Lecture: 4 hours/week
or
Hybrid: 2 hours/week in person; 2 hours/week online
or
Fully online
Lectures will be the primary method of instruction, but the course will also involve other methods of instruction such as small group activities, group discussions, laboratory demonstrations, field trips, computer simulations, video/DVDs, and guest lectures.
- Foundations of educational psychology
- What is educational psychology?
- Goals of educational psychology
- Research methods
- Development during the school years
- Physical and cognitive
- Social and emotional
- Diversity
- Individual variations
- Socio-cultural diversity
- Exceptional learners
- Learning theories
- Behavioural and social cognitive
- Cognitive Information processing
- Social constructivist
- Teaching approaches
- Motivation
- Classroom management
- Educational Assessment and learning
- Standardized tests
- Current trends in assessment
- Alternative assessments
Upon successful completion of the course, the student will be able to:
- Define educational psychology and give examples of the different topics educational psychologists study.
- Identify the research methods and aims of educational psychology.
- Describe the developmental issues faced by school age children.
- Explain how individual variations and cultural diversity affect thinking and learning.
- Describe the challenges presented by learning disabilities.
- Describe the challenges presented by students with exceptional skills.
- Explain and apply behavioural, socio-cultural, and cognitive learning theories.
- Explain the role of motivation on learning and classroom behavior.
- Describe classroom management techniques.
- Identify commonly used standardized tests, their strengths and limitations, and use in school settings.
- Outline current trends in traditional and alternative assessments.
Evaluation will be carried out in accordance with the Douglas College Evaluation Policy. Evaluation will be based on course objectives and include some of the following:
- multiple choice, short answer, or essay exams
- term paper, research project, or written assignments
- oral presentation or teaching demonstration
The instructor will provide a written course outline with specific evaluation criteria at the beginning of semester.
Students may conduct research with human participants as part of their coursework in this class. Instructors for the course are responsible for ensuring that student research projects comply with College policies on ethical conduct for research involving human subjects.
An example of a possible evaluation scheme is as follows:
Research paper - 20%
Exams (3 X 20% each) - 60%
Presentation - 20%
Total - 100%
Textbook(s) such as the following, the list to be updated periodically:
Woolfolk, Anita E., Winne, Philip H. and Perry, Nancy E. (2019) Educational Psychology. (7th Canadian ed.). Toronto: Pearson Education.