Students

EDST4120 – Adolescent Development and Classroom Practice

2025 – Session 1, Online-scheduled-weekday

General Information

Download as PDF
Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit Convenor
Anne McMaugh
anne.mcmaugh@mq.edu.au
Contact via anne.mcmaugh@mq.edu.au
Monday 10-11am by Zoom
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
130cp and (EDUC2620 or EDUC262 or EDST2510)
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

This unit builds on EDUC2620 with a particular emphasis on applying an understanding of adolescent development to the establishment of a facilitative learning environment. Students will develop a significant understanding of adolescence and adolescent development and interactions with educational processes. Theories of adolescent development, educational psychology and sociology pertinent to adolescents are examined along with the educational, social and policy contexts in which adolescents are situated. There is a focus on an understanding of changes in cognitive, social and emotional development along with issues of motivation and engagement in school, social relationships with peers and teachers and the health and well-being of adolescents in school and social contexts.

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: Critically analyse concepts of adolescent learning and development in the context of schools and classrooms.
  • ULO2: Synthesise research evidence to plan and design a practice-related project and investigation of adolescent learning and development.
  • ULO3: Demonstrate and apply report writing skills that communicates professional application and description of observations of adolescent development.
  • ULO4: Develop an understanding of classroom practices that motivate, engage and support adolescent learners.

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) in this unit

The use of AI is not permitted for quizzes.

Your assignments cannot report content generated by a third party or AI sources.

While AI tools (e.g. Copilot, ChatGPT, ResearchRabbit and other generative AI tools), can be useful sources of information and ideas, it is fraudulent and a breach of acdemic integrity to pass off the content generated by these tools as your own writing and ideas. Please note that information or references generated by a third party or AI (e.g. Multisearch, Google Scholar, Chat GPT, etc.) needs to be checked for accuracy and reliability.

AI and third party information generators are notorious for providing wrong, false, and incomplete information. It is your responsibility to check any content, information or references you acquire or use from any third party sources. 

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. 

Quizzes

The quiz is an individual assessment task and must be completed by each student individually. Similarities in responses between students will be checked and investigated for possible collusion.  

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
Learning and Engagement Assessments 20% No Quiz 1. In tute 24/3/2025. Quiz 2. In tute 7/4/2025.
Project Part 1 30% No Week 6. 02/04/2025 11:59pm
Project Part 2 50% No Week 14. 14/06/2025 11:59pm

Learning and Engagement Assessments

Assessment Type 1: Quiz/Test
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: Quiz 1. In tute 24/3/2025. Quiz 2. In tute 7/4/2025.
Weighting: 20%

 

Students will complete assessments of their learning and engagement with the unit content (approx 500 words). 

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Critically analyse concepts of adolescent learning and development in the context of schools and classrooms.
  • Develop an understanding of classroom practices that motivate, engage and support adolescent learners.

Project Part 1

Assessment Type 1: Project
Indicative Time on Task 2: 30 hours
Due: Week 6. 02/04/2025 11:59pm
Weighting: 30%

 

The development of an individual project plan (selected from allocated topics) concerning a feature of adolescent learning or development (1000 words). 

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Critically analyse concepts of adolescent learning and development in the context of schools and classrooms.
  • Synthesise research evidence to plan and design a practice-related project and investigation of adolescent learning and development.
  • Develop an understanding of classroom practices that motivate, engage and support adolescent learners.

Project Part 2

Assessment Type 1: Project
Indicative Time on Task 2: 50 hours
Due: Week 14. 14/06/2025 11:59pm
Weighting: 50%

 

Final project report demonstrating the application of research evidence to the allocated topic (from Project Part 1) and application to classroom-based practice (1500 words). 

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Synthesise research evidence to plan and design a practice-related project and investigation of adolescent learning and development.
  • Demonstrate and apply report writing skills that communicates professional application and description of observations of adolescent development.
  • Develop an understanding of classroom practices that motivate, engage and support adolescent learners.

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

Structure

This is an 8 week unit of study. Each week there are two (2) lectures/podcasts and one (1) tutorial. The unit has two modes of attendance including  weekly weekly day face-to-face tutorials and online (Zoom) tutorials. You must register in one of these tutorial modes and attend your registered tutorial.

Required and Recommended Readings

Required readings are located in the Leganto tool in iLearn or in the library.

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

Recommended text: Duchesne, S., McMaugh, A., & Mackenzie, E. (2022). Educational psychology: for learning and teaching. (7th ed.) Cengage Learning Australia.

The iLearn website

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.  

IT help

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

Your weekly schedule is detailed in iLearn.

The topics will be covered in five modules.

The developing adolescent Weeks 1 and 2 Tutes begin in Week 1

Theories & perceptions of adolescence

Development in adolescence

The marvellous adolescent brain
The adolescent learner Weeks 3 and 4  

Cognitive growth (CG) and capacities

Responding to CG in the classroom

Motivation and engagement: new approaches
The adolescent and schooling Weeks 5 and 6

Schooling adolescents- are we doing it right?

Positive Youth Development approaches

School belonging

Social relationships in learning and life
Supporting the developing adolescent Week 7   Various topics: Bullying, harassment & aggression; sexuality and identity formation. 
 Supporting the developing adolescent

Week 8

 

 Supporting a safe classroom: mental health and SEL support through pedagogy. The final tutorial and project support this week.

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.

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 the BA/BEd. (Secondary) 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. 

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.

Changes from Previous Offering

Assessment tasks and due dates are changed in each offering. 

Unit information based on version 2025.02 of the Handbook