Heartland Community College
Social and Business Sciences Division
Course Syllabus for Students
Course Prefix and Number: EDUC 120
Course Title: Educational Psychology
Credit Hours: 3
[Lecture Hours: 3
Laboratory Hours: 0]
Days/times course meets: M/W/F 12:00 – 1:00 pm
ICB 2806
Introduction:
This course is an introduction to the psychology of education. It is designed to educate and
prepare students who plan to continue their study in the field of education. This course will cover
how the field of psychology can be applied to the process and experience of learning. How
children develop mentally, intellectually, and emotionally are all-important factors in education.
Specific and practical issues such as how to motivate students, how to manage a classroom, and
how to properly assess learning will also be covered. Students are encouraged to approach the
information presented with an open mind, and to realize that what they learn all relates to, and
must be applied to, real people and children whose lives will all be affected in important ways by
education.
Catalog Description:
This course provides an introduction to the psychological theories and research informing
effective educational practices. Topics studied include biological, cognitive, and social
development; behavioral, cognitive and motivational theories of learning; individual differences
concerning background, culture and gender; instructional and behavioral management strategies
to promote learning in various situations; and approaches to assessing educational performance.
Instructor Information:
Instructor Name: Karen Shaw
Phone number to contact instructor: office # (309) 268-8581
Instructor e-mail address: karen.shaw@heartland.edu
Instructor’s office: ICB 2120 located in Social & Business Sciences Suite.
Instructor’s office hours: MWF 11:00am – 12:00 pm & T/R 11:00 am – 2:00 pm
Textbooks:
Required:
Anita Woolfolk. Educational psychology. Allyn & Bacon.
College LiveText Education Solutions. LiveText (Note: One LiveText purchase
covers all Education courses)
Supplies:
Recommended: a notebook or binder & a computer disk.
Relationship to Academic Development Programs and Transfer:
The material presented will provide the foundation necessary for advance study in the area of
biological, cognitive and social development. The instruction of behavioral management
strategies to promote learning in various situations. This may be transferable as a basic social
science course. Refer to the IAI web page at www.itransfer.org for more information.
Beliefs:
Academic Discipline: Education is an applied discipline in the truest sense. The collective
knowledge of professionals in this field is based on many theories but those theories have value
only to the extent that they succeed in practical application. The knowledge base that educators
draw upon in their practice has evolved from education-specific areas (i.e. curriculum,
instructional design, educational policy) as well as many other fields that lend insight to students,
schools and the teaching/learning process (i.e. cognitive psychology, developmental psychology,
sociology)
Student Learning: Learning involves interaction between the learner and the material to be
learned – the interaction the greater the learning potential. Your job as the student learner is to:
be sincerely interested in the subject and have the desire to learn; be prepared for class; actively
participate during class; take responsibility for the learning process. It is the learner’s job to do
the mental work within the framework provided by the instructor.
Instructor’s Role: It is my job to orchestrate the learning and personal discovery throughout
this course. I will serve as a facilitator of, model for, and a resource to your learning. Major
instructor responsibilities include carefully planning learning activities, thoughtfully structuring
the learning environment, providing quality feedback to the learner, and helping the learner
discover where to find assistance when needed. So while my role is to “set students up” for
success and direct the learning process, it is the learner’s responsibility to do the necessary
mental work for the learning to occur.
Course Objectives (Learning Outcomes):
Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to:
1.
Identify the foci of the field of educational psychology.
2.
Distinguish among the types of research techniques used to study educational
issues.
3.
Explain the cognitive, social, psychoanalytic and moral theories of human
development.
4.
Demonstrate an understanding of the contributions of biological, cognitive,
learning and psychoanalytic theories to the acquisition and development of
language.
5.
Discuss the effect of behavioral, cognitive and motivational approaches to
learning.
6.
Explain the impact of such individual differences as academic preparedness,
cultural heritage, exceptionality, gender and learning styles on the processes of
learning.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
Identify the hierarchical categories of learning objectives.
Demonstrate an understanding of various types of direct, indirect and self-directed
methods of instructional delivery.
Evaluate various strategies for managing behavior in the classroom.
Explain the psychometric tradition of assessment according to ability and
standardization.
Demonstrate an understanding of validity in terms of classroom assessments using
objective and subjective exams.
Explain the benefits of various types of performance-based assessments.
Course Outline:
Topic Outline for the EDUC 120:
I.
Fundamentals of Educational Psychology
A.
Definition
B.
History of the Field
C.
Theoretical Foci
D.
Research Foci
II.
Theories of Human Development
A.
Cognitive — Piaget, Vygotsky, Sternberg
B.
Social—Bandura
C.
Psychoanalytic—Freud, Erikson
D.
Moral — Vygotsky, Chomsky, Coles
III.
Approaches to Learning
A.
Behavioral — Operant and Classical Conditioning
B.
Cognitive — Memory Systems, Information Processing,
Metacognitive Strategies
C.
Motivational — Attribution, Drive, Efficacy
IV.
Individual Differences
A.
Academic Preparedness — At- Risk
B.
Cultural Heritage—Ethnicity, English as a Foreign Language
C.
Exceptionality — Impairments, Giftedness
D.
Gender
D.
Learning Styles—Visual, Aural, Kinesthetic
V.
Learning Objectives
A.
Bloom’s Taxonomy
B.
Gagne’s Hierarchy of Learning
VI.
Methods of Instructional Delivery
A.
Direct — Lecturing, Questioning, Demonstration
B.
Indirect— Group Discussion, Group Problem-Solving
C.
Self-Directed—Subvocal Rehearsal, Guided Practice, Self-Evaluation
VII.
Classroom Behavior Management
A.
Humanistic
B.
Applied Behavior Analysis
C.
Classroom Management
D.
Integrated
VIII.
Assessment
A.
Psychometric Tradition—Ability Testing, Validity, Reliability
B.
Classroom — Restricted and Flexible Responses, Criterion
and Norm Referencing
C.
Performance Based.
Methods of Instruction:
Throughout this course you will be engaging in the learning process in a wide variety of ways.
Class discussion, group work, demonstration, critical thinking activities, self-evaluation and
some computer-use assignments will be used. Regardless of your learning preferences, students
who seek to learn and maintain active involvement with course material will achieve the greatest
levels of personal growth, insight, and success.
Course Policies:
Method of Evaluation & Grading System:
Multiple means of assessing and evaluating student learning will be utilized throughout the
semester. These include, but are not limited to: journals, quizzes, tests, self-assessment
activities, written assignments, and several projects. Each assignment will count toward one
of the several components of the final grade, each carries a different weight toward the 1,000
points total in EDUC 120. The components and their relative weights are listed below.
Students should be advised that midterm grades will be calculated using proportional
percentages of the components completed by that point in the semester.
The following is a break down of how the total points are assigned in EDUC 120:
Personal Evaluations
50 pts.
Homework
200 pts.
Quizzes/Tests
450 pts.
Papers & Projects
150 pts.
Semester Long Projects:
Professional Web Resources
50 pts.
“What’s the Big Idea?” (log)
75 pts.
Theorists Chart
25 pts
Class Attendance & Participation
200pts.
Total Points Possible for Class
1200 pts.
Letter grades will be assigned according to the following grading scale:
1000 – 900 = A
899 – 800 = B
799 – 700 = C
699 – 600 = D
599 or less = F
Participation & Attendance:
Students are expected to attend all classes and participate meaningfully in the activities each
class day. Students who don’t attend classes are not able to learn from various class
discussions and activities, and they hinder the learning process of others in the class. Credit
for class participation is awarded for in-class activities and daily assignments, as well as
for attendance (5 pts per class session).
Students who miss six consecutive classes prior to midterm will be withdrawn from the
course by the instructor at midterm. Following midterm, students who wish to drop are
responsible for withdrawing themselves.
Incompletes:
Only in extreme situations will you be granted an incomplete in this course. If this becomes
an absolute necessity, as deemed by the student and the instructor, the College guidelines on
Incompletes will be followed. (see HCC catalog)
Extra Credit:
Extra credit opportunities may be offered during the semester and will be available only to
those students who are attending class and completing assignments. The opportunities will be
made available to all students and explained in detail (both verbally & in writing.)
Make-up of tests and assignments:
Tests missed or assignments not submitted on time may be made up for full credit with prior
instructor approval. Assignments should be completed and turned in on the due date – if an
absence occurs then the assignment is due the very next class session. All assignments &
quizzes/tests given during the first 8 weeks of class will be due by midterm – nothing
from that time will be accepted for grade or credit after the midterm. If you miss a quiz
or test you can arrange a time with the instructor for you to make-up the quiz or test in the
HCC Testing Center.
Deadlines:
Deadlines and due dates for all assignments, projects, quizzes/tests and papers will be clearly
defined by the instructor in writing and verbally in class. Please follow all deadlines
accordingly.
Required Writing and Reading:
This course requires approximately 30-40 pages of reading per week or 500 pages per
semester. A minimum of 15 pages of college level writing is required in this course. Writing
assignments include papers of various lengths, essay exams and various projects as deemed
appropriate by the instructor.
Student Conduct:
Students are expected to work cooperatively with one another and the instructor to enable the
maximum amount of learning to occur; any behavior interfering with learning is considered
disruptive. This type of behavior will not be tolerated! Students engaging in disruptive
behavior will be subject to all HCC “Student Conduct Policies” (see HCC Student
Handbook)
*Please note: As a courtesy to all in our class, please turn off all cell phones and pagers
when class begins. If you do receive a call or page during class and it is urgent please
step into the hall to conduct your business.
Academic Integrity
Academic integrity is a fundamental principle of collegial life at Heartland Community College
and is essential to the credibility of the College’s educational programs. Moreover, because
grading may be competitive, students who misrepresent their academic work violate the right of
their fellow students. The College, therefore, views any act of academic dishonest as a serious
offense requiring disciplinary measures, including course failure, suspension, and even expulsion
from the College. In addition, an act of academic dishonesty may have unforeseen effects far
beyond any officially imposed penalties.
Violations of academic integrity include, but are not limited to cheating, aiding or suborning
cheating or other acts of academic dishonesty, plagiarism, misrepresentation of data, falsification
of academic records or documents and unauthorized access to computerized academic or
administrative records or systems. Definitions of these violations may be found in the college
catalog.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is the presenting of others’ ideas as if they were your own. When you write a paper,
create a project, do a presentation or create anything original, it is assumed that all the work,
except for that which is attributed to another author or creator, is your own. Plagiarism is
considered a serious academic offense and may take the following forms:
1.
Copying word-for-word from another source and not giving that source credit.
2.
Paraphrasing the work of another and not giving that source credit.
3.
Adopting a particularly apt phrase as your own
4.
Using an image or a copy of an image without crediting its source
5.
Paraphrasing someone else’s line of thinking in the development of a topic as if it
were your own.
6.
Receiving excessive help from a friend or elsewhere, or using another project as if
it were your own.
Note that word-for-word copying is not the only form of plagiarism.
The penalties for plagiarism may be severe, ranging from failure on the particular piece of
work, failure in the course or expulsion from school in extreme cases.
[Adapted from the Modern Language Association’s MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. New
York: MLA, 1995: 26]
Heartland Library Information
The Library, located in the Students Commons Buildings at the main campus, provides Heartland
students with a full range of resources including books, online journal databases, videos,
newspapers, periodicals, reserves, and interlibrary loan. Librarians are available to assist in
locating information. For more information please call the Library (309) 268-8200 or (309) 2688292 or access them on-line at www.heartland.edu/library
Tutoring Center
Heartland Community College offers tutoring in various forms at no cost to Heartland students at
the Academic Support Center (ASC) in Normal and at the Pontiac and Lincoln Centers. Tutors
are available at convenient times throughout the week. Study groups, group tutoring facilitated
by a specially-trained tutor, are also available by request. For more information about services
available at each location, please call the ASC in Normal (309) 268-8231.
Testing Center
The Testing Center provides a quiet environment for students to complete make-up exams,
online exams, and exams for students with special accommodations. Students may be able to
complete exams in the Testing Center if arrangements are made with their instructor. For more
information, contact the Testing Center at (309) 268-8231.
Specifications for written materials:
Guidelines for all written assignments and projects will be provided on specific assignment
sheets that will be distributed at the time each assignment is made by the instructor.
Syllabi disclaimer:
The conditions and guidelines outlined in this course syllabus are subject to change as per the
instructor. Minor adjustments will be announced in class, while major changes will be distributed
in writing and appended to this syllabus.
Course Calendar:
A “unit calendar” will be given to you at the beginning of each new unit of study. This calendar
will outline what materials will be covered, assignments, due dates, quiz/test dates and other
pertinent information.