Instructor: ——-
Office: Education Building Room ——–
Phone: ——-
E-mail: ———
Office Hours: Office Hours:
Monday 3:00 – 4:00pm
Tuesday 3:00 – 4:00pm
(Or by appointment)
Course Description: This course is designed to guide you to explore the domain of human learning and to establish your understanding of human learning at a philosophical, theoretical, and applicational level. It will examine three major learning paradigms, which are behaviorism, cognitivism, and constructivism, from which various learning theories, approaches, interventions, strategies, and techniques have stemmed.
Instructional Goals: Upon the completion of this course, you will have a comprehensive understanding of human learning, and will be able to apply what you have learned as the need arises.
Textbooks:
Driscoll, M. P. (2005). Psychology of learning for instruction (3nd ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon. (Required)
Ormrod, J. E. (2004). Human learning (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill. (optional).
Note:
1. You may use any other learning theories books that cover the topics included in this course for supplemental purposes.
2. You are encouraged to consult other learning theories books that go beyond the scope of this course to further your exploration of the domain.
Teaching Philosophy:
My philosophy of teaching is: everyone can learn, but everyone needs different types of help. As an instructor, my job is to help you learn in your own way. Also, as a student, you will have to take a major role in your own learning because optimal learning outcomes result from willingness, intention, and motivation to learn. So, please feel free to discuss your learning and progress with me. Good communication will be the key to helping me know how to guide you through the course of learning this subject.
Course Requirements:
Class participation (25%)
Debate (10%)
Project (60% – research paper, 30%; teaching session, 30%)
Reflection paper (5%)
** All papers (excluding reflection paper) should be double-spaced, and follow APA style.
Class participation (in-class participation 20%, online discussion 5%): This is a graduate level course. It is the instructor’s belief that learning at this level involves actively processing information and constructing knowledge (higher order cognitive activities), instead of passively receiving information from the instructor and memorizing it. For more effective learning, it is important for you to complete reading assignments prior to the class, actively participate in class discussions, contribute your own thoughts, and respond to your fellow students’ comments or questions in the classes and online discussions. Class participation includes, but is not limited to:
o Attendance (please inform me if you will be absent)
o Participating in class discussions
o Participating in online discussions (there will be 1 online discussion session)
o Completing each week’s after-class-activities on time.
Debate (10%) – there will be a debate in one of the class sessions. The debate topic will be provided by the instructor. You will need to study the topic and prepare to question your opponent’s position and defend your own.
Project (60%) – Research paper/Teaching session (research paper 15 pages – 30%; teaching session – 30%): This will be an individual project. This project is designed to enhance your independent research skills, and written and verbal communication skills. Choose a topic from the list of constructivist instructional principles/approaches provided by the instructor. You will need to research the topic and TEACH it to the class. You will need to submit the bibliography of the project on 9/13 (on your Wiki page), and you have to post an outline for your teaching session and paper at least one week before the teaching date. The final product of this will be a research paper consisting of a description of the topic, the practice of the instructional approach, and/or examples. Your research paper should include a minimum of 15 references. In the second half of the semester, you will need to teach your topic that you chose to the class. Your teaching session will be graded by the instructor and your fellow students. There will be a Wiki page for each topic. You are responsible for constructing an overview (using Wiki page in Blackboard) of your topic. On the HOME page of Wiki, there will be a suggested outline for structuring your teaching session and research paper. Give a brief description (at least one paragraph) under each heading. You need to complete the overview One week prior to your teaching session so that other students can be prepared before coming to your class. You also need to provide 2-3 articles for your fellow students to read one week before your class. You can turn in your research paper any time between your teaching session and the due date indicated in the course schedule. However, I will grade all the research papers together after the due date.
Reflection paper (5%):
o You will produce a short paper (2-3 pages) reflecting on your own learning in this class. You should describe what you have learned (including content-wise and any other aspects) and what you expected to learn but did not, how much effort you invested in studying this subject, what strategies you used to study this subject (including what worked and what did not work for you), what topic/area interests you the most and how you will continue pursuing the area/topic, and how you can use the learning theories, principles, instructional approaches and techniques in your professional and personal life.
Grading: Your final grade will consist of class participation (25%), the debate (10%), the project (60%), and the final paper (5%).
Final grade:
A = 91% – 100%
B = 81% – 90 %
C = 71% – 80%
D = 61% – 70%
F < 60%
Grading system
Final Grade Assignment Grade Percentage
A A+ 100%
A A 95%
A A- 91%
B B+ 88%
B B 85%
B B- 81%
C C+ 78%
C C 75%
C C- 71%
D D+ 68%
D D 65%
D D- 61%
F F 0%
Notes:
1. We will primarily use Blackboard as a communication and resources site for this class.
2. This syllabus is a general plan for the course. Changes and variations may be necessary at times. There may also be additional readings or activities. The instructor will inform you of such additions or changes in advance.
Instructor Policies:
1. Academic Dishonesty
Cheating and plagiarism are unethical. Students are expected to do their own work. All the projects and assignments are expected to be the student’s original work. Plagiarism includes copying or cutting and pasting from online or printed sources, taking information from a book or article, copying someone else’s paper, or having someone else do your work for you. Research sources must be properly documented. Students found cheating or intentionally plagiarizing will receive a zero for the assignment and may be dismissed from the class with a failing grade.
2. Attendance
A student who is absent more than 3 classes throughout the semester will be deducted one letter grade from his or her final grade. If you are absent for 5 or more than 5 classes, please consider withdrawing from the course, or you will automatically receive an F for the course. If you know that you are going to be absent, please inform the instructor in advance: this is proper etiquette in graduate school.
3. Paper/Assignment Submission
All assignments, papers, project should be submitted to corresponding folders in Blackboard before the class on the due date. Late submission of papers or assignments will receive a 20% deduction of the total points for the assignment. If assignment is not submitted one week after due date, student will NOT receive credit. Students are responsible for assuring proper delivery of their assignments/papers/projects.
Special Needs:
If you have special needs as addressed by the Americans with Disabilities Act and need course materials in alternative formats or need any special accommodations, please notify your course instructor and contact the (———) office (————-).
Course Schedule/Learning Activities
Week/Dates Topics Before class Readings After class activities
1 8/23 • Class meets for first session
• What is learning? Read Driscoll Ch 1 (p. 1-15)
2 8/30 NO live Class Meeting
• Online discussion week
o What is learning?
o What is knowledge?
o Objectivism vs. Interpretivism Participate in online discussion (in Blackboard)
3 9/6 • Behaviorism
• Assumptions of behaviorism
• Classical Conditioning S-R (Pavlov)
• Operant conditioning model (Skinner) • Read Driscoll Ch-1 (p. 15-21); Ormrod Ch 3, Ch4 (operant conditioning, p. 51-54) Continue Online discussion topic 1
Work on project
4 9/13 • Educational applications of Behaviorism
Instructional Objectives
Shaping
Chaining
Unit Mastery Requirement
PSI
• Social learning theory (Bandura) • Online discussion topic 1 closed
• Read Driscoll Ch-2; Ormrod Ch-6 (p. 117-132) [for more information: Ormrod Ch 4 &5]
• Bibliography of project due (on Wiki) • Work on project
5 9/20 • Cognitivism
• Information processing model
Sensory register
Short-term (working) memory
Long-term memory
Executive
Encoding process
• Retrieval • Read Driscoll Ch3 (p. 71-89, 99-102); [for more information: Ormrod Ch-7]
Work on project
6 9/27 • Structure of Knowledge
Semantic memory
Episodic memory
Procedural knowledge
Systemic knowledge
Schema theory • Read Driscoll Ch 3 (p. 92-98); [for more information: Ormrod Ch9]
Posting to topic 2 due • Work on project
7 10/4 • Developmental theories
Piaget
Bruner
Vygotsky Online discussion topic 2 closed
Read Driscoll Ch 6 (p. 190-203) & Driscoll Ch7; Work on project
8 10/11 • Meaningful reception learning (Ausubel)
• Instructional implications:
Selective attention
Rehearsal
Elaboration
Chunking
Mental model
Metacognition Read Driscoll Ch 4 & the implications sections in Ch3, 4, 6; [for more information: Ormrod Ch 8] Work on project
9 10/18 Individual meetings Sign-up sheet available on BB Work on project
10 10/25 Constructivism
Debate Read Driscoll Ch-11 & the materials to be distributed. Work on project
11 11/1 Conceptual change
Cognitive Flexibility Theory To be assigned. Work on project
12 11/8 Situated cognition (learning)
Cognitive Apprenticeship To be assigned. Work on project
13 11/15 Activity theory
Historical Reasoning To be assigned. Work on project
14 11/22 Case-based reasoning
Collaborative learning To be assigned. Work on project
15 11/29 Causal reasoning
Problem-based learning
Final discussion & reflection To be assigned.
16 12/6 Research paper due
Final paper due
