Educational Psychology

Objectives

Educational Psychology is a core course of 6 ECT within the double degree in Early Childhood Education and Primary School Teaching.

Together with the rest of the courses of the studies, especially the courses of psychology, pedagogy, sociology, and specific didactics, it is orientated towards the professionalisation of the students. Its objective is to acquire scientific criteria in order to analyze and to comprehend the educative school practices as well as to develop skills to design and to implement instructional practices.

Objectives

• To analyse the interaction between the development and learning processes, and value the influence of the different educative contexts.
• To identify and interpret the variety of students' educative learning needs.
• To analyze the educative actions in the formal educative context in relation to the cognitive, motor, affective, and social aspects of the children development.
• To propose processes of learning and development enhancement
• To use critical reflection skills regarding the processes of the professional activity
• To analyze the own learning processes, the knowledge organization and the psychosocial and motivational processes that take place in the context of the school learning.
• To review the own beliefs and theories about teaching and learning, through the help of the main theoretical approaches, analyze the own personal experience as teachers and as students, the observations made during the internship, and the comparison and discussion with their peers.

Learning outcomes

Learning outcomes for Early Childhood Education (MEI)

• Identifies the fundamental cognitive processes applied in human learning. (LO1)
• Applies psychological strategies and techniques in learning processes and classroom management. (LO23)
• Analyzes learning contexts from the constructivist approach of learning. (LO4)
• Proposes improvement processes for learning and assessment. (LO5)
• Demonstrates critical reflection skills in processes linked to professional practice. (LO8)

Learning outcomes for Primary School Teaching (MEP)

• Identifies the fundamental cognitive processes applied in human learning. (LO1)
• Applies psychological strategies and techniques in learning processes and classroom management. (LO3)
• Analyzes learning contexts from the constructivist approach of learning. (LO4)
• Proposes improvement processes for learning and assessment. (LO3)
• Demonstrates critical reflection skills in processes linked to professional practice. (LO8)

Competencies

Specific skills

• Carry out effective comprehensive tutorial supervision with school children and families in order to promote comprehensive skills training.
• Design and plan learning environments and sequences that enable development of the curriculum through adaptation of materials and promotion of play.
• Develop processes for assessment of learning, individually and in groups, through techniques and strategies of teaching observation and documentation.
• Identify general and specific characteristics of development and developmental psychology in the 6-12 years age group to promote all-round development of school children.
• Integrate and promote overall practices based on the principles of educational psychology, methodology and education and on a positive relationship with adults and peers in a way that is consistent with theories of learning at this stage.
• Master the skills and strategies of communication and interpersonal relationships with school children, families and other professionals in interactions characteristic of the profession.
• Understand how to organise and participate in schools in order to improve educational quality through innovation and research projects with impact in and out of school.

Core skills

• Be a critical thinker before knowledge in all its dimensions. Show intellectual, cultural and scientific curiosity and a commitment to professional rigour and quality.
• Exercise active citizenship and individual responsibility with a commitment to the values of democracy, sustainability and universal design, through practice based on learning, service and social inclusion.

Content

1. Educational psychology. A constructivist and sociocultural approach
   • Introduction to educational psychology
   • Relationship between culture, learning and development
2. Learning. Knowledge construction and sensemaking
   • Knowledge construction, sensemaking and conditions for meaningful learning
   • Emotions and relational factors in learning
   • Student's identity
3. Teaching. Educational influence mechanisms and collaborative learning
   • Teaching as support: educational influence mechanisms and discursive strategies
   • Personalised learning strategies
   • Collaborative learning as support
4. Content. Competences and curriculum
   • Competence-based curriculum: knowledge, skills, strategies, and competencies
   • Competent learners
   • Leaning, teaching and assessing competencies

Evaluation

The assessment is the tool that entails both the learning process and the result. Reflection about the course proceeding will be periodically promoted. Thus, the necessary adjustments will be done. With the adjustments that the teacher considers necessary, it will be assessed:

• Group learning portfolio (40%): It has to contain the proposed activities per each content block. A 5% of this activity score corresponds to an oral presentation about one of the readings of the course in order to evaluate the students' communicative competence.

The teacher will define at the beginning of the course the procedure to form the work teams. A minimum of partial submissions (one per block) need to be done during the course. Each submission will be done, through the Moodle, on the deadline specified in the calendar of each block. If it is not submitted in the arranged period, the block will be failed and cannot be retaken.

The students must attend the group working sessions in order to elaborate each block activities. Not attending the group working sessions will be penalized and it can even lead to not evaluate the activity. If the reasons for the absence are justified, the corresponding justifying document will have to be delivered in the next class.

This activity can be retaken if a student scores less than a 5.

• Individual reflections (25%): During the course the student has to elaborate two personal theoretical reflections (12.5% each) regarding to the blocks I or II and one of the blocks III and IV. The selection of the topic is free. The reflection should follow the requirements specified in a guide provided by the teacher.

These reflections can be retaken if a student scores less than a 5.

• Individual assessment test (35%): written individual test with questions referred to the analysis of an educative situation. This activity can be retaken if a student scores less than a 5.

Assessment criteria

The accomplishment of the three assessment activities (group learning portfolio, individual reflections and individual assessment test) are compulsory to pass the course. The mean of the punctuations will be applied if the student has a grade of 5 or more in each of these three activities.

The students only can retake the assessment activities submitted in the established deadline. Failed activities will be retaken in the period established by the teacher. The final grade of the course will be calculated with the retaken grade and the rest of the assessment activities grades.

According to the assignments' presentation, it is important to be careful with the writing style and the grammatical rules. The information has to be well organised, and the expression has to be carefully reviewed. Moreover, each work will have to include a section called "References" which will include all the reviewed documents. The references to the papers have to follow the APA (American Psychological Association) style. The correct application of this normative will be taken into account for the work assessment.

To assess the learning progress of the students, and according to the Normative, the assignments have to be original versions, elaborated by the students. Moreover, assignments have to demonstrate the comprehension and reflection about the course content. The activities that don't respect this premise, as it won't be possible to assess the students regarding their learning progress, will be failed. Plagiarism is a reason to fail the course, without having the right to retake the course.

The students that have obtained a final grade of Excellent in all the assessment activities and that have participated in an active way will have the option to have an Honors Degree (HD). If there are more students in this situation than the number of HD available, the teacher will decide to whom give this qualification according to the quality of the class participation.

Methodology

The methodology has been planned and designed to build a context, which facilitates the active participation of the students. Student-centered teaching is the main principle that guides the instructional methods of this subject as well cooperative learning. The contents are organized based on authentic professional activities preparing specific outputs, similar the ones that the students will do as future teacher.

The correct development of the subject will depend as well of the constant and responsible work of the students. The subject considers a 50% of the dedication to autonomous work that has to be done out of class time.

The tutorial time is available to solve individual and group doubts as well as give additional orientations that might be needed. The tutorials should be previously arranged by e-mail.

Some tutorial addressed to students individually or to the teams' work can be required by the teacher.

Bibliography

Bibliography

• Bassedas, E., Huguet, T., & Solé, I. (1996). Aprendre i ensenyar a l'educació infantil. Graó.
• Coll, C. (2018). La personalització de l'aprenentatge. Graó.
• Coll, C., Palacios, J., & Marchesi, A. (2010). Desarrollo psicológico y educación: 2. Psicología de la educación escolar. Alianza Editorial.
• Rogoff, B. (1993). Aprendices del pensamiento: El desarrollo cognitivo en el contexto social. Paidós.
• Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes. Paperback.

Reading

Teachers will provide complementary bibliography and compulsory reading throughout the course via the Virtual Campus.