EDUCATION 110: Educational Psychology

Spring 2020
Collaboration Meeting: Thursdays 6:10 – 7:15 (ish)
Zoom Meeting ID: https://zoom.us/j/498016434
Instructor: Dr. Kristine Calvo Office Hours: Tuesdays 5:30 – 6:40
Zoom Meeting ID: 589-198-876 Password: CalvoOH
Zoom Link: https://zoom.us/j/589198876?pwd=anZIYWZoZENsU1BGWGUvZUY0dzY2QT09
Email: kecalvo@ucdavis.edu
Teaching Assistants:
Susan Rowe Office Hours Thursday 5 – 6PM
Zoom: https://ucdavis.zoom.us/j/121903698?pwd=aHhKZFFTWDZhM3V6UGVHQzVOVUxDQT09
Password: EDU110TA
Email: serowe@ucdavis.edu
Cory Foxen Office Hours: Monday 9:30 – 10:30AM
Zoom: https://zoom.us/j/480994153 Password: EDU110TA
Email: cfoxen@ucdavis.edu
*If the TA and professor times do not work for you, please email one of us for additional options.

Course Description
Lecture/Discussion—4 hour(s). Learning processes, cognitive development,
individual differences, testing and evaluation

Overview and goals of the course

The essence of matter, the origins of the universe, the nature of the human mind—these are
the profound questions that have engaged thinkers through the centuries. Until quite
recently, understanding the mind—and the thinking and learning that the mind makes
possible—has remained an elusive quest, in part because of a lack of powerful research
tools. Today the world is in the midst of an extraordinary outpouring of scientific work on
the mind and brain, on the processes of thinking and learning, on the neural processes that
occur during thought and learning, and on the development of competence.
The revolution in the study of the mind that has occurred in the last three to four decades
has important implications for education.
-How People Learn, p. 3
In this class we will explore the revolution referenced above and try to understand how
knowing something about learning and development can inform our understanding of school
settings. Each of you is a consumer of education right now, some of you will go on to be
teachers, many of you will go on to be parents of school age children, and all of you are
citizens in a society that is facing ever more daunting challenges with regard to education.
Whichever of these roles you identify with most strongly, the issues and theories we discuss in
this class are relevant to you and ones that you likely have a great deal of experience with in
one way or another already. The goal of the class is to provide you with ways of thinking
about the issues in education from a standpoint that is informed by the research base on how
people learn and develop.

Calvo EDU 110: Spring 2020 1

 Text & Readings
Text:
Bransford, J., Brown, A., & Cocking, R. (2000). How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience,
and School (Expanded Edition). National Research Council. Washington, DC: National
Academy Press.

This is available as a FREE download from the National Research Council website. No need to buy the
book unless you want a hard copy.

Readings: Additional readings will be available on Canvas. Most readings are posted already; others will
be posted one week before the class date on which they will be discussed. All readings will form a
foundation for what we do in class. Please come to the synchronous sessions prepared.

Assignments
Classwork Assignments: Several times during the quarter we will complete brief
assignments that support the week’s topic. These assignments are intended to provide
focus on the current topics and to ask you process and draw conclusions about these
topics. You will have the opportunity to work on these assignments collaboratively with
your peers on Thursdays.
Expert Interview paper: Each student is expected to interview an expert. Individually each
student will write up an account of the interview that draws upon the readings and lecture
material to analyze why the respondent says (3-4 pages). More info will be provided in class
on this assignment. Due on Friday April 24 @ 11:59PM.
Learning Event Critiques: Each student will observe a learning event and critique it based on
the ideas/theories presented in the course. Learning Event Notes will be due prior to the
assignment due date. More info will be provided in class on this assignment. Due Week 6
and Week 8.
Summary Grid: Using the template provided, summarize and interpret the big ideas
from the course. More info will be provided in class on this assignment. Due Week 10.
Final Exam: a list of potential essay questions will be distributed one week prior to the exam.
Students will respond to three of these questions on the day of the exam (determined by
random draw). Essays will be uploaded to Canvas. Exam time is scheduled for: June 5,
8:30pm.

Calvo EDU 110: Spring 2020 2

 Grading

Classwork Assignments 15%

Expert Interview 20%
Learning Event Critiques 40%
Summary Grid 5%
Final Exam 20%

Policies
Disability Policy: UC Davis strives to ensure the accessibility of programs, classes, and
services to students with disabilities. Reasonable accommodations can be arranged for students
with various types of disabilities, such as documented learning disabilities, vision or hearing
impairments, and emotional or physical disabilities. If you require accommodations for a
disability, please register with the Student Disability Center http://sdc.ucdavis.edu/ and let your
instructor know your needs.
Academic Code: All students must read, understand, and abide by the UC Davis Code of
Academic Conduct: http://sja.ucdavis.edu/cac.html. In particular please note #6 of the code:
“Know what plagiarism is and take steps to avoid it. When using the words or ideas of another,
even if paraphrased in your own words, you must cite your source. Students who are confused
about whether a particular act constitutes plagiarism should consult the instructor who gave the
assignment.”
Writing Services in the Student Academic Success Center: We recommend that ALL
students make an appointment at the Student Academic Success Center on campus to receive
assistance with assignments 4, 5 and 6. This is a free service included in your tuition available
to ensure the highest quality writing for any assignment. For more information visit
http://success.ucdavis.edu/academic/writing.html.
APA Guidelines: For all written work, you are expected to adhere to the 6 edition APA
th

guidelines (see Canvas). That includes size 12 font, times new roman, 1-inch margins, double
spaced, appropriate in-text citations, and an APA formatted reference section. You are NOT
expected to complete a title page.

Turning in work: All papers should be submitted electronically via Canvas by 11:59pm
on the day they are due. More information will be given when submitting other assignments.
Classwork assignments will also be turned in via Canvas but the format may vary. If the
class work is a group activity, please make sure all students names are included at the top of
the page. Please remember adding the name of a student who is not in class is a violation of
the academic code.

Calvo EDU 110: Spring 2020 3

 Late work: Turn in your work on time. Expert Interview or Classroom Analysis
assignments turned in more within 24 hours of the deadline will receive a 10% grade
penalty, and an additional 10% penalty for each 24 hours thereafter. Assignments turned
more than 5 days after the due date will not be accepted. Classwork Assignments will
receive a 25% reduction for each 24 hours and will not be accepted after 2 days. Extensions
for work may be granted if requested more than 1 full day before the actual due date or in
critical unforeseen circumstances. An incomplete in the class will only be considered in
extreme cases.

Communication: There are three of us working on the course and we expect that you will
communicate with us if you have any issues or concerns or if you need additional help on
anything. Talk with us during office hours or send an email. All email messages should
include “EDU 110” in the subject line along with a brief phrase that identifies your
question/concern. It is always better to communicate BEFORE an issue than after it.

Emails to instructor and TAs should be limited to personal and specific questions not
appropriate for the Canvas Chat Room. With that said, there are a few things to keep in mind
when using e-mail.
• Include all three of us on any email communication. This improves your chances of a
quick response and keeps the entire teaching team informed.
• Be clear, concise and specific in your request. It saves time for your instructor and helps
you get a timely response; do not make your instructor guess who is writing the e-mail
or what you are requesting from them.
• Your instructor teaches your class, teaches other courses, and has numerous other
professional responsibilities. Expect responses to email within 72 hours of your
request.
• Subject lines are important. Include the class name, EDU 110 and a word or phrase that
will help instructors understand the nature of your request (example: EDU 110
fieldwork)
• Please use appropriate terms of address (Hello, Hi, Dear) versus inappropriate greetings
(Hey!, What’s up?!, The use of ALL CAPS).

General Organization of the Course

The general question that is guiding the work we will do together this quarter is:
How does knowing something about learning and development help us address
persistent issues and problems in school contexts?
As such, each week will be organized around a set of questions/problems/issues that arise in
teaching and learning contexts. We will first explore the issues and then examine the
theoretical and empirical knowledge base that might help us understand those issues better.
Once we have seen what scholars have to say we will then turn to an examination of what
these perspectives mean in practice. Generally, we will do the theoretical exploration on
Tuesdays and the practical application on Thursdays.

Calvo EDU 110: Spring 2020 4

 Course Schedule
Due Dates, Topics, and Readings may be updated during the course of the quarter
Topics Synch. Readings Assignments
Session Due
What is April 2 Logistics/ Syllabus/ Introductions
Learning?
How People Learn
Chapter 1 – Learning: From Speculation to Science
3.31 – 4.3
Expertise & April How People Learn
Problem 9 Chapter 2 – How Experts Differ from Novices
Solving
Wineburg, S.S. & Wilson, S.M. (1991) Models of
Wisdom in the Teaching of History. The History
4.6 – 4.10 Teacher. 24(4), 395-412
The Nature of April How People Learn Submit One of
Knowing 16 Chapter 3 – Learning & Transfer the week 3
worksheets by
Watson B. & Kopnicek, R. (1990) Teaching for Friday
Conceptual Change: Confronting Children’s Experience. 11:59PM
4.13 – 4.17 Phi Delta Kappan. 680-684
Learning in April Vygotsky, L. (1978). Interaction between learning and Expert
Social 23 Development. In Mind and Society (pp. 79-91) Interview Due
Contexts Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press Friday 11:59
pm
Darling-Hammond, L., Austin, K., Orcutt, S., Martin, D.,
Tharp, R., & Palinscar, A. (2003). Learning from others: Social Learning
Learning in a social context. The learning classroom: Worksheet Due
4.20 -4.24 Theory into practice. Friday 11:59
PM
The Mind & April How People Learn Mind & Brain
The Brain 30 Chapter 5 – Mind and Brain Worksheet Due
Friday 11:59
Bruer, J.T. (2006) Points of View: On the Implications of PM
Neuroscience Research for Science Teaching and
Learning: Are there Any? CBE – Life Science Edition.
4.27 – 5.1 Vol 5, 104-110
Cultural and May 7 Ladson-Billings, G. (1995) Toward a Theory of Learning Event
Language in Culturally Relevant Pedagogy. American Educational Critique 1 Due
Learning Research Journal. 32(3)m 465-491 Friday 11:59

Rogoff, B. (2003). Learning through Guided Participation Discussion Post

in Cultural Endeavors. In The Cultural Nature of Human Due Friday
5.4 – 5.8 Development (pp. 282-326). Oxford University Press. 11:59 PM

Calvo EDU 110: Spring 2020 5

 Childhood & May How People Learn Childhood
Adolescent 14 Chapter 4 – How Children Learn Development
Development Worksheet Due
Gopnik, A., Meltzoff, A. N., & Kuhl, P. K. (1999). The Friday 11:59
scientist in the crib: Minds, brains, and how children PM
5.11 – 5.15 learn. William Morrow & Co.
Motivation & May Blackwell, L.S, Trzesniewski, K. H., & Dweck, C.S. Learning Event
Affect 21 (2007) Implicit Theories of Intelligence Predict Critique 2 Due
achievement Across an Adolescent Transition: A Friday 11:59
Longitudinal Study and an Intervention. Child
Development. 78(1), 246-263 Discussion Post
Due Friday
Tice, D.M. & Baumeister, R.F. (1997) Longitudinal Study 11:59PM
of Procrastination, Performance, Stress, & Health: The
Costs and Benefits of Dawdling. Psychological Science.
5.18 – 5.22 8(6), 454-458
Designing May How People Learn Learning
Learning 28 Chapter 6 – The Design of Learning Environments Design
Environments How People Learn Worksheet Due
Friday 11:59
Chapter 7 – Effective Teaching: Examples in History, PM
5.25 – 5.29 Mathematics, and Science
Assessments Tues. How People Learn Summary Grid
` June 2 Chapter 10 – Conclusions Assignment
Due
Black, P. & Wiliam, D. (1998) Assessment and Classroom
Learning, Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy &
Practice, 5(1), 7-74
6.1 – 6.5
Final Exam Details
Updated 4.10.2020

Syllabus is tentative and subject to change.

Calvo EDU 110: Spring 2020 6