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Development of the Thinking Child (PSYC30019)

Undergraduate level 3Points: 12.5On Campus (Parkville)

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Overview

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Semester 2
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The subject will provide students with an opportunity to evaluate the relationship between cognitive and neuropsychological typical and atypical development in pre-adolescent children.

Contemporary theory and research methods for investigating cognitive and neuropsychological development will be reviewed. The focus will be on the adequacy of research methods for answering questions about typical and atypical cognitive and neuropsychological development. Subject themes will include:

  • Characterizing the development of thinking and reasoning abilities.
  • Characterizing neuropsychological development in pre-adolescent children.
  • Understanding links between the adequacies of research questions, research methods and data analyses.
  • Understanding the meaning and significance of variability in cognitive and neuropsychological change in pre-adolescent children.
  • Formulating research questions that investigate typical and atypical development.
  • Writing research reports that reflect an awareness of differences in typical and atypical developing pre-adolescent children.

The overall aim of the subject is to help students acquire an understanding of the issues associated with identifying typical and atypically cognitive and neuropsychological development in preadolescent children.

Intended learning outcomes

Upon completion of the subject students will be able to demonstrate the following learning outcomes:


Knowledge


On completion of the subject students will demonstrate knowledge of:


  • Differences in the methods and analytic techniques used to study cognitive and neurocognitive development.
  • The difficulties associated with identifying different patterns of cognitive and neuropsychological changes in preadolescent children.

Skills


On completion of the subject students will have developed skills to:


  • Evaluate the adequacy of research methods used to study cognitive-neuropsychological development.
  • Interpret cognitive-neuropsychological development research data
  • Understand analytic issues associated with studying variability in development.
  • Describe typical and atypical developmental patterns and change trajectories

Application of knowledge and skills


On completion of this subject students will be able to apply their knowledge and skills to:


  • Design hypotheses to answer research questions about children’s cognitive-neuropsychological development.

Generic skills

On completion of this subject students will have had the opportunity to develop skills to:

  • Relate theory to practice.
  • Understand the relationships between theoretical and methodological claims.
  • Present, develop and support an argument for a position.
  • Write reports that reflect an understanding of core issues in cognitive-neuropsychological development.

Last updated: 3 October 2024