In Course 1, you'll explore (a) aspects of effective teaching (b) educational theories (c) approaches to learning (d) contemporary issues in education, all for the purpose of applying what you learn to your classroom.
Educational psychologists work to understand how to structure educational systems in order to meet the mental and emotional needs of students. They study how people learn, identify and suggest efficient teaching methods, and evaluate the effectiveness of various educational policies and practices. Educational psychologists often point out the inherently social nature of our current educational system, study the ways that learning environments affect education, and study the ways that societal, local, and family issues affect learning and classroom practice. Upon completion of this course, the student will be able to: explain why knowledge of psychology is important to effective teaching; discuss, compare, and contrast cognitive and behavioral psychology; discuss, compare, and contrast constructivist and behaviorist models of teaching and learning, as well as their applications in classroom management; identify important cognitive stages of development, the typical age range of each stage, and the ways that teachers can use that knowledge; identify important aspects of personal, emotional, and moral development, and ways that teachers can use that knowledge; identify diversity in terms of differences in learning styles, intelligence, cultures, and gender, as well as specific abilities and disabilities, that a modern classroom might need to accommodate; discuss theories of motivation and defend those you would use in your classroom; discuss classroom management strategies that smooth the learning process and prevent or deal with misbehavior, and defend those strategies you would use in your classroom; identify communication skills that enhance learning, management, and coordination with students' families; identify strategies for enhancing students' ability to use complex cognitive skills; identify the major parts of a lesson or unit plan; identify and discuss types of teacher-made assessments; discuss the uses of and issues surrounding standardized testing; identify and discuss factors that influence job satisfaction in a teaching career. (Psychology 303)
This class is an introduction to many of the central issues in a branch of philosophy called philosophy of mind. Some of the questions we will discuss include the following. Can computers think? Is the mind an immaterial thing? Or is the mind the brain? Or does the mind stand to the brain as a computer program stands to the hardware? How can creatures like ourselves think thoughts that are "about" things? (For example, we can all think that Aristotle is a philosopher, and in that sense think "about" Aristotle, but what is the explanation of this quite remarkable ability?) Can I know whether your experiences and my experiences when we look at raspberries, fire trucks and stop lights are the same? Can consciousness be given a scientific explanation?
This course introduces learners to the principles of learning and behavior by surveying relevant theoretical and empirical approaches within psychology. The overall emphasis is on the theoretical foundations of psychology as they relate to human learning and behavior. Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to: identify major historical timelines and perspectives associated with learning theory; explain foundational concepts associated with learning theory; integrate common principles of learning theory into larger domains of psychology; align major theorists with specific contributions to psychology of learning and behavior; analyze and describe empirical research as it relates to effectiveness of learning and behavior management techniques; identify the utilization of psychology of learning and behavior in domains outside the field of psychology. This free course may be completed online at any time. (Psychology 305)
Psychotherapy refers to the practices clinical psychologists use to treat mental disorders. While 'therapy' can denote any intervention undertaken with the goal of healing someone (including medicinal treatments for physical problems), psychotherapy is specific in that it uses certain cognitive, behavioral, and emotional regulation techniques. Upon successful completion of this course the student will be able to: Define psychotherapy and describe the historical development of its practice; Identify the qualities most useful in a psychotherapist; Discuss the different ways in which psychotherapy affects both patient/client and counselor/therapist; Describe how each theory/therapy conceptualizes a) human nature, b) psychopathology, and c) the therapeutic change process; Identify the major therapeutic techniques used to promote change in each type of therapy; Compare and contrast individual theories/therapies with family theories/therapies; Describe a) the important historical figures associated with each theory and b) the historical context in which the theory emerged.
