Students

COGS2010 – Memory

2023 – Session 1, In person-scheduled-weekday, North Ryde

General Information

Download as PDF
Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Convenor, Lecturer
McArthur Mingon
Tutor
Kurt Lancaster
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
60cp at 1000 level or above
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

Memory is everywhere - in our personal lives, in popular culture, in big science, and in our machines. But memory is notoriously hard to pin down. Is it all in the brain? Is it in our actions, in our social world, and in our valued objects and places? Or is it now all online? This unit introduces the interdisciplinary study of memory, offering students a critical survey of memory research across the cognitive and brain sciences, the social sciences, and the arts. Emphasis will be placed on autobiographical memory, embodied memory, and shared remembering between individuals. Students will learn to assess scientific and popular claims about what memory is, and how memory loss and gain can be understood in the digital age.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • ULO1: Demonstrate sound theoretical and technical knowledge of key theoretical frameworks, concepts, and phenomena in memory research.
  • ULO2: Develop critical and analytic capacities to assess scientific and popular claims about memory.
  • ULO3: Explain current concepts, theories, methods, and findings on memory in the cognitive and social sciences.
  • ULO4: Critically evaluate contemporary memory controversies by applying knowledge and problem-solving skills to examples from the field.
  • ULO5: Develop skills in interdisciplinary research, by learning to compare, evaluate, and integrate approaches to memory across the component disciplines of the cognitive sciences.

General Assessment Information

Grade descriptors and other information concerning grading are contained in the Macquarie University Assessment Policy.

All final grades are determined by a grading committee, in accordance with the Macquarie University Assessment Policy, and are not the sole responsibility of the Unit Convenor.

Students will be awarded a final grade and a mark which must correspond to the grade descriptors specified in the Assessment Procedure (clause 128).

To pass this unit, you must demonstrate sufficient evidence of achievement of the learning outcomes, meet any ungraded requirements, and achieve a final mark of 50 or better.

Further details for each assessment task will be available on iLearn.

Late Submissions

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (OF THE TOTAL POSSIBLE MARK) will be applied each day a written assessment is not submitted, up until the 7th day (including weekends). After the 7th day, a grade of ‘0’ will be awarded even if the assessment is submitted. Submission time for all written assessments is set at 11.55pm. A 1-hour grace period is provided to students who experience a technical concern. 

 For example:

Number of days (hours) late

Total Possible Marks

Deduction

Raw mark

Final mark

1 day (1-24 hours)

100

5

75

70

2 days (24-48 hours)

100

10

75

65

3 days (48-72 hours)

100

15

75

60

7 days (144-168 hours)

100

35

75

40

>7 days (>168 hours)

100

-

75

0

 

For any late submissions of time-sensitive tasks, such as scheduled tests/exams, students need to submit an application for Special Consideration.  

Word count for written assignments

For written assignments, there will be 5% leeway in the word limit (i.e., up to 100 words over 2000). Beyond that you will be penalised 5% of your report mark for every further 100 words over the limit.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Commentary paper 20% No Week 5
Mid-term exams 40% No Week 7 and Week 11
Essay 40% No Week 13

Commentary paper

Assessment Type 1: Report
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: Week 5
Weighting: 20%

 

750-1000 words maximum

 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Demonstrate sound theoretical and technical knowledge of key theoretical frameworks, concepts, and phenomena in memory research.
  • Develop critical and analytic capacities to assess scientific and popular claims about memory.
  • Explain current concepts, theories, methods, and findings on memory in the cognitive and social sciences.

Mid-term exams

Assessment Type 1: Examination
Indicative Time on Task 2: 30 hours
Due: Week 7 and Week 11
Weighting: 40%

 

Two mid-term exams scheduled throughout the semester. The two exams consist of multiple-choice and short answer questions. Each exam is worth 20% of the final unit mark.

 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Demonstrate sound theoretical and technical knowledge of key theoretical frameworks, concepts, and phenomena in memory research.
  • Develop critical and analytic capacities to assess scientific and popular claims about memory.
  • Explain current concepts, theories, methods, and findings on memory in the cognitive and social sciences.
  • Critically evaluate contemporary memory controversies by applying knowledge and problem-solving skills to examples from the field.
  • Develop skills in interdisciplinary research, by learning to compare, evaluate, and integrate approaches to memory across the component disciplines of the cognitive sciences.

Essay

Assessment Type 1: Essay
Indicative Time on Task 2: 35 hours
Due: Week 13
Weighting: 40%

 

2000 words maximum

 


On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Demonstrate sound theoretical and technical knowledge of key theoretical frameworks, concepts, and phenomena in memory research.
  • Develop critical and analytic capacities to assess scientific and popular claims about memory.
  • Explain current concepts, theories, methods, and findings on memory in the cognitive and social sciences.
  • Critically evaluate contemporary memory controversies by applying knowledge and problem-solving skills to examples from the field.
  • Develop skills in interdisciplinary research, by learning to compare, evaluate, and integrate approaches to memory across the component disciplines of the cognitive sciences.

1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

  • the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
  • the Writing Centre for academic skills support.

2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation

Delivery and Resources

Lectures are held weekly, from Week 1 to Week 13. Lectures run from 6pm to 8pm on Mondays, live online on zoom, with some additional pre-recorded lecture material for specific weeks (details will be provided and updated on iLearn). Lecture slides will be uploaded to iLearn before the lecture each week, located under the lecture link in the relevant week in iLearn. Lecture recordings will be available through Echo360.

Tutorials are held weekly, starting in week 2. The tutorials are all conducted on campus. Attendance at tutorials is strongly encouraged. The tutorials are designed to reinforce complex material and concepts introduced in unit readings and lectures. In addition, many tutorials are designed to help you complete unit assessment tasks.

iLearn You will need access to the internet to access the unit's iLearn page. Through iLearn you will be able to access the lecture recordings (Echo360), readings, and feedback and marks for the assessment tasks. You are also required to submit two of the assessment tasks (the commentary and the final essay) via iLearn, using the Turnitin submission tool.

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Students seeking more policy resources can visit Student Policies (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/policies). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/student-conduct

Results

Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Academic Integrity

At Macquarie, we believe academic integrity – honesty, respect, trust, responsibility, fairness and courage – is at the core of learning, teaching and research. We recognise that meeting the expectations required to complete your assessments can be challenging. So, we offer you a range of resources and services to help you reach your potential, including free online writing and maths support, academic skills development and wellbeing consultations.

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

The Writing Centre

The Writing Centre provides resources to develop your English language proficiency, academic writing, and communication skills.

The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources. 

Student Services and Support

Macquarie University offers a range of Student Support Services including:

Student Enquiries

Got a question? Ask us via AskMQ, or contact Service Connect.

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.

Inclusion and Diversity

Social inclusion at Macquarie University is about giving everyone who has the potential to benefit from higher education the opportunity to study at university, participate in campus life and flourish in their chosen field. The University has made significant moves to promote an equitable, diverse and exciting campus community for the benefit of staff and students. It is your responsibility to contribute towards the development of an inclusive culture and practice in the areas of learning and teaching, research, and service orientation and delivery. As a member of the Macquarie University community, you must not discriminate against or harass others based on their sex, gender, race, marital status, carers' responsibilities, disability, sexual orientation, age, political conviction or religious belief. All staff and students are expected to display appropriate behaviour that is conducive to a healthy learning environment for everyone.

Professionalism

In the Faculty of Medicine, Health and Human Sciences, professionalism is a key capability embedded in all our courses.

As part of developing professionalism, students are expected to attend all small group interactive sessions including clinical, practical, laboratory, work-integrated learning (e.g., PACE placements), and team-based learning activities. Some learning activities are recorded (e.g., face-to-face lectures), however you are encouraged to avoid relying upon such material as they do not recreate the whole learning experience and technical issues can and do occur. As an adult learner, we respect your decision to choose how you engage with your learning, but we would remind you that the learning opportunities we create for you have been done so to enable your success, and that by not engaging you may impact your ability to successfully complete this unit. We equally expect that you show respect for the academic staff who have worked hard to develop meaningful activities and prioritise your learning by communicating with them in advance if you are unable to attend a small group interactive session.

Another dimension of professionalism is having respect for your peers. It is the right of every student to learn in an environment that is free of disruption and distraction. Please arrive to all learning activities on time, and if you are unavoidably detained, please join activity as quietly as possible to minimise disruption. Phones and other electronic devices that produce noise and other distractions must be turned off prior to entering class. Where your own device (e.g., laptop) is being used for class-related activities, you are asked to close down all other applications to avoid distraction to you and others. Please treat your fellow students with the utmost respect. If you are uncomfortable participating in any specific activity, please let the relevant academic know.


Unit information based on version 2023.02 of the Handbook