Postgraduate - UnitEDF4600 - Contemporary issues in developmental psychology

This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2014 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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6 points, SCA Band 1, 0.125 EFTSL

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

Level	Postgraduate
Faculty	Faculty of Education
Offered	Clayton Second semester 2014 (Evening)
Coordinator(s)	Mr Nicholas Gamble

Synopsis

This unit aims to increase student's understanding of human development across the lifespan through the study of biological, perceptual, cognitive, personality, social and emotional changes from infancy to adulthood. Deviations from normal development will be covered within the field of developmental psychopathology. The content of the unit will reflect the view that human behaviour throughout life is multiply determined by the interaction of both environmental and constitutional influences and the context in which development occurs. Through student presentations and class discussion, students will be introduced to a number of current topics and contrasting developmental theories.

Outcomes

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

acquire knowledge of the contemporary research, theoretical and applied issues in developmental psychology
develop the skills necessary to critically appraise the current developmental literature and theories
gain an appreciation of the value of informed group discussion in evaluating psychological research and ideas
further develop their oral and written communication skills.

Assessment

Presentation of discussion paper (2000 words equivalent, 35%)
Essay related to discussion paper topic (2000 words, 40%)
Participation in class discussion (25%)

Chief examiner(s)

Mr Nicholas Gamble

Workload requirements

Minimum total expected workload equals 12 hours per week comprising:

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

2 hour lecture per week

(b.) Additional requirements

10 hours of independent study per week

Prerequisites

Successful completion of an Australian Psychology Accreditation Council (APAC) accredited major sequence in psychology.

Prohibitions

PSY4512