Reference no: EM134024624
The Early Childhood Professional
ASSESSMENT TASK - REQUIREMENTS
Assessment - Critical Reflection Video
Description: In this task, you are required to do a video presentation where you will critically analyse teaching in the early years, focusing on three key areas:
relationships with children
partnerships with families and communities
inclusion and diversity
Instructions:
As you are planning for this task, you may use the table below to jot your ideas, however, your final submission must be a video with some slides (audio & visual).
Key Area Before: When I first enrolled in this course, what were my understanding/views?
Now: Is there a shift? How has my thinking changed?
What is the significance of the key areas mentioned in early childhood teaching?
Effective strategies for future teaching practice
Relationships with children
Partnerships with families and communities
Inclusion and diversity
In this section, you will use critical analysis of your professional practice, focusing on how your thinking has evolved over time and how this growth informs your future practice as an early childhood teacher.
You are required to cover all key areas listed below:
Before: Reflect on your initial understandings, beliefs, or assumptions when you first enrolled in this course.
Now: Identify and explain any shifts in your thinking. Consider what has changed and why.
Significance: Explain the importance of each key area in effective early childhood teaching and learning.
Future Practice: Describe effective strategies you will use in your future teaching practice for each key area.
Your responses must demonstrate critical reflection, draw connections to professional standards and frameworks.
Your submission will include:
Your video presentation (visual and audio)
A script/transcript* and a complete reference list (on a word document)
*A script/transcript is a word for word of what you say in your video.
Relationship with children
In this section, reflect on how you used to understand relationships (Before), how your views have changed through the course (Now), why relationships are fundamental to teaching (Significance), and what specific practices you will use to build strong relationships (Future Practice). For example, you may have initially believed relationships "just happen" or that your role was mainly supervision. Now, you recognise that warm, responsive, and intentional interactions support children's learning, identity, and emotional security. You should note that relationships matter because they are foundational to the EYLF (Principle 1) and essential for wellbeing, behaviour, and engagement. Finally, describe strategies you will use, such as listening deeply to children, learning their interests and building trust through attuned communication. For additional guidance on communication concepts, see Communication.
Partnership with families and communities
Describe your earlier assumptions about families (Before), usually that families simply drop off/pick up and the educator does the teaching. Then explain how you now understand that learning is strongest when families and educators collaborate (Now). You should highlight the significance of partnerships by referring to the EYLF Principle 2, emphasising that families are the child's first teachers and bring essential knowledge about their culture, values, and identity (Significance). Finish by outlining future strategies such as regular communication, respecting cultural practices, inviting family input into learning experiences, and building positive connections with community groups (Future Practice). You may also refer to Cross Cultural Communication when discussing effective collaboration.
Inclusion and diversity
In this final section, begin by discussing your earlier beliefs (Before), such as thinking inclusion meant "treating all children the same" or seeing diversity only in terms of culture. Then show how your thinking has shifted (Now), you now understand inclusion as equity, belonging, rights, anti-bias practice, and removing barriers for children with diverse identities, abilities, and backgrounds. Explain the significance by linking to the EYLF (Belonging, Being and Becoming) and the importance of fairness, representation, and participation for every child (Significance). Conclude with the future strategies you will use: ensuring diverse and bias-free resources, using home languages, applying Universal Design for Learning (UDL), adapting environments, and partnering with specialists or families to support individual needs (Future Practice). Related perspectives on diversity can also be explored through Managing Diversity in Workplace.