Area I: Learning Cognition and Instruction

Marilla Svinicki, Area Chair
List of Area I Faculty

Specialization in Learning, Cognition, and Instruction is designed primarily as preparation for university and college teaching and research. A significant number of graduates, however, engage in similar activities in government, industry, professional schools, school systems, and other types of instructional and applied settings.

Course work and research activities are geared to meet individual needs, qualifications, and objectives. On completion of domain requirements, students may plan the remainder of their academic preparation through individual consultation with faculty members whose primary research interests and activities are in the students area of interest. In line with developing faculty and student research interests, current areas of concentration include the study of motivation; cognitive psychology, with emphasis on learning strategies; the development of expertise; self-regulated learning; text processing; problem solving; study skills, including theoretical considerations and applications to a variety of educational and clinical problems; instructional psychology; and the transition from high school to college.

In addition to the facilities of the Department of Educational Psychology, the equipment and laboratories of the Department of Psychology and the Department of Kinesiology and Health Education are available to students wishing to conduct investigations in such areas as memory, motor learning, or neural and physiological correlates of learning and motivational states. This interdepartmental cooperation permits students to enroll in outside courses pertinent to their preparation. Specialization in Learning, Cognition, and Instruction is often combined with other relevant areas, such as Quantitative Methods or Human Development and Education, to provide comprehensive individualized graduate education.

The primary goal for students who specialize in Learning. Cognition, and Instruction is to acquire strong theoretical understanding and methodological skills needed to conduct original research and development work on these topics. Educational psychologists who concentrate their work in these areas try to understand better the factors that influence how human competence and performance change (learning and motivation) and what might be done to facilitate positive change (instruction). Typically, a cognitive framework is used to understand learning, motivation, and instruction; that is, mental processes and structures are postulated to account for learning and motivation and for the effects of instruction. Within this, there is great diversity in specifc research questions being explored and the methods used. Students gain experience in using a variety of research techniques, such as naturalistic observation, thinking aloud protocols. cluster analysis, and standard experimental manipulation, in order to understand each method's strengths, weaknesses, and appropriate use.

Students also acquire skills in instructional design and development that are particularly important for those who expect to pursue careers in industrial and other applied settings.

Acquiring a variety of research skills and an in-depth knowledge of learning, cognition. and instruction is the foundation of this specialization. Since the purpose of doctoral-level training is to prepare students to conduct original research in a specialized area, individuals with no interest in research should not apply to the Learning, Cognition, and Instruction concentration.

In addition to the domain requirements common for all doctoral students in Educational Psychology, the following courses are minimum requirements for students who specialize in Learning, Cognition, and Instruction.

Colloquium in Learning, Cognition, and Instruction. In this research colloquium, which meets one and one-half hours a week, students and faculty in Learning, Cognition, and Instruction informally discuss their current research.

Five advanced courses in Learning, Cognition, and Instruction. Five courses in Learning, Cognition, and Instruction, in addition to the domain course, are required to develop a strong specialization in this area.

Two semesters of practicum in Research in Human Learning, This two-semester sequence is taken during the second year of the doctoral program. It includes meetings in which topics related to research are addressed, such as the ethics of conducting research using human subjects, writing articles for publication, and obtaining funding for research. Students also engage in work for approximately ten hours per week as part of a research team, either with faculty in Educational Psychology, in another department, or with another organization. The goal of practicum is for students to gain a variety of research experiences.

In addition to these requirements, many students also elect the following options:

First-year apprenticeship with a member of the faculty. For first-year students only, this involves students in research with faculty members to provide hands-on experiences in research, which may lead to coauthoring publications and paper presentations at professional meetings.

Internship. An optional but highly-recommended part of doctoral study in Learning, Cognition, and Instruction, this provides additional, post-practicum research or development experience, either by participating in a research project with a supervising faculty member, or through placement in an industrial setting.

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