Unit Outline

This unit is designed to provide information about the value of pedagogical documentation and implementing portfolios for young children in early childhood settings prior to formal school. Students will discuss and reflect on - What are children's portfolios? How can children's portfolios be best developed to support their learning and development? Whose voices should be visible in children's portfolios to promote their holistic development and why? Explorations focus on how portfolios can support curriculum development and planning for young children, from birth to five years, by making rich links to the national curriculum document, Belonging, Being and Becoming: The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia (EYLF) (DEEWR, 2021).
There is an emphasis on how portfolios can be implemented and designed including the five learning outcomes noted in the ELYF. This unit will help students recognise how these learning outcomes can be best supported through a socio-cultural approach to learning. By making learning visible, greater insights into children’s learning styles, interests and capabilities will be gained. Students will also have the opportunity to show their preferred way of implementing and designing portfolios for young children in early childhood settings and will be asked to provide a rich explanation and justification for this option

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.	Discuss the significance of documenting children’s learning and development using designed portfolios underpinned by the EYLF.
2.	Develop shared understandings about involving children, families/carers and other professionals with documentation.
3.	Create documentation that demonstrates children’s learning and development.
4.	Analyse documentation to evaluate children’s learning and development and plan for their future learning and development.
5.	Locate, organise and present information in a scholarly manner, including the use of APA referencing.

Requisites


REQUISITE TYPE	REQUISITES
Pre-requisite	ESH105

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 Engagement Quiz	Week 4	10 %	LO2
Assessment Task 2:	A Justification for the Design and the Implementation of Children's Portfolios	Week 8	40 %	LO1, LO2, LO5
Assessment Task 3:	A Construction of a Young Child's Portfolio	Week 13	50 %	LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5

Assessment details

Assessment Task 1: Online Engagement Quiz

Task Description:

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

Access to the unit content for the remaining weeks of the semester will occur automatically as a result of successful completion of this quiz. You will have two attempts for the quiz. This is an open-book task; therefore, you will be able to use your textbook and other materials.

Completion of this Assessment Task relates to Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST) 1.1, 1.2

Task Length:

15-20 minutes approximately (250 words equivalent)

Due Date:

Week 4 (22/Mar/2024)

Weight:

10 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Discuss the importance of documenting children’s learning/development, and/or the value of designed portfolios underpinned by the EYLF, and/or the reasons for children, families and other professionals to be active players in documentation	LO2

Assessment Task 2: A Justification for the Design and the Implementation of Children's Portfolios

Task Description:

This essay/report requires you to address the following: A justification for why and how you would design and implement portfolios for children in a childcare and education setting.
Requirements:
Part 1: Select and submit your discussion contributions to 4 of the first 8 weeks of the semester.
Part 2: Extend on your submitted discussion posts, and based on knowledge gained from this unit, along with readings, and your understandings/experiences, provide discussions on the following:
• Significance of pedagogical documentation of children’s learning and development.
• Benefits and challenges concerning documenting children’s learning and development.
• Why and how you would design portfolios with links to the Early Years Learning Framework.
• Explore reasons and strategies for involving children, families and relevant professionals with children’s portfolios and discuss the implications.
Application of academic writing and presentation. Evidence of current literature to support the content, along with correct referencing

Completion of this Assessment Task relates to Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST) 1.1,1.2, 3.7, 5.5

Task Length:

1,600 words

Due Date:

Week 8 (26/Apr/2024)

Weight:

40 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Justify the significance of documenting children’s learning and development using portfolios (25%)	LO1
2	Discuss why and how you would design portfolios with links to the Early Years Learning Framework (25%)	LO1
3	Explain the benefits and challenges concerning documenting children’s learning and development (20%)	LO1
4	Explore reasons and strategies for involving children, families and relevant professionals with children’s portfolios and discuss the implications (20%)	LO2
5	Application of academic writing and presentation. Evidence of current literature to support the content, along with correct referencing (10%)	LO5

Assessment Task 3: A Construction of a Young Child's Portfolio

Task Description:

This assessment builds on the previous task and the requirement here is to undertake the construction of a portfolio with documentation for a young child in the pre-school years. The child you select may:
• attend a childcare and education centre, or
• be a member of your own or extended family, or a friend’s child.
Requirements:
Using the design framework chosen for Assessment Task Two construct a child’s portfolio, which includes a total of 5 records.
If applicable, gain and provide parental/carer’s consent to undertake and include documentation, photographs of the child and, or artefacts in the portfolio.
Using a learning story template of your choice, include two learning stories, with one of these in collaboration with the parent/carer about their child.
Include three other records of documentation:
• one running record,
• one time sample record, and
• one other form of documentation studied within this unit.
Based on your knowledge of young children’s learning and development, all five records need to include an evaluation of the documentation. The interpretation of the documentation needs to include, where applicable, the child’s voice, and voices from the parent and, or other appropriate stakeholders. Planning for future learning needs to include specific EYLF outcomes, relevant experiences and resources. References to current literature is expected to support your comments.
(Please note the two learning stories and three additional forms of documentation listed above total 5 records).

This task is to be submitted in PebblePad.

Completion of this Assessment Task relates to Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST) 1.1, 1.2, 2.3, 3.1, 3.7, 5.1,5.4, 5.5, 7.1, 7.3

Task Length:

2,000 words

Due Date:

Week 13 (31/May/2024)

Weight:

50 %

CRITERION #

CRITERION

MEASURES INTENDED

LEARNING OUTCOME(S)


1	Present a portfolio using documentation that demonstrates a child’s learning and development with reference to the EYLF, along with the inclusion of voices from children/families/relevant professionals (15%)	LO2
2	Application of knowledge about documentation for children’s learning and development, including learning stories (30%)	LO3
3	Interpretation of the child’s learning and development from the documentation (20%)	LO4
4	Planning experiences for the child’s future learning with the inclusion of specific EYLF outcomes, experiences, and relevant resources (25%)	LO4
5	Application of academic writing. Evidence of current literature to support the interpretation and planning experiences for the child’s future learning, and correct referencing (10%)	LO5

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.

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

You will need the following text:
Fleet, A., Robertson, J., & Patterson, C. (eds.) (2017). Pedagogical documentation in early years practice: Seeing through multiple perspectives. Sage.

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.