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PSYCHOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS OF LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT

The Learning Community - North Option

EDU3506 Elementary

OISE/UT 2000/2001

This course focuses on the psychological principles of learning and development in childhood and adolescence, with particular emphasis on their relevance and application to schooling. Its goal is to introduce teacher candidates to key psychological concepts such as intelligence and motivation, and their interrelations with the diverse developmental characteristics of the learner. Teacher candidates will also be encouraged to consider the independent and interactive roles of the student, the family, the school, and society in the learning process.

The framework for this course is based on 12 learner-centred psychological principles produced by the American Psychological Association.

The 12 principles address:

1. Developmental constraints and opportunities
2. Social and cultural diversity
3. Individual and cultural differences in learning
4. Cognitive and social filters
5. The nature of the learning process
6. Social acceptance, self-esteem, and learning
7. Goals of the learning process
8. The construction of knowledge
9. Higher-order thinking
10. Motivational influences on learning
11. Intrinsic motivation to learn
12. Characteristics of motivation - enhancing learning tasks

Although the 12 principles provide the framework for this course, they will also be attended to in other courses, e.g, Curriculum and Instruction, and School and Society. Integrating the 12 psychological principles across the program enhances their meaningfulness and relevancy to teaching and learning in todays’ classrooms.

Evaluation of this course is based on 4 components: