Students

ECH 113 – Play and Inquiry in Early Childhood

2013 – S1 Day

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit Convenor
Sheila Degotardi
Contact via sheila.degotardi@mq.edu.au
X5B274
Credit points Credit points
3
Prerequisites Prerequisites
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description
This unit examines the role of play and inquiry in children's lives, their learning and development. Students develop a theoretical understanding of the characteristics of young children's play and inquiry and explore how environments, resources and teaching techniques can be structured to facilitate children's active and meaningful engagement in the learning process. Students will analyse the developmental and educational potential of children's play and inquiry across a range of contexts and will reflect on how play and inquiry experiences can be used to cater for children with diverse developmental, educational and cultural learning styles.

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:

  • An understanding of the characteristics of young children’s play and inquiry across different contexts
  • An ability to identify and apply relevant theoretical knowledge about play and inquiry in order to address the assignment requirements.
  • An ability to analyse the features and potentials of young children’s play environments and materials
  • An ability to generate ideas about play/inquiry experiences that will enhance children’s experiences and learning
  • An ability to format and submit assignments appropriately and on time, as per instructions in the Unit Guide.
  • An ability to address assignment requirements using appropriate academic written expression.
  • An ability to identify key arguments in academic readings and use these appropriately to support the views expressed in assignments
  • An ability to use in-text citations and construct a reference list using APA 6th style.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Due
‘Getting organised’ 5% 10th March
Reading journal Entry 1 15% 17th March
Reading journal Entries 2 & 3 40% 7th April and 5th May
Journal article 40% 10th June

‘Getting organised’

Due: 10th March
Weighting: 5%

Multiple choice quiz


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • An ability to format and submit assignments appropriately and on time, as per instructions in the Unit Guide.

Reading journal Entry 1

Due: 17th March
Weighting: 15%

500-600 words


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • An understanding of the characteristics of young children’s play and inquiry across different contexts
  • An ability to identify and apply relevant theoretical knowledge about play and inquiry in order to address the assignment requirements.
  • An ability to format and submit assignments appropriately and on time, as per instructions in the Unit Guide.
  • An ability to address assignment requirements using appropriate academic written expression.
  • An ability to identify key arguments in academic readings and use these appropriately to support the views expressed in assignments
  • An ability to use in-text citations and construct a reference list using APA 6th style.

Reading journal Entries 2 & 3

Due: 7th April and 5th May
Weighting: 40%

2 entries, each 500-600 words


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • An understanding of the characteristics of young children’s play and inquiry across different contexts
  • An ability to identify and apply relevant theoretical knowledge about play and inquiry in order to address the assignment requirements.
  • An ability to analyse the features and potentials of young children’s play environments and materials
  • An ability to format and submit assignments appropriately and on time, as per instructions in the Unit Guide.
  • An ability to address assignment requirements using appropriate academic written expression.
  • An ability to identify key arguments in academic readings and use these appropriately to support the views expressed in assignments
  • An ability to use in-text citations and construct a reference list using APA 6th style.

Journal article

Due: 10th June
Weighting: 40%

Write a journal article on a given topic. 1500 words

 

Full details of the requirements of each assessment task can be found in your Unit guide, accessable via the ECH113 iLearn site.


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • An understanding of the characteristics of young children’s play and inquiry across different contexts
  • An ability to identify and apply relevant theoretical knowledge about play and inquiry in order to address the assignment requirements.
  • An ability to analyse the features and potentials of young children’s play environments and materials
  • An ability to generate ideas about play/inquiry experiences that will enhance children’s experiences and learning
  • An ability to format and submit assignments appropriately and on time, as per instructions in the Unit Guide.
  • An ability to address assignment requirements using appropriate academic written expression.
  • An ability to identify key arguments in academic readings and use these appropriately to support the views expressed in assignments
  • An ability to use in-text citations and construct a reference list using APA 6th style.

Delivery and Resources

 

Organising your time.

Macquarie University semesters are spread over 15 weeks, which includes a 2-week non-teaching time between weeks 7 and 8. For a 3 credit-point unit, you are expected to allocate approximately 9 hours of study per week. In the case of ECH113, this study amount would equate to approximately 135 hours over the 15 week period.

Delivery

The unit is taught via:

  • 1 x 1-hour lecture per week
  • 1 x 90-minute tutorial per week.

Student are expected to engage with the lecture content before coming to their tutorial.

There are three principal  expectations in this unit.

1.       Completion and submission of the assessments to an overall satisfactory standard. Non submission of assignments 2a, 2b or 3 will automatically result in a fail grade and any subsequent pieces of work will not be assessed.

2.       Attendance at all tutorials is expected. Unless there are documented and extenuating circumstances, less than 80% attendance will result in a fail grade. Students preventing from attending as required due to illness or misadventure should either withdraw before the census date or apply to Withdraw without Academic Penalty. Any student who has not met this requirement will be informed by email to withdraw from the unit. Any assessment pieces submitted after this time will not be assessed.

3.       Completion of preparatory readings and engagement with the required lecture material before coming to the related tutorial.

Study Resources

Required texts and readings

There is one required text which is available from the Co-op Bookshop on campus.

Degotardi, S. (2013). ECH113 Play and Inquiry in Early Childhood: Book of Readings (3rd Edition). Sydney, Pearson

Please note that there are significant changes in this edition from previous editions, so it will be important to obtain the 3rd edition.

Recommended text

The following text is recommended for Institute of Early Childhood students and students from other departments who are required to use the American Psychological Association (APA) referencing style

Perrin, R. (2010). Pocket Guide to APA Style (4th Edition). Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning

Supplementary readings

You will need to access supplementary readings for your tutorial and assignment preparation:

The Stimulus articles that you required for your reading journal (assignment 1a and 1b) can be found in a folder in the study resources section of the ECH113 iLearn website.

Additional valuable readings are available via the Macquarie University E-Reserve site. These readings are usually book chapters that have been converted to a pdf file for you to print or download onto your computer. Please familiarise yourself with this facility as it contains some essential readings.

Unit website

There is a website for this unit. Access to this unit is available online through iLearn, at ilearn.mq.edu.au .   You will need to login using your Macquarie ID.

Unit Schedule

 Please note that this content is to be read along-side the full ECH113 Unit Guide available on the ECH113 iLearn site. The information below only provides the weekly topic. Your full guide includes information about your required readings and additional resources.

 

WEEK

MODULE 1: Understanding Play and Inquiry

1:25th Feb

 

 Perspectives on play
2: 4th Mar  

 Inquiry-based learning

ASSIGNMENT 1 DUE MONDAY 11TH MARCH

3: 11th Mar

 

Games

Assignment 2: eNTRY 1 due Sunday 17th March

MODULE 2: Contexts of play and Inquiry

4: 18th Mar

 

Materials and resources for play and inquiry  

5. 25th Mar

 

Play in diverse contexts

6: 1st Apr

 

Playing outside

assignment 2: eNTRY 2 due Sunday 7th April

7: 8th Apr

 

Extending and enhancing play and inquiry

MID SEMESTER RECESS: 15th – 26th April

8: 29th Apr

 

Play, inquiry  and technology

Assignment 2: eNTRY 3 due Sunday 5th May

MODULE 3: Opportunities for development and learning

9: 6th May

 

Physical wellbeing and development

10: 13thMay

 

Imagination and creativity

 

 

 

11: 20thMay

 

Language and literacy

12: 27thMay

  

Social development and relationships

13: 3rd June

 

Self-study week.

ASSIGNMENT 3 DUE MONDAY 10TH JUNE

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central. Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Academic Honesty Policy http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/academic_honesty/policy.html

Assessment Policy  http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/assessment/policy.html

Grading Policy http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/grading/policy.html

Grade Appeal Policy http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/gradeappeal/policy.html

Grievance Management Policy http://mq.edu.au/policy/docs/grievance_management/policy.html

Special Consideration Policy http://www.mq.edu.au/policy/docs/special_consideration/policy.html

In addition, a number of other policies can be found in the Learning and Teaching Category of Policy Central.

For full details on assignment submission, extensions, and late assignments, please refer to the full unit guide on your iLearn site.

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of Academic Student Support Services. Details of these services can be accessed at: http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

UniWISE provides:

  • Online learning resources and academic skills workshops http://www.students.mq.edu.au/support/learning_skills/
  • Personal assistance with your learning & study related questions.
  • The Learning Help Desk is located in the Library foyer (level 2).
  • Online and on-campus orientation events run by Mentors@Macquarie.

Student Services and Support

Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.

Student Enquiries

Details of these services can be accessed at http://www.student.mq.edu.au/ses/.

IT Help

If you wish to receive IT help, we would be glad to assist you at http://informatics.mq.edu.au/help/

When using the university's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students and it outlines what can be done.

Graduate Capabilities

Commitment to Continuous Learning

Our graduates will have enquiring minds and a literate curiosity which will lead them to pursue knowledge for its own sake. They will continue to pursue learning in their careers and as they participate in the world. They will be capable of reflecting on their experiences and relationships with others and the environment, learning from them, and growing - personally, professionally and socially.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • An ability to format and submit assignments appropriately and on time, as per instructions in the Unit Guide.
  • An ability to address assignment requirements using appropriate academic written expression.
  • An ability to identify key arguments in academic readings and use these appropriately to support the views expressed in assignments
  • An ability to use in-text citations and construct a reference list using APA 6th style.

Assessment tasks

  • ‘Getting organised’
  • Reading journal Entry 1
  • Reading journal Entries 2 & 3

Discipline Specific Knowledge and Skills

Our graduates will take with them the intellectual development, depth and breadth of knowledge, scholarly understanding, and specific subject content in their chosen fields to make them competent and confident in their subject or profession. They will be able to demonstrate, where relevant, professional technical competence and meet professional standards. They will be able to articulate the structure of knowledge of their discipline, be able to adapt discipline-specific knowledge to novel situations, and be able to contribute from their discipline to inter-disciplinary solutions to problems.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • An understanding of the characteristics of young children’s play and inquiry across different contexts
  • An ability to identify and apply relevant theoretical knowledge about play and inquiry in order to address the assignment requirements.
  • An ability to analyse the features and potentials of young children’s play environments and materials
  • An ability to generate ideas about play/inquiry experiences that will enhance children’s experiences and learning

Assessment tasks

  • Reading journal Entry 1
  • Reading journal Entries 2 & 3
  • Journal article

Critical, Analytical and Integrative Thinking

We want our graduates to be capable of reasoning, questioning and analysing, and to integrate and synthesise learning and knowledge from a range of sources and environments; to be able to critique constraints, assumptions and limitations; to be able to think independently and systemically in relation to scholarly activity, in the workplace, and in the world. We want them to have a level of scientific and information technology literacy.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • An understanding of the characteristics of young children’s play and inquiry across different contexts
  • An ability to identify and apply relevant theoretical knowledge about play and inquiry in order to address the assignment requirements.
  • An ability to analyse the features and potentials of young children’s play environments and materials
  • An ability to generate ideas about play/inquiry experiences that will enhance children’s experiences and learning
  • An ability to identify key arguments in academic readings and use these appropriately to support the views expressed in assignments

Assessment tasks

  • Reading journal Entry 1
  • Reading journal Entries 2 & 3
  • Journal article

Problem Solving and Research Capability

Our graduates should be capable of researching; of analysing, and interpreting and assessing data and information in various forms; of drawing connections across fields of knowledge; and they should be able to relate their knowledge to complex situations at work or in the world, in order to diagnose and solve problems. We want them to have the confidence to take the initiative in doing so, within an awareness of their own limitations.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • An understanding of the characteristics of young children’s play and inquiry across different contexts
  • An ability to identify and apply relevant theoretical knowledge about play and inquiry in order to address the assignment requirements.
  • An ability to analyse the features and potentials of young children’s play environments and materials
  • An ability to generate ideas about play/inquiry experiences that will enhance children’s experiences and learning
  • An ability to address assignment requirements using appropriate academic written expression.
  • An ability to identify key arguments in academic readings and use these appropriately to support the views expressed in assignments

Assessment tasks

  • Reading journal Entry 1
  • Reading journal Entries 2 & 3
  • Journal article

Creative and Innovative

Our graduates will also be capable of creative thinking and of creating knowledge. They will be imaginative and open to experience and capable of innovation at work and in the community. We want them to be engaged in applying their critical, creative thinking.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • An ability to identify and apply relevant theoretical knowledge about play and inquiry in order to address the assignment requirements.
  • An ability to analyse the features and potentials of young children’s play environments and materials
  • An ability to generate ideas about play/inquiry experiences that will enhance children’s experiences and learning
  • An ability to format and submit assignments appropriately and on time, as per instructions in the Unit Guide.

Assessment task

  • Journal article

Effective Communication

We want to develop in our students the ability to communicate and convey their views in forms effective with different audiences. We want our graduates to take with them the capability to read, listen, question, gather and evaluate information resources in a variety of formats, assess, write clearly, speak effectively, and to use visual communication and communication technologies as appropriate.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • An ability to address assignment requirements using appropriate academic written expression.
  • An ability to identify key arguments in academic readings and use these appropriately to support the views expressed in assignments
  • An ability to use in-text citations and construct a reference list using APA 6th style.

Assessment tasks

  • ‘Getting organised’
  • Reading journal Entry 1
  • Reading journal Entries 2 & 3
  • Journal article

Engaged and Ethical Local and Global citizens

As local citizens our graduates will be aware of indigenous perspectives and of the nation's historical context. They will be engaged with the challenges of contemporary society and with knowledge and ideas. We want our graduates to have respect for diversity, to be open-minded, sensitive to others and inclusive, and to be open to other cultures and perspectives: they should have a level of cultural literacy. Our graduates should be aware of disadvantage and social justice, and be willing to participate to help create a wiser and better society.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • An ability to analyse the features and potentials of young children’s play environments and materials
  • An ability to generate ideas about play/inquiry experiences that will enhance children’s experiences and learning

Socially and Environmentally Active and Responsible

We want our graduates to be aware of and have respect for self and others; to be able to work with others as a leader and a team player; to have a sense of connectedness with others and country; and to have a sense of mutual obligation. Our graduates should be informed and active participants in moving society towards sustainability.

This graduate capability is supported by:

Learning outcomes

  • An ability to analyse the features and potentials of young children’s play environments and materials
  • An ability to generate ideas about play/inquiry experiences that will enhance children’s experiences and learning

Assessment tasks

  • ‘Getting organised’
  • Journal article