Module Code - Title:
EN4052
-
UNDERSTANDING YOUNG PEOPLE AND HOW THEY LEARN: PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES
Year Last Offered:
2025/6
Hours Per Week:
Grading Type:
N
Prerequisite Modules:
Rationale and Purpose of the Module:
The purpose of this module is to introduce students to key concepts in educational and developmental psychology focusing on how young people learn and develop. The module will provide students with a critical understanding of key learning theories, examining behavioural, cognitive and socio-cultural perspectives and their implications for teaching, learning, motivation and assessment. Special education needs and inclusion will be addressed in terms of assessment, learning strategies and teaching (differentiation and UDL). Students will gain a critical understanding of relevant aspects of adolescent development including identity in context, peer networks, social-emotional learning, media usage and the construction of adolescence. As part of this module the students will also contribute to their teaching portfolio by submitting a reflection on their understanding of learning drawing on their own personal experiences and the key theorists explored as part of the module
Syllabus:
Seminal and contemporary learning theories including behavioural, cognitive and socio-cultural accounts of learning and their implications for teaching, assessment and motivation; Adolescent Development (physical, cognitive, social/emotional) bio-ecological and cultural theories; Factors to be considered in understanding student learning: identity; self-concept, self-esteem and self-efficacy; ability, intelligence, neurodiversity, fixed/growth mindsets and achievement; thinking, problem solving and adaptive expertise; adolescent development including peer networks, media usage and social emotional learning; language, literacy and numeracy development; self-regulation and metacognition; motivation; principles and modes of assessment; assessment and communication of student learning to students, school system and families; Reflecting on learning
Learning Outcomes:
Cognitive (Knowledge, Understanding, Application, Analysis, Evaluation, Synthesis)
On successful completion of this module, students will be able to:
Evaluate seminal and contemporary learning theories, and their application to classroom practice
Summarise adolescent development and discuss the implications for student learning
Demonstrate knowledge of the range of factors to be considered in understanding how young people learn
Develop their own understanding of what is effective learning by reflecting on both the theories explored in the module and in light of their own personal educational experiences
Demonstrate an understanding of principles and modes of assessment and their relationship to underpinning learning theories
Affective (Attitudes and Values)
On successful completion of this module, students will be able to:
Value adolescent development as a unique stage of human development
Integrate knowledge of adolescent development with perceptions of the role of the teacher
Psychomotor (Physical Skills)
On successful completion of this module, students will be able to:
How the Module will be Taught and what will be the Learning Experiences of the Students:
This module requires students to recognise adolescence as a unique stage of human development in preparation for their role as a teacher of young people. On completion students will demonstrate a critical awareness of the three key perspectives on learning as well as adolescent development, informed by contemporary investigations in the field. A range of mediums will be utilised in order to ensure student learning is maximised in a positive and interactive learning environment. The module will be taught using a variety of evidence-based student-centred pedagogical approaches (e.g., behavioural approaches, project work, ICT) designed to engage students and develop the capacity to connect educational theory and practical classroom application.
Research Findings Incorporated in to the Syllabus (If Relevant):
Prime Texts:
Bransford, J (2000)
How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience and School.,
, Washington D.C.: National Academy Press.
Conway, P. F. (2002)
Learning in communities of practice: Rethinking teaching and learning in disadvantaged contexts
, . Irish Educational Studies, 21(3), 61-91.
Santrock, J.W. (2011)
Adolescence,
, McGraw Hill
Seifert, K., & Sutton, R. (2009)
Educational psychology.
,
Woolfolk, A., (2019)
Educational Psychology
, Pearson Education Ltd.
Other Relevant Texts:
Beadleston, L. N., O'Donnell, A. T., McMahon, J., McMahon, G., Kinsella, E. L., Kearns, M., ... & Muldoon, O. T (2019)
Working hard and playing hard: multiple group membership, exercise and cognitive performance in boys and girls.
, Social Psychology of Education, 22(2), 501-515.
Gallagher, A. L., Galvin, R., Robinson, K., Murphy, C. A., Conway, P. F., & Perry, A. (2020)
). The characteristics, life circumstances and self-concept of 13-year olds with and without disabilities in Ireland: A secondary analysis of the Growing Up in Ireland (GUI) study.
, PloS One, 15(3), e0229599
Garcia, J. M., Healy, S., & Rice, D. (2016)
The individual, social, and environmental correlates of physical activity and screen time in Irish children: Growing Up in Ireland study.
, Journal of Physical Activity and Health, 13(12), 1285-1293.
Jarvis, M. (2005)
The psychology of effective learning and teaching,
, Nelson Thornes
Mahoney, J. (2012)
The over-scheduling hypothesis revisited: intensity of organized activity participation during adolescence and young adult outcomes,
, Journal of Research on Adolescence, 22(3), 409-418.
Murphy, B., Conway, P. F., Murphy, R., & Hall, K. (2014)
The emergence of reading literacy in post-primary teacher education: from the background to the foreground.
, European Journal of Teacher Education, 37(3), 331-347.
Nakkula, M. J., & Toshalis, E. (2020)
Understanding youth: Adolescent development for educators.
, Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press.
Nixon, E. (2021)
Growing Up in Ireland: Social-emotional and behavioural outcomes in early adolescence.
, ESRI Report March 2021.
Pajares, F. (2006)
Self-efficacy during childhood and adolescence: Implications for teachers and parents.
, In T. Urdan and F Pajares (eds.). Self-efficacy beliefs of adolescents, 5, 339-367. Greenwich, CT. Information Age Press.
Purdy, N., & Mc Guckin, C. (2015)
Cyberbullying, schools and the law: A comparative study in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
, Educational Research, 57(4), 420-436.
Russell, G., & Norwich, B. (2012)
Dilemmas, diagnosis and de-stigmatization: Parental perspectives on the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders.
, Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 17(2), 229-245.
Sadowski M. (2021)
Adolescents at School: Perspectives on Youth, Identity and Education
, Cambridge: MA. Harvard Press.
Stanton-Salazar, R. D., & Spina, S. U. (2005)
Adolescent peer networks as a context for social and emotional support.
, Youth & Society, 36(4), 379-417.
Woolfolk, A. and Perry, N.E. (2012)
Child and Adolescent Development,
, Pearson
Programme(s) in which this Module is Offered:
BTEDMEUFA - MATERIALS AND ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGY
BTEDMAUFA - MATERIALS AND ARCHITECTURAL TECHNOLOGY
BSMTCSUFA - MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTER SCIENCE
BSEDPCUFA - PHYSICAL SCIENCE WITH CHEMISTRY AND PHYSICS
BSPHEDUFA - PHYSICAL EDUCATION
BDLANGUFA - EDUCATION IN LANGUAGES
BSEDBIUFA - BIOLOGY WITH PHYSICS OR CHEMISTRY OR AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE
Semester(s) Module is Offered:
Spring
Module Leader:
diarmuid.verrier@ul.ie