Reference no: EM133991180 , Length: Word Count:900

Play and Pedagogies in Early Childhood Education Assessment Brief

Assessment: Pitch your pedagogy

Learning Outcome 1: Identify and analyse the role of play in learning and examine the challenges pertaining to play and pedagogies.

Learning Outcome 2: Discuss the diversity of approaches to pedagogies utilised in early childhood education and care, and how they position children, teachers, and parents/carers.

Learning Outcome 3: Analyse the relationships between philosophy, theory, and pedagogy in the learning environment for all young children (birth - 5 years).

Learning Outcome 4: Critically reflect on personal philosophy to play and pedagogies for learning and teaching as an early childhood professional.

Assessment Rationale
The foundation of your teaching and learning will be centred around play-based pedagogy. As an early childhood teacher, you have a key role in enabling children's learning, development and wellbeing through intentionality, planning and extensions and enrichment of children's play (Australian Government, Department of Education, 2022). Teachers also need to have a thorough understanding of diverse theoretical and philosophical foundations of play-based pedagogy to be able to critically consider the possibilities and challenges associated with incorporating play into practice.

Teachers must advocate for the recognition and significance of play as a fundamental right for all children. We must strive to create learning environments that welcome diverse perspectives and allow for the development of a shared understanding of what 'play' entails and what it looks like. This assessment task requires you to critically engage with Modules 1-3 and the theoretical underpinnings and create a digital presentation.

Task Overview
Imagine you are working in an early childhood education and care setting and have been asked to present at the family information night. The information night is for parents/guardians whose children have newly started in the kindergarten program. Some families of children aged 4-5 years voice their concerns about the play-based approach 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 One, 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 at kindergarten. You will need to follow two steps in order to successfully complete your ‘pitch'.

Step One: Develop your Pitch
The task is to create a digital presentation with slides that visually support and enhance your Pitch. You may use Microsoft PowerPoint, Prezi or Canva to create your presentation. Resources for preparing the digital presentation are available in the Assessment 1 Folder on Blackboard.
Your presentation slides need to:
Use an easy-to-read font for the text on the slides (e.g., Arial, Times New Roman),
Font that is at least size 20 for the body-text on the slides; subheadings and headings are larger. (Please feel free to adjust the font size for better readability).
Include clear headings,
Use and cite images,
Include in-text citations on each slide and a separate reference list (following APA 7th Guidelines),
Use limited to no animation for the presentation, and
Do not embed videos into your digital presentation.
To ensure your pitch is well-organised and addresses all necessary elements, you need to identify and justify the following elements:

Introduction: Introduce yourself to the early childhood educational setting and briefly address the concerns raised by families (40 seconds approx.)

Role of play: Explain the role of play in children's learning, development and wellbeing, including an example of a play-based experience/activity. Remember to address different developmental domains and link to two contemporary theoretical perspectives (2 minutes approx.)

Challenges and solutions: Identify potential challenges when incorporating play into early childhood teaching and how to overcome them. Provide example/s (1.5 minutes approx.) No AI shortcuts - Just Genuine Assignment Help from Real Tutors.

Your philosophy/pedagogy on play: Share your personal philosophy/pedagogy regarding play and how it influences your approach to teaching and learning. Detailed examples of translating philosophy/pedagogy into practice (2 minutes approx.)

Successful play-based learning environment: Discuss what contributes to a successful play-based learning environment, including physical, social, and temporal elements (1.5 minutes approx.)

Summary and farewell: provide a brief summary and farewell note (20 seconds approx.).

Please note: the approximate timing for presenting each element is ONLY indicative to help you better plan the presentation. The time allocated may look slightly different for each student, depending on the presentation organisation.

Your pitch needs to be supported and informed by:
At least 2 contemporary theoretical perspectives presented in Module 2.
Academic sources such as peer-reviewed literature including readings, journal articles, book chapters, unit material, etc.
Professional sources and ECEC policies, including the Early Years Learning Framework, National Ouality Standard, United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, Code of Ethics, Developmental Milestones, Early Childhood Australia's Statement on Play, and unit material.

Step Two: Record your Presentation
Record yourself delivering your 8-minute presentation. You may use Zoom or Microsoft PowerPoint to capture your presentation delivery and slides.
Save the video transcript and paste it into the Microsoft Word template provided in the Assessment 1 folder on Blackboard.
Save your recording as an MP4 file, then submit it to YouTube as an unlisted video.

Referencing
APA 7th referencing is required for this assignment.