Syllabus
Course Description
In this course we will look at several different theoretical perspectives on learning, cognition, and cognitive development. As we'll see, no single theory can account for all aspects of human learning. By looking at a variety of theories, we can identify a range of tools that may be useful in understanding learning and teaching in a variety of settings.
Course Goals
Our primary goals will be:
1. To become conversant with the basic assumptions, concepts, and principles of each theory
2. To determine the possible implications of each theory for instructional settings
3. To be able to compare and contrast theories and their usefulness in the various settings of interest to you and other education professionals
4. To create and revise our own theories of learning
Course Resources
Required Text: A textbook is required for this section. The textbook is:
Driscoll, M. (2000). Psychology of Learning for Instruction, 2nd Edition. New York: Allyn & Bacon.
This book can be obtained from the TIS Bookstore. For those students not in the Bloomington area, TIS can arrange to send the text to you. They have a toll-free phone number especially for distance learning students: 1-800-238-1229. You can also email them at bookmark@tisbook.com. Additional readings may be assigned for some units. These will usually be available online.
Optional Text: Also there is a second optional text for the course:
Gredler, M. E. (2001). Learning and Instruction: Theory into Practice, 4th Edition.
You may want to consider obtaining this text, particularly if you have no prior experience with studying learning theories. It can be helpful to have a second "view" of the theories, and Gredler's book has chapters that correspond to most of the theories we will cover in the course. On each Unit page, I will designate the appropriate optional readings from Gredler. This text can also be obtained from TIS bookstore.
Course Assignments and Expectations
Course requirements will be met through unit products and participation in discussions. Each unit's structure is described more fully below:
The "pre-unit" course orientation and Unit 1 are one week in duration. Units 2-6 are two weeks in duration. Units begin on Monday end on Sunday. Each unit includes readings, instructor notes, learning activities and Web resources.
During the learning activities you will have the chance to work individually as well as on your own. The course orientation and first unit learning activities require only individual work. Units 2-6 have a variety of activities asking you to synthesize and apply the learning theories we cover in the course.
Units 2-3: Everyone will decide which of the two units he/she would like to complete as a group. Vacation schedules or other commitments will likely determine which unit you choose. In the other unit you will complete an individual product. Once you have chosen, you will be assigned to work with a group of 3 to 4 people on the thought activity for that unit.
All people are expected to participate equally in the creation of the thought activity product (see guidelines for collaboration) and credit will be based on your communications in the Oncourse system. There is nothing special you need to do to document your participation in the group process unless you have substantive discussions outside of Oncourse or through Oncourse e-mail. In that case, please cc: your instructor on those discussions. No class members outside of your team will be able to view your group work while it is in progress.
Units 4-6: You will work in a group for at least one of the final units of the course. That is, you can work on one or two of the units individually. After unit 3 you will be asked to decide which units you would like to work in as a group. Once you decide, you will be assigned to groups for those units on which you want to work collaboratively.
Post-unit reflections: Each individual will submit a brief reflection after each product is turned in for Units 2 through 6, whether that unit was completed individually or as a group. The purpose of the reflection is for you to think about what you have learned through this experience. Detailed instructions for the reflections are provided in each unit.
Course Participation
Discussions: Because of the nature of this class, your completion of weekly activities and regular participation in course discussions will be essential to your success in the course. Collaboration and interactions are an important component of this course and so regular communication is essential to your learning.
It is very important that you check your e-mail and the discussion forums on a regular basis (i.e. at least every two to three days.) After the first couple of weeks you will get a feel for how often you need to do this more often.
Participation in the discussions is an essential part of the course. It is particularly important because the class doesn't ever meet face-to-face. You should post your own thoughts about the topic and also respond to your classmate's postings. Initial postings should take place by the first Sunday of each unit, responses should be posted by the final Thursday of the unit. (Please note that the schedule for Unit 1 is a bit different since we only have one week for discussion.)
Discussions will take place in the Oncourse Discussion Forums. You can access the discussion forums by going to the "In Touch" link in your Oncourse navigation. (You can familiarize yourself with how to use the discussion forum by going through the short tutorial available in Oncourse.)
You will be graded throughout the semester based on the quality and frequency of participation in class discussions. We will not assign individual letter grades to the discussions or self-check activities for each unit; you will receive full credit toward your participation grade for each unit if you have responded in a thoughtful and timely manner.
Each of you will be responsible for contributing to the class discussions. During some units we will be assigning a "facilitator" or "wrapper" for unit discussions. There will be unit discussion questions posted by the instructors, but it will be the responsibility of the facilitator to post initial reactions and facilitate class discussions so that a conducive learning environment is created. The facilitator for the week should post to the discussion no later than the first Tuesday of the unit. The wrapper should post the synthesis should be posted to the discussion no later than the second Friday (just before the end) of the unit. That way the synthesis can help class members as they complete the thought activity for the week. Check the participation page for more information about the facilitator and wrapper role.
Collaboration: We realize that while some of you may have a lot of experience collaborating in a distance course, for others of you this may be the first time. In this course you will be collaborating in several ways. One type will be whole class collaboration while participating in discussions of the readings. In Unit 4 and Unit 6 you will collaborate with smaller groups for this discussion, compiling a more formal synthesis of the readings. You will also have the chance during each unit to collaborate with groups of students on your thought activities. We realize that it can be a challenge to collaborate effectively online so we have created some guidelines that may help you in your collaborations during this course. Even those of you with lots of experience may find some new and useful tips - so we encourage you to read this section carefully.
Course Grading
Each Unit product will count equally toward your final grade. The personal theory of learning from Unit 1 and 6 will be counted as one product. Each product will each be 1/8 of your grade. Peer evaluations constitute 15% of your grade for each unit in which you work as a group. Course participation will be weighted twice.
A grade of "A" will be given to work which shows extraordinary high achievement, unusually complete command of the subject matter, represents an exceptionally high degree of originality, creativity, and synthesis/application .
A grade of "B" will be given to work which is very good, solid, above average quality. Good synthesis/application are expected.
A grade of "C" will be given to work of satisfactory quality with an average level of synthesis/application.
Course Policies
Turning in Work: Due dates for assignments are listed in the assignments page. Due dates are Sunday at midnight Bloomington time. Neither Melanie nor I will likely be available to answer questions late Sunday. As such, if you have problems, you are welcome to send us e-mails and then turn in your work Monday by midnight after we have gotten a chance to respond. Technical glitches also arise from time to time. Although the official end of each unit is Sunday at midnight, any work received by Monday at midnight will not be considered late.
No product will be considered turned in on time or graded without the individual reflections turned in. You can email these separately to the instructor when you are working as a group on a unit. The reflection involves a very short time commitment, just make sure it is completed.The easiest way to turn in papers is to send them to "all instructors" as an attachment using your Oncourse mail account. If you do this, we will be able to read and grade on-line. You will be able to see your grades automatically when we have completed grading by going to "My grade report" under "Tools" in Oncourse.
As an alternative, particularly if Oncourse is experiencing problems, you should e-mail me with your document as an attachment, preferably in WORD, although I can open other kinds of attachments.
Late Policy: When you are participating in individual work, you may turn in your assignment late one time during the course. There will be no penalties for papers up to two weeks late (once only).
Because of the importance of timely and responsive contributions, group projects work best when all participants are readily available and will not be accepted late.
Any additional late papers will lose 10% every two days. Failure to complete facilitator/wrapper duties will result in losing 10% of available discussion/participation points.
All other policies and regulations (e.g., regarding "academic honesty and plagiarism") as stated in the Graduate Bulletin apply in this course. If you are unfamiliar with these policies and regulations, then you are required to make yourself familiar with them immediately.
E-mail Response Policy: Instructors can be contacted via email at joalexan@indiana.edu or mmisanch@indiana.edu. We will try to respond to email within 48 hours of receiving it. Often times instructors may even be able to answer questions more promptly. However, please don't assume instructors are on email 24 hours a day 7 days a week.
Netiquette: A significant portion of this course will be conducted via electronic tools such as email and discussion forums. We expect you to be courteous in the way that you interact with your peers. Please read the netiquette guidelines provided by the IU School of Education at the beginning of the class.
Research Policy: We are interested in providing the best learning environment for college students, regardless of their background, technical experience, or future plans. In order to do so, research on student's reactions to innovative teaching practices are necessary and welcome. Although Melanie and I are not able to conduct research, ethically, on our own students' learning during the course, an independent researcher will be examining our use of the web and learning activities to find ways to improve student learning.
Thus, Melanie and I see an important role for research in improving teaching and learning. We feel this is the major impetus of a school of education, especially one with the reputation for being one of the most wired campuses in the world. When research opportunities arise, either now or in future courses, we hope you will support these efforts, as do we. Only through this type of work can we improve learning and teaching for today's and tomorrow's college students. We currently have one research project we have reviewed and think has the potential to add greatly to our understanding of our own teaching and students' learning on the web. To learn more, click on the link below.
Comments: joalexan@indiana.edu
