Course Announcements
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Cognition & Development in Science Learning
This course will provide an overview of research from cognitive science and developmental psychology that has examined the processes underlying young children’s science learning. Topics will include children’s acquisition of basic science concepts, misconceptions about science, reasoning skills, and ability to generalize information across domains. Classes will consist of discussions of current research and culminate in proposals for how educators can use research to design educational interventions and curriculum.
FALL 2012
Educational Psychology 506 section 005
Tuesday/Thursday : 4:00 to 5:15
Professor Haley Vlach
For more information : haleyvlach@gmail.com
Exploring the Number Sense
This advanced seminar will examine how it is that humans come to have a sense of number. Readings will span the fields of Educational Research, Cognitive Psychology, and Neuroscience. Topics include:
- Is a sense of number innate?
- Do other animals have a sense of number?
- Is number a percept or a concept?
- How can educators use this knowledge?
FALL 2012
Educational Psychology 506 section 004
Tuesday/Thursday : 9:30 to 10:45
Professor Percival Matthews
For more information : percivalgrantmatthews@gmail.com
Everyday Statistical Reasoning
We make statistical judgments all the time. This class explores the psychology of those judgments. We will focus on two related questions. First, how do people interpret statistical information, and how might we teach them to do better? Second, we will ask how people reason informally about probabilistic or uncertain events…and whether they can learn to do better at predicting outcomes. This is an advanced undergraduate/beginning graduate-level class. We will read primary research, as well as popular science writers (like Malcolm Gladwell). Classes will be largely discussion, with some lectures and demonstrations/activities. No formal training in statistics is required. Background in experimental psychology will be most helpful.
FALL 2012
Educational Psychology 506 section 003
Wednesday : 9:00 to 11:30
Professor Chuck Kalish
For more information : cwkalish@wisc.edu
Positive Youth Development
In this advanced seminar we will focus attention on a relatively new perspective on adolescent development that stems from research theory on positive psychology. We will critically examine the Positive Youth Development movement, identifying its basic tenets and tracing its theoretical roots. We will assess the usefulness of this perspective in applied research and intervention programming, then consider how the PYD perspective can inform various facets of individual development during adolescence.
Fall 2012
Educational Psychology 921
Wednesday : 9:00 to 11:45
Professor Brad Brown
For more information : bbbrown@wisc.edu
Tools for Thought
This course looks at emerging educational technologies in historical and psychological perspective, investigating the links between technology and pedagogy over time. We will begin by exploring the underlying relationships among tools, thinking, and learning to develop an analytical framework for understanding how tools impact education. We will then examine a wide range of specific examples of tools, including tools such as Froebel’s gifts and occupations, Montessori’s didactic materials, photography, graph paper, typewriters, film and video, slide rules, and calculators, as well as more recent developments, such as video games, social media, and the Internet more generally.
FALL 2012
Educational Psychology 792
Tuesday : 2:25 to 5:25
Professor David Williamson Shaffer
For more information : dws@education.wisc.edu