Undergraduate Course: Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience: Childhood (PSYL10135)
Course Outline
| School | School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences |
College | College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Availability | Available to all students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | The course covers how cognition and the brain change during childhood, focusing on the reciprocal relationship between cognitive and brain development, and how it is influenced by the environment in which a child grows up. |
| Course description |
This course covers some specific topics in developmental cognitive neuroscience, focusing on childhood. The goals of the course are to:
(a) Introduce important phenomena and mechanisms supporting neurocognitive development.
(b) Understand the mutual influence among the brain, cognition, and the environment in the dynamic context of development.
(c) Illustrate these mechanisms in various domains (e.g., perception, learning, memory) in the first part of the course, and study in more depth how they contribute to changes in one specific domain (cognitive control) in the second part of the course.
(d) Provide students with an introduction to some of the methods used within developmental cognitive neuroscience including basic experimentation, formal theory development, and neuroscientific methods.
Through this course, students will practice and sharpen the following skills: critical analysis, information integration, structuring and presenting arguments, critical analysis, and writing skills.
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Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Visiting students should be studying Psychology as their degree major, and have completed at least 3 Psychology courses at grade B or above. We will only consider University/College level courses. Applicants should note that, as with other popular courses, meeting the minimum does NOT guarantee admission. **Please note that upper level Psychology courses are high-demand, meaning that they have a very high number of students wishing to enrol in a very limited number of spaces.** These enrolments are managed strictly by the Visiting Student Office, in line with the quotas allocated by the department, and all enquiries to enrol in these courses must be made through the CAHSS Visiting Student Office. It is not appropriate for students to contact the department directly to request additional spaces. |
| High Demand Course? |
Yes |
Course Delivery Information
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| Academic year 2022/23, Available to all students (SV1)
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Quota: 121 |
| Course Start |
Semester 1 |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 20,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
176 )
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| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
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| Additional Information (Assessment) |
Mid-course MCQ test (30%), Essay (70%)
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| Feedback |
1. In class feedback exercises will be used to check understanding and to develop skills (e.g. quizzes, peer feedback on essay plans/drafts).
2. The mid-course MCQ test is a summative assessment (so the mark will provide numerical feedback as to grade). As the MCQ test is designed to assess foundational knowledge about the course topic, performance on the MCQ test will provide formative feedback as to whether students have a good grasp of the foundations or need to do some more study to consolidate knowledge and provide the necessary basis for more advanced parts of the course to follow.
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| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Demonstrate an understanding of recent scientific advances, debates, and challenges regarding brain and cognitive developments
- Analyze the developmental mechanisms driving cognitive and neural changes during childhood
- Demonstrate an understanding of how cognitive development and brain development are mutually supportive
- Analyze the role of experience and the environment in brain and cognitive developments
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Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
The course will encourage students to reflect and evaluate recent scientific advances and theories in the field of developmental cognitive neuroscience (research and inquiry). Students will have the opportunity to critically assess how scientific evidence may apply to current societal issues (personal and intellectual autonomy). It will foster oral and written communication skills through debates and written assignments (communication). |
| Keywords | psychology; cognitive neuroscience; developmental; childhood |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Nicolas Chevalier
Tel:
Email: nchevali@exseed.ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Miss Georgiana Gherasim
Tel: (0131 6)50 3440
Email: ggherasi@ed.ac.uk |
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