Coordinator: Dr. Clark Chinn (848-932-0824; email: clark.chinn@gse.rutgers.edu)
Please visit the website.
The master's program in learning, cognition, and development is intended for students wishing to study the psychology of human learning, cognition, and development as it applies to education. This program of study serves as an enriching theoretical background for the educational professional and/or as a foundation for further study at the doctoral level. The study of how human beings learn, think, and grow forms the academic core of a variety of educational careers and applied doctoral programs and allows the student with an interest in psychology to obtain a master's degree while keeping options open concerning future employment and/or possible doctoral training.
The online option is designed for students who would like to benefit from this program, but prefer to do so without coming to campus. It provides a specific set of courses in the Department of Educational Psychology, and some choices in electives that, taken in the recommended order, will allow completion of the entire program online in a two-year period. Currently available electives may yield a subspecialty in special education or in educational technology.
Students matriculating in the program will benefit from a background in academic psychology. Students admitted without this background may need to select more than the minimum of 30 credits. A completed research project is required of students planning to pursue doctoral work.
Degree Requirements
The program requires a minimum of 30 credits, including:
Core Learning, Cognition, and Development Course Requirements (9 credits)
15:295:512 Introduction to Child Psychology (3)
15:295:580 Psychology of Learning (3)
15:295:590 Seminar in Learning, Cognition, and Development: Critical Thinking (3)
Elective Learning, Cognition, and Development Course Requirements - choose two (6 credits)
15:290:521 Child, Family, Community: Relationships in Development (3)
15:295:518 Motivation in the Classroom (3)
15:290:522 Cognition and Language from Birth to Age Eight: Normal Development and Implications for Risk and Disability (3)
15:295:630 Problem-Based Learning (3)
Educational Statistics and Measurement Course Requirements (6 credits)
15:291:531 Statistical Methods (3)
15:291:532 Statistical Methods II (3)
Research Requirements (3 Credits)
Either (1) a research project (15:295:609) completed in
consultation with a faculty adviser; (2) a literature review (15:290:601)
completed in consultation with a faculty adviser; or (3) a third
3-credit elective within learning, cognition, and development along with a
writing experience requirement (the writing experience requirement
involves submitting to the department a semester paper of 15 pages or more
with a grade of B+ or better from a learning, cognition, and development
course). Students intending to pursue doctoral study should enroll in
15:295:609 Research in Learning, Cognition, and Development.
Electives Outside Learning, Cognition, and Development Course Requirements (6 Credits)
Two elective classes are required, chosen from the following or from other appropriate courses that may be offered
Special Education
15:293:522 Learning Disabilities (3)
15:293:608 Consultation, Collaboration, and Co-Teaching (3)
15:293:525 Psychology of the Exceptional Child (3)
Educational Technology
15:255:503 Introduction to Teaching with Digital Tools (3)
15:255:504 Web-Based Multimedia Design for Educators (3)
15:250:591 Developing Digital eLearning Environments (3)
