Module: Education Psychology

Latest Module Specifications

Current Academic Year 2025 - 2026

Module Title	Education Psychology
Module Code	PSY1027 (ITS: PSYC204)
Faculty	Science & Health	School	Psychology
NFQ level	8	Credit Rating	5

Description

Educational psychology is the scientific study of psychology in education and deals broadly with ‘…the psychological and educational development of people in the education system’ (Psychological Society of Ireland, 2011).

Learning Outcomes

1. Identify the subject matter, major theoretical approaches and distinguish the main research methods which apply in the field of educational psychology.
2. Explain the main implications of educational psychology for teaching and learning across diverse educational contexts.
3. Critically evaluate psychological concepts in educational contexts including individual differences, intelligence and creativity.
4. Outline the main factors influencing teacher and learner motivation and resilience.
5. Understand a range of key factors which influence learning; school culture, school engagement, aggression and bullying in school contexts, educational disadvantage and resilience, learning across the lifespan and learning in group/community contexts.
6. Delineate the range of roles and activities of psychologists who work in educational settings.
7. Reflect on and analyse a theme/issue/concept of relevance to educational contexts through the application of psychological theory/research.
8. Further develop competency in communication and presentation of selected materials in an end of semester, in-class forum.

*Type*	*Hours*	*Description*
Workload	Full time hours per semester
Lecture	22	Lecture content based on indicative content and learning outcomes
Tutorial	6	Tutorial sessions designed to guide students through the continuous assessment process and support activity-based learning
Independent Study	97	Self-directed study, engaging with recommended reading and other online content; Assessment preparation and completion
Total Workload: 125

Section Breakdown
CRN	11472	Part of Term	Semester 1
Coursework	100%	Examination Weight	0%
Grade Scale	40PASS	Pass Both Elements	N
Resit Category	RC1	Best Mark	N
Module Co-ordinator	Marianna Pagkratidou	Module Teacher	Catherine Fassbender

Type	Description	% of total	Assessment Date
Assessment Breakdown
Presentation	CA1 Role play presentation in pairs (worth: 30%).Team up with a partner, choose a topic that interests you, and organize a 15-minute interactive role-play presentation. Assign roles to your audience, conduct a 7-minute workshop applying educational psychology methods, and then engage in an evaluation and reflection session with your audience. Afterward, present a 7-minute explanation of the rationale behind organizing a workshop like this, grounded in the educational psychology theories taught in this module. Finally, leave 1 minute for questions.	30%	n/a
Written Exam	CA2 Final Exams (worth 70%)	70%	n/a

Reassessment Requirement Type
Resit arrangements are explained by the following categories; RC1: A resit is available for both^* components of the module. RC2: No resit is available for a 100% coursework module. RC3: No resit is available for the coursework component where there is a coursework and summative examination element. ^* ‘Both’ is used in the context of the module having a coursework/summative examination split; where the module is 100% coursework, there will also be a resit of the assessment

Pre-requisite	None
Co-requisite	None
Compatibles	None
Incompatibles	None

All module information is indicative and subject to change. For further information,students are advised to refer to the University's Marks and Standards and Programme Specific Regulations at: http://www.dcu.ie/registry/examinations/index.shtml

Indicative Content and Learning Activities

Introduction to Educational Psychology and to Educational Psychology Research Methods

Behavioral and Cognitive Views of Learning

Complex Cognitive Processes and Constructivism and Interactive Learning

Designing Learning Environments and Social Cognitive Views of Learning and Motivation

Motivation in Learning & Teaching

Creating Supportive Learning Environments

Teaching Every Student

Classroom Assessment, Grading and Standardized Tests

Indicative Reading List

Books:

Woolfolk, A.: 2022, Educational psychology, 14th edition, Pearson,
Woolfolk, A. & Usher, E.: 2024, Educational psychology: Active Learning Edition, 15th edition, Pearson,
Lord, J.: 2022, Psychology of Education: Theory, Research and Evidence-based Practice., SAGE publications,
O'Donnell, A. M., Dobozy, E., Nagel, M. C., Bartlett, B., Smala, S., Wormald, C., & Yates, G.: 2024, Educational psychology, John Wiley & Sons,
Woolfolk, A.: 2016, Educational psychology, Pearson Higher Education AU,
Eysenck, M. W., & Brysbaert, M.: 2024, Fundamentals of Cognition, Routledge: Psychology press,
Kuther, T. L.: 2018, Lifespan development: Lives in context, SAGE publications,
Kail, R. V., & Cavanaugh, J. C.: 2007, Human development: A life-span view.,
Field, A.: 2002, How to design and report experiments, SAGE publications,
Radvansky, G. A.: 2021, Human memory, Routledge,
Cohen, G., & Conway, M. A.: 2007, Memory in the real world, Psychology press,

Articles:
None

Other Resources

None