Psychology of Learning, Problem Solving and Decision Making
Overview
- Credit value: 30 credits at Level 4
- Convenor: Ana da Cunha Lewin
- Prerequisites: Working with Children and Families: Working in Partnership and The Developing Child: A Social Perspective
- Assessment: a 1500-word home essay (25%), 1500-word home essay, case study or class presentation (25%), one-hour timed task (25%) and one-hour timed essay (25%)
Module description
This module will introduce you to the psychological theories of learning, problem solving and decision making, exploring practical applications for learning and problem solving.
Indicative module content
- Intelligence, learning and problem solving
- Cognitive development in adulthood and the role of education
- Self-directed learning and reflective practice
- Motivation, learning and problem solving
- Lifespan psychology and its’ relevance to the adult learner
- Humanistic perspectives on learning
- Behavioural perspectives on learning
- Biological approach on learning
- Emotion, learning and problem solving
- Personality, learning and problem solving
- Evaluation of the learning styles literature
- The fundamentals of problem solving and the role of creativity
- Expertise: what it is and how it is acquired
- The role of heuristics in problem solving
- Decision making in groups
- Models of problem solving
- Core research methods in psychology
- Research ethics
Learning objectives
By the end of this module, you will be able to:
- identify key principles from behavioural, cognitive, humanistic, psychobiological and neuropsychological schools of psychology which are useful in explaining how we learn, make decisions and solve problems
- demonstrate an understanding of the basic stages of cognitive development through the lifespan and the potential role of education in this
- identify current approaches and debates in relation to learning, problem solving and decision making
- describe various forms of individual difference in learning and discuss the implications for learners and teachers, including intelligence, attention, personality, motivation and emotional factors.