EDU223

Educational Psychology
Spring 2009
10:20-11:20
M-W-F

Instructor Don Burwell, Ph.D Office Jewett 102

Phone Office (459-5232) Office M-W-F 9:00 AM
Cel (880-2739) Hours or by arrangement

e-mail dburwell@collegeofidaho.edu

This course introduces all three themes of the ACI Education Department Conceptual Framework
with an emphasis on the theme “Constructivist Learning”.

The Course also emphasizes the following Idaho Core Teacher Principles:

Principle #2: The teacher understands how children learn and develop, and can provide learning
opportunities that support their intellectual, social and personal development.

Principle #3: The teacher understands how students differ in their approaches to learning and creates
instructional opportunities that are adapted to diverse learners.

Principle #5: The teacher uses an understanding of individual and group motivation and behavior to create
a learning environment that encourages positive social interaction, active engagement in learning, and self-
motivation.

Principle #8: The teacher understands and uses formal and informal assessment strategies to evaluate and
ensure the continuous intellectual, social and physical development of the learner.

TEXT:
Educational Psychology (9th Ed.)
Robert Slavin

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COURSE DESCRIPTION:
The purpose of this course is to introduce students to the theory and practice of educational psychology.
The course is designed to introduce psychological principles, theories, and methodologies applicable to
issues of teaching and learning in school settings.

• Understanding the Learning Process- In this theme you will be introduced to the theories and
practices of educational psychology.
You will explore:
o theories of human development
o how learning occurs
o how students differ in their approaches to learning
o processes of individual and group motivation.

• Integrating Technology- You will be expected to develop skills in using technology to enhance
instruction.

• Reflecting on Experiences- During this class, you will begin (or continue) the process of
creating your teaching portfolio.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

• To acquire an understanding of how learning occurs (how students construct knowledge, acquire
skills, and develop habits of mind).
• To develop an understanding of how students differ in their approaches to learning.
• To develop an understanding of brain-based learning.
• To develop strategies for encouraging student involvement in learning.
• To recognize how children’s learning is influenced by individual experiences, talents, and prior
learning.
• To develop an understanding of the processes of individual and group motivation.
• To construct a portfolio which will be used to assess acceptance into the Education Program.

COURSE EVALUATION:

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 • Attendance and participation in class activities (10% of grade):
Discussion and other forms of active learning constitute the framework of this class This includes
utilizing the class HYPERLINK "http://edu223s2009.worpress.com/"blog). Your attendance is
required for class time on campus.
You will receive four points per class meeting for attendance. One point of your attendance score
will be deducted per tardy.
Quizzes (30% of grade): There will be 3 quizzes over content in text, lecture and class discussions.

Class assignments (50%) including, but not limited to the following:

Power Point presentation and reflection on a Developmental Theory
A short (4-6 page) paper on Brain-Based Learning
Cog Lab Activity and reflection
A short (4-6 page) paper on Learning Theory
A short (4-6 page) paper on Motivation
Final Examination (10% of grade)

CLASS SCHEDULE:

WEEK CHAPTERS TOPICS

Week 1 Introduction to the class Course overview
2/23-2/227 Blog; Chapter 1 tongue depressor activity
poll
What makes for effective teaching?
Week 2 Chapter 2 Theories of Development
3/2-3/6 Cognitive Development-Piaget
Schema; Stages of Development
Week 3 Ch. 2 Cognitive Development-Vygotsky
3/9-3/13 Theories of Development
Psychosocial Development-Erickson Moral
Development-Piaget, Kohlberg, Hoffman (ppts)
Week 4 Ch. 3 Childhood & Adolescent Development
3/16-3/20 Identity, self concept, self esteem, self efficacy
Quiz #1
Week 5 How the Brain Works
3/23-3/27 The Cognitive Revolution
Brain Development
Week 6 Ch. 4 pp. 127-134 Brain-based learning
3/30-4/3 Quiz #2
Brain-Based Paper due
4/6-4/10 Spring Break
Week 7 Ch. 5 Behavioral theories of learning
4/13-4/17 Thorndike, Skinner, Bandura
Week 8 Ch. 6 Cognitive theories of learning
4/20-4/24 Information Processing
Cog Lab Reflection due
Week 9 Ch. 6 Memory
4/27-5/1 Metacognition
Quis #3

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 Week 10 Ch. 8 Theories of Intelligence
5/4-5/8 Learning Styles
Constructivist approaches to instruction
Discovery learning & Scaffolding
Week 11 Ch. 10 Motivating students to learn
5/11-5/15 Theories of motivation- Skinner, Maslow,
Attribution theory
Intrinsic/extrinsic
Learning Theory paper due
Week 12 Ch.12 Exceptional Learners
5/18-5/22 Motivation paper due
Final Review
Finals Week Final Exam

Academic Support Services and ADA Compliance: Any student with a documented
disability (e.g., physical, learning, psychiatric, vision, hearing, etc.) who needs to arrange
reasonable accommodations must contact Academic Support Services and the instructor at the
beginning of each semester. Accommodation arrangements must be made within the first two
weeks of the beginning of this course.

Plagiarism: Plagiarized work will result in a failing grade. Plagiarism, as defined by the Standard
College Dictionary, is “to appropriate and pass off as one’s own writings, ideas, etc. of another.” Students
may utilize information from any source as long as the reader is provided with full and proper
acknowledgement of the source. Be sure to use proper notation (APA Style preferred) when using another
person’s words and ideas. If you do your own work and document where you got your information, ideas,
and concepts, then it will be easy to avoid plagiarism. (This is adapted from The College of Idaho English
Department.)

Honor Code: Students are expected to uphold the College of Idaho Honor Code policy by making a
pledge at the end of written work that their work is their own and original.