Course Syllabus
Course: PSY 2034
Division: Social and Behavioral Science
Department: Behavioral Science
Title: Educational Psychology
Semester Approved: Fall 2022
Five-Year Review Semester: Fall 2027
End Semester: Summer 2028
Catalog Description: Educational Psychology provides teacher candidates and psychology majors with an overview of the relationship of psychology to teaching and learning. Students will learn about the nature of learning, adjustment and personality in adolescent development, learning, measurement, and evaluation, as well as social factors such as culture and gender. An emphasis is placed on applying the theories and practices to day-to-day teaching and learning practices.
Semesters Offered: Fall, Spring
Credit/Time Requirement: Credit: 3; Lecture: 3; Lab: 0
Prerequisites: Students should have taken either Psychology 1010 or Education 1010
Justification: The content of this course would be beneficial for any student to understand. Learning how we learn, and what methodologies are the most effective, can have lasting impacts on students. This course is also required for education majors at many institutions across the state and nation. It will give added variety of course offerings for students who are psychology majors at Snow College. Ultimately it will serve two larger groups of transfer students to be better prepared when moving to 4-year institutions. It can also serve individuals seeking certificates or recertification points in education.
Student Learning Outcomes:
Students will identify key researchers and theoretical lenses and their respective influences on education and/or educational psychology. The Key Theorist Grid will be the gauge on which this outcome will be measured.
Students will understand the value of current research in the field, know how to use it as well as how it can be critically examined. Will be assessed by in class activities and response papers.
Students will apply one’s understanding of educational research methodologies (both formal and informal), and the impact of gathered information. Will be assessed by Outreach, Issues, and/or Research presentations
Students will describe characteristics and stages of cognitive, physical, linguistic, emotional, and other relevant developmental stages. Will be assessed by quizzes and/or response papers.
Students will understand how to design instruction and assessments that are appropriate for social, cognitive, and emotional development. Will be assessed via Teaching Experiences and Observations
Students will reflect upon course content and its applications to future professional learning, classroom practice, and career goals. Will be assessed via response papers.
Students will reflect on the impacts of culture, race, gender, and other social issues on academic performance and psychological well-being. Will be assessed via classroom activities.
Students will analyze the teacher's role in the educational process as it relates to: planning, engaging students, teacher's personality, productive and safe learning environments, feedback, and other instructional activities. Will be assessed via quizzes, response papers, Outreach, Issues, or Research presentations
Content:
Education itself is a diverse field. Ranging from diverse perspectives on how education should be done, to how to educate diverse populations. This class approaches both of these issues within topics such as.
Applying Psychology to Teaching
Theories of Psychosocial and Cognitive Development
Educational Research Methodologies
Age-Level Characteristics
Learning Theories: Operant Conditioning, Information-Processing Theory, Social Cognitive Theory, and Constructivist Learning Theory
Problem Solving, and Transfer
Approaches to Instruction
Motivation
Classroom Management
Assessment of Classroom Learning
This course also has topics dedicated to diversity such as:
Accommodating Student Variability
Understanding Student Differences
Addressing Cultural and Socioeconomic Diversity
Key Performance Indicators:
At the discretion of the instructor, a variety of assessment methods will be used: quizzes, exams, essays, and/or research projects. Emphasis will be placed on the research methodology and application process.
Key Theorist Grid 15 to 20%
Response Papers 10 to 25%
Outreach, Issues, or Research presentations 15 to 45%
Teaching Experiences 10 to 25%
Observations 10 to 25%
Assignments 10 to 25%
Quizzes 10 to 25%
Representative Text and/or Supplies:
Snowman, J. & McCowan, R., Psychology Applied to Teaching (Current Ed) Wadsworth, Cengage Publishing
Pedagogy Statement:
High impact practices are proving to be of value to students of all backgrounds; be that learning preferences, ethnicity, gender or socioeconomic levels.
Based on that knowledge teachers of this course regularly use many teaching/learning methods such as group work, discussion, lecture, online sources for both learning and homework, group and individual presentations, field experiences, & undergraduate research
Instructional Mediums:
Lecture
Maximum Class Size: 40
Optimum Class Size: 30
