Full details about each assessment task is available on the Unit Website

There are five aspects of assessment in this unit.  Each aspect has a minimum requirement that must be met. To achieve a passing grade in this unit, students must:

• complete and submit all assignments,
• attend and contribute to tutorials and on campus sessions,
• achieve an overall result of 50% or higher for the unit, 
• achieve a passing grade in Assignment 3 - Professional Experience in order to receive a passing grade for the unit,
• demonstrate appropriate English language academic literacy in order to meet unit requirements.

Presentation & Submission Guidelines

Please follow these guidelines when you submit each assignment:

• Please type all assignments using 11 or 12-point font and 1.5 spacing.

• Unless otherwise indicated assignments must be submitted by uploading through turnitin

• Assignments must be submitted on or before the time and date specified. The same due date applies to students enrolled both internally and externally in the unit.

   

  When preparing your assignments, it is essential that:

• Students must retain a copy of all assignments before submission, and until your final grade for the subject has been received; please save work in progress to avoid computer failure issues!

• Assignment marks will be deducted if you submit your assignment late without requesting an extension through ask@mq (refer to the ‘late assignments’ section below for more details);

• Unless there are exceptional circumstances, no assignment will be accepted after the date that the assignment has been returned to other students.

• If an assignment is considered to be below passing standard, it will be reviewed by another staff member on the unit; the agreed mark will be assigned. No failed assignment may be re-submitted.

   

  Late Assignments:

  A deduction of 5% of the total possible mark allocated for that assignment will be made for each day or part day that assignment is late, weekends counting as two days. For example, if an assignment is worth 20 marks and you submit it 2 days late, you will have 2 marks (2 x 5% of 20 marks) subtracted from your awarded mark.

   

  Extensions:

  Please refer to the University Disruption to Study policy.

   

  Referencing

  The Institute of Early Childhood requires that students use the APA (6^th edition) referencing style in all assignments. A copy of the IEC Referencing Guide can be downloaded from iLearn.

  It is highly recommended that students complete the StudyWISE module on academic honesty.

Compulsory On-Campus Days for External Students - Saturday 23rd August and Wednesday 1st October - 9am - 4pm

Weeks 1-4:

There will be three lectures that are common to all students enrolled in ECHP424 to support your preparation for Professional Experience and your assignments in this unit. These will be in weeks 1-3. A lecture outlining the Professional Experience expectations specifically for your program will be available on the ilearn page.  Please look for the lecture labelled either BEd or Grad Dip.  You should only listen to the lecture relevant to your program. In addition to this lecture, Grad Dip students will be provided with four recorded lectures providing content  focussing on your PE requirements for planning and documenting children’s learning in prior to school settings. The lectures are available in the echo tab on the ilearn page.  students should listen to these lectures prior to coming to the first on-campus day.

During these first weeks all students should complete their three orientation days (usually one day a week works very well). You may complete the orientation days at a time negotiated between yourself and your cooperating teacher. Please note you need to start these orientation days as early as possible and try to undertake some planned teaching experiences during the third orientation day. During the first  four weeks of semester, you also need to develop your knowledge of the age group of children that you will be working with, undertake required reading to support your project work, complete Assignment 1 and collect resources and materials to use during student teaching. 

Weeks 5-7

During the Professional Experience placement, you will work towards 400-level expectations outlined in the evaluation document relevant to your program. As your work continues, it will be appropriate for you to take more responsibility for working with children. You may begin taking responsibility for whole days as soon as you are ready. You are required to take responsibility for at least ten full days.

University break

This is an opportunity to complete assignments and consolidate your reading.

Weeks 8-15

The final lectures in this unit focus on key issues for graduate teachers in seeking employment and beginning your profession. The remainder of the semester has been set aside for independent learning. There are tutorials scheduled for internal students in weeks 9-11.  The second on-campus day for External students is on Wednesday 1st October.

IMPORTANT FOR STUDENTS UNDERTAKING PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE IN A SCHOOL SETTING

Prior to commencing any school based Professional Experience placements students are required to complete two online training sessions.

• Child protection training: https://www.det.nsw.edu.au/proflearn/cpat/cpat.html

• Anaphylaxis training: http://etraining.allergy.org.au/mod/resource/view.php?id=97

Failure to complete these online training modules by the specified time will result in the student not being able to complete the Professional Experience block placement in a school setting.  Please see the announcement on the Unit Website in relation to this requirement.

ECHP 424 is worth three credit points. Therefore, you are expected to allocate about 9 hours a week over 15 weeks in your study for this unit.

The following required readings relate to the fist weeks of semester.  Students are expected to source their own literature to support their work on assignments and support their Professional Experience.

Week 1:

Hill, L.T., Stremmel, A.J. & Fu, V.R. (2005). Teaching as inquiry. Rethinking curriculum in early childhood education. Boston,MA: Pearson.

Review of academic programs, White Paper 17, October 2008. Available from http://staff.mq.edu.au/teaching/curriculum_development/graduate_capabilities/

Week 2:

All to read:        Cook, P. F and Young, J.R. (2004). Face-to-face with children. Curriculum Studies, 36 (3) 341-360.

Chose one or more of the readings listed below and available on the ilearn readings tab for week 2.

Ebbeck, M, Chan, Y.Y.Y. & Yim. H.Y.B. (2011). Encouraging a culture of research in practicing teachers in Singapore. Early Childhood Education Journal 39, 355-364.

Furtado, L. & Anderson,D. (2012). The reflective teacher leader: An action research model. Journal of School Leadership, 22, 531-567.

Newman, L. & Mowbray, S. (2012). ‘We were expected to be equal’: teachers and academics sharing professional learning through practitioner inquiry. Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, 18 (4), 455-468.

Poekert, P. (2010). The pedagogy of facilitation: teacher inquiry as professional development in a Florida elementary school. Professional development in Education.37(1), 19-38.

Towers, J. (2012). Administrative supports and curricula challenges: New teachers enacting and sustaining inquiry in schools. Canadian Journal of Education, 35 (1), 259-278.

Week 10:

Mahmood, S. (2013). “Reality shock”: New Early Childhood Education Teachers. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education, 34, 154-170.

Dobson, J. (2010). Top tips for beginning teachers. Inside Teaching. April 2010, 27-30.