EDD 8847 Advanced Studies in Learning and Cognition

This course provides an analysis of the development and application of learning theory through a critical inspection of foundational and current research as they relate to contemporary issues in cognition and learning. Candidates will reflect on historical and philosophical orientations of learning and cognitions and their relevance to current day practices. Advanced theory and research related to human learning, memory, and overall cognitive development will be examined, with an emphasis on their implications for classroom instruction. Candidates will be expected to integrate these elements into a personal theory and philosophy of cognitive development at the conclusion of the course.

Credits

3

Typically Offered

Demorest Campus/Athens Campus: 2nd fall in sequence

Student Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, the candidate will be able to:

1. Describe the importance of learning to both the individual and to society.

2. Discuss trends in the development of learning theory from 1950 to the present.

The shift from laboratory to the classroom (1950 – 1975)

The rise of cognitive psychology (1975 – 1990)

The rise of personal, social, and cultural factors in learning (1980 – present)

3. Compare and contrast early learning theories (behaviorist theories that were forerunners of operant conditioning) and Gestalt psychology (the precursor to cognitive psychology).

4. Integrate various Learning Theories (Skinner’s Operant Conditioning, Robert Gagne’s Conditions of Learning, Information-Processing Theory, Jean Piaget’s Cognitive-Development Theory, Vygotsky’s Cultural-Historical Theory, and Albert Bandura’s Social-Cognitive Theory) into a personal philosophy of cognitive development.

5. Describe educational constructivism.

6. Discuss cognitive and educational issues related to cutting-edge brain research with an emphasis on new insights neuroscientists are gaining about learning and the brain.

7. Provide an overview of the organization of the human brain.

8. Articulate ways in which technology influences learning and brain development for today’s learners.

9. Provide a variety of opportunities for students to develop different approaches to problem solving.

10. Define metacognition and provide opportunities for students to practice and apply metacognitive strategies.

11. Compare and contrast Transmission/Direct Instruction (TDI) model, a traditional approach to teaching, with the Perception/Action Learning (P/AL) model, a Guided Experience Approach (GEA).