Projects per year
Personal profile
Biography
Penny Van Bergen is a Senior Lecturer in Educational Psychology. She is Director of the Faculty of Human Sciences' Centre for Children’s Learning in a Social World, and Deputy Director of Research in the Department of Educational Studies.
Research Interests
Penny’s research focuses on children’s development of memory and emotion skills in social contexts. She studies how parents and families reminisce with children about the past, how children use emotion and perspective-taking skills when working with others, and how group-work in schools and universities may facilitate learning.
Penny is particularly interested in children’s relationships with teachers, parents, and peers, and in mapping the kinds of social interactions that best facilitate learning and development. Her work has been featured in several media outlets (e.g. The Conversation, The Sun Herald, The Sydney Morning Herald, Sunrise, and the US-based “Parents” magazine).
Penny supervises Higher Degree Research students whose projects lie within her areas of research specialisation. Please email penny.vanbergen@mq.edu.au to discuss potential topics and opportunities.
Teaching and scholarship
Penny teaches in the undergraduate primary and secondary teaching degree programs at Macquarie, convening the educational psychology unit “EDUC262: The Learner”. Underpinning her teaching is a strong commitment to creating undergraduate research opportunities for education students.
Penny has been awarded several teaching awards including:
- Faculty of Human Sciences Dean’s Award for Teaching Excellence (2017)
- Australian Psychological Society Early Career Teaching Award (2013)
- Vice Chancellor’s Citation for Programs that Enhance Student Learning (2013)
- Faculty of Human Sciences Dean’s Award for Programs that Enhance Student Learning (2013)
- Australian Government Office of Learning and Teaching Citation for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning (2012)
- Vice Chancellor’s Award for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning (2011)
- Faculty of Human Sciences Dean’s Award for Outstanding Contributions to Student Learning (2011)
- UniJobs Lecturer of the Year – Top 20 Australia-wide (2010)
Fingerprint Fingerprint is based on mining the text of the person's scientific documents to create an index of weighted terms, which defines the key subjects of each individual researcher.
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Network
Recent external collaboration on country level. Dive into details by clicking on the dots.
Projects 2011 2020
Elaborative and emotive reminiscing with young children: An intervention study for early childhood educators
1/01/19 → 31/12/20
Project: Research
Enhancing the benefits of collaboration on children's memory and learning
1/07/18 → …
Project: Research
Thinking together, remembering alone: Does the effectiveness of peer collaboration in schools depend on the task?
1/01/16 → 30/04/17
Project: Research
school
Research Output 2006 2019
Attributions and emotional competence: why some teachers experience close relationships with disruptive students (and others don’t)
McGrath, K. F. & Van Bergen, P., 22 Jan 2019, In : Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice. 24 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
attribution
teacher
student teacher
experience
student
Comparing radical, social and psychological constructivism in Australian higher education: a psycho-philosophical perspective
Van Bergen, P. & Parsell, M., Mar 2019, In : The Australian Educational Researcher. 46, 1, p. 41–58 18 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
constructivism
education
interpretation
pedagogics
academy
The role of social media in developing young people’s health literacy
Dudley, D. A., Van Bergen, P., McMaugh, A. & Mackenzie, E., 2019, Young people, social media and health. Goodyear, V. A. & Armour, K. M. (eds.). Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY: Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group, p. 147-161 15 p. (Routledge studies in physical education and youth sport).Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › Research › peer-review
Open Access
File
social media
literacy
health
health care
adolescent
Caught between a rock and a hard place: disruptive boys’ views on mainstream and special schools in New South Wales, Australia
Graham, L. J., Van Bergen, P. & Sweller, N., 2018, Alternative educational programmes, schools and social justice. McGregor, G., Thomson, P., Pennacchia, J. & Mills, M. (eds.). London ; New York: Routledge, Taylor and Francis Group, p. 35-54 20 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › Research
Coaching mothers of typical and conduct problem children in elaborative parent-child reminiscing: influences of a randomized controlled trial on reminiscing behaviour and everyday talk preferences
Van Bergen, P., Salmon, K. & Dadds, M. R., Dec 2018, In : Behaviour Research and Therapy. 111, p. 9-18 10 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Randomized Controlled Trials
Mothers
Mentoring
Emotions
Language
Prizes
Australian Psychological Society Early Career Teaching Award
Penelope Van Bergen (Recipient), 2013
Prize
Faculty of Human Sciences Citation for Programs that Enhance Student Learning
Penelope Van Bergen (Recipient) & Rod Lane (Recipient), 2013
Prize