OVERVIEW

This course is aimed at providing critical knowledge of the theoretical bases and the practical forms of psychological intervention in educational contexts, particularly in school.

AIMS AND CONTENT

LEARNING OUTCOMES

A critical comprehension of the tools of psychological intervention in educational contexts (pre-school and school). In particular: 1) solid basic knowledge of the main topics in educational psychology; 2) knowledge of some models and strategies of intervention in schools; 3) improved ability to evaluate critically and to plan psychological interventions in schools.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

KNOWLEDGE AND COMPREHENSION: Comprehension of theoretical models, concepts, and the conceptual bases of psychological tools, is regarded as a fundamental goal. Instead, very little importance is given to verbatim memory of the textbooks and the lectures.

ABILITY TO APPLY KNOWLEDGE AND COMPREHENSION: A student's ability to compare, distinguish, make connections between theoretical concepts and models is highly valued. Students should also demonstrate some ability to apply the acquired knowledge, i.e. to orient themselves (at least broadly) in the evaluation of real cases.

INDEPENDENT JUDGEMENT: A student's ability in independent judgment and reasoning is highly valued.

COMMUNICATION SKILLS: It is useful to acquire the techincal language of the discipline in order to communicate clearly with both specialists and the general public.

LEARNING SKILLS: It is important for students to develop adequate learning skills that in the future enable them to continue to deepen independently their knowledge of this subject, especially when they will be working in educational context, because this discipline is continuously and rapidly evolving, and in twenty years the knowledge acquired in this course will probably be outdated, at least in part.

TEACHING METHODS

The course takes place in the Autumn term and has a duration of 36 hours. According to the current rules on social distancing and prevention of covid-19, we shall be compelled to deliver it at distance. Lectures will take place on the platform Teams 365 and the teaching materials will be loaded on Aulaweb.

Notwithstanding distance teaching, and despite large numbers, it is desirable that students participate actively (e.g. with interventions, questions, problem proposals, reflections on experience, etc) so that the course might not be a unidirectional transmission of information but also allows for some exchange of ideas.

Students are kindly requested to register on the page of this course in Aulaweb, because practical information, warnings, and collective emails will be sent only to the list of students registered on the Aulaweb course page.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

After a brief review of selected concepts of cognitive psychology, the lectures will introduce basic themes of educational psychology, including models of learning and its relation with cognitive development, motivation (in particular in the school context), the role of metacognition, and learning difficulties. Some tools and applied examples will also be presented.

(It is assumed that students already have some basic knowledge of developmental psychology and cognitive psychology.)

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Required readings for Italian students:

- P. Boscolo, Psicologia dell’apprendimento scolastico, Edizioni UTET, Torino, 2006 (the whole book, except chap. 13).

- C. Pontecorvo (a cura di), Manuale di psicologia dell'educazione, Edizioni il Mulino, Bologna, 1999 (chapters 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, and 10).

- C. Cornoldi (a cura di), Difficoltà e disturbi dell’apprendimento. Edizioni il Mulino, Bologna, 2007. (chapters 4, 5, 6, and 7).

- S. Morra, Il contributo di Robbie Case allo studio dell’apprendimento. In “Età evolutiva”, 2002, n. 72, pp.98-109.

- Notes from the lectures.

Although the lectures will be delivered in Italian, the professor can indicate and/or provide some teaching materials in English. The students who wish to use teaching materials in English are kindly requested to contact the professor personally, for him to get an idea of the student’s interests and consequently agree on a set of teaching materials (partly or totally in English).

TEACHERS AND EXAM BOARD

Exam Board

SERGIO MORRA (President)

SABRINA PANESI

ALESSIA BANDETTINI (Substitute)

LORENZO MUSCELLA (Substitute)

LESSONS

LESSONS START

The course will start in the first week of October.

Class schedule

METHODS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL PARTICIPATION IN THE EDUCAT. CONTEXTS

EXAMS

EXAM DESCRIPTION

It is possible that this year the exams are organized differently, according to the social distancing regulations and their evolution.

Normally, the exam is oral. This allows direct communication between the examiner and the student, so that the student's comprehension, argumentative ability, and critical spirit regarding the topics of the course can be best assessed. (Alternatively and optionally, for the students who regularly attend the course, a written exam at the end of the course. Also in this case, the exam is aimed to assess the student's comprehension, argumentative ability, and critical spirit regarding the topics of the course.). If on some examination session the number of enrolled students is too large for completing the exam in one day, then it will be necessary to carry it out (exceptionally) as a written exam with open questions. Also that modality enables the examiner to assess the student's comprehension, argumentative ability, and critical spirit regarding the topics of the course.

The goal of the exam is not to assess verbatim memory for the superficial detalis of the texts, because the teacher is aware that those details, even though one stores them accurately in memory in view of the exam, will inevitably be forgotten in few weeks. The students' evaluation will focus, instead, on their comprehension of concepts and problems, because a good comprehension of concepts can have long-standing positive effects on the student's competence.

I hope that, from January 2021, it is possible to carry out the exams in presence, orally (or in written form in case the number of students that are present on an examination day is excessive for oral examination). In case this is not yet possible, we shall see what we can do. Perhaps oral exams at distance, even taking more than one day if needed. Or maybe even some multiple-choice tests; I do not like this modality, because it encourages students' rote verbal learning, and it rewards recognition memory, but in case of need I could have to resort to it. Anyway, we shall do as we can.

The exam can be taken in English in the prescribed manner.

Please register online for the date when you intend to take your exam.

In case one does not pass the exam (or is not satisfied with the grade received), it is allowed to repeat it, with a new online registration.

ASSESSMENT METHODS

By means of open questions, mostly on broad topics, we intend to assess the student's comprehension of concepts and problems, reasoning ability, and critical spirit regarding the topics presented in the course and in the prescribed readings. However, as noted above, the assessment methods might change this year, adjusting to the pratical conditions related to social distancing regulations.

Exam schedule

FURTHER INFORMATION

Students are invited to register in the page of this course on AulaWeb (the e-learning portal of our university) and visit that page from time to time.