Unit Outline

The importance of play is recognised as being integral to young children’s learning and development and is therefore embedded within the Early Years Learning Framework. This unit comprises of three modules, namely: What is play? Play and the Curriculum and Play and the Early Childhood (EC) practitioner. The concept, assessment and integration of play based learning will be investigated through readings, lectures and tutorial activities. This unit is particularly relevant to students specialising in the early years and those seeking an early childhood perspective of pedagogy and children’s learning.

Intended Learning Outcomes

As per the Assessment and Results Policy 1.3, your results will reflect your achievement against specified learning outcomes.

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


1	justify the role of play in children's development and learning.
2	critically analyse play based explorations.
3	evaluate and design play based explorations.
4	synthesise information in an appropriate style, which include the use of APA referencing and academic writing conventions.

Alterations as a result of student feedback

How will I be Assessed?

For more detailed assessment information please see MyLO.

Assessment schedule


ASSESSMENT TASK #	ASSESSMENT TASK NAME	DATE DUE	WEIGHT	LINKS TO INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES
Assessment Task 1:	Online Quiz	Week 4	0 %
Assessment Task 2:	Individual Poster and Rationale	Week 7	50 %	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4
Assessment Task 3:	Play and EC Educators	Week 11	50 %	LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4

Assessment details

Assessment Task 1: Online Quiz

Task Description:

In Week 4, as part of measuring student engagement you are required to complete a compulsory online quiz. You must refer to material from the recommended readings, lectures, and the Unit Outline.

Multiple attempts allowed.

Completion of this Assessment Task relates to Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST) 1.2, 3.6, 7.4

Task Length:

15-20 minutes approximately

Due Date:

Week 4

Weight:

0 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)

Assessment Task 2: Individual Poster and Rationale

Task Description:

This assessment task contains two parts, a poster and a rationale.

Part A Poster (15%)
You are required to design a one-page A3 plan of an ‘ideal’ early childhood playground. The plan should reflect current early childhood philosophies about the value of providing play-based explorations.

Part B Rationale (35%)
You are also required to write a scholarly paper, which is an elaboration and rationale for the content, provided on the poster. The rationale, based on content from the unit, should address each of the following points:

Your beliefs and understanding about play concepts, theories /models and children’s learning and development;

The role of play, and the reasons for the position being advocated in the plan;

Rationale supported by current relevant scholarly literature.

Completion of this Assessment Task relates to Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST) 1.2, 2.1, 3.6, 7.4

Task Length:

Part A One-page A3 plan (600 words equivalent) Part B 1400 words

Due Date:

Week 7

Weight:

50 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Clarity of discussion relative to concepts in relation to play theories/models and children’s learning and development (50%)	LO1, LO3
2	Quality of the analysis of the role of play explorations in EC settings (40%)	LO2, LO3
3	Appropriateness of language, literature, and referencing conventions (10%)	LO4

Assessment Task 3: Play and EC Educators

Task Description:

The Unit Coordinator will make available play episodes in MyLO.

Use each of the three points below as the basis for writing a balanced reflection relative to the early childhood play event you selected:
- Exploratory play – explain how you would enrich children’s learning within this experience.
- Reflecting on the play - identify and discuss two aspects of learning and development that might emerge from this experience.
- Inclusive teaching - suggest two possibilities for continuing and extending children’s play.

Reference to current scholarly literature is required.

Completion of this Assessment Task relates to Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST) 1.2, 2.1, 3.6, 7.4

Task Length:

2000 words

Due Date:

Week 11

Weight:

50 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Clarity of discussion relative to concepts in relation to play theories/models and children’s learning and development (30%)	LO1
2	Quality of the analysis of the role of play explorations in EC settings (30%)	LO2
3	Depth of the discussion relative to the ways in which play explorations influence young children’s learning and development (30%)	LO3
4	Appropriateness of language, literature, and referencing conventions (10%)	LO4

How your final result is determined

To pass this unit, you need to demonstrate your attainment of each of the Intended Learning Outcomes, achieve a final unit grade of 50% or greater, and pass any hurdle tasks.

Submission of assignments

Where practicable, assignments should be submitted to an assignment submission folder in MYLO. You must submit assignments by the due date or receive a penalty (unless an extension of time has been approved by the Unit Coordinator). Students submitting any assignment in hard copy, or because of a practicum finalisation, must attach a student cover sheet and signed declaration for the submission to be accepted for marking.

Academic integrity

Academic integrity is about acting responsibly, honestly, ethically, and collegially when using, producing, and communicating information with other students and staff members.

In written work, you must correctly reference the work of others to maintain academic integrity. To find out the referencing style for this unit, see the assessment information in the MyLO site, or contact your teaching staff. For more detail about Academic Integrity, see Important Guidelines & Support.

Requests for extensions

If you are unable to submit an assessment task by the due date, you should apply for an extension.

A request for an extension should first be discussed with your Unit Coordinator or teaching support team where possible. A request for an extension must be submitted by the assessment due date, except where you can provide evidence it was not possible to do so. Typically, an application for an extension will be supported by documentary evidence: however, where it is not possible for you to provide evidence please contact your Unit Coordinator.

The Unit Coordinator must notify you of the outcome of an extension request within 3 working days of receiving the request.

Late penalties

Assignments submitted after the deadline will receive a late penalty of 5% of the original available mark for each calendar day (or part day) that the assignment is late. Late submissions will not be accepted more than 10 calendar days after the due date, or after assignments have been returned to other students on a scheduled date, whichever occurs first. Further information on Late Penalties can be found on the Assessments and Results Procedure.

Review of results and appeals

You are entitled to ask for a review of the marking and grading of your assessment task if there is an irregularity in the marking standards or an error in the process for determining the outcome of an assessment. Details on how to request a review of a mark for an assignment are outlined in the Review and Appeal of Academic Decisions Procedure.

Required Resources

Required reading materials

Crowther, I. (2015). Creating effective learning environments (4th ed.). Toronto. ON: Nelson.

Reading Lists provide direct access to all material on unit reading lists in one place. This includes eReadings and items in Reserve. You can access the Reading List for this unit from the link in MyLO, or by going to the Reading Lists page on the University Library website.