This article has been reproduced with the permission of Access Education and was authored by Jenny Furey.

In Unit 3 Psychology there are three Areas of Study: Brain and Nervous System, Visual Perception and States of Consciousness. As part of the school-assessed course work you will complete three outcomes, one for each Area of Study. Outcome 1 is worth 40 marks and Outcomes 2 and 3 are worth 30 marks each. Your teacher will choose at least three different tasks selected from the following:

Essay, Empirical research activity, Annotated poster, Multimedia presentation, Summary and evaluation of data and methods from two or more related studies and lastly Tests (multiple choice, short-answer and extended response)

The school-assessed coursework for Units 3 and 4 contributes a total of 34% to your study score. The rest of your marks come from the mid-year and end-of-year examinations which are worth 33% each. Therefore, the break down of your marks looks like this:

Some teachers may vary the order of the Areas of Study however, in the mid-year examination, questions on the Brain and Nervous System will appear first. Outcome 1, in which you have to explain the major functions of the brain, the role of the nervous system and provide an evaluation of brain research methods also needs to be completed in this time and it is worth the most marks of the three outcomes. The teacher may give you one task to cover all these aspects of the brain and nervous system such as a test or the outcome may consist of more than one task.

There is a wide range of information that needs to be covered in Area of Study 1, the Brain and Nervous System and, at times, students may think they have enrolled in a Biology course. It may be an idea to begin reading through the relevant chapters in your text book over the summer break to familiarize yourself with the content. Read further to investigate the four lobes of the cerebral cortex which you will learn for Outcome 1 and the mid-year examination.

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Jenny Furey. B.Ed., Grad Dip Child & Adol Psych., MAPS, School Psychologist, Mt St Joseph Girls’ College.

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