Course Coordinator:Christina Driver (cdriver@usc.edu.au) School:School of Health - Psychology
Online |
Online | You can do this course without coming onto campus. |
Please go to usc.edu.au for up to date information on the
teaching sessions and campuses where this course is usually offered.
Adolescence is a dynamic period of significant physical changes, cognitive development and emotional maturation. It can also be a tumultuous period, as the brain undergoes significant structural and functional changes. Half of mental health conditions emerge by 14 years of age, hence the need for understanding of adolescent neurobiology. In this course, you will investigate the neurobiology of the disorders that emerge in adolescence, and focus on specialised youth mental health services, as well as key factors including social connectedness, digital life and sleep-wake patterns.
Activity | Hours | Beginning Week | Frequency |
Online | |||
Online – The online activities will include a variety of asynchronous, interactive learning materials, and options for lecturer and peer to peer collaborations, and lecturer and peer zoom drop-ins. | 3hrs | Week 1 | 13 times |
*Mature content may include adult themes
700 Level (Specialised)
12 units
Course Learning Outcomes On successful completion of this course, you should be able to... | Graduate Qualities Completing these tasks successfully will contribute to you becoming... | |
1 | Build an advanced understanding of adolescent neurocognition, neurobiology, and treatment approaches to youth mental health. | Knowledgeable |
2 | Identify and interpret the scientific evidence base on major themes in youth mental health and neurobiology. | Empowered |
3 | Critically appraise and synthesize the scientific evidence base on major themes in youth mental health and neurobiology. | Creative and critical thinker |
4 | Apply advanced science communication skills appropriate to the purpose, audience, and context when discussing complex youth mental health issues and concepts. | Engaged |
5 | Identify and explore the impact of a youth mental health issue in a given sub-group. | Creative and critical thinker |
Refer to the UniSC Glossary of terms for definitions of “pre-requisites, co-requisites and anti-requisites”.
Must be enrolled in program AR503, AR602 or AR706 or SC546
Not applicable
Not applicable
Not applicable
Standard Grading (GRD)
High Distinction (HD), Distinction (DN), Credit (CR), Pass (PS), Fail (FL). |
You will be provided with multiple opportunities to gain early formative feedback relevant to your first assessment task, by completing the interactive self-check questions incorporated into your weekly online modules and learning materials.
Delivery mode | Task No. | Assessment Product | Individual or Group | Weighting % | What is the duration / length? | When should I submit? | Where should I submit it? |
All | 1 | Examination - not Centrally Scheduled | Individual | 20% | 1 hour |
Week 4 | Online Test (Quiz) |
All | 2 | Written Piece | Individual | 35% | 1500 words |
Week 9 | Online Assignment Submission with plagiarism check |
All | 3 | Literature Review (or component) | Individual | 45% | 3000 words |
Exam Period | Online Assignment Submission with plagiarism check |
All - Assessment Task 1:Online open book exam | |
Goal: | The goal is to demonstrate your understanding of adolescent neurocognition, neurobiology, and treatment approaches to youth mental health. |
Product: | Examination - not Centrally Scheduled |
Format: | You will respond online to a series of questions which will cover the learning materials from the first block of this course. This online exam will consist of 40 questions ranging from multiple choice, fill in the blank, true or false and short answer questions (practice questions will be provided). |
Criteria: |
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All - Assessment Task 2:Frontiers for Young Minds paper | |
Goal: | The goal is to identify and explore the impact of mental disorders in youth and apply science communication skills to adapt this to be suitable for a young audience. |
Product: | Written Piece |
Format: | You will interpret evidence for the impacts of mental disorders in youth relevant to a chosen sub-group and will present your piece in line with the Frontiers for Young Minds article guidelines and format. Your article will develop the younger audiences’ appreciation of vulnerability to mental health disorders within certain sub-groups. |
Criteria: |
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All - Assessment Task 3:Review paper | |
Goal: | The goal is to appraise and synthesise the advancements in our understanding of youth mental health disorders in relation to current issues affecting youth. |
Product: | Literature Review (or component) |
Format: | In relation to a youth mental health disorder, you will interpret the evidence for how current issues impacting youth affects their neurobiology. You will present this as a review article in line with the guidelines and format provided, and your review will synthesise the impact of the issues with regards to brain development and neurocognition on your chosen disorder. |
Criteria: |
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A 12-unit course will have total of 150 learning hours which will include directed study hours (including online if required), self-directed learning and completion of assessable tasks. Student workload is calculated at 12.5 learning hours per one unit.
Please note: Course information, including specific information of recommended readings, learning activities, resources, weekly readings, etc. are available on the course Canvas site– Please log in as soon as possible.
Please note that you need to have regular access to the resource(s) listed below. Resources may be required or recommended.
Required? | Author | Year | Title | Edition | Publisher |
Required | n/a | 0 | No prescribed text. Key readings will be provided each week through the library course readings | n/a | n/a |
All work submitted for assessment is to be word processed and submitted electronically. It is expected that students will have ready access to a computer with common productivity software and reliable Internet access.
Academic integrity is the ethical standard of university participation. It ensures that students graduate as a result of proving they are competent in their discipline. This is integral in maintaining the value of academic qualifications. Each industry has expectations and standards of the skills and knowledge within that discipline and these are reflected in assessment.
Academic integrity means that you do not engage in any activity that is considered to be academic fraud; including plagiarism, collusion or outsourcing any part of any assessment item to any other person. You are expected to be honest and ethical by completing all work yourself and indicating in your work which ideas and information were developed by you and which were taken from others. You cannot provide your assessment work to others. You are also expected to provide evidence of wide and critical reading, usually by using appropriate academic references.
In order to minimise incidents of academic fraud, this course may require that some of its assessment tasks, when submitted to Canvas, are electronically checked through Turnitin. This software allows for text comparisons to be made between your submitted assessment item and all other work to which Turnitin has access.
Eligibility for Supplementary Assessment Your eligibility for supplementary assessment in a course is dependent of the following conditions applying: The final mark is in the percentage range 47% to 49.4% The course is graded using the Standard Grading scale You have not failed an assessment task in the course due to academic misconduct
Late submission of assessment tasks will be penalised at the following maximum rate: 5% (of the assessment task’s identified value) per day for the first two days from the date identified as the due date for the assessment task 10% (of the assessment task’s identified value) for the third day 20% (of the assessment task’s identified value) for the fourth day and subsequent days up to and including seven days from the date identified as the due date for the assessment task A result of zero is awarded for an assessment task submitted seven days from the date identified as the due date for the assessment task. Weekdays and weekends are included in the calculation of days late. To request an extension, you must contact your Course Coordinator and supply the required documentation to negotiate an outcome.
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