Students

EDST2510 – Understanding the Brain, Development and Learning

2025 – Session 1, In person-scheduled-weekday, North Ryde

General Information

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Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit Convenor (consultation convener)
Penny Van Bergen
penny.vanbergen@mq.edu.au
Contact via For general queries about the unit, please post on iLearn so others can benefit. For other queries, please use consultation times. For confidential queries, please email to discuss.
Thursday 4-5pm (Zoom, during teaching weeks)
Unit Convenor (non-consultation convener)
Anne McMaugh
anne.mcmaugh@mq.edu.au
Contact via For general queries about the unit, please contact Penny Van Bergen as above. For inquiries specific to Anne' lecture content or tutorial classes, please email with the unit code in subject line.
Monday 10-11am (Zoom, during teaching weeks)
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
[60cp at 1000 level or above including (EDST1508 or ECHE118 or ECHE1180 or ECHE1310 or EDST1500 or EDUC1070 or EDST1505) and admission to (BEd(Prim) or BEd(Sec) or BABEd(Prim) or BEd(Prim)BPsych or BABEd(Sec) or BScBEd(Sec) or BCommBEd(Sec) or BA)]
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

This is an educational psychology unit that builds on key understandings developed earlier in the course. The unit focuses on issues of cognitive and socio-cognitive development of learners and draws on educational psychological, neuropsychological, cognitive science, and social cognitive research. The primary emphasis is on the overlaps of these research fields which are most relevant to teaching and educational practice, including attention, memory, cognitive load theory, metacognition, self-regulation, motivation, social relationships, and mental health and wellbeing. Students will engage with authentic research methods and case studies to understand the impact of psychology in early childhood and school classrooms and how an understanding of psychology can bolster effective teaching.

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: Explain how information is processed and learned via a strong and integrated understanding of cognitive, socio-cognitive, and neuropsychological models, and generate implications for classroom practice for learners.
  • ULO2: Describe typical cognitive development and socio-cognitive development as it applies to learners.
  • ULO3: Synthesise knowledge from the fields of educational psychology and child development to investigate research problems and case studies of practical or theoretical significance to learners, teaching, and learning contexts.
  • ULO4: Critically reflect on theories and approaches in neuroscientific, cognitive, and socio-cognitive fields in order to understand strengths-based approaches to learning and development.
  • ULO5: Identify opportunities and communicate professional decisions to apply developmentally appropriate teaching strategies that support diverse learners across different learning contexts.

General Assessment Information

General Submission Information

Please format assessments using 12-point font and 1.5 spacing.

All assessments must be submitted electronically. Turnitin plagiarism detection software is used to check all written assessments. It is the responsibility of all students to ensure that their submitted work is in a format compatible with Turnitin software for plagiarism checking. Submissions must meet the required file type and formatting specifications outlined in the assessment guidelines. Failure to submit work in an acceptable format may result in delays in processing your submission and potential penalties for non-compliance with assessment requirements. If you are unsure about the file format or have technical difficulties, it is your responsibility to seek assistance before the submission deadline. Students should be careful to check that they submit the correct file for an assessment as no re-submissions will be accepted after the due date and time, including instances where students upload an incorrect file. It is not the responsibility of unit staff to contact students who have failed to submit assessments. If you have any missing items of assessment, it is your responsibility to contact the unit convenor.

Students can use Turnitin’s Originality Report as a learning tool to improve their academic writing if this option is made available in the unit.

Word limits are strictly applied. Work above the word limit will not be marked.

 

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Students should be aware of and apply the University policy on academic integrity (see: https://policies.mq.edu.au/document/view.php?id=3). Any student suspected of using unauthorised AI in an assignment will be referred to the Faculty of Arts Discipline Committee. Penalties can include reduced marks for an assessment, being awarded '0' for a task, failing an entire unit, being excluded from a course of study. Please see each assessment task description/rubric for expectations about AI.

 

Special Consideration / Late Penalties

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (of the total possible mark) will be applied each day an assessment is not submitted, up until the 7th day (including weekends) (see: https://students.mq.edu.au/study/assessment-exams/special-consideration). Applications for extensions must be made via Service Connect. After the 7th day, a mark of 0 (zero) 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 issue. This late penalty will apply to non-timed sensitive assessments (incl. essays, reports, posters, portfolios, journals, recordings etc).

Late submission of time sensitive tasks (such as tests/exams, performance assessments/presentations, scheduled practical assessments/labs etc) will only be addressed by the unit convenor in a Special Consideration application. A Special Consideration outcome may result in a new question or topic.

 

Marking

All assessments are marked using a rubric.

Marking of all assessments is moderated by the Unit Convenor.

 

University Policy on Grading

Assignments will be awarded grades ranging from HD to F according to guidelines set out in the University's Grading System and University Assessment Policy.

To attain a pass or higher grade in Professional Experience a student must obtain a satisfactory in both the Professional Experience component and a pass or higher grade in the academic component. For Professional Experience units the Professional Experience Evaluation Report is marked as Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory. The Macquarie Teaching Performance Assessment (MQTPA - in final WIL/PEx units) is marked as Not met, Met or Exceeds.

 

Results

Results shown in iLearn, or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed because 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 Service Connect.

 

Withdrawing from this unit

If you are considering withdrawing from this unit, please seek academic advice via Service Connect before doing so as this unit may be a co-requisite or prerequisite for units in the following sessions and may impact your course progression.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Research Report 50% No 30/04/2025 at 11:59pm
Final Exam 50% No During Exam Period

Research Report

Assessment Type 1: Report
Indicative Time on Task 2: 50 hours
Due: 30/04/2025 at 11:59pm
Weighting: 50%

 

Students produce a structured research report about cognitive load theory and science of learning phenomena, in which they interpret results and identify the relevant implications for their future classroom

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Explain how information is processed and learned via a strong and integrated understanding of cognitive, socio-cognitive, and neuropsychological models, and generate implications for classroom practice for learners.
  • Synthesise knowledge from the fields of educational psychology and child development to investigate research problems and case studies of practical or theoretical significance to learners, teaching, and learning contexts.
  • Critically reflect on theories and approaches in neuroscientific, cognitive, and socio-cognitive fields in order to understand strengths-based approaches to learning and development.
  • Identify opportunities and communicate professional decisions to apply developmentally appropriate teaching strategies that support diverse learners across different learning contexts.

Final Exam

Assessment Type 1: Examination
Indicative Time on Task 2: 2 hours
Due: During Exam Period
Weighting: 50%

In-person exam of all unit content and comprises multiple choice, short answer, and case studies
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Explain how information is processed and learned via a strong and integrated understanding of cognitive, socio-cognitive, and neuropsychological models, and generate implications for classroom practice for learners.
  • Describe typical cognitive development and socio-cognitive development as it applies to learners.
  • Synthesise knowledge from the fields of educational psychology and child development to investigate research problems and case studies of practical or theoretical significance to learners, teaching, and learning contexts.
  • Critically reflect on theories and approaches in neuroscientific, cognitive, and socio-cognitive fields in order to understand strengths-based approaches to learning and development.
  • Identify opportunities and communicate professional decisions to apply developmentally appropriate teaching strategies that support diverse learners across different learning contexts.

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

Required and recommended texts

Please see iLearn each week for recommended extension texts, including recent journal articles, seminal classics, and user-friendly explainers. These resources are optional and designed to extend your knowledge.

 

Information about the unit iLearn site 

This unit has a full web presence through iLearn. Information for students about access to the online component of this unit is available at https://ilearn.mq.edu.au/login/index.php. You will need to enter your student username and password.

Please do NOT contact the Unit Convenor regarding iLearn technical help. Assistance is available from IT Helpdesk: via email onehelp@mq.edu.au or Ph: 9850 4357 or 1800 67 4357. On Campus: Ground floor at 18 Wally’s Walk.

Unit Schedule

Please see iLearn.

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 connect.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/

Academic Success

Academic Success 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 the Service Connect Portal, 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.

 

School of Education Procedures

In addition, the following policies and procedures for the Macquarie School of Education apply to this unit.

 

Academic Progression Policy

This unit is a part of a professional course listed on Schedules 2 and 3 of the Academic Progression Policy. This course has additional requirements that are applicable for the full duration of the course, including course-specific Inherent Requirements, Fitness to Practice requirements and other compulsory course requirements. It also has rigorous academic progression standards. Inability to meet these requirements may result in a withdrawal of offer of admission and/or permanent exclusion from the course in accordance with the General Coursework Rules.

 

Communication

It is the student’s responsibility to check all electronic communication on a weekly basis.  Communication may occur via:

  • Official MQ Student Email Address
  • The Dialogue function on iLearn
  • Other iLearn communication functions

 

Attendance and Participation 

See the University timetable for information about when classes begin in this unit. Creating your timetable - Enrolling | Macquarie University, Sydney (mq.edu.au)

 

Attendance at all synchronous activities, completion of non-synchronous formative/diagnostic class tasks and involvement in professional forums is expected, as your degree in early childhood, primary, or secondary teaching is a professional qualification. Activities completed during weekly tutorials (DAY or ONLINE DAY mode) or on campus days (INFQ mode) are essential for building the core knowledge and/or skills required to demonstrate the learning outcomes of this unit and to meet the AITSL Graduate Teacher Standards and/or ACECQA requirements. Attendance at all tutorials and/or on campus days is expected and will be recorded. Make up tasks may be given if attendance is missed to ensure all content is covered to meet accreditation requirements.

 

Students are required to attend the tutorial in which they are enrolled. Any changes to tutorial enrolments must be completed officially through e-Student. Please do not contact the unit convenor to request a change.

 

Infrequent Attendance Students

Information about the dates of the on-campus sessions can be found in the university timetable. Creating your timetable - Enrolling | Macquarie University, Sydney (mq.edu.au)

  • The on campus sessions are essential to student engagement and learning and attendance is expected. Failure to attend or not to have an approved Special Consideration may result in a Fail grade.
  • Prior to the on campus sessions, students should have read the prescribed readings and listened to the lectures, summarise the main points, and make notes of the key terms and definitions. Prepare any discussion questions of your own that you wish to share.
  • Please make effective use of the online component of the unit and access iLearn regularly. Keep up to date with listening to the lectures on a weekly basis.
  • Further details and any updates about times and locations will be posted on iLearn as an Announcement during first half of the semester.

Changes from Previous Offering

This is a new unit in 2025.

Unit information based on version 2025.05 of the Handbook