Assignment Rationale

Early childhood teachers (ECT) need to have a thorough understanding of diverse theoretical and philosophical foundations of play-based pedagogies to critically consider the possibilities and challenges associated with incorporating play into our early childhood education practices. As an ECT, part of our responsibility is to advocate for the recognition and significance of play as a fundamental right of every child. Moreover, we must strive to create inclusive and collaborative learning environments that welcome diverse perspectives and allow for the development of a shared understanding of what ‘play’ entails, as well as the implications of implementing play-based pedagogies in early childhood policies and practices.

Assessment 1 requires students to critically engage with theoretical perspectives of play and reflect upon key issues presented in Modules 1-3 and create a digital presentation.

This assignment aligns with the following Unit Learning Outcomes (ULOs)

• ULO1: identify and analyse the role of play in learning and examine the challenges pertaining to play and pedagogies.
• ULO2: discuss the diversity of approaches to pedagogies utilised in early childhood education and care, and how they position children, teachers, and parents/carers.
• ULO3: analyse the relationships between philosophy, theory, and pedagogy to the learning environment for all young children (birth – 5 years).
• ULO4: critically reflect on personal philosophy to play and pedagogies for learning and teaching as an early childhood professional.

Task Description

Imagine you are working in an early childhood education and care (ECEC) setting and have been asked to present at the family information night. Some families of children aged 4-5 years voice their concerns about the play-based approaches used in your setting. They believe their children should be engaged in more formal, academic approaches to prepare them for school. Other families are interested in the play-based approach but would like to know more about the potential value and benefits of play.

For assessment 1, your task is to prepare a ‘pitch’ to explain and justify the importance of a play-based pedagogical approach for children now and in their future.

Instructions

Step 1: Develop your Pitch

To ensure your pitch is well-organised and addresses all necessary elements you have been provided with a pitch template. You are required to fill in the ‘Assessment 1 Pitch Template’ and submit the completed document for grading.

To access the template:

• Go to the ‘Assessment Tasks and Submissions’ section of the unit learning site (Blackboard).
• Open the Assessment 1 folder.
• Locate the Word document titled ‘Assessment 1 Pitch Template’.
• Download the document and save it to your files.

Complete the pitch template with a detailed plan for your presentation. Include a URL link to the presentation recording, a brief description of each presentation slide (200 words maximum), and a reference list.

Your pitch must identify and justify the following elements:

• Introduction: Introduce yourself to the service and briefly address the concerns raised by families (30 seconds to 1 minute).
• Role of play: Explain the role of play in children’s learning, development and wellbeing, including an example of a play-based experience and activity. Remember to address different developmental domains (2 minutes).
• Personal philosophy: Share your personal philosophy regarding play and how it influences your approach to teaching and learning (2 minutes).
• Successful play-based learning environment: Discuss what contributes to a successful play-based learning environment, including physical, social, and temporal elements (2 minutes).
• Challenges and solutions: Identify potential challenges when incorporating play into early childhood teaching and how to overcome them (2 minutes).
• Summary and farewell: provide a summary and farewell note (30 seconds to 1 minute).

Your pitch must be supported and informed by:

• At least 1 theoretical perspective presented in Module 2.
• Academic sources (readings, journal articles, book chapters, etc.)
• Professional sources and ECEC policies (Early Years Learning Framework, National Ǫuality Standard, United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, Code of Ethics, Developmental Milestones)

Step 2: Create your Presentation slides

You are to create (insert max of 15 slides, preferably less) to visually support and enhance your presentation. You are to submit your slides for grading.

You may use PowerPoint, Prezi, or Canva to create your presentation slides. Resources on how to prepare the digital presentation are provided in the Assessment 1 Folder on Blackboard.

Your presentation slides must:

• use an easy-to-read font for the text on the slides (e.g., Arial, Times New Roman) and a 1.5 or double-line space.
• include clear headings

Step 3: Record your Presentation

Record yourself delivering your 10-minute presentation. You may use Zoom, PowerPoint, or any other recording software to capture your presentation delivery and slides.

Save your recording as an MP4 file.

Referencing

APA referencing is required for this assignment. Please refer to the APA 7th edition. See the SCU Library Guides for detailed instructions on APA formatting. References are not counted in the overall word count.

You must:

• Create a reference list on the last page of the Assessment 1 Pitch Template. You must include a minimum of 8 references (you may use more).
• Literature needs to include the unit textbook, accompanied by peer reviewed articles, book chapters, and other authoritative sources. At a minimum, your sources for this task will include the unit required text, unit readings, EYLF (AGDE, 2022) and broader literature.
• If you have used an AI tool or technology in completing your assessment (for example, brainstorming, understanding concepts, generating examples, summarising readings), you must acknowledge how you have used AI tools. You can create this acknowledgement by adding a declaration at the end of your reference list. For example: “I acknowledge the use of ChatGPT to brainstorm concepts for this

assessment as a starting point for initial research before writing my assessment.”

Submissions

You are required to submit the following items for grading:

1. SCU cover page completed pitch template (Word or PDF) submitted to Turnitin.

It is not required to submit slides

anymore, as explained above.

3. Presentation Recording (MP4) submitted to VoiceThread.

Submission portals can be accessed from the ‘Assessment Tasks and Submission’ section of the unit learning site (Blackboard). Please note, there are two submission portals for this assignment.

1. VoiceThread Submission Portal: For submission of video files. For more information see How to submit a VoiceThread assignment.
2. Turnitin Submission Portal: For submission of Template and presentation slides. It is not requiredto submit slides anymore, as explained above.

3.

Please label the Template document clearly. Include the unit code, the assessment item, your first name and family name. For example: ‘CIVL3009_A1 Presentation_BarakOBAMA_ID123456.pdf’

Referencing

APA 7 referencing is required for this assignment. Please refer to the APA 7th edition. Refer to the SCU (Southern Cross University) Library Guides for detailed instructions on APA formatting, and to ensure your referencing is accurate, refer to the SCU Library Guides.

Academic Integrity

Adherence to SCU’s academic integrity policies is mandatory. Breaches may result in severe penalties, including failing the assessment or the unit. Examples of academic misconduct include plagiarism, collusion, and the use of unauthorised tools or materials. Refer to SCU’s academic integrity policies and guides for detailed information on what constitutes a breach, and the consequences involved.

Generative AI (Artificial Intelligence) use Policy

You are permitted to use generative AI (Gen AI) tools responsibly and ethically to complete components of this assignment.

Please do not post confidential, private, personal, or otherwise sensitive information into Gen AI tools. If you use these tools, you must be aware of their limitations, biases, and propensity for fabrication.

Below are the details of permitted and prohibited uses of Gen AI for this assignment:

Permitted use

Students are permitted to use Generative AI to:

• clarify concepts, theories, ideas, etc., discussed in class
• generate preliminary ideas for writing
• edit a working draft of the assessment
• read and summarise research and supporting evidence for the assessment

Prohibited use

Students are not permitted to use Generative AI to:

• generate definitions or writing used in their final submission.
• produce arguments or refine thinking on their final submission

Any of these actions will constitute and be treated as a breach of academic integrity.

Gen AI Acknowledgement

Your use of AI tools must adhere to the SCU Academic Integrity Framework, which includes upholding honesty, ethics, professionalism, and academic integrity. All use of Gen AI must

be explicitly documented and acknowledged in your submission. If you use generative AI tools without acknowledgment, it may result in an academic integrity breach against you, as described in the Student Academic and Non-Academic Misconduct Rules, Section 3. To find out how to reference generative AI in your work, consult the referencing style for your unit via the library referencing guides.

Special Considerations

Students wishing to request special consideration must submit a Request for Special Consideration form via their ‘MyEnrolment’ page as early as possible and prior to the original due date for that assessment task, along with any accompanying documents, such as medical certificates.

Late Submissions & Penalties

Except when special consideration is awarded, late submission of assessment tasks will lead automatically to the imposition of a penalty. Penalties will be incurred as soon as the deadline is reached. A penalty of 5% of the available marks will be deducted from the actual mark at one minute after the time listed on the due date. A further penalty of 5% of the available mark will be deducted from the actual mark achieved on each subsequent calendar day until the mark reaches zero.

Grades & Feedback

Assignments submitted by the due date will receive an SCU Letter Grade, a Turnitin originality report, an assessment rubric evaluating performance against specified criteria and standards, and written feedback from the assignment marker. Grades and feedback will be posted to the ‘Grades & Feedback’ section on the learning site. Please allow up to seven business days for marks to be posted.

Works submitted by the due date will be evaluated against the grading criteria and standards outlined below and summarised in the ‘Assessment Rubric’. For more information regarding SCU grades and standards, visit Final Grades.

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