COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
VALDOSTA STATE UNIVERSITY
DEPARTMENT OF PSYCHOLOGY, COUNSELING & GUIDANCE

COURSE SYLLABUS
PSYC 7040
ADULT LEARNING AND ASSESSMENT
3 SEMESTER HOURS CREDIT

Instructor: William G. (Bill) Huitt, Ph.D.
Office Hours: M & W -- 9am-12n (Yahoo Messenger: ID=billhuitt)
Office: Psychology Bldg (next to Continuing Ed on Patterson)
E-mail: whuitt at valdosta dot edu

Phone: 333-5613 (O); 247-2327 (H)

Course Description:

This course is designed to assist students enrolled in the Adult & Career Education or the Vocational Education program in the College of Education in predicting, understanding, and controlling the fundamental principles of learning and assessment as they apply in adult educational settings.  The focus is on the study and application of psychological principles, theories, and methodologies to issues of teaching and learning for adults. The course prerequisite is RSCH 7100.

Web Sites:

College of Education Conceptual Framework: Guiding Principles

The following are adapted from the Georgia Systemic Teacher Education Program Accomplished Teacher Framework

• Dispositions Principle:  Productive dispositions positively affect learners, professional growth, and the learning environment.

• Equity Principle:  All learners deserve high expectations and support. 

• Process Principle:  Learning is a life-long process of development and growth. 

• Ownership Principle:  Professionals are committed to, and assume responsibility for, the future of their disciplines. 

• Support Principle:  Successful engagement in the process of learning requires collaboration among multiple partners.

• Impact Principle:  Effective practice yields evidence of learning.

• Technology Principle:  Technology facilitates teaching, learning, community building, and resource acquisition. 

• Standards Principle:  Evidence-based standards systematically guide professional preparation and development. 

College of Education Conceptual Framework Principles:

The following College of Education Graduate Conceptual Framework Principles will be addressed at an introductory level in this course:

Proposition 1	Graduates are committed to their roles as helping professionals.
Proposition 2	Graduates are capable of excellence in their professional practice.
Proposition 3	Graduates think systematically about their practice, use research, and contribute to the knowledge base.
Proposition 4	Graduates are members of learning communities.

Course Objectives:

Students will be able to:

1. name and discuss the major categories of variables that have been studied in educational psychology in an attempt to answer the question "Why do some students learn more than others?" and arrange these in the form of a model of the teaching/ learning process.
2. define learning and compare and contrast the factors that behavioral, cognitive, humanistic, and social cognitive theorists believe influence the learning process, giving specific examples of how these principles could be used in adult learning.
3. compare and contrast the major components and techniques that differentiate instructional methods appropriate for children and youth from those appropriate for adults.

Topics:

I. Introduction (Chapter 1)
        A. How can Educational Psychology help
        B. Model of teaching-learning process
        C. Becoming A Brilliant Star: Holistic model of human development
        D. Objectives of Adult Education
             1. Specific knowledge, attitudes, and skills for work and career
             2. Become contributing member of society
             3. Develop individual, unique potential

II. The Science of Educational Psychology
        A. Purpose of science as applied to Educational Psychology
        B. Scientific methods applied to Educational Psychology
            1. Descriptive
            2. Correlational
            3. Experimental

III. Overview of Adult Learning and Assessment
        A. Pedagogy vs. Androgogy
        B. Desired outcomes of adult learning
        C. How do professionals learn?

IV. The Changing Context of Education and the Workplace
       A. Industrial to information age to conceptual age
       B. The SCANS report and a critique

V. Learning Theories
       A. Behaviorial theories
            1. Classical conditioning
            2. Operant conditioning
       B. Cognitive
            1. Information processing
            2. Developmental theories and constructivism
       C. Humanistic
            1. Affective development
            2. Transformational learning
            3. Maslow's theory
        D. Social Cognition
            1. Modeling and imitation
            2. Self-efficacy
            3. Self-regulation

VI. Additional Topics
        A. Self-concept, Self-esteem
        B. Meaning, Purpose, and Spirituality in the Workplace
        C. Moral Character and Ethics
        D. Motivation
        E. Other learning and teaching issues

VII. Additional Measurement and Evaluation Issues
       A. Issues of timing and standards
            1. Formative vs Summative
            2. Criterion-referenced vs Norm-referenced

VIII. Summary

Students with Disabilities:

Valdosta State University, in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, will make arrangements for students who require special assistance due to a disability. If you require some assistance, do not hesitate to make me aware of it. In addition, if you are not already registered with the Access Office for Students With Disabilities, you must contact the Access Office in Farber Hall, or call 245-2498 (voice) and 219-1348 (tty).

Attendance:

Students are expected to attend all class sessions. A student who is absent more than 10% of class sessions will have his or her grade reduced one letter grade. A student who misses more than 20% of class sessions will receive a grade of F for the course. A student who misses an exam because of a duty assignment must make up the exam before the next class session.

Grading:

* Some excellent suggestions related to Effective Learning
** Use APA Style in all written work (citing electronic documents); (samples of 10- and 25-page papers are provided); APA Style Sheet; APA Style Checklist; APA Style Overview; APA Citation Styles

Extra credit:

Up to ten points extra credit may be earned by reading research articles from education or psychology journals, by listening to cassette tapes, viewing video tapes or reviewing computer software dealing with issues related to the teaching-learning process. A critique is to be written which should include:

1. Publication data or tape/software identification;
2. Summary of article or tape (1 to 1 1/2 pages);
3. Your personal opinion about the value of the article, tape, or software (1/2 page).

Each report should be typed and will be worth a maximum of one point added to one of the 2 exams.

# In general, when you write an answer to an essay question you should follow the format you learned in Freshman English:

• General

1. Use complete sentences
2. Use proper punctuation
3. Use proper spelling

• Organization

(1) Introduction

1. What is the issue to be addressed?
2. Why is this issue important?
3. What will be included in your answer; how will your answer be organized?

(2) Body -- Present information in clear, concise, and logical manner

(3) Summary/Conclusions

1. Summarize your main points
2. Relate information in body to original proposition (why is this issue important?)

Some examples of good essay writing are provided by the Educational Testing Service, developer of the GRE-Writing Test.

Last updated: December 2006
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