, completion of non-synchronous formative/diagnostic class tasks and involvement in professional forums is  expected as the Master of Teaching is a professional qualification. Activities completed during tutorials  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 is expected and will be recorded. Make up tasks may be given if attendance is missed to ensure all content is covered to meet accreditation requirements.

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 to request a change.

Infrequent Attendance Students

Information about the dates of the on-campus sessions can be found in the university timetable. Creating your timetable - Enrolling | Macquarie University, Sydney (mq.edu.au)

  • The on campus sessions are essential to student engagement and learning and attendance is expected. Failure to attend or not to have an approved Special Consideration may result in a Fail grade.
  • Prior to the on campus sessions, students should have read the prescribed readings and listened to the lectures, summarise the main points, and make notes of the key terms and definitions. Prepare any discussion questions of your own that you wish to share.
  • Please make effective use of the online component of the unit and access iLearn regularly. Keep up to date with listening to the lectures on a weekly basis.
  • Further details and any updates about times and locations will be posted on iLearn as an Announcement during first half of the semester.

Professional Experience Unit Expectations 

  • Important Professional Experience information can be found on Education Commons – see iLearn for details of how to self-enrol in Education Commons
  • Students must be able to present evidence of completion of mandatory requirements prior to session census date (or as otherwise advised) to receive a placement for Professional Experience. Please check your email from the Work Integrated Learning (WIL) Office. Requirements are outlined here: https://education.nsw.gov.au/teaching-and-learning/professional-learning/pl-resources/pre-service-teacher-resources/induction-for-pre-service-teachers/mandatory-pre-requisites-for-pre-service-teachers-participating-  
  • Students must have submitted all written assessment tasks and/or completed associated unit requirements scheduled prior to the commencement of the block.
  • Students who are completing a unit offered by another Department are expected to inform and negotiate with that unit convenor about their professional experience block dates and discuss how that unit's requirements can be met. For some situations it may mean that a student is enrolled externally for that unit so that attendance for tutorials for that unit is not impacted.
  • Feedback from Placement Support Team and/or Tertiary Supervisors and/or Supervising Teachers is of a general nature. It is incumbent on the student to check the requirements of any assessments or Professional Experience written tasks prior to submission.
  • Students may not be able to commence their placement until all alleged academic honesty breaches have been investigated and resolved. 
  • The timing of placements can vary. For placements early in the session, fail grades may be approved by the university prior to the end of session for students who do not meet the placement expectations of the unit.

If a Student is identified as being In Need of Additional Support (INAS) for Professional Practice and/or Professional Experience written tasks, the Macquarie School of Education’s ‘Additional Support’ procedure will be activated

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

The Writing Centre

The Writing Centre provides resources to develop your English language proficiency, academic writing, and communication skills.

The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources. 

Student Services and Support

Macquarie University offers a range of Student Support Services including:

Student Enquiries

Got a question? Ask us via the Service Connect Portal, or contact Service Connect.

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/. 

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.

5Rs Framework

The 5Rs Framework, developed by the School of Education at Macquarie University, is embedded throughout your teacher education course.  

Your use of the 5Rs Framework will help you develop the capabilities that will make your teaching career sustainable and fulfilling.  

In this unit, you will learn using the 5Rs framework in the following important ways: 

Resilient: Students engage in PEX and respond appropriately to feedback and evaluation

Reflexive: Students embed the planning cycle continuously in their practice

Responsive: Students look at infant behaviours and cues and respond appropriately.

Ready to learn: Students are challenged to move past implicit ideas about infants and toddlers to develop deeper understandings based on contemporary research

Research engaged: Students use contemporary research to inform professional decision making when on PEX.

Unit information based on version 2025.03 of the Handbook