Overview
The psychology of school learning will be explored. There will be an overview of theories of teaching, learning, motivation and related research, including the philosophical assumptions underlying each – within the dynamics of context of class, culture, race and gender issues. Empirical findings and their implications for the process of schooling are emphasized. Instructional models and objectives, conditioning, skill acquisition, verbal learning, memory, concepts, principle and structural learning, problem-solving, creativity, and discovery learning are examined.
Logistics
This course is typically offered in the Fall and Spring semesters.
Course Objectives
- Teacher candidates will be able to delineate the roles of human development, school culture, and community context in the teaching/learning process
- Teacher candidates will be able to apply cognitive, moral, behavioral, and psychosocial theories of development to pre-assessment of diverse student needs, instructional decision-making, and the classroom setting
- Teacher candidates will be able to develop culturally sensitive classroom environments and adapt instruction to meet the needs of students from diverse backgrounds
- Teacher candidates will apply their developing epistemological beliefs, dispositions, and theoretical orientations to instructional development and decision
- Teacher candidates will be able to interpret and integrate the educational implications of relevant human learning and cognitive development research into their instructional decision-making
- Teacher candidates will develop and exhibit appropriate communication skills by selecting appropriate technologies for a particular communication goal, using productivity tools to publish information online, and using multiple digital sources to communicate information online