Course Description
The role that psychology plays in the instructional process. Advanced psychological theories and models are applied to learning in schools and other educational settings. The implications of current cognitive science research for improving teaching and learning at all developmental levels.
Athena Title
PSY LEARN & INSTRUC
Semester Course Offered
Offered every year.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
1. Cognitive Psychology: A brief history *associationist era *cognitive era: cognitive science *constructivism: the role of the learner in transforming knowledge 2. Sensation and Perception *sensory registers *pattern recognition and the assignment of meaning *role of knowledge in perception and meaning *Gestalt laws *attention and cognitive tasks *implications for instruction: guiding and directing attention 3. Memory: Structures and Models *cognitive architecture *concepts, productions, propositions, and schemata *network and parallel distribution processing models *implications for instruction 4. Problem Solving and Critical Thinking *historical perspectives on problem solving *critical thinking *metacognition: thinking about thinking 5. Cognitive Psychology, Language, and Literacy *foundations of literacy in language development *models of reading comprehension *building organized knowledge through reading 6. Cognitive Psychology and Writing Instruction *cognitive models of writing *improving students? writing 7. Cognitive Psychology and Science, Mathematics, Social Studies, Art, Music, and Physical Education *cognitive models of reasoning *improving students? understanding and effective strategy use 8. Motivating Students to Learn *attribution theory *intrinsic motivation *social cognition 9. Technological Enhancement of Cognition 10. Future Directions in Cognitive Psychology
Topical Outline
1. Define and describe learning, particularly from a cognitive perspective 2. Explain how behavioral and cognitive theories of learning differ. 3. Compare rationalism and empiricism. 4. Explain how behavior becomes conditioned, extinguished, and generalized according to classical conditioning theory. 5. Analyze situations in which an emotional response might become conditioned to an initially neutral object. 6. Apply in context these key operant conditioning concepts: reinforcement (positive, negative), punishment, generalization, discrimination, shaping, Premack Principle. 7. Describe and exemplify the process of triadic reciprocal causality. 8. Distinguish between enactive and vicarious learning and between learning and performance. 9. Analyze how features of models (e.g., peers, multiple, coping) affect self-efficacy and learning. 10. Determine the qualities possessed by someone with high emotional intelligence. 11. Describe the major components of a cognitive information processing system: attention, perception, short-term (working) memory, long-term memory. 12. Differentiate short- and long-term memory on the basis of capacity, duration, and component processes. 13. Distinguish between declarative and procedural knowledge and show how they can be integrated in educational skills. 14. Explain the major factors that influence encoding, retrieval, and forgetting. 15. Compare and contrast discovery learning and meaningful reception learning. 16. Explain metacognition and how it applies in the content and skill areas. 17. Explain what concepts are, how they develop, and how they should be taught. 18. Describe problem solving and demonstrate the general and specific strategies that make it possible in different contexts. 19. Evaluate the major assumptions and the various types of constructivism. 20. For Jean Piaget?s theory, integrate the major developmental processes involved in learning and derive major implications for instruction. 21. For Lev Vygotsky?s theory, integrate its basic principles and draw implications for teaching in the zone of proximal development. 22. Apply two important themes, situated cognition and implicit theories, to learning and teaching. 23. Distinguish between general and specific skills and show how they work together in the acquisition of competence in the content and skill areas of education. 24. Explain the major cognitive processes involved in the content and skill areas of education. 25. Discuss the causal dimensions in attribution theory and the effects they have in achievement situations. 26. Distinguish between learning (process) and performance (product) goals and explain how they can influence motivation and learning. 27. Define self-concept and explain the major factors that affect its development. 29. Distinguish intrinsic from extrinsic motivation and apply motivational strategies. 30. Define self-regulation and contrast it with other related constructs such as learning, motivation, metacognition, and self-verbalization. 31. Define learning strategy and apply the following strategies: rehearsal, elaboration, organization, comprehension monitoring, and affective techniques. 32. Drawing on the research about academic studying, devise a plan for a ?how to study? course that you might teach to students who study poorly. 33. Integrate what research has identified as effective teacher practices in planning and instruction. 34. Explain how teacher expectations are formed and how they may influence teachers? interactions with students. 35. Explain how the classroom variables of dimensionality and differentiation could affect students? learning and motivational beliefs. 36. Evaluate the major functions of technology in instruction and the current key applications of technology in your area of instructional expertise
Syllabus
Public CV