BSc Education / Course details

Year of entry: 2023

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Course unit details:
Foundations of psychology

Course unit fact file
Unit code	EDUC13011
Credit rating	10
Unit level	Level 1
Teaching period(s)	Semester 1
Offered by	School of Environment, Education and Development
Available as a free choice unit?	Yes

Overview

The purpose of the unit is to introduce and acculturate students into the idea of studying psychology as a science and through a range of perspectives. Major topics include:

What is Psychology (e.g. is it the science of mind, or is it the science of experience)?
What encapsulates ‘science’ as a practice?
Major schools of psychology (e.g. Philosophy, psycho-physics, Introspection, Behaviourism + neo-behaviourism (Wundt, Skinner et. al), Humanism)
Differences between European and American schools of thought

The taught content will be augmented by formative, online activities, including case-based study examples and online quizzes.

Aims

Introduce students to the study of psychology as a science by examining the social and cultural construction of psychology through the lens of major shifts in paradigm and perspective. Attention will be paid to its application to ‘real world questions’ with particular regard to education.

Learning outcomes

Category of outcome	Students should/will (please delete as appropriate) be able to:
Knowledge and understanding	Demonstrate understanding of the scientific underpinnings of psychology as a discipline, its historical origins, development and limitations
Intellectual skills	Be able to comparatively analyse and evaluate phenomena relating to human functioning from a range of different perspectives.
Practical skills
Transferable skills and personal qualities	Be able to problem solve by clarifying questions, consideration solutions and evaluating likely outcomes Take charge of their own learning and undertake self-directed study to produce a credit-bearing assignment Written communication Oral communication (contributing to discussion and debate) Working with others (group work, case-based work) IT skills (word processing, accessing electronic databases and library facilities, managing references)

Teaching and learning methods

Face to face lectures (e.g. including whole class discussion and debate, case/scenario based learning, and other approaches to learning and teaching)

Supplementary e-learning resources provided online

Assessment methods

Assessment task	Length	How and when feedback is provided	Weighting within unit
Students are a provided a case-vignette and asked to select two Psychological approaches (as studied in class) in order to consider to what extent psychological perspectives help us understand the situation.	1,500	Onlinen via Blackbord/Turnitin	100%

Students are also required to complete an online ‘mid term quiz’, as indicated on Blackboard. This assessment covers a breadth of knowledge from across the unit.

This assessment is open book may be completed at any time, and multiple re-sits are allowed. However, a pass mark of at least 80% is required in order to be able to submit your credit-bearing assignment.

Feedback methods

Online via Blackboard/Turnitin

Study hours

Scheduled activity hours
eAssessment	20
Lectures	15

Independent study hours
Independent study	65

Teaching staff

Staff member	Role
Michael Wigelsworth	Unit coordinator

Additional notes

Activity	Hours Allocated
Staff/ Student contact	*10 interactive lectures @ 1.5 hours** 15
Facilitated, formative online activities	20
Private study, reading and assignment preparation	65
Total Hours	100

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