Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Lecturer
Clare Britt
Contact via 9850 9883
Building X5B (29WW) Rm 290
Lecturer
Jenny Nicholls
Contact via 9850 9840
Building X5B (29WW) Rm 297
Unit Convenor
Sarah Powell
Contact via 9850 9885
Building X5B (29WW) Rm 263
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Credit points |
Credit points
4
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Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
[Admission to MTeach(Birth to Five) and (ECED602 or ECED819)] or [admission to MEChild or MEd or MEdLead or PGDipEdS or GradCertIndigenousEd or MIndigenousEd or MSpecEd or PGCertSpEd or MSocEntre or GradCertEChild or GradCertEdS]
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Corequisites |
Corequisites
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Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
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Unit description |
Unit description
This unit focuses on the pivotal role of the arts in early childhood, particularly in the domains of music and movement, visual arts, and drama. Students are provided opportunities to enhance their capacity to use diverse resources that underpin high quality arts education. The unit provides a forum through which to critique contemporary issues in arts education, drawing on current research in early childhood and allied fields. Students will investigate current specialist pedagogies as a basis for developing personal approaches to the provision of early childhood arts education.
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Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
Name | Weighting | Hurdle | Due |
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Reading journal | 40% | No | 3 April 2018 |
Performance inquiry | 30% | No | 6 May 2018 |
Applied task | 30% | No | 10 June 2018 |
Due: 3 April 2018
Weighting: 40%
The places and roles of the arts in young children’s lives can be conceptualised in many ways. It is essential for early childhood teachers to understand this variety and position children’s arts learning opportunities appropriately. For this assignment, you are required to find four current journal articles or scholarly book chapters that pertain to children and the arts in early childhood and critically analyse them. For each article or chapter, you should:
Word count: 2500
Due: 6 May 2018
Weighting: 30%
For this task, you are required to attend a performance that has been designed for children. Examples include (but are not limited to) a concert or a children's theatre performance. Please note, it should be a professional performance with professional actors/musicians/dancers etc. To find appropriate performances, you could look in newspaper theatre directories, advertising from performance spaces, newspapers and other publications aimed at families and children, brochures in local libraries or community centres. For example, if you live in Sydney you might look at the The Sydney Opera House Kids at the House Program, Monkey Baa Theatre, Sydney’s Child magazine or your local paper. Art galleries and museums often have live performances for children throughout the year. Other suggestions for performances and venues will be made via the unit iLearn site once everyone is enrolled. Please note that attending an exhibition at an art gallery or museum is inappropriate for this assessment task.
During your attendance, you should make notes that will later help you write your critique.
Remember that performances for children rarely focus on just one artform (e.g. drama, music, movement or visual arts by itself).
Your critique should:
• describe the performance (including its location and aim if this was made explicit);
• comment on its suitability for its intended audience,
• explain how the performance uses aspects of different artforms together and how
effective this was, and
• comment on the audience’s reactions and/or responses to the performance.
While this assignment is based on your opinions, normal scholarly practice is expected, so these
opinions must be located within the wider literature and supported with current references.
Word count: 2000
Due: 10 June 2018
Weighting: 30%
MTeach students must complete Option 1. MECh students may choose Option 1 or Option 2.
Option 1 - Learning experiences
For this task, you are required to prepare an outline of a set of arts learning experiences. Please note that you are not required to submit a series of plans. You should:
1. Provide a brief (hypothetical) situational analysis that outlines the context of the birth- 5 years learning environment for which you have chosen to plan. You should consider things like data about the age(s) of the children, the physical environment, human and other resources, the philosophy of the Centre.
2. Select a work or series of works at the Museum of Contemporary Art (can include parts of the permanent MCA collection and/or online collection)*.
3. Explain why you have chosen this artwork/exhibition as a site for visual arts learning experiences for the children you have described above. You must include information about the elements and principles of art that will underpin the children’s work around this exhibition and a précis of the artist(s), their work and techniques that will need to be incorporated into your proposed teaching and learning experiences.
4. Outline a series of up to five sequential visual arts learning experiences based on the artwork/exhibition. Remember that these are not full plans, but overviews of elements and principles, content and the like. You do need to show how your proposed learning experiences will be guided by the Early Years Learning Framework.
*It is strongly recommended that students who live in and around Sydney make time to visit the MCA and explore the museum’s permanent collection. Entry to, and tours of the permanent collection are free. Those students who live outside of Sydney may choose an exhibition from a local museum or gallery, or may choose to base their research on the MCA Collection Online which can be found at http://www.mca.com.au/collection/all/
Option 2 - Individual project
MECH students may consult with your tutor to present a theoretically oriented essay based on a current MCA exhibition.
For this assignment, you need to prepare an expository text (one-sided argument) that argues for the use of art museums (specifying a current MCA exhibition) as sites for early childhood arts education.
Your essay should situate children fully and critically engaging in the arts as ways of making meaning with and for others. You should consider things like: literal and expressive symbolization; bodies of knowledge that underpin semiotic systems; the development of metalanguage, and the importance of aesthetically sensitive, critical thinkers.
Word count: 2000
Students will require reliable internet access to download or stream lectures, and submit assessment tasks. Access to such technology is available on-campus if needed.
Internal students are required to view 10 lectures by streaming from iLearn, and attend seminars on Mondays according to the following schedule:
Introduction and Overview Seminar - Online - 26 February
Music Seminars - X5B Rm 292, 11.00-1.00pm, 26 Feb, 5 Mar, 12 Mar
Drama Seminars - X5B Rm 145, 11.00 - 1.00pm, 19 Mar, 26 Mar, 30 Apr
Visual Arts Seminars - X5B Rm 284, 11.00-1.00pm, 7 May, 1, 4 Jun
Online students are required to view 10 lectures by streaming from iLearn, and complete the online activities for each module.
Each week, students are expected to engage fully and critically with the unit readings and other preparatory tasks (e.g. discussions with colleagues, self reflection, posting to the unit discussion board) prior to class.
At Macquarie, it is assumed that each credit point involves approximately 3 hours of work per week over the semester. So for this 4 credit point unit, the notional workload would be 12 hours per week over the 15 week semester. This estimate is based on average student performance. Some students may achieve their desired grades with this amount of effort while others may require more time due to a desire to achieve very high grades or a need to clarify conceptual understandings.
All work should be proof-read carefully prior to submission, be free of mechanical errors (e.g. spelling and grammatical inaccuracies) and prepared according to APA style.
All assessment tasks are to be submitted via the unit iLearn site using Turnitin. No assignments will be accepted in hard copy.
Assessment items must be submitted on or before the due date. Late work will attract a penalty of 5% of the available marks for each calendar day late.
Requests for extensions must be made via Tracker before the assessment item is due. Please advise the unit convenor as soon as possible of other claims relating to severe illness or misadventure on the due date. These claims must be carefully documented.
There is no opportunity for resubmission of assessment items for this unit.
The iLearn site for this unit can be found by pointing your web browser to http://ilearn.mq.edu.au
Students will be required to utilise this facility during the unit to access lectures, assessment materials, interact with colleagues and keep up to date with developments in the unit. It is important that you familiarise yourself with the site and its operations early in the semester. If you have questions about navigating the site, it is important that you direct these to one of the teaching team as early as possible.
No major changes have been made since the last offering of this unit.
Wright, S. (Ed.). (2012). Children, meaning-making and the arts (2nd ed.). Frenchs Forest, NSW: Pearson Australia.
Additional resources
The following additional resources are deemed useful for the material covered in this unit. They are available from the University Library. Additional resources may be made available on e-reserve in the library as the semester progresses.
Althouse, R., Johnson, M. H. & Mitchell S. T. (2002) The colors of learning. New York: Teachers College Press
Bresler, L., & Thompson, C. M. (Eds.). (2002). The arts in children’s lives: Context, culture and curriculum. Dordrecht: Klwer Academic.
Bridges, D. (1994). Music, young children and you. Sydney: Hale and Iremonger.
Campbell, P. S. (1998). Songs in their heads : music and its meaning in children's lives. New York: Oxford University Press.
Craft, A., Jeffrey, B. & Liebling, M. (eds). Creativity in education. London: Continuum. Davidson, J. (1996). Emergent literacy and dramatic play in early childhood education. Albany, NY: Delmar.
Deans, J., Brown, R., & Young, S. (2007). The possum story: reflections of an early childhood drama teacher. Australian Journal of Early Childhood, 32(4), 1-6. #
Edwards, L. (2006). The creative arts: A process approach for teachers and children. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Edwards, L. Bayless K.M. & Ramsey, M.E. (2005). Music, a way of life for the young child (5th ed.). New York: Merrill.
Eisner, E. (2002). The arts and the creation of mind. New Haven, Ct: Yale University Press. Gallas, K. (1994). The languages of learning: How children talk, write, dance, draw and sing their understanding of the world. New York: Teachers College Press.
Gandini, L., Hill, L., Cadwell, L. & Schwall, C. (Eds.). (2005). In the spirit of the studio: Learning from the atelier of Reggio Emilia. New York: Teachers College Press.
Gardner, H. (1993). Multiple intelligences: the theory in practice. New York: Basic Books.
Gardner, H. (1994). The arts and human development. New York: Basic Books.
Hammett, C.T. (1992). Movement activities for early childhood. Champaign, Il: Human Kinetics.
Hendy, L. & Toon, L. (2001). Supporting drama and imaginative play in the early years. Philadelphia, Pa: Open University Press.
Isenberg, J. & Jalongo, M. (2001). Creative expression and play in early childhood. (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill.
Joyce, M. (1993). First steps in teaching creative dance to children (3rd ed.). Mountainview, Ca: Mayfield.
Kolbe, U. (2005). It’s not a bird yet: The drama of drawing. Byron Bay: Peppinot Press.
Kolbe, U. (2001). Rapunzel’s supermarket: All about young children and their art. Sydney: Peppinot Press.
Matthews, J. (1999). The art of childhood and adolescence: The construction of meaning. London: Falmer.
Matthews, J. (2003). Drawing and painting: Children and visual representation. London: Hodder & Stoughton.
Pointer, B. (1993). Movement activities for children with learning difficulties. London: Jessica Kingsley.
Schiller, W. (Ed.) (1996). Issues in expressive arts. Curriculum for early childhood. Amsterdam: Gordon & Breach.
Schiller, W. (Ed.) (2000). Thinking through the arts. Sydney: Harwood Educational Publishers.
Shreeves, R. (1990). Children dancing (2nd ed.). London: Ward Lock International.
Smith-Autard, J.M. (1992). Dance composition: A practical guide for teachers. London: A & C Black.
Spurgeon, D. (1991). Dance moves. Sydney: Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich.
Stinson, W. (1990). (Ed.). Moving and learning for the young child. Reston, Va: American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance.
Toye, N. & Prendville, F. (2000). Drama and traditional story for the early years. London: Routledge.
Vecchi, V. & Giudici, C. (Eds.) (2005). Children, art, artists. Reggio Emilia: Reggio Children.
Warren, K.(1999). Hooked on drama. The theory and practice of drama in early childhood (2 ed.).Katoomba: Social Science Press.
Young, S. & Glover, J. (1998). Music in the early years. London: Falmer.
Young, S. (2003). Music with the under fours. London: Routledge Falmer.
Journals
Art Education
Arts Education Policy Review
Australian Art Education
Australian Journal of Early Childhood
British Journal of Music Education
Childhood Education
Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood
Drama Australia (NJ)
Early Child Development and Care
Early Childhood Research Quarterly
European Early Childhood Education Research Journal
General Music Today
International Journal of Education and the Arts
International Play Journal
Journal of Aesthetic Education
Journal of Art and Design Education
Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance
Journal of Research in Music Education
Journal of the Educational Drama Association of NSW
Music Education Research
Music Educators Journal
Psychology of Music
Research in Drama Education
Research Studies in Music Education Studies in Art Education
Youth Theatre
Young Children
Feb 26
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Unit overview - Online What constitutes the arts in early childhood? The nature of creativity The arts as symbol systems Arts literacies Bodies of knowledge The importance of metalanguage Music - Seminar 1 Musicking in early childhood Musical elements Repertoire (birth-3 yrs) |
Mar 5 |
Music - Seminar 2 Musical development Generative approaches to planning Repertoire (3-5yrs) |
Mar 12 |
Music - Seminar 3 Approaches to planning and authentic assessment Children’s voices in assessment Effort actions and embodied symbols |
Mar 19 |
Drama - Seminar 1 Forms and conventions of drama Dramatic play in early childhood |
Mar 26 |
Drama - Seminar 2 Teachers and children working in role: process drama (how to plan, structure, question in and out of role, and incorporate elements of drama) |
Apr 9 |
Assessment discussion session |
Apr 30
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Drama - Seminar 3 Pathways into drama: Finding the pretext Using literature in drama |
May 7 |
Visual Arts - Seminar 1 Visit to MCA - details to be confirmed Ways of knowing – disrupting dichotomies Histories and Tensions in visual arts education Image(s) of the child in teaching in the visual arts Aesthetics and connecting with the world Elements and Principles – the metalanguage of the visual arts Doing, Understanding and Appreciating – seeking complexity and connection |
Jun 4 |
Visual Arts - Seminar 2 Graphic Languages & Symbolic Meaning Making The languages of
Co‐construction, Community and Collaborative works Questions of Creativity The Role of the Teacher The Environment Resources and Materials Time Assessment and Evaluation Fostering Connections
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Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policy-central). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:
Undergraduate students seeking more policy resources can visit the Student Policy Gateway (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/student-policy-gateway). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.
If you would like to see all the policies relevant to Learning and Teaching visit Policy Central (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policy-central).
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This graduate capability is supported by:
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This graduate capability is supported by:
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Please follow these guidelines when you submit each assignment:
Draft Submissions & Turnitin Originality Reports
When preparing your assignments, it is essential that:
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.
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Special Considerations
The Special Consideration provision is to support students who have been impacted by circumstances that are unexpected, unavoidable, significantly disruptive and beyond the student’s control, and which may affect their performance in assessment.
The University classifies a circumstance as serious and unavoidable if it:
could not have reasonably been anticipated, avoided or guarded against by the student; and
was beyond the student's control; and
caused substantial disruption to the student's capacity for effective study and/or completion of required work; and
occurred during an event critical study period and was at least three (3) consecutive days duration, and/or
prevented completion of an assessment task scheduled for a specific date (e.g. final examination, in class test/quiz, in class presentation).
The following link takes you to the Special Considerations policy, which makes clear the ways in which you can apply for special consideration in times of difficulty.
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.
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.
Referencing:
All assignments should cite and provide full bibliographical details of all material that you have used to inform or support your ideas. At the Institute of Early Childhood, 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 (2015) or the APA Publication Manual.
Highly recommended text
Perrin, R. (2015). Pocket guide to APA style (5th ed.). Wadsworth: Cengage Learning.