Course coordinator
Mrs Dawn Boland
Course overview
- Study period
- Semester 2, 2025 (28/07/2025 - 22/11/2025)
- Study level
- Postgraduate Coursework
- Location
- External
- Attendance mode
- Online
- Units
- 2
- Administrative campus
- St Lucia
- Coordinating unit
- Education School
This course serves the needs of multiple cohorts of students. It prepares current teachers to teach psychology in the senior phase of schooling. Students with backgrounds other than teaching will develop skills to prepare them for potential employment opportunities and/or subsequent studies aligned with the field of psychology education. During the course, students will engage in a critical analysis of recent disciplinary developments in scholarship and professional practice in the teaching of psychology in the senior phase of schooling. Students will demonstrate the application of knowledge and skills to practice through (i) designing discipline specific assessment tasks that draw on curriculum, assessment, reporting, and ICT knowledge; and (ii) identifying and designing discipline specific opportunities for professional engagement and communication within the school context, teaching networks and the broader community.
This course helps prepare teachers and education professionals to design and deliver programs in psychology. This course does not require the completion of Psychology Curriculum: Design and Resources. The aim of this course is to develop knowledge in the ongoing development of the psychology curriculum with a strong focus on classroom practice, professional development and leadership.
Course requirements
Incompatible
You can't enrol in this course if you've already completed the following:
EDUC7659
Restrictions
Restricted to students enrolled in the GCEdSt and MEdSt
Jointly taught details
This course is jointly-taught with:
- Another instance of the same course
This course has Internal and External modes. In Person students will attend classes on campus, and External students will access online delivery.
Course contact
Lecturer
Mrs Dawn Boland
Timetable
The timetable for this course is available on the UQ Public Timetable.
Aims and outcomes
The aims of this course are:ﾠ
- to develop knowledge and skill in the delivery of psychology programs in secondary and other educational settings;
- to create the foundation for ongoing development and enhancement of practice in psychology education;ﾠ
- to provide a foundation for the leadership of psychology education.ﾠ
ﾠ
Learning outcomes
After successfully completing this course you should be able to:
LO1.
Demonstrate a critical understanding of relevant content and analysis of recent disciplinary developments in scholarship and professional practice in the teaching of Psychology. (APST 2.1)
LO2.
Demonstrate the ability to design, implement and evaluate learning and teaching sequences and discipline-specific assessment tasks that draw on relevant curriculum documents, a range of innovative and effective teaching resources, a range of assessment and reporting strategies, and ICT knowledge that enables teaching strategies that expand learning. (APSTs 2.2, 2.3, 2.6, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 5.1)
LO3.
Demonstrate the ability to respond to feedback, and identify and design innovative discipline-specific opportunities for professional learning engagement and communication within the school context, teaching networks and the broader community and understand the rationale for this professional practice in relation to improved student learning. (APSTs 6.3, 6.4, 7.4)
LO4.
Demonstrate clear, fluent and coherent communication skills in English consistent with personal, professional and academic conventions. (APST 2.1)
Assessment
Assessment summary
| Category | Assessment task | Weight | Due date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Presentation | Professional development presentation | 30% Presentation (recorded) of 15 minutes and written component |
24/09/2025 2:00 pm |
| Paper/ Report/ Annotation | Learning and teaching sequence and assessment task | 50% 3000 words |
29/10/2025 2:00 pm |
| Paper/ Report/ Annotation | Reflective Journal | 20% 6 selected reflections: ~ 1500 words in total |
12/11/2025 2:00 pm |
Assessment details
Professional development presentation
- Mode
- Activity/ Performance, Oral
- Category
- Presentation
- Weight
- 30% Presentation (recorded) of 15 minutes and written component
- Due date
24/09/2025 2:00 pm
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L02, L03, L04
Task description
You are to present a professional development (PD) session for Psychology teachers. For this assessment task, you are to design one secondary school Psychology activity and lead other teachers in how you would break down the activity and teach it to students. This will be submitted as a pre-recorded video submission.
Your presentation should go for no more than 15 minutes and should consist of the following:
- A 5-minute introduction that outlines the topic (from Unit 3 or 4 of the QCAA Psychology Syllabus), the lesson objective/s and the teaching activity to be presented. You will need to give some context to the activity, the nature of the design and what will be achieved. It is expected that you are visible on camera during your presentation.
- At least a 10-minute breakdown of the activity and how it might be implemented.
In addition, you are required to submit a written component which includes:
- An overview that shows where your PD aligns with the needs of psychology educators
- A full plan that indicates where your PD fits into an overall PD strategy
- Any resources used
- A justification of your approach to the PD and learning design
- A rationale outlining the importance of continued professional learning.
It is expected that your written component will include significant reference to the research literature to support the decisions you made when designing your session and reflecting on its effectiveness.
Submission guidelines
Assignments for this course will be submitted electronically via Blackboard and using Turnitin
Deferral or extension
You may be able to apply for an extension.
The maximum extension allowed is 28 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.
Late submission
A penalty of 1 grade for each 24 hour period from time submission is due will apply for up to 7 days. After 7 days you will receive a mark of 0.
Learning and teaching sequence and assessment task
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Paper/ Report/ Annotation
- Weight
- 50% 3000 words
- Due date
29/10/2025 2:00 pm
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L02, L03, L04
Task description
To ensure that the learning intents of the syllabus are delivered effectively, teachers need to plan their learning sequences (QCAA TLAP) and ensure that assessment tasks meet the requirements of the instrument specific marking guides (ISMG - found in the QCAA Psychology Syllabus).
The Task
Design a comprehensive topic plan (10-15 hours' worth of lessons) for use within a Queensland Secondary school Psychology context using the QCAA Psychology Syllabus, Unit 3 or 4.
Your submission needs to include the following:
1. A detailed overview of the sequence of lessons in table format for the topic including a summary of:
a. Learning goal/intent
b. Key content/vocab/terminology
c. Key teaching, reporting and learning strategies
d. Literacy and numeracy activities and / or strategies (where applicable)
e. Resources required
f. Homework (where applicable)
g. Assessment strategies (e.g. informal, formal, diagnostic, formative, summative)
2. Three detailed lesson plans (table format) of 1 hour each that include all elements typical of a functional lesson plan document (e.g. indicative timing for each learning activity, specific resources students will use etc.)
3. An assessment task sheet and marking criteria that reflects the requirements of the QCAA syllabus.
4. A thorough description and critical discussion of the design decisions shown in the annotations, which have informed the TLAP, and of the 3 lesson plans. This must include references to educational literature and relevant learning theory/research. Ensure that you justify:
a. all high-level pedagogical approaches and teaching strategies used.
b. the implementation of ICT strategies and how the use of these technologies expand learning opportunities for students.
c. how you have set learning goals that provide achievable challenges for students of varying abilities and characteristics.
d. how you have used differentiation strategies to meet the specific learning needs of students across the full range of abilities.
e. how literacy and numeracy strategies have been incorporated to allow for thorough development of students' literacy and numeracy skills.
f. how you have used a range of assessment and reporting strategies throughout the topic to monitor student learning.
(To meet the requirements of section 4 it is recommended that students annotate unit and lesson planning documents to demonstrate explicitly where these elements are included and include written explanation in the justification of the decision-making linking theory to practice with references to current research)
5. Provide an assessment task and marking criteria for the topic that reflects the requirements of the curriculum document. Demonstrate your understanding of assessment strategies by describing how you will use a range of approaches throughout the unit (e.g. informal, formal, diagnostic, formative, summative) to assess student learning. Align such activities with the external exam.
Submission guidelines
Assignments for this course will be submitted electronically via Blackboard and using Turnitin.
Deferral or extension
You may be able to apply for an extension.
The maximum extension allowed is 28 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.
Late submission
A penalty of 1 grade for each 24 hour period from time submission is due will apply for up to 7 days. After 7 days you will receive a mark of 0.
Reflective Journal
- Mode
- Written
- Category
- Paper/ Report/ Annotation
- Weight
- 20% 6 selected reflections: ~ 1500 words in total
- Due date
12/11/2025 2:00 pm
- Learning outcomes
- L01, L02, L03, L04
Task description
To ensure that students remain on track to complete EDUC7072, you will be required to submit weekly journal posts to Blackboard through the Discussion Board Tab summarising your main learnings from the week. You will also need to submit a final culminating reflection near the end of the course.
Part A - Weekly journal posts - formative feedback given through posts on the discussion boards as time permits (not marked)
This task is not designed to be onerous. Your posts can be very brief, i.e. ~100 words. The main areas to focus on in your reflections are:
- What is the key take away message you have from the workshop this week?
- What is one talking point from the workshop you are still unsure about?
- What information from the workshop would you like to know more about?
- Highlight any connections to the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST), Science of Learning, High Impact Teaching Strategies (HITS) and your experience of the Micro Teaching Session.
These are suggested questions only, you are free to reflect on any element of the course you wish. It is important that you post your reflections weekly as they will guide some of the class discussion during the workshops each week. It will also be very difficult to complete the final submission at the end of semester without having made posts weekly.
Part B - Final submission - summative feedback given through Turn It In on the due date - this is marked towards the final grade.
For your final submission, please cut and paste your six most significant reflections from those you have made each week into a word processing document (e.g. Microsoft Word). As a seventh and final section, please add either an introduction or conclusions reflecting on the semester as a whole (~200 words). The focus for this last reflection should be on what you feel you have learned through completing EDUC7072.
Submission guidelines
Part B: submitted electronically via Blackboard and using Turnitin.
Collate your 7 reflections (i.e. 6 from the course time and a final) into one document for submission.
Deferral or extension
You may be able to apply for an extension.
The maximum extension allowed is 28 days. Extensions are given in multiples of 24 hours.
Late submission
A penalty of 1 grade for each 24 hour period from time submission is due will apply for up to 7 days. After 7 days you will receive a mark of 0.
Course grading
Full criteria for each grade is available in the Assessment Procedure.
| Grade | Description |
|---|---|
| 1 (Low Fail) |
Absence of evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: No evidence of engagement with assessment requirements and literature. No critical analysis of readings, theories and research. |
| 2 (Fail) |
Minimal evidence of achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: Very minimal engagement with assessment requirements and literature. Critical analysis of readings, theories and research severely lacking. Written presentation extremely poor. |
| 3 (Marginal Fail) |
Demonstrated evidence of developing achievement of course learning outcomes Course grade description: Lack of engagement with assessment requirements and literature. Poor critical analysis of readings, theories and research with substandard written presentation. |
| 4 (Pass) |
Demonstrated evidence of functional achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: Satisfies all of the basic requirements for the course, such as some use of fundamental concepts, some use of references, basically keeping to the topic; some elaboration of ideas and arguments, some degree of coherence and organisation and appropriate length; demonstrates sufficient quality of performance to be considered satisfactory or adequate or competent or capable with respect to explaining the significance and implications of the topic. |
| 5 (Credit) |
Demonstrated evidence of proficient achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: Demonstrates ability to use and apply fundamental concepts of the course, going beyond mere replication of ideas from source materials to show understanding of key ideas, awareness of relevance, analysis of implications and drawing of conclusions. |
| 6 (Distinction) |
Demonstrated evidence of advanced achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: Demonstrates awareness and understanding of deeper and subtler aspects of the course, such as identifying and debating critical issues or problems, applying ideas to practical situations in schools, and offering insightful commentary, implications and conclusions. |
| 7 (High Distinction) |
Demonstrated evidence of exceptional achievement of course learning outcomes. Course grade description: Demonstrates imagination, originality or flair, based on comprehensive and complex understanding of the course. Assessment is interesting or surprising or exciting or challenging or erudite. |
Additional course grading information
Determining final grades:
The final grades are determined by consideration of the weighting of individual assessment items, through the use of weighting formula and the profile of individual grades across accumulated assessment tasks.
An exemplar to show calculation of the final grade:
All three assignments in this course will be provided a grade out of 7. The final grade will be calculated using the weighting and the individual assignment grades as follows.
Assignment 1 (A1): grade of 6 at 35% weighting
Assignment 2 (A2): grade of 5 at 35% weighting
Assignment 3 (A3): grade of 6 at 30% weighting
The final grade for this student taking into account the weighting of each assignment would be: (A1) + (A2) + (A3)
(0.35 x 6) + (0.35 x 5) + (0.3 x 6) = 2.1 + 1.75 + 1.8 = 5.65
The final grade would be rounded to the nearest whole number; in this case the grade would be 6.
In the case where the final grade is 0.5 or above, the grade will be rounded up to the nearest whole number (e.g. 5.5 would become 6). In the case where the final grade is 0.49 or below, the grade will be rounded down to the nearest whole number (e.g. 6.49 would become 6).
Supplementary assessment
Supplementary assessment is available for this course.
Additional assessment information
The following applies to all assessments in this course:
Marking criteria and/or marking rubrics are available in the 'Assessment' folder in Blackboard for this course.
Release of assessment item marks and feedback
In addition to the grade awarded, feedback will be provided in a timely manner to enable students to apply the feedback to further tasks within the course or program and/or plan for supplementary assessment, requests for re-mark, or re-enrolment. However, as per UQ Policy and Procedures Library under the Assessment Policy, results for the final assessment item are to be released only after the final grade for the course has been released. Time frames for applications for assessment re-mark are indicated under the Assessment Procedure.
Re-mark policy
After each assessable item, students will be given the opportunity to view their assessment and so satisfy themselves that a marking or administrative error has not occurred. The formal process of querying a course result (requesting a remark on academic grounds) is set out in the UQ Policy and Procedures Library under the Assessment Procedure.
Use of AI/MT to support or inform assessment
This task has been designed to be challenging, authentic and complex. Whilst students may use AI and/or MT technologies, successful completion of assessment in this course will require students to critically engage in specific contexts and tasks for which artificial intelligence will provide only limited support and guidance.
A failure to reference generative AI or MT use may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct.
To pass this assessment, students will be required to demonstrate detailed comprehension of their written submission independent of AI and MT tools.
Learning resources
You'll need the following resources to successfully complete the course. We've indicated below if you need a personal copy of the reading materials or your own item.
Library resources
Find the required and recommended resources for this course on the UQ Library website.
Additional learning resources information
Students will also be required to be familiar with all aspects of the Queensland Senior Psychology syllabus document. In particular, emphasis will be placed on Units 3 and 4 of the syllabus. This document is publicly accessible via the QCAA website; however, a direct link will also be made available to students in Blackboard.
Learning activities
The learning activities for this course are outlined below. Learn more about the learning outcomes that apply to this course.
Filter activity type by
Please select
| Learning period | Activity type | Topic |
|---|---|---|
Week 1 (28 Jul - 03 Aug) |
Lecture |
Introduction Exploration of Psychology curriculum documents in domestic and international secondary school contexts (Years 11-12), including in-depth discussion about the Queensland approach to Psychology curriculum and assessment. APST: 2.1 Learning outcomes: L01, L04 |
Week 2 (04 Aug - 10 Aug) |
Lecture |
Professional development In-depth discussion of the professional development needs and opportunities for teachers of high school psychology curriculum. APST: 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 6.4, 7.4 Learning outcomes: L01, L04 |
Multiple weeks From Week 3 To Week 7 |
Lecture |
Teaching Units 3 and 4 Teaching the psychology content (concepts, substance and structure), with emphasis on Unit 3 and 4 of QCAA syllabus. APST: 1.2, 1.5, 2.1, 2.2, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4 Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L04 |
Week 8 (15 Sep - 21 Sep) |
Workshop |
Engaging with PD presentations Providing constructive feedback to peers on professional development presentations. APST: 1.2, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, 4.2, 6.3 Learning outcomes: L03, L04 |
Week 9 (22 Sep - 28 Sep) |
Lecture |
Assessment strategies Assessment design and development: including informal and formal, diagnostic, formative and summative approaches to assess student learning APST: 2.3, 5.1 Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04 |
Mid Sem break (29 Sep - 05 Oct) |
No student involvement (Breaks, information) |
Mid-semester break |
Week 10 (06 Oct - 12 Oct) |
Lecture |
Educational technology Implementing teaching strategies for using ICT to expand curriculum learning APST: 2.6 Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04 |
Week 11 (13 Oct - 19 Oct) |
Lecture |
Classroom organisation Classroom organisation and behaviour management in the Psychology classroom APST: 1.2, 3.1, 4.2 Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04 |
Week 12 (20 Oct - 26 Oct) |
Lecture |
Literacy and numeracy strategies In-depth discussion about literacy and numeracy teaching strategies in Psychology, including selection of appropriate and relevant resources for students. APST: 1.2, 2.5, 3.4, 3.5, 4.1 Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04 |
Week 13 (27 Oct - 02 Nov) |
Lecture |
Ongoing professional learning Professional learning and engagement opportunities for Psychology teachers APST: 6.4,7.4 Learning outcomes: L01, L02, L03, L04 |
Policies and procedures
University policies and procedures apply to all aspects of student life. As a UQ student, you must comply with University-wide and program-specific requirements, including the:
- Student Code of Conduct Policy
- Student Integrity and Misconduct Policy and Procedure
- Assessment Procedure
- Examinations Procedure
- Reasonable Adjustments for Students Policy and Procedure
Learn more about UQ policies on my.UQ and the Policy and Procedure Library.