Assignment 1

Part A

Unit name and code

PSY10007 Brain and Behaviour

Aims

This unit introduces students to the structure and function of the brain and how it interacts with the external world to generate thoughts, emotions and behaviour. Applications in health and mental illness are also introduced as well as ethical practice in psychological research.

Existing Unit Learning Outcomes

Students who successfully complete this unit should be able to:

1. Explain the general methods of investigation employed in psychological research, and show an appreciation of the main issues in research ethics;

Critique

The rationale for this ILO is that many students come to psychology with pre-conceived, and sometimes erroneous, ideas of what 'psychology' is; often their immediate focus is on the professional/clinical issues (e.g., treating anxiety, depression, etc.), and while these issues are certainly important in psychology, focus on them comes much later in a psychologist's education and training. We need to first establish the scientific basis of the psychology discipline, and this includes methods of investigation and ethics in research.

In critiquing this ILO, the most obvious issue is with the use of the phrase "show an appreciation" which is imprecise and therefore difficult to assess. Using the framework outlined by Biggs and Tang (2007), it is clear that constructive alignment between the ILO and how it is assessed in students’ submitted work is questionable.

I am comfortable with the use of the verb "explain" in the first part of this ILO, as it conveys an appropriate level of scholarly engagement in the cognitive domain for this foundation-level unit. The verb “explain” reflects a relational level of academic understanding in Biggs and Collis’ (1982; cited in Biggs & Tang, 2007) SOLO taxonomy and is therefore appropriate for this level of tertiary education.

2. Explain key concepts from major content areas in psychology. These include: biological underpinnings of psychology; sensory processes, perception, and consciousness; motivation and emotion; health and abnormal psychology;

Critique

This ILO lists the topics covered in the unit. Providing this list of topics in the ILO is necessary because it clearly delineates the content taught in this unit from the content taught in the other core psychology unit (Fundamentals of Psychology). The clear delineation of content taught in each unit is important for transparency at the professional accreditation level. Professional accreditation in psychology programs is assessed at the ILO level and we are required to provide sufficient detail at that level in our unit documentation to ensure that our programs can be accurately assessed as meeting the required competencies, in this case the foundational competency of being able to “Comprehend and apply a broad and coherent body of knowledge of psychology” (my italics added to emphasise the relevant aspects of this competency).

This ILO is most directly assessed using a multiple-choice exam at the end of the semester and therefore the verb “explain” verb may be criticised for not aligning closely enough with the way this ILO is assessed. Again, constructive alignment between outcome and assessment is questionable. Assessment by multiple-choice exam may be criticised as not quite meeting the cognitive level of “explanation”, but rather something more consistent with the outcome of “demonstrating knowledge”.

Pragmatic constraints mean that multiple-choice assessment is unavoidable for this unit. It is delivered 6 times per year across multiple platforms to large cohorts of students – other options for assessment are impractical. As a first-year unit, it also aims for a broad survey of the literature so that students can begin their learning of psychological science with a sufficiently broad foundation of fundamental knowledge which can only be realistically assessed with a multiple-choice exam.

3. Locate, organise and integrate information from various sources concerning topics and problems relating to psychology;

Critique

This ILO relates to the two written assignments in this unit (Essay and Unit Reflection). It may be critiqued on two grounds. Firstly, three verbs are used to support active engagement with learning material and constructive alignment between ILOs, teaching and learning activities, and assessment. Three verbs may overload this ILO with too many actions and therefore may obscure understanding; as Biggs and Tang (2007) state, “The greatest enemy of understanding is coverage” (p. 89). Gosling and Moon (2001) similarly advise that educators should “Keep learning outcomes simple, normally use only one sentence with one verb in each outcome” (p. 20). Secondly, the phrase “various sources” may be too imprecise, especially as the teaching and learning activities relevant to this ILO involve teaching students what are appropriate sources to use in writing and researching academic papers.

4. Communicate in a logical and clear manner the results of investigating a topic or problems relating to psychology;

Critique

This ILO also relates to the two written assignments in this unit (Essay and Unit Reflection). “Communicate” is an appropriate verb. The form in which students’ “communication” is delivered in these assignments is deliberately broad to allow flexibility of assessment across delivery platforms and between semesters/study periods – sometimes narrative essays are used, other times critical or expository reviews are used. The academic skills being assessed are broadly the same, just the format of the students’ submissions is different.

The ILO may be critiqued on two grounds. Firstly, “logical” and “clear” may be seen as synonyms for each other and therefore only one of them is needed. “Clear” may also be critiqued as being too imprecise and ill-defined for a learning outcome that is to be assessed. Secondly, the grammatical structure could be improved; specifically, the phrase “…investigating a topic or problems relating to psychology” has two different noun objects – one is singular (“topic”) and one is plural (“problems”). Aligning these nouns will improve the readability of this ILO.

5. Apply psychological theories, methods, and data to explain aspects of your everyday experiences and behaviours.

Critique

This ILO is indirectly associated with the multiple-choice exam at the end of the semester. Teaching and learning activities – both online and in face-to-face tutorials – are designed in such a way to ‘bring life’ to the content taught in lectures. For example, to augment their learning about the topic of sleep, students evaluate their own chronotype (i.e., preference for morning or evening activity) and how it affects their study and work choices, hence the direct reference to “your everyday experiences and behaviours” in the ILO. In this way we aim to capitalise on the empirically supported benefits of elaborative interrogation, self-explanation, and interleaved practice for assisting students’ learning of new material (see, Dunlosky et al., 2013). The teaching and learning activities are aligned with the assessment task in that they are aligned with the topics to be assessed in the exam. This alignment is constructive because it facilitates construction of meaning by learners through both assimilation and accommodation of new material with existing knowledge structures (Stewart, 2013).

“Apply” is an appropriate verb to use in this case because approximately 50% of the multiple-choice questions in the exam require students to apply their knowledge to specified scenarios, albeit general scenarios and not personal situations, the latter of which is too difficult to standardise across large cohorts.

Modified Unit Learning Outcomes

Students who successfully complete this unit should be able to:

1. Explain the general methods of investigation employed in psychological research and reflect on the ethical principles used in this research.

Rationale

The way we assess students' "appreciation of the main issues in research ethics" is by asking them to reflect on their participation in research studies in the context of the four values and principles of ethical conduct in human research (Research Merit and Integrity, Justice, Beneficence, Respect); that is, how are these values and principles reflected in the studies in which they participated. A more appropriate phrase to use in the ILO is therefore "... reflect on the ethical principles used in this research".

2. Demonstrate knowledge of key concepts from major content areas in psychology. These include: biological underpinnings of psychology; sensory processes, perception, and consciousness; motivation and emotion; health and abnormal psychology;

Rationale

The verb “explain” is replaced with the phrase “demonstrate knowledge of” to better reflect the level of cognitive processing required to achieve this ILO; it therefore tightens the constructive alignment between the ILO and how it is assessed. According to the revised version of Bloom’s taxonomy (Anderson et al., 2001), the verb “demonstrate” is classified under the concept of “Application” and may therefore imply a more complex level of cognitive processing than “explain” which is classified under the concept of “Comprehension”, although that is not the primary intention of the proposed change to this ILO.

3. Locate and integrate information from scholarly sources concerning topics and problems relating to psychology;

Rationale

The verb “organise” has been removed from this ILO. While “locate” may be assumed by use of the terms “organise” and “integrate” in the original ILO and may have been removed instead, in this unit we allocate significant resources to teaching students how to find (locate) appropriate sources to support their written work; it is therefore a useful verb to retain in the revised ILO. “Organisation” of resources is not necessarily an outcome we assess in students’ written work and is a more obvious deletion.

The broad term “various” used in the original ILO has been replaced with the more specific term “scholarly”. In a discipline such as psychology that favours evidence-based arguments it is important that students are directed towards appropriate sources of evidence; “scholarly” literature is more appropriate than “peer reviewed” literature, which is too narrow a term and may exclude academic textbooks, for example.

4. Communicate in a coherent manner the results of investigating topics and problems relating to psychology;

Rationale

The term “coherent” replaces the two potentially synonymous terms “logical” and “clear”. “Coherent” in the revised ILO accurately captures the meaning of the two original terms and does so in a more economical manner. There is a risk that the term may be beyond the comprehension of some students in this foundation level unit in psychology. The revised ILO may therefore fail to satisfy the common recommendation that learning outcomes be expressed in simple terms that can be understood by students (e.g., Kennedy, 2006). However, this risk is mitigated somewhat by the fact that ambiguity in expression of the ILO has been reduced by replacing the potentially ambiguous term “clear” with “coherent”, which is also a common recommendation (e.g., Kennedy, 2006).

To improve clarity and grammar, “investigating a topic or problems relating to psychology” has been replaced with “investigating topics and problems relating to psychology”. This change also enhances consistency in the phrasing of ILO 4 and ILO 3.

5. Apply psychological theories, methods, and data to explain aspects of your everyday experiences and behaviours.

Rationale

This ILO has not been modified because it accurately reflects constructive alignment with the teaching and learning activities and how the ILO is assessed. The expression is also “simple and unambiguous” and can be “clearly understood by students, teachers, colleagues, employers and external examiners”. (Kennedy, 2006; p. 41).

Part B

Proposal for a Stand-Alone Module: Teaching Commuter Road Cycling

Module Title

Teaching Commuter Road Cycling

Module Aim

This module aims to teach a person, that wants to offer short public training courses, the skills and knowledge required to ensure members of the public can safely engage in commuter bike riding, individually and in a group. A bike commuter is someone that regularly travels to work, school, or to complete other tasks using the road network and paths shared with pedestrians.

Intended Learning Outcomes

At the completion of this module the student should be able to:

Demonstrate knowledge of commuter bike riding safety guidelines (Assessment: quizzes)

Appreciate the need to encourage safe commuter bike riding (Assessment: written examination)

Relate well to members of the public with varying degrees of bike riding ability (Assessment: written examination)

Identify skill deficits in commuter bike riding practices and administer appropriate remedies (Assessment: group ride)

Rationale

The four ILOs correspond to the three broad domains of educational achievement. The Cognitive domain is reflected in ILO 1 and uses the verb “demonstrate” from the “Application” level of Bloom’s taxonomy. Graduates must be able to demonstrate learning of basic safety guidelines. The Affective domain is reflected in both ILO 2 and ILO 3. This domain is allocated two ILOs because it is a particularly important factor in determining whether a graduate will be able to interact with the public in a positive and engaging manner. ILO 2 uses the verb “appreciate” from the “Valuing” level of Bloom’s taxonomy. Graduates must be willing to demonstrate appropriate motivations for engaging in this work. ILO 3 uses the verb “relate” from the “Responding” level of Bloom’s taxonomy to indicate graduates’ ability to communicate with the wide range of people and abilities they are likely to encounter in their practice. The Psychomotor domain is reflected in ILO 4 and uses the verbs “identify” and “administer” from Simpson’s (1972) taxonomy, specifically the “Adaptation” domain. Graduates must have the technical ability to recognise riders’ skill deficits and to suggest ways in which these deficits can be remedied.

References

Anderson, L.W. (Ed.), Krathwohl, D.R. (Ed.), Airasian, P.W., Cruikshank, K.A., Mayer, R.E., Pintrich, P.R., Raths, J., & Wittrock, M.C. (2001). A taxonomy for learning, teaching, and assessing: A revision of Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives. Longman Publishing.

Biggs, J., & Tang, C. (2007). Teaching for quality learning at university (3rd ed.). McGraw-Hill Education.

Dunlosky, J., Rawson, K.A., Marsh, E.J., Nathan, M.J., & Willingham, D.T. (2013). Improving students' learning with effective learning techniques: Promising directions from cognitive and educational psychology. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, Supplement, 14(1), 4-58. https://doi.org/10.1177/1529100612453266

Gosling, D., & Moon, J.A. (2001). How to use learning outcomes and assessment criteria. SEEC (England).

Kennedy, D. (2006). Writing and using learning outcomes: Awa practical guide. University College Cork.