¾«¶«´«Ã½app

Staffing

Examiner:

Requisites

Pre-requisite: EDC1400 or (ECF1100 and (EHF1100 or CMS1000 or EDC1200))
Students must be enrolled in one of the following programs: BEDU (Early Childhood) or BECH or BEED

Other requisites

Students must be available for a prescribed period of time to undertake a placement in a school or other approved site as required in this course.

Before commencing this course students will be assumed to have read the full details of Professional Experience particulars and familiarised themselves with the requirements. Please see the Education Placement Professional Experience website and the Professional Experience Book for full details.

State law in Queensland (Australia) requires that all adults working/undertaking professional experience/researching with children under the age of 18, in the state of Queensland must hold a valid Blue Card OR Exemption Card

Provided a blue card renewal application has been submitted at least 30 days before expiry of the current card, the blue card will remain active while the renewal application is processed (details available at .

Blue Card Services cannot process a form dated more than 16 weeks prior to lodgement. In addition, a representative of USQ or a Justice of the Peace, must sight the applicant’s identification documents and check the information on the form, before signing and dating the USQ declaration (refer to .

Where a student is denied approval for a blue card, enrolment in any initial teacher education program will be withdrawn (refer to .

If undertaking Professional Experience outside of Queensland, students are advised to check the Working with Children requirements of the state within which Professional Experience will be undertaken (refer to .

Rationale

Play is a complex phenomenon with multiple functions in the lives of children. Theories of play from a range of disciplines contend that play occupies a central role in children’s development, communication and participation in cultural life, arguing that play is an important means by which children learn about self, others and the material and social world they inhabit. The United Nations Conventions on the Rights of the Child recognises children’s right to play, and in the Australian context, play-based learning is given specific emphasis in policies pertaining to early childhood education and care. Early childhood educators require knowledge of theories and functions of play in its multiple forms in order to design learning environments and activities that maximise children’s opportunities for self- and peer-initiated play and play-based learning activities.

Synopsis

This course considers theories of play and their relationship to theories of childhood derived from a range of disciplines. The course introduces the functions, meanings and significance of play in children's lives, and considers the ways that gender, social class and culture shape the everyday forms and functions of play. Emphasis will be given to the role of play in early development, reasoning and communication; the cultural organization of play; the potential of play for enhancing learning, creativity, curiosity and inquiry; and the implications of play for children's participation in and contribution to the relationships and cultures of which they are part. Pre-service educators will be introduced to principles of pedagogy and curriculum that underpin the design of learning activities and environments that are conducive to child-initiated and adult-facilitated play and play-based learning.

A professional experience placement is attached to this course. Bachelor of Education (EC) pre-service educators will complete a 10 day professional experience. Pre service educators enrolled in the Bachelor of Early childhood (BECH) will complete an additional 10 days (20 days overall) to meet regulation requirements. For full details of the Professional Experience particulars, please refer to the Professional Experience website and the Professional Experience Book.

Objectives

Topics

Text and materials required to be purchased or accessed

Reference materials

Student workload expectations

Assessment details

Important assessment information

1. Attendance requirements:
   
   It is the students' responsibility to attend and participate appropriately in all activities scheduled for them, and to study all material provided to them or required to be accessed by them, to maximise their chance of meeting the objectives of the course and to be informed of course-related activities and administration.
   
   
2. Requirements for students to complete each assessment item satisfactorily:
   
   To complete assessment items satisfactorily, students must obtain at least 50% of the marks available for each item in addition to the successful completion of the Professional Experience component. Failure of the Professional Experience component will result in a Fail grade for this course.
   
   
3. Penalties for late submission of required work:
   
   Students should refer to the Assessment Procedure (point 4.2.4)
   
   
4. Requirements for student to be awarded a passing grade in the course:
   
   To be assured of receiving a passing grade a student must successfully complete the Professional Experience component and must achieve at least 50% of the total weighted marks available for the course. Failure of the Professional Experience component will result in a Fail grade for this course.
   
   
5. Method used to combine assessment results to attain final grade:
   
   The final grades for students will be assigned on the basis of the aggregate of the weighted marks obtained for each of the summative items for the course.
   
   
6. Examination information:
   
   There is no examination in this course.
   
   
7. Examination period when Deferred/Supplementary examinations will be held:
   
   There is no examination in this course, there will be no deferred or supplementary examinations.
   
   
8. ¾«¶«´«Ã½app Student Policies:
   
   Students should read the USQ policies: Definitions, Assessment and Student Academic Misconduct to avoid actions which might contravene ¾«¶«´«Ã½app policies and practices. These policies can be found at .
   
   

Assessment notes

1. Referencing in assignments: Referencing in assignments must comply with the APA referencing system. This system should be used by students to format details of the information sources they have cited in their work. The APA style to be used is defined by the USQ library's referencing guide. This guide can be found at .
   
   
2. Students are required to demonstrate competence in and appropriate use of academic language and literacy, including spelling, grammar, punctuation, and referencing in all assessment responses. Marks allocated to the aforementioned criteria will be specified in the criteria for assessment of all assessment items.
   
   
3. Students are required to submit ALL assignments to evidence meeting or exceeding the mandatory requirements of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APSTs).
   
   
4. Professional Experience is a compulsory component of this course and integral to completion of the assessment tasks. Dates for each Professional Experience course are selected to support students’ capacity to apply the theory of the coursework in the Professional Experience placement. Students are advised not to select a course that includes Professional Experience in a semester where they are unable to meet the specified requirements of Professional Experience as outlined in the Professional Experience Booklet. Any application for a ‘change of dates’ for Professional Experience placement must qualify for consideration under the conditions of the USQ Assessment Extension Policy. An unsupported application will delay program completion.
   
   

Evaluation and benchmarking

In meeting the ¾«¶«´«Ã½app’s aims to establish quality learning and teaching for all programs, this course monitors and ensures quality assurance and improvements in at least two ways. This course:
1. conforms to the USQ Policy on Evaluation of Teaching, Courses and Programs to ensure ongoing monitoring and systematic improvement
2. forms part of the Bachelor of Education and is benchmarked against the:

1. internal USQ accreditation/reaccreditation processes which include (i) stringent standards in the independent accreditation of its academic programs, (ii) close integration between business and academic planning, and (iii) regular and rigorous review
2. Queensland College of Teachers
3. Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST) of the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL).

Other requirements

1. E-mail and Internet access: Students will require access to e-mail and have Internet access to UConnect for this course.
   
   
2. Participation: Students can expect it will be necessary to participate in and contribute to a range of learning opportunities in this course including online study activities, lectures, tutorials, seminar presentations, group discussions and self-directed study activities in order to apply the coursework that will enable quality assessment tasks to be submitted as evidence of professional development.