Assignment: Early Childhood Education and Practice

MODULE AIM

The aims of this module are to facilitate and support learners in their professional practice placement in an early childhood context. Learners will be encouraged to apply their accumulated programme learning to their professional practice placement experiences, and to examine how their professional practice placement experiences can inform their understanding of various theoretical perspectives. The module aims for learners continue to self-reflect and to develop personally and professionally with increasing confidence in evaluating their own and others’ practice.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

On successful completion of this module the learner should be able to:

1. Demonstrate capacity to communicate effectively and build positive relationships with children in the placement setting

2. Support children’s learning and development, in indoor & outdoor learning environments, using pedagogical practices that are informed by theory, research and the Aistear and Síolta professional frameworks.

3. Implement appropriate practices in relation to children’s health, wellbeing and care needs, in accordance with regulatory requirements.

4. Provide verbal and written accounts of professional practice of children’s learning and development,
underpinned by theoretical perspectives.

5. Demonstrate capacity to communicate effectively and work collaboratively with adults in the placement setting.

6. Take a self-reflective approach to their own professional practice and be able to highlight strengths as well as areas in need of further learning and development.

Portfolio- Overall Guidelines:

Please attach a cover sheet with title of assignment your name and student number. All
assignments to be in Font size 12, Times new Roman or Arial and one and a half spacing.

Part 1: Introduction

Outline the context and ethos of your placement setting and your overall goals for the coming year.

Part 2

Addresses learning outcomes 1,2,3,5 and 6

Effective communication, collaborative practices and appropriate pedagogical practices are fundamental in supporting the learning and development of children. Analyse and reflect on your role in practice considering the above criteria.
Your analysis must include examples from own practice, self-reflection and relevant research and literature to support your answer.

Part 3-Presentation

Addresses learning outcomes 4 and 5

Title of Presentation is ‘Implementation of best practices for children’s health, wellbeing and care needs’
Create a presentation. using the above title, referring to examples from own practice, relevant legislation, national policies and current literature.

Part 4-Reflection

Addresses learning outcomes 6

Critically reflect on your learning since September and how it has influenced your practice. Furthermore,
identify both your strengths and areas that you wish to focus on for your professional growth and
development.

Continuous Assessment Submission Guidelines
Artificial Intelligence As part of the assessment strategy, students may be called upon, at random, to orally defend any piece of work submitted.

This would be conducted, not as a punitive measure, but rather as a way of positively supporting the
overall assessment process and ensure that it is robust. Work submitted through Turnitin will produce an AI report as well as a Similarity report. Assignments which have copied work from websites, from other authors, from other students or any other sources may receive a grade of 0.
Assignments must be submitted via Turnitin. If assignments are not submitted via Turnitin, this will be regarded as a non-submission. It is the student’s responsibility to upload assignments to the correct Turnitin link.

Please observe the suggested word count. Assignments that are too short or too long may be penalised.

Plagiarism

Assignments which have copied work from websites, from other authors, from other students or any other sources may receive a grade of 0. All instances of plagiarism must be reported to the Head of Department who, in turn, is obliged to report them to the Registrar. Students who receive this grade may be asked to justify their actions to the University’s plagiarism panel. Students must apply to the examination board at the end of the academic year to re-submit their work in such instances. Please note that copying verbatim from original sources is unacceptable even if you provide references.

Late Submissions

Failure to submit an assignment on time and in the prescribed method without an extension or other
extenuating circumstances shall result in the imposition of penalties upon the learner.

Assignments received at any time after two weeks of the due date to be graded, but a penalty applies, as follows:

a) Assignments submitted at any time up to one week after the due date to have the mark awarded to them reduced by 10 per cent (for example, from 57% to 47%)

b) Assignments submitted more than one week but up to two weeks after the due date to have the mark reduced by 20 per cent (for example, from 87% to 67%)

Assignments received more than two weeks after the due date shall not be accepted. In this event, the learner shall receive a grade of 0” Extension Policy Only in exceptional circumstances will extensions be granted.

Undergraduate and postgraduate extensions cannot be granted by your lecturer. Such extensions can only be granted by the Faculty of Lifelong Learning once a completed extension form and supporting documentation is returned online.

Students can apply for extensions at the following link – LLL Extension Request Form
Extensions must be sought in advance of the submission date. Extensions will not be granted retrospectively.

The circumstances under which an extension request will be considered include, but are not limited to:

 Serious personal / family / business reasons
 Where a student is representing their country or university

An extension request is unlikely to be considered under the following circumstances:

 Minor illnesses such as a common cold
 Holidays during the academic year
 Multiple assignments due at the one time
 Failure to plan study schedule
 Debs / weddings / social events
 IT and /or computer failure

The Faculty of Lifelong Learning reserve the right to request supporting documentation. If you are applying for an extension that exceeds 5 days you must submit supporting documentation (e.g. letter from a doctor, employer, line manager etc.) so that any prolonged absence can be verified.

To avoid any unnecessary distress, please ensure that you back up your work regularly as you undertake your assignment.

Failure to submit a piece of assessment may result in a grade of 0.