QSTB 41380

Educational Psychology: Learning and Motivation

This course provides teacher candidates with foundational psychological knowledge about students’ learning and motivation, and the importance of learning context. Foremost, the course focuses on learners and the science of learning. The theories and practices presented in this course will tie to student learning as a system of interactions among cognitive, affective, and behavioral processes; and will cover topics on the internal mechanisms and processes of learning, the science of learning, the impact of technology on student learning and motivation, and how external and cultural contexts interact with classroom learning. Teacher candidates will also learn about the research and practice of classroom management and learners’ sense of belonging. Because learning involves a complex system of interactions for students—based on their own brain structures and processes, prior learning experiences, cognitions, affects, and behaviors, and interactions with peers and adults in their environment— teacher candidates will examine why and how student learning takes place, so that they can make appropriate instructional decisions. The course is designed to situate discussion around students and their interactions within classroom settings and beyond the classroom that affect teacher-student and teacher-family interactions. To complement the science of learning and motivation covered in this course, candidates will conduct either “virtual” or “simulated” fieldwork. Such practical experiences will reinforce and illustrate the application of educational theories and research in actual classrooms.

Regular Liberal Arts

017032