The Psychology of Exceptional Learning

This subject is not offered in 2014.

Attendance at all classes (tutorial/seminars/practical classes/lectures/labs) is obligatory. Failure to attend 80% of classes will normally result in failure in the subject.

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Students Experiencing Academic Disadvantage Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Description, Subject Objectives, Generic Skills and Assessment Requirements of this entry.

The University is dedicated to provide support to those with special requirements. Further details on the disability support scheme can be found at the HDisability Liaison Unit websiteH: Hhttp://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/disability/H

This subject examines concepts, theories and issues in educational and developmental psychology necessary to understand and diagnose academic learning disabilities that will lead to effective curriculum development. It will examine the individual differences in cognitive structures such as the representation of knowledge by learners, short-term and long-term memory, cognitive and metacognitive processes, and the affective processes associated with understanding learning, such as self-efficacy and motivation to learn.

On completion of this subject, students should be able to:

• Understand the developmental processes that underpin a student's abilities to successfully engage in literacy and numeracy learning
• Describe the role of long- and short- term memory, meta-cognitive processes and affective processes in learning
• Investigate how curriculum can be developed to assist students to develop and cope with their particular learning difficulty.

An essay of approx 5,000 words that provides a critical examination of a major concept or issue in the psychology of exceptional learning and its implications for improving instruction/education/pedagogy. (100 per cent)

McInerney D.M. & V. McInerney. (1998) Educational Psychology: Constructing Learning. Sydney: Prentice Hall

Kaufman, A.S. & Kaufman, N.L. (2000). Specific learning disabilities and difficulties in children and adolescents. Cambridge University Press.

Slavin, R.E. (1997). Educational Psychology: Theory and practice. Needham heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.