Western Oregon University • College of Education
ED 611 – Theories of Teaching and Learning - Summer 2011
Instructor:
Office:
Email:
Dr. Steven Wojcikiewicz
ED 202L
wojcikis@wou.edu
Office Phone:
Office Hours:
503-838-8696
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 12:30 pm to
3:00 pm, Or by appointment
online.wou.edu
Online Access:
Course Catalogue Description: This course will apply key concepts,
models, and strategies related to different theories of learning, including behaviorist, cognitive
and socio-cultural perspectives. Students will examine epistemological frameworks, issues of
transfer, social and cultural influences, as well as motivation and engagement to design powerful
learning experiences. Additionally, students will learn key concepts, models, and strategies
related to language acquisition and to cognitive, social, and emotional development.
Course Goals and Objectives: Through instruction, assignments, and class participation,
students will:
1. Learn and apply key concepts, models, and strategies related to different theories of learning
including behaviorist, cognitive, and socio-cultural perspectives.
2. Examine epistemological frameworks, transfer, social and cultural influences, and motivation
and engagement to analyze and to design learning experiences.
3. Learn key concepts, models, and strategies related to social and emotional development and
the potential intersection with experiences of teaching, learning, and schooling.
Accommodations: If you have a documented disability that may require assistance, you will
need to contact the Office of Disabilities Services (ODS) for coordination in your academic
accommodations. Location: APSC 405. Phone/TTY: 503-838-8250.
Veterans and Active Duty Military Personnel: Veterans and active duty military personnel
with special circumstances are welcome and encouraged to communicate these, in advance if
possible, to the instructor.
Course Policies: This graduate-level class will be conducted with an expectation of
responsibility and initiative on the part of the students:
1. Students are responsible for familiarizing themselves with, and following, the policies,
procedures, and timelines laid out in this syllabus. Read the whole thing!
2. Assignments are due, ready in all respects, by the time specified on the due date. Late work
will not be accepted except in very special circumstances, such as serious illness, family
emergency, earthquake, tsunami, or world war. Make-up work may be arranged in the event
of special circumstances, but, again, the whole responsibility for make-up work rests with the
student. Any assignments submitted as make-up work may receive reduced points at the
instructor’s discretion.
3. Any questions or problems regarding course responsibilities should be brought to the
instructor early enough for a suitable solution to be found.
4. Discussion and questioning should be carried out in an atmosphere of understanding and of
respect. Participation is essential, so please make your ideas known.
ED 611 – Summer 2011 – Syllabus – Page 1 of 9
5. Watch out for plagiarism! When in doubt, cite! Plagiarism will mean at least a failing grade on
the assignment in question, and possibly also referral to academic affairs and failure of the
course.
6. This course aims to be useful and interesting – if it falls short of either of these aims, the
instructor expects students to make the effort to improve their learning experience by
adjusting their approach to the class and by contributing constructive suggestions to the
instructor. No whining, please.
7. Be thorough and thoughtful in your work. Strive to get something out of the time you put
into this class.
8. Any assignment may be altered to better fit a student’s idea of useful, meaningful,
interesting work. Modifications must be approved so that the instructor knows what is
coming. You are still responsible for insuring that your altered assignment meets the goals of
the original assignment, so this can be a challenging option, but also potentially very
rewarding.
Assigned Texts: There are no assigned texts to purchase for this course. Assigned readings can
be found online, either through the ERIC database or through the course website. When .pdf or
.html versions of articles are available, .pdf versions are preferred. The ERIC database can be
accessed through the Western Oregon University Hammersly Library website,
http://www.wou.edu/provost/library/. The course website can be accessed at online.wou.edu.
See course reading list, below, for reading-specific access information.
Assignment Formatting Guidelines: Unless otherwise stated, all writing assignments should
be word processed, single-spaced, and proofed. Please use Times New Roman font in 12-point
and set 1-inch margins. Your name, the date, and the assignment should be in the upper left
corner of the page. Please edit your work for clarity, grammar, and spelling. Citations should use
American Psychological Association (APA) style. Reference pages should also be formatted in
APA style. Assignments should be submitted as email attachments in either Word or .pdf format.
Course Structure: This course will be divided into units which address various aspects of
educational psychology, the study of learning and development. After an introduction to the
early history of the field and to the work of two of its most influential theorists, students will
encounter the three main theoretical divisions in learning theory: the behaviorist, cognitive, and
situative/pragmatist perspectives. The course will then proceed to topics which bridge these
three perspectives, including classroom applications of theory, various perspectives on student
motivation, and different views on the notion of intelligence.
There are ten units in the course. Each unit is structured to take approximately four days to
complete. Units consist of course readings and resources which are accompanied by online
discussions. Readings and other resources are meant to convey the big and essential ideas of
the field of educational psychology, and are chosen for their informational value, their general
niftiness, or both. In general, these readings are original sources from the field. This means that
they are thus somewhat demanding, but it also means that they are superior to bland and
oversimplified textbook fare. Discussion questions, which can be found in the unit forums of the
course website, are meant to help you to bring out and synthesize the big and essential ideas
you encounter in your readings. Read and study the course materials with the discussion
questions in mind and, when you are ready, share your thoughts and ideas in the unit forums on
the course website.
The course includes two large assignments, the Examination of Current Institutional/Classroom
Practices Paper, and the Design Project. These assignments aim to enhance your understanding
of theories of teaching and learning. Ideally, you will come out of this course with the ability to
ED 611 – Summer 2011 – Syllabus – Page 2 of 9
1) apply these theories to analyze educational settings and practices and 2) to employ these
theories to shape your own practices and educational environments. The course assignments,
described in detail below, reflect these priorities. The assignments are both due near the end of
the quarter. This gives you time to learn the theories you will need in order to complete the
assignments, but it also means a lot of work coming due in the last few weeks, so plan
accordingly.
The course website is structured through Moodle, and can be accessed at “online.wou.edu”.
Login using your WOU username and password. Click on “ED 611- Theories of Teaching and
Learning – Summer 2011 – CRN 1350.” You should receive access automatically, but if you are
not, and you are prompted for the course password or “enrollment key,” enter “611ROCKS!”
Grading Scale:
A: 94-100
A-: 90-93
B+: 87-89
B: 84-86
B-: 80-83
C+: 77-79 - etc…
Course Components and Weights:



Online Class Participation
Examination of Current Institutional and Classroom Practices
Design Project
50%
25%
25%
Course Components in Detail:
Unit Readings and Discussions – 50% of your grade
Students will be expected to participate by reading all of the course readings and resources, and
then sharing their thoughts and ideas through discussions on the course website. These
discussions are the primary way in which students will interact with one another and the
instructor, and they will represent a significant investment of time and effort on your part.
Because these discussions are vital to the course, they will count for 50% of the course grade,
which breaks down to 5% for each of the 10 course units. The percentage point breakdown, by
post, is as follows:
-1 “original responses” at 3%
-2 “comments” at 1% each totaling 2%
-total per-unit percentage equals 5%
-10 units at 5% each equals 50% of the course grade
Grades will be assigned based on quality, quantity, and timing of responses. Responses should
meet length requirements and should be posted in a timely fashion, as explained below. They
should also meaningfully engage course questions and the ideas found in the course readings
and resources. Quantity and timing are great, but they cannot make up for thoughtful responses
which are deeply connected to course content and to students’ own teaching and learning
experiences. Aim for your best work in crafting your responses and comments. Responses which
are deficient in regards to any of the above requirements may receive fewer points.
Each unit has one discussion question. The question for each unit will be available in the forums
on the course website. These are big questions, with many parts, because the topics they
address are themselves big, complex, and interesting. Don’t try to answer every point in a big
question. Instead, use the questions as guides, and as jumping off points, for your own
thoughtful responses to the course readings and materials.
ED 611 – Summer 2011 – Syllabus – Page 3 of 9
You must post at least three times for each question. The first post should be a well-articulated,
thoughtful, original response to the question. It should be at least 200 words in length. The
second and third posts should be comments on a classmate’s original response. Comments can
be shorter than original responses, but they should be at least 75 words in length, and they may
be longer if you wish. While you can only post one original response per question, you may post
as many comments as you like. You can even post comments about the comments about your
own posts. Additional postings are encouraged, as they make for more discussion. Additional
postings are not required, and do not carry any length minimums. Overall, the basic requirement
is 1 original response and 2 comments for each unit question. Since there are 10 units in the
course, you are responsible for a total of 10 original responses and 20 comments during the
quarter.
One other thing to consider is timing. Units will open on Sundays and Thursdays, will stay open
for five days, and will close on Thursdays and Mondays. There will be some overlap between
units, to allow for flexibility in when students do their readings and postings. Units will not be
visible to students until they open. Once a unit closes, its content will remain visible, but
additional postings will not count toward your grade. These features are in place to encourage
students to stay on pace with course work, and to interact with one another in discussions of
course content. Students are highly encouraged to begin posting early to allow time for such
interaction. Late postings or missing postings will lower your participation grade.
SUNDAY, 1st day of Unit A: Unit A opens at noon – contents are visible and forums can be
viewed by students – students should begin Unit A readings, and can begin posting at any time
THURSDAY, 5th day of Unit A, 1st day of Unit B: Unit A closes at 11:59 pm – all students
should have completed all of their Unit A postings by 11:59 pm on this day – Unit B
opens at noon
SUNDAY, 4th day of Unit B, 1st day of Unit C: Unit C opens at noon
MONDAY, 5th day of Unit B, 2nd day of Unit C: Unit B closes at 11:59 pm – all students should
have completed all of their Unit B postings by 11:59 pm on this day
Examination of Current Institutional and/or Classroom Practices (ECICP) Paper – 25%
of your grade
Students will employ the ideas and theories introduced in ED 611 to analyze a current
institutional or classroom practice. The specific topic of the paper is up to the student, and the
possibilities are many. Students may choose to analyze a school or a school system; a federal,
state, or local educational policy; a particular school policy or practice; the environment or
practices of a particular classroom; or even a specific lesson or activity.
For example, if your school has a strict policy around behavior and student conduct, you could
examine the policy and explore the theoretical perspective best aligned with it describing how
the policy came into being, how it is aligned (or not) with the theoretical perspective you're
writing about, the consequences of the policy, the effect of it... and so on. The goal is to think
carefully about why we do the things we do in education and link them to major ideas from the
field of educational psychology. Need another example? How about analyzing the workings of
the No Child Left Behind act from the perspective of motivational theory, or classroom practices
and relationships from a socio-cultural point of view, or of a particular lesson in light of what
cognitive theory tells us about retention and transfer. There is lots of room to tackle something
of personal interest, so do it!
ED 611 – Summer 2011 – Syllabus – Page 4 of 9
Whatever the topic chosen, students will be expected to describe the topic, then provide an
analysis and evaluation of it using one or more of the theoretical frames discussed in ED 611
(associationism, behaviorism, Deweyian theory, cognitive psychology, situative or social
perspectives, motivational ideas, or ideas of the workings of intelligence). The paper should be
3-4 pages in length, single-spaced.
The description/interpretation/evaluation* frame (DIE, for short) provides a useful way of
framing this piece. The description should lay out the features and goals of the practice being
examined. The interpretation piece should apply your chosen theoretical framework(s) to that
practice, describing how the practice fits with, or does not fit with, the theoretical ideas you are
employing. The evaluation piece should state your conclusions about the practice you have
analyzed: based on your application of your chosen theoretical framework to your chosen
practice, is the practice sound? Or is it not? Back up your conclusions with references to your
description and your analysis.
Your Examination of Current Institutional/Classroom Practices paper should employ at least 3
scholarly sources. Scholarly sources include articles in peer-reviewed journals, books by
academics which include peer-reviewed information, and possibly also other written or online
sources, providing they meet similar standards. Ask your instructor if you have a question about
the reputability of your sources. Course materials can be used as sources for your essay.
Remember to employ APA style for in-text citations, and for your references page. If your
references are on a separate page, it does not count toward the overall page length
requirement.
Your essay should we well-written, organized, proofed, and fun for your instructor to read.
For further details on essay structure and grading, see the Examination of Current
Institutional/Classroom Practices (ECICP) Paper Grading Criteria” included in this syllabus.
*The source for the “DIE” frame is Zen and the Art of Rhetoric: An Inquiry into Coherence by Mark L. McPhail
Design Project Paper - 25% of your grade
In this project, you have the opportunity to design an educational environment using ideas from
ED 611. Prepare a 4-5 page essay that describes out your design. Illustrations and/or diagrams
are permitted. You may choose one of two options:
1. Design a classroom: Using theories and practices from ED 611, create your ideal
classroom. Lay out the rules, policies, procedures, and management practices and
priorities. Discuss environmental considerations, including room arrangement and seating,
your goals in relating to your students, and your goals in terms of classroom atmosphere
and students’ treatment of one another. Describe your teaching style and pedagogical
goals. Other details are welcome. You may also use this option to describe how you are
incorporating theories and practices from ED 611 into your classroom right now.
2. Design a school: Using theories and practices from ED 611, create your ideal school.
Describe the layout, administration, teaching loads and styles, and class sizes. Discuss the
curriculum, discipline policies and management practices, of your school. Give some idea
of the teaching and assessment practices you will promote. Share the overall goals and
priorities of the school, and show how they are embodied in the practices you describe.
Again, other details are welcome.
ED 611 – Summer 2011 – Syllabus – Page 5 of 9
The key for both of these assignments is the connection between theory and practice. Describe
the theoretical basis for your design, employing ideas from ED 611. Tell why you have chosen
those particular theories as your basis. Then, get into the details of your design. As you lay out
the details, create strong links between your design choices and your theoretical basis. It is
absolutely essential that the features of your school or classroom are closely and clearly
connected to theories of teaching and learning.
Your design project should employ at least 3 scholarly sources. Scholarly sources include articles
in peer-reviewed journals, books by academics which include peer-reviewed information, and
possibly also other written or online sources, providing they meet similar standards. Ask your
instructor if you have a question about the reputability of your sources. Course materials can be
used as sources for your essay. Remember to employ APA style for in-text citations, and for your
references page.
For more specific details on assignment grading, see the “Design Project Paper Grading Criteria”
included in this syllabus.
ED 611 – Summer 2011 – Reading List and Access Information
Amrein, A.L., Berliner, D. C. (2003). The effects of high-stakes testing on student motivation
and learning. Educational Leadership, 60 (5), 32-38.
-accessible through ERIC
Berliner, D.C. (1993). The 100-year journey of Educational Psychology: From interest, to
disdain, to respect for practice. In T.K. Fagan and G.R. Vandenbos (Eds.) Exploring Applied
Psychology Origins and Critical Analysis: Master Lectures in Psychology. Washington, D.C: APA.
– accessible on course website
Boekaerts, M. (2002). Motivation to Learn. Geneva, Switzerland: International Bureau of
Education Publications Unit.
-accessible through ERIC
Brown, A.L. (1994). The advancement of learning. Educational Researcher, 23 (8), 4-12.
-accessible through ERIC
Chance, P. (1992). The rewards of learning. Phi Delta Kappan, 74 (3), 200-207.
-accessible on course website
Chance, P. (1993). Sticking up for rewards. Phi Delta Kappan, 74 (10), 787-790.
-accessible on course website, included with Kohn (1993) article
Cohen, D.K. (1998). Dewey’s Problem. The Elementary School Journal, 98 (5), 427-446.
-selection: read pages 427-437, until “Society and School”.
-accessible through ERIC
Cohn, A. (2001). Positive Behavioral Supports: Information for Educators. National Association
of School Psychologists. Retrieved March 28, 2009 from:
http://www.nasponline.org/resources/factsheets/pbs_fs.aspx
-accessible on course website
Heffner, C.L. (2001). Psychology 101. AllPsych Online. Retrieved March 28, 2009 from:
http://allpsych.com/psychology101/index.html
-selection: Chapter 4: Learning Theory and Behavioral Psychology (read all three sections
of this chapter)
-accessible on course website
Kamin, L. (1995). The pioneers of IQ testing. In R. Jacoby and N. Glauberman (Eds.) The Bell
Curve Debate: History, Documents, Opinions. New York: Times Books
– accessible on course website
ED 611 – Summer 2011 – Syllabus – Page 6 of 9
Kohn, A. (1993). Rewards verses learning: A response to Paul Chance. Phi Delta Kappan, 74
(10), 783-787.
-accessible on course website
Lave, J. (1985). Introduction: Situationally specific practice. Anthropology and Education
Quarterly, 16 (3), 171-176.
-accessible on course website
McLeod, S.A. (2007). Simply Psychology. Retrieved March 28, 2008 from:
http://www.simplypsychology.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/
-selection 1: “Piaget's Theory of Child Development” – accessible on course website
-selection 2: “Vygotsky's Theory of Social Development” – accessible on course website
Moran, S., Kornhaber, M., & Gardner, H. (2006). Orchestrating multiple intelligences.
Educational Leadership, 64 (1), 22-27.
-accessible through ERIC
Pugh,K. & Girod, M. (2007). Science, Art, and Experience: Constructing a Science Pedagogy
from Dewey’s Aesthetics. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 18, 9-27.
-accessible through ERIC
Skinner’s utopia: Panacea, or path to hell? (1971, September 20). Time, 47-53.
- accessible on course website
Smith, M.K. (2009). Communities of practice. The Encyclopedia of Informal Education. Retrieved
June 20, 2010 from http://www.infed.org/biblio/communities_of_practice.htm.
-accessible on course website
Tomlinson, S. (1997). Edward Lee Thorndike and John Dewey on the science of education.
Oxford Review of Education, 23 (3), 365-383.
-accessible through ERIC
Vygotsky, L. (1978). In Mind in Society. (Trans. M. Cole). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University
Press.
– selection: Chapter 4, Interaction between Learning and Development (pp. 79-91)
- accessible on course website
Widmayer, S. (N.D.) Schema Theory: An Introduction. Retrieved March 28, 2009 from:
http://www2.yk.psu.edu/~jlg18/506/SchemaTheory.pdf
-accessible on course website
Willingham, D.T. (2008). What is developmentally appropriate practice? American Educator, 32
(2), 34-39
- accessible on course website
ED 611 – Summer 2011 – Syllabus – Page 7 of 9
“Examination of Current Institutional or Classroom Practice” (ECICP) Paper Grading
Criteria
Essay Feature
Points Possible
Points
Thesis is clearly presented in a compelling introduction;
1
2
3
4
5
every subsequent paragraph contributes significantly to the
(X 1)
piece; final paragraph "pulls together" the body of the essay
and supports the thesis
The essay is free of grammatical errors; uses APA style in
citations and references; includes required sources; is 3-4
pages in length.
DESCRIPTION: The essay clearly describes the practice to be
analyzed in terms of both features and goals; clearly
describes the ED 611 ideas which will be employed.
1
2
3
4
(X 1)
5
1
2
3
4
(X 3)
5
INTERPRETATION: The essay includes an analysis that
makes clear and appropriate use of relevant ED 611 ideas.
The analysis shows how the practice is in line with, or out of
line with, the ideas employed.
1
2
3
4
(X 3)
5
EVALUATION: The author employs ED 611 ideas to reach
interesting, useful, original, and relevant conclusions about
the practices being analyzed. Conclusions are clearly stated,
and connect closely to descriptive and interpretive portions
of the piece.
1
2
3
4
(X2)
5
OVERALL COMMENTS
TOTAL
Out of
50
“Design Project” Paper Grading Criteria
Essay Feature
Points Possible
Points
Earned
The project includes a clear and accurate description of the ED 611
theories that are the basis for the school/classroom design.
1
2
3
4
(X 2)
5
The project gives a complete and informative description of the
features and practices of the school/classroom.
1
2
3
4
(X 3)
5
The project makes clear and defensible connections between
school/classroom design features and theories of teaching and
learning.
The project essay is clearly written and free of grammatical errors;
diagrams/illustrations are professional in appearance; APA style is
employed; required scholarly sources are used; length is 3-4 pages
1
2
3
4
(X 3)
5
1
2
3
4
(X 2)
5
OVERALL COMMENTS
TOTAL
out of
50
ED 611 – Summer 2011 – Syllabus – Page 8 of 9
Week/Class
ED 611 – Summer 2011 - Calendar
Topic
Readings/Assignments Due
Week 1/Unit 1
Opens Sunday, June 19th
Closes Thursday, June 23rd
History of Educational Psychology
I – a view of the field
-Berliner (1993)
Week 1/Unit 2
Opens Thursday, June 23rd
Closes Monday, June 27th
History of Educational Psychology
II – Ed Psych and the structure of
U.S. schools
-Tomlinson (1997)
Week 2/Unit 3
Opens Sunday, June 26th
Closes Thursday, June 30th
Behaviorist Theory I: Classrooms
and the ideal society
-TIME magazine (1971)
-Heffner (2001)
Week 2/Unit 4
Opens Thursday, June 30th
Closes Tuesday, July 5th
(special holiday extension)
Behaviorist Theory II: Arguing
about Behaviorism
-Chance (1992)
-Kohn (1993)
-Chance (1993)
-Cohn (2001)
Week 3/Unit 5
Opens Sunday, July 3rd
Closes Thursday, July 7th
Cognitive Theory
-McLeod (2007) [selection 1]
-Willingham (2008)
-Widmeyer (N.D.)
Week 3/Unit 6
Opens Thursday, July 7th
Closes Monday, July 11th
Situative/Pragmatic Theory I:
Vygotsky
-McLeod (2007) [selection 2]
-Vygotsky (1978) [selection]
-Lave (1985)
Week 4/Unit 7
Opens Sunday, July 10th
Closes Thursday, July 14th
Situative/Pragmatist Theory II:
Communities of Learning
-Smith (2009)
-Brown (1994)
Week 4/Unit 8
Opens Thursday, July 14th
Closes Monday, July 18th
Situative/Pragmatist III: the
Return of Dewey
Week 5/Unit 9
Opens Sunday, July 17th
Closes Thursday, July 21st
Motivation
-Pugh & Girod (2007)
-Cohen (1998) [selection]
DUE:
-ECICP Papers – submit by
11:59 pm on Monday, July 18th
-Boekaerts (2002)
-Amrein & Berliner (2003)
Week 5/Unit 10
Opens Thursday, July 21st
Closes Monday, July 25th
Intelligence and Multiple
Intelligences
-Kamin (1995)
-Moran, Kornhaber, & Gardner
(2006)
Week 6 – no additional units
open this week
Week of Monday, July 25th
No readings this week
DUE:
-Design Project Papers –
submit by 11:59 pm on
Thursday, July 28th
ED 611 – Summer 2011 – Syllabus – Page 9 of 9