BSc Educational Psychology

This unit provides students with an introduction to the use of cognitive psychology and related fields to study learning. The unit revisits the areas covered in “The Brain Goes to School” and develops the ideas further by building on the concepts from neuropsychology using information processing theory.Namely, indicative topics include: attention; perception; memory; problem solving and decision-making’; and language understanding and production. In examining these topics, we explore various theories that have been produced to explain underlying processes and students are encouraged to critically evaluate how evidence can be used to support, refute, or develop such theories.  

There is a distinct focus is on understanding how these cognitive processes are experienced by learners in educational settings, including consideration of the implications for learners with typical and atypical development, respectively. The unit provides a focused opportunity throughout the unit to consider this applicability through the design and undertaking of an experiment, and production for the assessment of a reflective lab considering how cognitive processes can be applied to learning in the classroom.

The unit aims to:

• provide coverage of the BPS qualifying exam syllabus core area of cognitive psychology and individual differences
• develop students’ knowledge and understanding of how cognitive psychology helps to explain learning in the classroom  
• enhance students’ skills in critically evaluating theory and evidence in the context of education and learning scenarios and systems

Students will be able to:

The unit begins with an introduction to fields of study within cognition and learning, including associated conceptual and methodological strengths and limitations. Sessions then focus on examining psychological explanations for processes of cognition in turn, with continuous examination of their role in learning and the practical implications for educational systems and scenarios. Namely, we examine: attention, memory, perception, problem-solving, and language understanding and production. These same topics are covered in the pre-requisite unit Brain Goes to School, but are approached here through cognitive psychology lens rather than a neuropsychology lens. Toward the end of the unit, there is a dedicated session drawing together the various components covered to critically consider as a whole the application of cognitive psychology to learning and education systems. Finally, we review the unit as a whole and examine current directions in the field, and ongoing issues and directions in the field. Throughout the unit students complete a cognitive psychology experiment for the purposes of their assignment, and this is a key feature of group time together each week and allows opportunity to actively examine theory, evidence, and application in depth for the topics covered.

Lectures and activities: Each session includes a lecture providing an introduction to the relevant topic, including theories, evidence, and critical considerations. This includes embedded opportunities throughout for small group activities, class discussion, case studies, and short independent tasks. Small group activities are set, centred around a broad task, with further instructions where appropriate that can be used to tailor to students’ understanding and interests. Tasks are designed to complement intended learning outcomes and the assignment (e.g., appraising different methodological approaches, how evidence can help us to critically evaluate a theory, examining applicability to learning) and the lecturer is on hand throughout to answer questions, provide feedback, and prompt stimulate further discussion. Whole class discussion is used to consolidate, cross-pollinate learning, and address common questions and points of discussion.  

Recommended reading: Specific pre-sessional and post-sessional reading is assigned each week, including seminal theoretical pieces, empirical outputs, and reports. These are explicitly prioritised for students as critical or recommended reading so that they are able to appropriately manage their priorities week-by-week.  

CogLab: A major component of this unit is the ‘CogLab’ task, which spans each week. For their assignment students work in groups to design and carry out an experiment, and then individually produce for the assessment a reflective lab considering how cognitive processes can be applied to learning in the classroom. Students are provided with guidance and a written workbook that guides them through this task throughout the semester. This includes guidance on working as a group, topic suggestions, recommendations on week-by-week planning, guidance on study design and ethics processes, and detailed guidance on the assignment format. Each week dedicated space is available during contact hours for students to work together in their groups with a lecturer on hand to discuss their plans, address queries, and provide prompts for critical discussion of developing plans, and time as appropriate throughout the semester to undertake their experiment and present findings back to the class. This approach provides students to take a ‘zoomed in’ approach to their learning, focusing on specific areas of learning in depth throughout the semester, to develop a deeper appreciation of applicability, and build skills around groupwork.  

Post-sessional activities: A range of post-sessional activities are indicated for students, comprising independent learning tasks that build upon and consolidate content.  

• Describe key issues and concepts in cognitive psychology (e.g. working memory, multimodal stores, central executive)
• Critically analyse and evaluate relevant literature theory and evidence in the areas of cognitive psychology
• Examine, interpret and apply topics in cognitive psychology to educational settings and contexts
• Explain, in cognitive psychological terms, aspects of perception, attention, memory, and their significance in learning and education

• Discuss and critically evaluate information processing theory within cognitive psychology
• Use theory and evidence to discuss and critically evaluate cognitive psychology in relation to education

• Evaluate how decisions involved in designing laboratory experiment impact the resulting data
• Appropriately analyse and interpret statistical data  
• Assess how theory and evidence can be used to consider how our understanding of cognitive processes can be applied to learning in the classroom

• Construct and clearly communicate a well-organized lab report, presenting relevant theory, methods, results, and evidence-based conclusions in writing
• Reflect critically on the group work experience, demonstrating an understanding of teamwork dynamics and personal contributions
• Apply digital skills to effectively produce an assignment (e.g., use of word processing software, accessing electronic databases, developing references to cited literature, sourcing methodological information, collecting, storing, and analysing data)

BSc Educational Psychology is externally accredited by the British Psychological Society.

Formative Assessment

• Designing and undertaking an experiment to conduct with peers - 15 minute experiment (max equivalent per student of five minutes)  
• Delivering a short presentation on their experiment findings - 15 minutes for presentation and discussion (max equivalent per student of five minutes) 

Assessment

• Students develop their own individual reflective lab report from the workshop activities to consider how cognitive processes can be applied to learning in the classroom (2,500 words, 100%)

Formative Assessment

• Experiment - Formative feedback is provided throughout the development process through group discussion and assessment of materials (data collection tools, ethics documentation) and verbal feedback is provided following undertaking of the experiment 
• Presentation - Formative feedback is verbally provided on students’ presentation  

Assessment

• Written bespoke feedback and rubric grading provided online within Faculty guidelines  
   

Core text 

Eysenck & Keane (2020) Cognitive psychology: A student's handbook (8th ed). Routledge.  

General texts

Ward, J. (2015) The Student's Guide to Cognitive Neuroscience (3rd  ed.Ed) London: Psychology Press  

Blakemore, S. J., & Frith, U. (2005). The learning brain: Lessons for Education. Blackwell

Groome, D., & Eysenck, M. (2016). An introduction to applied cognitive psychology (2nd ed.). Routledge.

Groome, D. (2021). An introduction to cognitive psychology: Processes and disorders (4th ed.). Routledge. 

Expected Outcomes

The unit forms part of the BSc Educational Psychology programme and conforms to the QAA discipline benchmark for Psychology required for accreditation by the relevant PSRB (BPS). There is a focus on teaching the skills needed for post graduate work in the field of applied psychology, including, but not limited to:

Professional standards in communication

Demonstration of reasoning and analysis skills

Application of knowledge and critical thinking skills to create novel and original solutions in applied contexts

Demonstration of digital literacy

High level skills in retrieval, organisation and synthesis of complex material

Autonomy and ownership of tasks, including effective personal planning and project management skills

Within the teaching processes, there are substantive opportunities to practice and develop a range of interpersonal skills including inclusive and collaborative working, reaching consensus, verbal communication and acting sensitively to the needs and expectations of others.

Core knowledge is comparable to other Psychology degrees and therefore underpins further training for careers in the areas of applied psychology (e.g. Educational Psychologist, Clinical Psychologist, Health Psychologist, Occupational Psychologist, Counselling Psychologist etc). The content is specifically related to educational settings and as such immediately applicable to careers outside of the subject discipline (e.g. teaching, teaching assistants; SENCo; support workers).

The summative assessment provides students with an opportunity to engage with an authentic research task through the direct application of psychological theory and evidence to an experiment evaluating cognitive information processing theory. This provides students with a greater understanding of how to critically evaluate how evidence can be used to support, refute, or develop such theories, including application to learning in practice.