units

EDF5902

Faculty of Education

18 September 2017 28 April 2024
Monash University

Postgraduate - Unit

This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2015 only. For students planning to study the unit, please refer to the unit indexes in the the current edition of the Handbook. If you have any queries contact the managing faculty for your course or area of study.

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12 points, SCA Band 1, 0.250 EFTSL

Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered.

LevelPostgraduate
FacultyFaculty of Education
OfferedClayton Second semester 2015 (Day)
Coordinator(s)Dr Gloria Quinones

Synopsis

This unit investigates how children from birth to eight years learn valued cultural forms of knowledge (e.g. art, science and technology) through play in a range of contexts, including homes. A key feature of the unit is a critique of the various expressions of play and the associated pedagogies that are used in early years education globally. Play is not value free, and students examine what is afforded when different play pedagogies are used in art, science and technology education. The unit supports students to learn about the role of play in design technology, the arts, and science; to understand the relationships between philosophy, theory and pedagogy; and to develop a personal understanding and response to play and pedagogy in curriculum design.

Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this unit students should be able to:

  1. use philosophy and learning theories to critique the cultural expressions of play from a range of cultures and communities
  2. document and analyse everyday scientific and technological play practices of children aged birth to eight years in order to identify and build upon the everyday scientific understandings of young children
  3. understand and critique the cultural nature of the arts, science and technology and how this develops informally in a range of learning contexts, such as playgroups, families, schools, child care centres and preschools
  4. understand and develop play pedagogies and curriculum for the arts, science and design technologies that focus on the period of birth to eight years.

Assessment

Mapping and analysis of science, technology and the arts in the everyday environment of children from birth to eight years (4000 words equivalent, 50%)
Curriculum project that examines the relations between play and learning in curriculum for the arts, science and design technology across the period of birth to eight years (4000 words equivalent, 50%)

Workload requirements

Minimum total expected workload equals 288 hours per semester comprising:

(a.) Contact hours for on-campus students:

  • 3-hour workshop/seminar per week

(b.) Additional requirements (all students):

  • independent study to make up the required minimum hours during the semester

See also Unit timetable information

Chief examiner(s)

Dr Gloria Quinones