Assignment 2a Assignment 2a: Task 1: Critical analysis report Learning outcomes:2, 3, 4, 5, 6 Weight:15% Due Date:30th August Word count: XXXXXXXXXXwords (not including references, annotations [1...

Assignment 2a

Assignment 2a:

Task 1: Critical analysis report

Purpose: a) gain skills in critically analysing language learning environments to learn how they facilitate language learning, and b) plan for any gaps

Please note:Well-annotated photographs will cut down the amount of writing you need.

• Readandreflecton Topics 1-7, (lectures/topic notes, Moodle videos, readings and text to gain insights, ideas and relevant information on the following areas:

• Assesswhat is currently happening in these areas with one group of children from birth to 3 years in your professional practice, workplace, or another early childhood setting. To learn the most from this assignment, consider choosing a group of children in an age group or type of service you know the least about. With reference to your learning from the lectures/topic notes, Moodle videos, readings and text, conduct a critical evaluation of the environment* in which you work to evaluate how it caters for these areas.

(*By environment we mean space, time, materials and relationships).

Fill in the template table to demonstrate:

a. what the service already does well, and

b. what you feel needs to be improved in each area.

• Documentwhat you find usingannotated photographs using APA style e.g. Figure 1: Two- year-old children engaged in puzzle play. You will need to be in some of the photos, demonstrating your engagement in the environment.You will need to reduce the image size within the document otherwise it will not uploadwhen you submit.Includethe context of your findings. e.g. a group of 4-year-olds in a rural community pre-school, or a group of toddlers at an early intervention supported playgroup.
• Write: Armed with knowledge from yourlecture/topic notes, Moodle videos, text and readings, identify and write about each area. For example, what is happening, how it assists certain areas of learning and development and how that relates to what you have learned. Please use dot points for this report. It is expected that you use a minimum of 8 references for this section from a wide range of sources (e.g. Moodle videos, lectures/topic notes, articles, readings, text) for this part of the assignment. Your compulsorytextbookmust be one of these references, but it is only counted as one reference, even if you use various chapters. Your text is compulsory so needs to be referenced in each assignment.

Tips:

Please use professional, academic, early childhood language. Avoid teacher, classroom and student, and replace it with educator, learning environments and children. Please avoid the word ‘help’ because it carries connotations of ‘helpless’ and can easily be replaced by other words. Avoid informal sayings in academic writing e.g. ‘making headway’, ‘under the weather’, ‘24/7’.

Please ensure that you know what a critical analysis entails. If you type 'What is a critical analysis?' into a web browser, a number of university web pages will appear. Exploring these will help you discover some of the essential elements of this type of writing and others will show you common errors. Look especially for areas of critical analysis in education. Additionally, the Academic Skills Office at UNE is able to help you with this. They have a number of resources about critical thinking. I would recommend you contact them for help if you are not feeling confident about this type of writing and thinking. They offer free, one-to-one support via email, phone or in person. The Studiosity link on this website will also offer assistance.

The assignment is a chance for you to show your analysis skills, rather than your ability to describe events. You need to reflect on what you saw, analyse it and relate it to your learning from the unit and the multiple videos, lectures, readings, resources and your text (compulsory).

Learning how to reduce image size at the start of the assignment will save tears when you attempt to upload the assignment. If you are not sure how to do this there are many videos online that can help you with this.

If you are not currently working you will need to arrange to work with some children in a centre, playgroup, early intervention serviceor preschool who are birth to 3 years of age. (You will need to organise a letter from the service/organiser/director or room leader outlining that you have spent time evaluating what you find and implementing the programme activities with the next assignment, but covering the hours you spend on this assignment. If you are the director, you will need a letter from another staff member. This letter will be attached to Assignment 2 (but not this assignment) in the appendix and needs to contain the dates and times of your observations and implementation of activities as well as a statement that they have viewed your Student ID card, current anaphylaxis certificate and a current Working with Children Check or equivalent. The letter needs to be on the service’s letterhead and signed by someone who is identifiable with their name and position clearly typed and signed and a contact phone and email).

Hours spent at the service need to be negotiated between the service and yourself although the total time at the service for Assignment 2a, 2b and 2c combined needs to be 12 hours in total. The hours for this assignment may be two morning visits or 6 hours of observations with time to document and record what you have seen.

It is a requirement in this assignment that you follow the guidelines for taking photographs of children available in the EC Moodle site. You must include an ethical statement to your assignment to verify that you have followed ethical principles and practices in taking photographs of children for your assignment

Include any other documentation in the appendices needed for permission from the families to photograph the child(ren).If there is a photo with a child, then permission should be sought. This could be in a number of formats, depending upon the setting and number of children.

If the photo is in a service, then a blank copy of their policy/permission slip to use child images should be in the appendix. If it was a private daycare setting and included one child, then a copy of a formulated permission slip (either blank or with the names covered) would be fine. If there a multiple children/families, then a blank form showing evidence that a procedure has been followed is fine. If it is a group photo and one child is present whose photo permission is not granted, please blank out their face but not the other children’s faces.Blanking out children’s faces should only be used if there is no other option.

A note about plagiarism:

We do not mark any work that is not yours or not referenced properly using quotation marks. If that means we cannot mark a phrase, it may mean the whole sentence cannot be read to make sense. If it means we cannot mark a sentence, the whole paragraph or sentence may not be marked.

Please note that your Turn it In score is very different to ours.Please find an explanation of this in aPowerPointin the 'Assignment tips' section called 'The 10 big P's of Assignments'.

There are ways to avoid plagiarism described in a videoin the 'Assignment tips' section called 'Avoiding plagiarism and tears'.

Recycling information from previous assignments is called academic misconduct. You cannot do that for assignments you have submitted previously in other units or in this unit if you are doing the unit again. Make sure you fully paraphrase anything you use from your own assignments or from other sources. Changing a word here or there is not fully paraphrasing. There are explanations of how we mark work that you have submitted in another assignment or another subject in aPreziin the 'Assignment tips' section called 'Can I plagiarise myself'?

Fake practicums

Some students occasionally get a little more daring with their plagiarism and fake practicums., by borrowing or inventing data. Whilst they may get away with this on one occasion, often luck runs out and getting caught has major implications. The School of Education at UNE has clear policies about not wanting people who cheat becoming future educators of children. They take this very seriously and there have been many cases of students receiving WFN results (Withdrawn by the faculty and deemed to have failed). This result stays with them when they try to enrol in other units, courses or universities. Unit coordinators or course coordinators may not allow them to re-enrol because of this status. Be very mindful if you are asked to 'share your assignment' with someone. It may be then shared with others who might do the wrong thing and implicate you.

The vast majority of students do the right thing with their assignments and we appreciate the work that goes into them.

Task 2 Gap identification and justification

Task 2: Identification of a gap to address

• Identify a gap or area of need at the service choosing ONE of these followingthreeareas: listening, speaking or pre-writing that you would like to explore in more detail in Assignment 2. Make this the heading of this section. N.B. Because you will be doing a unit on Literacy in Early Childhood Education, you willnotbe focusing onreadingfor the next assignment.
• Explain why you think it is important to address this gap taking into account the sociocultural nature of language learning. e.g. Why is this area of learning important for children? Referenced this from your learning from the relevant topic(s) using lectures/topic notes, Moodle videos, text and readings (minimum of 4 references). Your textbook only counts as one reference. Your text is compulsory so should be used in every assignment.

N.B. Areas of literacy often overlap, but the chosen area should be the main focus. To ensure you learn the most from this assignment, consider choosing the area you are the least familiar with.

Task 3: Create a reference list (a combined one for the whole assigment) usingAPA guideand APAinternet guideand theemerging technology guideavailable in the 'Writing Help' section of Moodle.

Appendices:

Appendix 1. Ethics statement

Appendix 2. Any blank photo permission slips etc. from the EC service or one that you have created for this assignment

Appendix 3. Any email evidence for extensions or prac. clash email from the OPL office showing dates of prac. from another subject.

Submit for marking (PDF).Please ensure you have the word count recorded at the start of the assignment (not including reference list and appendices). Annotations are also not counted in the word count, but in-text referencing is counted.

Ethics Statement EDEC XXXXXXXXXXdocx

Template table Assignment 2a 2020.docx