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State University of New York
Graduate School of Education – Spring 2014
EDUC 603 THEORIES OF LEARNING & INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN
Class Dates: Wednesdays 4:25-7:25 pm + Friday March 28th (in lieu of *Wed. April 2)
Dr. Thomas O’Brien
tobrien@binghamton.edu
Office: Academic B 126B
Office Hours: Mon. 2-3 pm + 7:10-7:40 pm
Wed. 11am-1pm + 7:30-8pm
& by appointment
Home Phone: 786-0464
Office Phone: 777-4877 (voice mail)
Classroom: AB Rm.234
Course Description (catalog): Exploration of the psychological and epistemological
foundations of curriculum & instruction, relationship between learning & cognitive
development, role of historical & conceptual analysis in the design of school subjects.
Students are expected to apply learning theory to instructional design & pedagogical
practice.
Course Objectives (Instructor generated): Students are expected to:
1. Become aware of, critically evaluate and reframe implicit & explicit mental models,
metaphors, beliefs & philosophies-in-practice about the FUNdaMENTAL, interactive nature
of learning & teaching and learning theories & instructional designs.
2. Critically examine “unquestioned answers” about standard school “CIA”
(Curriculum-Instruction-Assessment) and the extent it aligns with research-informed best
practice as suggested by: behaviorist, Gestalt - information processing – constructivist cognitive, and social cognitive (e.g., humanistic & motivation-based) principles and
theories. Students write brief response papers to three of the in-class interactive activities
&/or online talks (or simulations) in light of required course readings about such theories.
3. Research and write a scholarly paper* that uses one or more modern learning theories
to critique the implicit &/or explicitly cited theoretical bases for (one of the following options):
(a) historically significant, “classic” education text/philosopher
(b) one of the four “national” standards documents (English, math, science & social studies)
(c) one of the NYS-mandated APPR processes used by one of our local school districts
(d) one of the grade/content area foci of the NBPTS (optional review for inservice teachers)
(e) one of the grade/content area foci of the edTPA (NYS-mandated for initial teaching certificate)
EDUC 603 Theories of Learning & Instructional Design Dr. Thomas O’Brien Binghamton University/GSE
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4. Function as part of a collaborative learning team (i.e., pair or trio) to:
(a) provide critical friend, formative assessment & feedback for your teammates’
preliminary ideas & drafts of their #3 paper that are focused on the same option
(but that selected different texts, documents or processes to review)
(b) prepare an end-of-course presentation that includes both individual presentations
(with handouts) and a team-led, whole class discussion
5. Review/analyze required and optional readings, videos, in-class activities & written
assignments with an eye to how they might inform and/or help you frame one or more
potential dissertation topics. (Note: Given that EDUC 603 may be anywhere from first to
the last required course for EdD students, this objective will not be an explicit component of
any required assignment – BUT, it should be a perspective that you bring to every course).
6. WHAT DO YOU INTEND TO INVEST IN & GET OUT OF THIS COURSE?
(including, but not limited by in-class active participation & required assignments)
* Note: Citations should be formatted in accordance with APA style as with all EdD courses. *
If you do not own the Publications Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th
ed./2013: http://psychology.about.com/od/apastyle/a/apageneral.htm) you may wish to consult
one of the following online sources for the basics.
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/
http://psychology.about.com/od/apastyle/a/apa-paper.htm
http://psychology.about.com/od/apastyle/a/apageneral.htm
Required Texts and Readings
Hattie, John & Yates, Gregory. (2013). Visible learning and the science of how we learn. NY:
Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group. Paperback: ISBN: 978-0-415-70499-1.
Schunk, Dale H. (2012/6th ed.). Learning theories: An educational perspective. Boston:
Pearson.
Supplemental Resources: Course Bibliography (e.g., free online downloads & websites):
AFT/AE/ACS: American Federation of Teacher’s American Educator: A Quarterly Journal of
Educational Research and Ideas, Ask a Cognitive Scientist (column by Dr. Daniel Willingham) plus
occasional articles – all available online at http://www.aft.org/newspubs/periodicals/ae/issues.cfm
- APA’s 14 Learner-centered psychological principles (6pp – Class#3)
http://www.apa.org/ed/governance/bea/learner-centered.pdf.
- 25 learning principles to guide pedagogy and the design of learning environments (APA).
Download complete report at: www.bgsu.edu/downloads/provost/file47947.pdf. (13pp - Class#6)
For summary, go to: http://www.apa.org/monitor/2011/07-08/ce-learning.aspx
- Organizing instruction & study to improve student learning (IES/Sept.2007) 52-pp practice guide
http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/pdf/practiceguides/20072004.pdf. (Class#7)
- Dunlosky, J. (Fall 2013). Strengthening the student toolbox: Study strategies to boost learning.
American Educator, pp.12-21. (Class #12): www.aft.org/pdfs/americaneducator/fall2013/dunlosky.pdf
RSA Animates Talks: http://www.thersa.org/events/rsaanimate (some are also on You Tube)
TED: Ideas Worth Spreading (Talks): http://www.ted.com (instructor will provide list)
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Websites that describe learning theories/theorists &/or instructional design:
Center on Instruction: http://www.centeroninstruction.org/index.cfm
ChangingMinds.org: http://changingminds.org/index.htm
Encyclopedia of Educational Technology: http://eet.sdsu.edu/eetwiki/index.php/Main_Page
Human Intelligence: http://www.intelltheory.com/about.shtml.
Infed.org: Website: http://infed.org/mobi/learning-theory-models-product-and-process/
Instruction Design Models: http://carbon.ucdenver.edu/~mryder/itc/idmodels.html.
Learning-Theories.com: Knowledge base and webology: www.learning-theories.com
Learning Theory Fundamentals: http://www.theoryfundamentals.com/.
Note: E-mail/Internet & Printing Access: For this course, students are expected to have
access to & make regular, weekly, between-class use of e-mail (for instructor-student &
student-student exchanges) and the Internet. As a registered BU student, you are entitled to
print out up to 100 pages free-of-charge per week.
Supplemental Journals (for your ongoing professional development):
Education: American Educational Research Association Journal, American Educator (AFT),
Educational Leadership (ASCD), Educational Researcher (AERA), Educational Research Quarterly,
EducationNext (online: http://educationnext.org/journal/), Harvard Educational Review,
Instructional Science, Journal of Educational Research, Mind, Brain, and Education, Phi Delta
Kappan, Review of Educational Research (AERA) & Theory into Practice.
Psychology: American Educator (i.e., Ask the Cognitive Scientist feature), American
Psychologist, Annual Review of Psychology, Applied Cognitive Psychology, Cognitive Science (+
Topics in Cognitive Science), Contemporary Educational Psychology, Current Directions in
Psychological Science, Intelligence: A Multidisciplinary Journal, Journal of Applied Psychology,
Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, Journal of Educational Psychology, Journal of Experimental
Psychology Applied, Journal of the Learning Sciences, Journal of Memory and Language, Journal
of Personality and Social Psychology, Journal of School Psychology, Memory and Cognition,
Perspectives on Psychological Science, Psychological Science, and Psychological Science in the
Public Interest.
ASSIGNMENTS: WRITTEN AND PRESENTATION
The following assignments (in conjunction with the required reading assignments and
in-class activities & discussions) are intended to assist you in attaining the course objectives;
that is, to nurture your growth as a professional educator-beginning scholar. The primary
goal is relevant, transferable learning, not merely producing a stream of papers to earn a
"grade." Your increased ability to see and effectively respond to challenging educational
“situations/ opportunities” in your current and future positions will be the ultimate
"test/criterion” of your learning.
Class Attendance and Active Participation:
5 points
You are expected to attend every session, on time and prepared to engage with and explore
inquiry-oriented learning activities (i.e., discrepant event type “mind hacks/brain probes”) that
will be used to create a concrete, shared experiential base to inform our more abstract,
conceptual conversations and explanations of the assigned readings. Your active, handson/minds-on participation will not only affect what you get out of this class, but also the quality
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of the learning environment that is available to your fellow classmates. Timely completion of
readings and assignments will allow for lively, interactive and productive classes. In addition to
the instructor and the required texts, a primary resource for this course is the years of
collective experience and expertise of the teacher-learners in the class.
Top priorities are: (a) Demonstrating you have read and digested the assigned readings,
(b) Participating in the interactive activities & conversations, and (c) Listening actively to the
contributions of others. Other constructive contributions: Linking specific examples to ideas
from readings under discussion -- Building on the comments of others -- Voicing counterpoints
in ways respectful of others’ perspectives -- Being sensitive to your level of participation,
making attempts to increase or decrease so that contributions are balanced across class members.
Exemplary participation will be rewarded in ways far more significant than grades. If an
unavoidable schedule conflict or sickness necessitates missing a class, please inform the
instructor ahead of time (if possible) and plan for a classmate to videotape the class and/or
arrange for another means to make up for lost information. Missing more than one, 3-hour class
(particularly without explanation &/or prior notification & approval), will call for extra
assignments or be grounds for course withdrawal.
Analysis of Cognitive Processes/Learning Principles from Mind Hacks &/or Experts Talks:
Complete any combination of three of the following two options for 5 points each =
15 points
1. During the class sessions the learners will be expected to actively participate in a number of
short mind hacks/brain probes (the instructor will also provide #optional online simulations that
can also be used for this assignment). Each learner will write a short (double-spaced 1-2 page)
analysis of one - three activities that include a:
(a) 1-paragraph summary of the gist of activity (description of setup & expected vs actual outcome)
(b) 1-paragraph description of lesson learned/what it implies/suggests about human cognition
(as related to one or more specific, cited course reading/learning theories or principles)
(c) 1-paragraph that describes a practical, pedagogical (Curriculum-Instruction-Assessment)
application of the learning principle as related to your grade level/subject/certification area.
2. Recommended TED/RAS/You Tube Expert Talks (videos): The instructor will provide a list
of videoclips that pertain to the focus questions/topics for specific classes. Each learner will
write a short (double-spaced 1-2 page) analysis of one - three of these talks that include:
(a) a one paragraph summary of the gist of the talk (include title, URL & main points)
(b) a one paragraph critique (PlusMinusInteresting) of the talk (as related to one or more
specific, cited course readings/learning theories or principles)
(c) one paragraph that describes a practical pedagogical (Curriculum-Instruction-Assessment)
implication/application of the learning principle to your grade level/subject/certification area.
Due Dates: 1st (Class #4/Feb.19), 2nd (Class #7/March 12), & 3rd paper (Class#10/Fri. March 28)
Individual Project Options (pick 1 of 5): Prepare a double-spaced 12-15 page paper: 50 points
1. Critically read and review a key historical “education” text in terms of its disagreement or
misalignment with (i.e., this could include both “outdated, disproven ideas” as well as the
possibility that the older texts might reflect in at least some respects, a deeper/broader, rather
than fundamentally flawed perspective on human nature & learning), failure to anticipate,
EDUC 603 Theories of Learning & Instructional Design Dr. Thomas O’Brien Binghamton University/GSE
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prescient foreshadowing of, and/or strong alignment with the findings of modern cognitive
science theories of learning. Representative source quotations and citations of specific course
readings are both required. Explicitly analyze key passages to show how research on the
psychology/science of learning supports and/or supplants earlier “best practice”
recommendations and examples from the philosophy/art of teaching. Examples include:
Confucius (compiled by his followers ~473 BC–220 AD) Analects +
Plato. (428-348 BC) Socratic Dialogues (pedagogical strategies of minimum of two; e.g.,
Meno, Allegory of the Cave/The Republic Book VII, etc.,)* +
Aristotle (~350 BC) On Interpretation, On Memory&Reminiscence, On Sense & the Sensible+
Jesus (~100 AD; pedagogical strategies as described in the) New Testament Gospels
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1762) Émile, Or Treatise on Education *
Horace Mann (1840/pp.48-57 of his 4th Annual Report) On the Art of Teaching
Horace Mann League: http://www.hmleague.org/research-and-publications/.
His twelve annual reports free e-book download from: http://books.google.com.
(Note: given the brevity & title of this essay, it should be combined with at least one
section from Highet’s similarly-titled book)
Herbert Spencer (1854-1859/1861). Essays on education and kindred subjects.*
http://www.gutenberg.org/files/16510/16510-h/16510-h.htm.
Focus on the four essays on education, including "What Knowledge is of Most Worth?" –
See also: Broudy, H.S. (May 1982). What knowledge is of most worth? Educational
Leadership, pp.574-8. http://www.ascd.org/ASCD/pdf/journals/ed_lead/el_198205_broudy.pdf.
William James (1899/1925) Talks to Teachers on Psychology *
John Dewey (1910/1933) How We Think* or Experience and Education (1938)
Gilbert Highet (1950) The Art of Teaching (a minimum of two of the following five sections:
I. Introduction, II. The Teacher, III. The Teacher’s Methods, IV. Great Teachers & Their
Pupils, V. Teaching in Everyday Life)
Alfred North Whitehead (1916 essay/1929 book) The Aims of Education & Other Essays
http://www.ditext.com/whitehead/aims.html
http://www.faculty.english.vt.edu/Collier/sciwrite/pdfs/whitehead_1916.pdf
Online Digital Text Resources (free downloads):
Classics in the History of Psychology (full texts of 25 books & 200 articles):
http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/.
Digital Text International Books (sites linking or containing digital texts):
http://www.ditext.com/etexts.html. Online papers & books: http://www.ditext.com/online.html
* Project Gutenberg: Offers 44,243 free ebooks to download, ancient classics to modern.
http://www.gutenberg.org/.
+ MIT Internet Classics Archive: http://classics.mit.edu/
Online Books Page: http://digital.library.upenn.edu/books/. (over 1 million free books)
2. Critically analyze one of the key “national” standards-based curricular documents (i.e.,
Common Core State Standards-English Language Arts, CCSS-Mathematics, A Framework for K12 Science Education/Next Generation Science Standards or the College, Career & Civic
Life/C3 Framework for Social Studies State Standards) in terms of the theory (or theories) of and
research on learning and instructional design that implicitly underlie and/or are explicitly cited to
support the standards. Note: EdD students who teach at the college level may wish to analyze the
extent the standards prepare students who are “college-ready.” Citations of specific course
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readings required. See also online NRC book: Donovan, M.S. & Bransford, J.D. (eds). (2005). How
students learn: History, mathematics, and science in the classroom. National Research Council
Committee on How People Learn: A Targeted Report for Teachers. Washington, DC: The National
Academies Press. Also available as three separate books & free download (like all NAP books):
http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=10126.
3. Critically review one of the models for the NYSED-mandated Annual Personnel Performance
Review process as used by a local school district in terms of its alignment with “intelligent”
cognitive science research-informed best practice teaching. The analyses should include a
synopsis and critique (PlusMinusInteresting) of the rubrics and the processes for carrying out the
pre-post observation professional/school leader-classroom teacher interactions, reporting, and
follow-up professional development as viewed through the lens of specific course readings, class
discussions and research-informed learning theories (citations required).
See: Race To The Top in NYS: http://usny.nysed.gov/rttt/resources/whatisrttt.html
NYSED-approved, district APPR Plans: http://usny.nysed.gov/rttt/teachers-leaders/plans/.
Q&A/FAQs: http://usny.nysed.gov/rttt/faq/qa.html.
4. Critically read and review (in light of citations to specific course readings) the National Board
of Professional Teaching Standards (http://www.nbpts.org/five-core-propositions) Five Core
Propositions and one of the 25 certificate area standards (http://www.nbpts.org/certificate-areas).
Consider such questions as: What principles and theory(ies) of learning are explicitly cited by or
implicitly seem to inform the NBPTS? To what extent do their best practice guidelines align or
conflict – with current research on cognition and learning and current standard practice in
schools? What is needed in terms of teacher learning (about student learning) to bridge this gap?
5. Critically read and review (in light of citations to specific course readings) one of the grade
level band-specific (Early Childhood, Elementary & K-12 and Middle Childhood content areas)
or discipline-specific (grades 7-12 content area) edTPA Assessment Handbooks (~40 pages)
developed by Stanford Center for Assessment, Learning & Equity, “marketed” by Pearson, and
mandated by NYSED for all preservice teachers applying for NYS teacher certification. Critique
the three edTPA tasks (Planning/~Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment) and ~15 rubrics in
light of “intelligent” cognitive science research-informed best practice teaching. Consider
questions such as: Is the “bar” set “too high, just about right, or too low” for preservice teachers?
How would the teaching performances of typical inservice teachers rate on these rubrics?
Additionally, discuss how a cooperating teacher & host department/school could use the
presence of preservice student teachers and the need for their mentoring as a form of inservice
professional development. See: www.edTPA.com and support materials, handbooks
(https://secure.aacte.org/apps/rl/resource.php?resid=268&ref=edtpa), the Resource Library, and
Online Community, available at http://edtpa.aacte.org .
Due Dates: Inform instructor of your selected topic: on or before Class #5/Feb.26
Paper due: Class #12 (April 23 – first week after Spring Break)
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Collaborative Team (2-3 students) Paper & Presentation Project:
30 points
Individual (2-3 page) Handout: 10 points + Individual Presentation: 10 points
Team Presentation/Class discussion: 10 points
Form a team with one or two classmate(s) who selected the same individual paper option as
you, but who focused on a different historical education text (option 1), standards document
(option 2), district-specific APPR process (option 3), NBPTS document (option 4), or edTPA
grade level band or discipline-specific/secondary content area (option 5). Meet several times
during the semester (outside of class face-to-face and/or via Skype or similar app) to discuss
your individual progress, provide critical friend-type, formative feedback on your individual
developing ideas and papers, and to begin to develop a collaborative presentation (with
handouts) that compares and contrasts the different documents and/or processes that you are
analyzing. Each individual member of the team should prepare a 2-4 page handout with source
citations (& copies for the instructor & all students) that summarizes the gist of your portion of
the presentation (i.e., the handout should be more than only reduced-size PowerPoint slides). The
total “presentation” time should be ~40 minutes (for a team of two) or ~50 minutes (for a team of
three) and should include: (1) both individual components and a jointly shared joint, comparative
analysis/whole class discussion & (2) reflect & model research-informed, best practice teaching.
Due Dates: Inform instructor of your selected topic/TEAM: on or before Class #8/March 19
Class #13 (April 30 – all individual handouts due + 3-4 presentations)
Class #14 (May 7 – remaining presentations)
SCHEDULE OF CLASSES & READING ASSIGNMENTS
The following “tentative” schedule of class topics, focus questions & readings is designed
with the intention to address student learning needs relative to the course objectives.
Optional supplemental online video clips and simulations will be distributed via e-mail.
Schedule modifications will be made as warranted.
Class #1/Wed. Jan. 29
Introductions & Course Overview.
Focus Questions: What are our implicit, operational definitions of learning (& its
relationship to teaching) and theory (& its relationship to instructional designs and/or
models)? Why do our (& standard school) definitions matter and how might this course help
make them more explicit, research-informed and evolutionary in nature?
Readings: Schunk, Ch.1 Intro to Study of Learning + Ch.3 Behaviorism
Class #2/Wed. Feb. 5
Perception (& Attention) as Pre-/Co-Requisites for Conceptions & Conceptual Change I
Focus Questions: How do Behavioral, Gestalt and Information processing theories of
learning view the perception-attention-conception dynamic? Is it equally true that “seeing
(or sensing) is believing” and “believing is seeing”? Or, to what extent do our sensing
sense making interactions work as bottomup (or environmentmind) and/or a
topdown (mindenvironment) processes?
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Readings: Schunk Ch.2 Neuroscience of Learning: only pp.29-33/Intro scenario & neural
organization/Fig2.1 + Ch.5 Info Processing Model (Perception/Gestalt theory + attention,
memory, mental imagery)
Hattie & Yates Ch.13/How knowledge is acquired (prior knowledge, attention, STM/LTM+
reference to social brain
Class #3/Wed. Feb. 12
(Perception &) Attention as Pre-/Co-Requisites for Conceptions & Conceptual Change II
Focus Questions: What “learner-centered” principles can teachers use to activate attention and
catalyze cognitive processing? To what extent can learning be viewed as an individual, social
and/or culturally interactive form of “(re-)conceptual construction” that depends on the
“health/wealth of the cognitive economy” at the student, classroom/school & societal levels?
Readings: Schunk Ch.2 Neuroscience of Learning: only pp.43-46/Info process+Arousing
Attention & Ch.6/Constructivism (Piaget/stages & Vygotsky/ZPD & APA LC-Principles),
pp.228-47 + 261-276 [skip: Private speech & socially mediated learning, pp.248-253 + Motivation, pp.254-60
that will be assigned for Class #5 and #9 respectively]
Hattie & Yates: Ch.5/Time as a global indicator of classroom learning (link to attention)
Ch.29/Invisible gorillas, inattentional blindness & paying attention
APA’s 14 Learner-centered psychological principles: Free (6-pp) download:
http://www.apa.org/ed/governance/bea/learner-centered.pdf.
Class #4/Wed. Feb. 19
[1st short/1-2page paper due]
Memory types & limits on the Acquisition/Encoding, Retention, Retrieval & Refinement
of Meaningful Knowledge
Focus Questions: How can understanding neuroplasticity, consolidation and related
cognitive processes involved in memory functioning help teachers facilitate student learning
(including “learning how-to-learn”)?
Readings: Shunck Ch.2 Neuroscience of Learning: only pp.46-48/Memory Networks
(Hebb’s Theory) + review Ch.5/Info Processing + parts of 6/Constructivism (previously assigned)
Hattie & Yates: Ch.14/How knowledge is stored in the mind, Ch.17/Your memory & how
it develops & Ch.18 Mnemonics as sport, art & instructional tools
AFT/AE/ACS:
Winter 2008–2009 Ask the Cognitive Scientist: What Will Improve a Student's Memory?
Winter 2003–2004 Ask the Cognitive Scientist: Why Students Think They Understand—When
They Don't [familiarity & recall]
Summer 2003 Ask the Cognitive Scientist: Students Remember ... What They Think About [memory]
Summer 2002 Ask the Cognitive Scientist: Allocating Student Study Time [massed vs distributed practice]
Spring 2004 Ask the Cognitive Scientist: Practice Makes Perfect, but Only If You Practice Beyond
the Point of Perfection [practice + overlearning]
Winter 2002 Ask the Cognitive Scientist: Inflexible Knowledge [rote knowledge understanding+transfer]
Spring 2006 How Knowledge Helps [article by DW on prior knowledge, info processing, reading & thinking]
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Class #5/Wed. Feb. 26 [Inform instructor of your selected topic for long Individual Paper]
Spoken, Written & Internal Language as a Mediator of Learning & the Role of Analogies
Focus Questions: How does language facilitate learning at the individual and socio-cultural
levels? How can learning about the cognitive challenges associated with language
production and translation help teachers help learners? To what extent does languagemediated learning depend on analogical thinking?
Readings: Schunk Ch.2/Neuroscience in Learning, only pp.55-57/Language and
Ch.6/Constructivism, only pp.248-253 Private speech & socially mediated learning
Hattie & Yates Ch.7/Teaching for automaticity in basic academic skill (reading & math)
AFT/AE/ACS:
Winter 2006–2007 Ask the Cognitive Scientist: The Usefulness of Brief Instruction in Reading
Comprehension Strategies
Summer 2004 Ask the Cognitive Scientist: The Privileged Status of Story
Spring 2009 Why Don't Students Like School? [synopsis of Daniel Willingham book]
Class #6/Wed. March 5
Visual Thinking, Graphic Organizers & the Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning
Focus Questions: If “a picture is worth a thousand words,” does that mean that: (a) learning
from and thinking with visuals is an innate skill or does it need to be explicitly taught?
(b) more & more elaborate multimedia images are always better than fewer, simpler ones?
Or, more broadly, what does research associated with synergistically combining languageand visually-mediated information (i.e., CTML) suggest about “sound” instructional design?
Readings: Schunk Ch.7/Cognitive Learning Processes only pp.324-331/Techn & Instruct.
Hattie & Yates: Ch.16/The impact of cognitive load (intrinsic vs extrinsic motivation,
problem solving/worked examples & flipped)
25 learning principles to guide pedagogy and the design of learning environments (APA).
Download 13-page report at: www.bgsu.edu/downloads/provost/file47947.pdf.
Class #7/Wed. March 12 [2nd short/1-2page paper due]
Problem-Solving, Critical & Creative Thinking, Metacognition & Decision Making
Focus Questions: What does expert-novice research suggest about teaching students
“thinking skills” (including thinking about their own thinking)? To what extent does
expertise depend on domain-specific knowledge for efficient problem solving (PS) and
creativity? Can possessing knowledge sometimes restrict PS and creative capabilities?
Readings: Schunk: Ch.7/Cognitive Learning Processes (Skill acquisition/novice-expert
research, concept learning, PS, worked examples, transfer) except skip pp.324-331 (fClass #6)
Hattie & Yates: Ch.8/The role of feedback (+/- praise), Ch.10/Just what does expertise look
like? (expert-novice) & Ch.11/Just how does expertise develop? (deliberate, goal-directed
practice vs innate talent)
AFT/AE/ACS:
Winter 2009–2010 Ask the Cognitive Scientist: Is It True That Some People Just Can't Do Math?
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Bruer, J.T. (1993). The mind’s journey from novice to expert: If we know the route, we can help
students negotiate their way. American Educator, 17(2), 38-46.
http://www.jsmf.org/about/j/minds_journey.htm
Organizing instruction & study to improve student learning (IES/Sept.2007) 52-pp practice guide
http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/pdf/practiceguides/20072004.pdf.
Class #8/Wed. March 19 [Inform instructor of your collaborative TEAMmates]
Thinking as Intuition versus Hypothesis Testing, Creativity & Transferability
Focus Questions: To what extent has brain evolution “designed” the human mind for fast,
intuitive, emotional, un-/semi-conscious, arational (& often irrational) thinking (System
1/“blink”) versus slower, deliberative, rational, conscious thinking (System 2)? How can
schooling recognize/value the first, but intentionally, systematically develop the second type
of “21st Century” thinking?
Readings:
Hattie & Yates Ch.30 Thinking fast & thinking slow: your debt to the inner robot
AFT/AE/ACS:
Willingham & Rotherham: Spring 2010 "21st-Century" Skills or related article in Educational
Leadership, Sept.2009 – http://www.ascd.org/publications/educationalleadership/sept09/vol67/num01/21st-Century-Skills@-The-Challenges-Ahead.aspx
Optional Readings:
Book synopsis of Thinking, Fast and Slow (includes 27:40 min YouTube + 18 min podcast):
http://newbooksinbrief.com/2012/11/13/24-a-summary-of-thinking-fast-and-slow-by-danielkahneman/#24s1
Partnership for 21st Century Skills: Framework for 21st Century Learning:
http://www.p21.org/our-work/p21-framework (4C’s: Critical thinking, Communication,
Collaboration & Creativity).
Class #9/Wed. March 26
Social Cognitive Theory, Motivation & Self-Regulation
Focus Questions: How do quotes such as “Homo sapiens is a feeling species that learned to
think – students won’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care – and
students should positively anticipate coming to class & regret leaving versus the reverse
(regret coming & anticipate leaving)” capture a key critical component of
TeacherLearnerSubject matter interactions? How do learners’ internal self-efficacy
influence their efforts and educational outcomes? Does/should demography determine or
define a learner’s destiny? What can teachers/schools do to “make a difference” with all
students regardless of factors external to the school?
Readings: Schunk: Ch.2/Neuroscience of Learning: only Motivation & Emotions, pp.58-62
Ch.4/Social cognitive theory + Ch.6/Constructivism: only Motivation, pp.254-260] +
Ch.8/Motivation Ch.9/Self-Regulation (i.e., behavioral, social cognitive, info processing,
constructivist & motivation perspectives)
Hattie & Yates: (11 of 31 short chapters!): Ch.1/Why don’t students like learning at school?
EDUC 603 Theories of Learning & Instructional Design Dr. Thomas O’Brien Binghamton University/GSE
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Ch.3/Teacher-student relationship + Ch.4/Your personality as a teacher + Ch.9/Acquiring
complex skills through social modeling & explicit teaching + Ch.15/Unconscious learning
& Role played by gesture + Ch.24/Confidence + Ch25/Self enhancement + 26/Achieving
control + 27/Smile, Ch.28/Social chameleon + Ch.31/IKEA, effort & valuing
AFT/AE/ACS:
Winter 2007–2008 Ask the Cognitive Scientist: Should Learning Be Its Own Reward?
[motivation & feedback: contingent rewards & praise]
Winter 2005–2006 Ask the Cognitive Scientist: How Praise Can Motivate—or Stifle
[motivation & feedback: praise process/effort not “innate” ability]
Summer 2011 Ask the Cognitive Scientist: Can Teachers Increase Students' Self-Control?
Winter 2004–2005 Ask the Cognitive Scientist: Understanding ADHD
Spring 2012 Ask the Cognitive Scientist: Why Does Family Wealth Affect Learning?
Winter 2012–2013 Ask the Cognitive Scientist: Are Sleepy Students Learning?
Optional: Our Impoverished View of Educational Reform. August 2, 2005 article by
Dr. David Berliner in the TC Record http://www.tcrecord.org/content.asp?contentid=12106.
week’s Wed.April 2  to this week (i.e., class #9 & 10 in same week)
Class#10/FRIday March 28 [3rd short/1-2page paper due]
The Brain, Theories of Intelligence, Scientifically Substantiated Schooling Suggestions
& Neuro-Myths Matter
RESCHEDULE next
Focus Questions: How does/should our understanding of the structure & functioning of the
brain inform theories of intelligence and “standard-issue” schooling and dispel neuromyths
& misguided pedagogical practices?
Readings: Schunk: Ch.2 Neuroscience: only Organization & Structure/pp.34-43,
BrainDev/pp.50-54 & InstructApp/pp.62-70 + Ch.10/Development (Bruner & family influences)
Hattie & Yates, Ch.19-23/(learning styles, multitasking, digital natives, Internet & music)
AFT/AE/ACS: Fall 2012 Measured Approach or Magical Elixir? [book synopsis: When Can You
Trust the Experts? How to Tell Good Science from Bad in Education]
Fall 2006 Ask the Cognitive Scientist: "Brain-Based" Learning - More Fiction than Fact
Summer 2010 Ask the Cognitive Scientist: Have Technology and Multitasking Rewired How
Students Learn? (myth of digital natives who efficiently multi-task]
Summer 2005 Ask the Cognitive Scientist: Do Visual, Auditory, and Kinesthetic Learners Need
Visual, Auditory, and Kinesthetic Instruction? [myth of learning styles] Summer 2008 Ask the Cognitive Scientist: What Is Developmentally Appropriate Practice?
[continuous/varies by domain/task vs strictly age-dependent Piagetian stage-like myth]
Optional: Other articles by Dr. Daniel Willingham that address “neuro-myths”:
Learning Styles FAQ: http://www.danielwillingham.com/learning-styles-faq.html (links to video+article)
How Educational Theories Can Use Neuroscientific Data: Using neuroscientific data in education theories
[article in Mind, Brain & Education]
Reframing the Mind: Multiple Intelligences [critique of MI Theory & books in Education Next]
Mind Over Matter: A popular pediatrician stretches a synapse or two: Mel Levine's A Mind at a Time
[Education Next book review of One Mind at a Time and The Myth of Laziness are riddled with error]
How should we think about student differences? [Teaching to what students have in common,
co-authored article in Feb.2012 issue of ASCD Educational Leadership]
EDUC 603 Theories of Learning & Instructional Design Dr. Thomas O’Brien Binghamton University/GSE
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Other Optional Resources:
Bruer, J.T. (1998). Education & the brain: A bridge too far. Educational Researcher, 26(8), 416. Modern “classic” challenge to popularizers of “brain-based” educational reform.
Hirsh-Pasek, K., & Bruer, J.T. (2007). The brain/education barrier [Editorial]. Science,
317(5843), 1293. [A short, 1-page, updated synopsis of Bruer’s 1998 article].
- James McDonnell Foundation: http://www.jsmf.org/. See: Neuro-Journalism Mill: Separating the
Wheat from the Chaff of Media Reporting on Brain Sciences: http://www.jsmf.org/neuromill/about.htm
(archived reports separate fact from fiction)
- OECD. (2007). Understanding the brain: The birth of a new learning science. 330 page book; free
download of Executive Summary & Ch.1/An “ABC “of the Brain:
http://www.oecd.org/edu/ceri/understandingthebrainthebirthofalearningscience.htm
- Society for Neuroscience: Society for Neuroscience: Brain Facts: A Primer on the Brain and Nervous
System (32pp): http://www.brainfacts.org/book.
Class #11/Wed. April 9
Curriculum- Instruction-Assessment Design Models I: Disciplinary Ways of Knowing
Focus Questions: How do teachers’ content & Pedagogical Content Knowledge and
operational understanding of learning theories impact their “translation” of
national/state/district curricular standards into actual classroom practices? To what extent
are ELA, mathematics, science and social studies standards documents aligned with
research-informed learning theories and each other?
Readings: Hattie & Yates Ch.2/Is (content) knowledge and obstacle to teaching?
Ch.6/The recitation method and the nature of classroom teaching
Ch/12/Expertise in the domain of classroom teaching (PCK)
Wiggins, G. & McTighe, J. (2005/2nd ed.). Understanding by design. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Table of Contents & Sample Chapter: http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/103055.aspx
Synopsis: http://cft.vanderbilt.edu/teaching-guides/pedagogical/understanding-by-design/ and
http://www.authenticeducation.org/ubd/ubd.lasso
Wed. April 16 No Class - Spring Break
Class #12/Wed. April 23 [Long Individual (option) Paper due]
Curriculum - Instruction + Assessment Design Models II: “The Proof is in the Practice”
Focus Questions: To what extent do national/state/district curriculum “standards” attempt to
“standardize teaching” or support intelligent CIA and educationally effective “best practice”
teaching? How have the various learning theories informed NYSED-mandated, district
selected student assessments (SLOs) and teacher evaluations (APPR)?
Readings: Dunlosky, J. (Fall 2013). Strengthening the student toolbox: Study strategies to
boost learning. American Educator, pp.12-21. Download from:
www.aft.org/pdfs/americaneducator/fall2013/dunlosky.pdf A longer version with more
statistics: Dunlosky, J., Rawson, K.A., Marsh, E.J., Nathan, M.J., & Willingham, D.T.
(2013). Improving students’ learning with effective learning techniques: Promising
EDUC 603 Theories of Learning & Instructional Design Dr. Thomas O’Brien Binghamton University/GSE
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directions from cognitive and educational psychology. Psychological Science in the Public
Interest, 14(1): 4-58.
Class#13/ed. April 30 3-4 Team Presentations I [All individual presentation handouts due]
Class#14/Wed. May 7 Remaining Team Presentations II +
Course WrapUp & Evaluation (SOOTs)
Wed. May 14 Exam Week – reserve for replacement if Missed Class for Possible Snow Day
and/or Other Contigencies
Information Common to All Graduate School of Education Courses
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to serving all enrolled students. The intention is to create an intellectually stimulating, safe, and
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notify the instructor by the second week of class. You are also encouraged to contact the Office of
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office makes formal recommendations regarding necessary and appropriate accommodations based
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Academic Honesty: “All members of the university community have the responsibility to maintain and
foster a condition and an atmosphere of academic integrity. Specifically, this requires that all classroom,
laboratory, and written work for which a person claims credit is in fact that person’s own work.” The
annual university Student Handbook publication has detailed information on academic integrity.
- Binghamton University has obtained a license with Turnitin.com to facilitate faculty review for potential
plagiarism of papers and projects in their courses, which they are encouraged to do.
- “Students assume responsibility for the content and integrity of the academic work they submit.
Students are in violation of academic honesty if they incorporate into their written or oral reports any
unacknowledged published or unpublished or oral material from the work of another (plagiarism); or if
they use, request, or give unauthorized assistance in any academic work (cheating).” (SOE Academic
Honesty Policies)
- Neither plagiarism nor cheating will be tolerated in this class. Incidents of either will result in a failing
grade for the assignment in question, which will most likely have a negative effect on the final grade. If
you have any questions about what constitutes plagiarism or cheating, please ask me.
http://www2.binghamton.edu/gse/current-students/index.html#academic-honesty
EDUC 603 Theories of Learning & Instructional Design Dr. Thomas O’Brien Binghamton University/GSE