Advanced Educational Psychology



EPFR 515 Advanced Educational Psychology

Dr. Ellen Lavelle

Department of Educational Leadership

elavell@siue.edu 650-3636

Spring, 2006

l. Course Description

EPFR 515, Advanced Educational Psychology: Educational implications arising from major theoretical perspectives on learning and instruction.

ll. Rationale

The course Advanced Educational Psychology provides an in-depth approach to understanding and evaluating student learning as related to contemporary educational problems. Students will be encouraged to reevaluate their own thinking about learning, teaching and assessment.

lll. Textbooks

Bruning, R., Schraw, G., Norby, M., & Ronning, R. (1999). Cognitive Psychology and

Instruction (4th Ed.). Pearson Prentice Hall: NJ.

lV. Objectives

1. To foster an integrated, research-based conception of learning and instruction via familiarity

with current thinking in the field.

2. To foster competence in evaluating and applying learning

models to real world educational problems.

V. Course Topics

• Cognition

• Motivation

• Instruction

• Information Processing

• Higher Order Thinking

• Intelligence

• Technology

• Problem Solving

• Social Constructivism

• Learning in the content areas

• Assessment

VI. Instructional Methods and Activities

1. Discussion/activity format.

2. Readings completed in advance.

3. Classroom Within Classroom Facilitation.

4. Workshop or Presentation

5. Research Paper or Reflective Journal.

Vll. Evaluation and Grade Assignment

A: Outstanding, B: Very Good, or F: Inadequate.

• Readings and attendance 20%

• CWC Facilitation 20%

• Midterm and Final Tests 20%

• Workshop or Presentation 20%

• Reflective Journal or Research Paper 20%

VIII. Tasks

Group Workshop

Groups will choose topics and are expected to deliver an informative workshop to the class. Workshops will serve not only to inform the class regarding current issues in the field, but also to discuss, explain or remediate those issues. Workshops, which are not more than 60 minutes, will include all elements of good instruction: motivating students, advance organizers, drawing on prior knowledge, depth, examples, applications, checking understanding, evaluation, organization and supplementary information. It is not effective for each student in the workshop group to “lecture” nor to merely “divide” the material up. Groups are encouraged to assess member strength and draw on those strengths—develop roles. The goal is to provide an integrated learning experience for the class on the important topic at hand. Unique delivery methods are encouraged: internet, role plays, panels, case studies. Audience involvement may be appropriate. The key to a smooth and meaningful presentation is depth and practice. That is, it is important to provide an in-depth, critical treatment and to rehearse the workshop. All group members will receive the same grade.

Some Possible Workshop Topics

Performance-based Assessment

Action Research

Social Exclusion, Bullying

Portfolios

Grade Retention

Teacher or Class WebPages

Social Skills Training or Conflict Resolution

Peer Mediation

Rubric for Workshop:

• Meaning: Were all parts integrated? Did the presenters display interest and knowledge?

• Depth: Was the presentation going beyond the text book discussion level to bring new or complex information to a college level audience?

• Application (when appropriate): Were applications appropriate? Were they linked to discussion/content? Were they meaningful for the teachers?

• Integration: Did all the parts relate to each other with no superfluous information.

• Professionalism: Did the presenters conduct themselves in a sophisticated and knowledgeable manner?

• Flow: Did the presentation progress smoothly with carefully planned transitions?

• Supplemental information (as warranted): Were handouts useful and appropriate?

• Organization: Was the organizational pattern evident and logical? Concise?

Classrooms Within Classrooms

CWC is designed to promote small group interaction and sharing of ideas involving critical topics in educational psychology. While topics are generally covered in the text, it is important to extend and apply that information and to consider related ideas. It is the role of the CWC moderator to prepare a lesson, or learning experience with the goal of expanding students’ knowledge regarding the topic, and then to facilitate the discussion. Moderators are encouraged to be creative, to bring new dimensions, applications or instructional techniques to fostering group learning. A secretary may be appointed to take notes on the group discussion and groups will then report to the class at large, and the instructor will summarize the main ideas. At the end of the CWC session, participants will provide anonymous feedback to the moderator via evaluation forms provided by the teacher. Evaluation may be open ended or may be geared toward reflecting any of the following components: Meaning, Organization, Facilitation (dialogue, delivery), Materials (if included), Preparation, Knowledge, Application.

Midterm and Final

The midterm and final represent a chance for students to review materials and organize a high quality assessment experience based on the assigned readings. Assessment experiences may be either objective, qualitative or a combination. Qualitative assessments should be accompanied by a rubric. It is important that the midterm and final be comprehensive and that questions be clear and meaningful. Creativity is encouraged.

Reflective Journal

The reflective journal is an ill-defined task. That means that there are not specific rules or guidelines. Your journal is a written record of your thinking about the readings, topics discussed in class, or more general ideas regarding instruction. Students electing the journal option, should plan to write in their journal twice weekly although there are likely to be exceptions.

Academic Research Paper

The academic research paper is your opportunity to investigate a topic of interest and to organize related literature in a meaningful fashion. The academic paper may lead to your thesis. Consult the instructor for additional guidelines.

lX. Calendar (subject to change)

Information-Processing Theory

January 12

Introductions, Syllabus, Overview of Educational Psychology

Read Chapter 1

January 19

Short Term Memory

Read Chapter 2

Mini Lecture: “Review of Behaviorism”

CWC Teacher Beliefs

January 26 (Speaker)

February 2

Long Term Memory

Read Chapter 3

Mini Lecture: “Review of Development/Piaget”

Workshop

February 9

Encoding

Read Chapter 4

CWC Self-Regulation

February 16

Retrieval

Read Chapter 5

CWC Student Led Conferences

Beliefs and Cognition

February 23

Beliefs about Self

Read Chapter 6

CWC Teacher stress/burnout

March 2 Review day/project or journal catch up

March 16

Beliefs about Intelligence and Knowledge

Read Chapter 7

Mini Lecture “Intelligence”

Workshop

Fostering Cognitive Growth

March 23

Problem Solving and Critical Thinking

Read Chapter 8

Workshop

March 30

Classroom Contexts for Cognitive Growth

Read Chapter 9

Mini Lecture: Motivation

Workshop

April 6 (Speaker)

Cognition in the Classroom

April 13

Reading

Chapters 11 and 12

Mini Lecture on Assessment

Workshop

April 20

Writing

Read chapter 13

CWC Academic or Thesis Writing

Workshop

April 27

Math and Science

Read chapters 14 and 15

CWC Collaboration (teacher or learner)

Wrap Up

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