EPSY Course Schedules

Spring 2022 Course Schedule and Descriptions

EPSY 70600 – Stat. & Computer Program. II; 3 Cr.; D. Rindskopf – Wednesday 4:15pm-8:30pm
Prerequisite: 70500 or equivalent
70500 and 70600 form an integrated sequence covering descriptive statistics, point and interval estimation, hypothesis testing,
t-tests, analysis of variance, correlation, regression (including elementary matrix algebra), repeated measures designs, cross-classified data, and the use of computer packages for these analyses.

EPSY 70700 – Research Methods in Ed. Psych. I; 3 Cr; A. Lipnevich – Monday 4:15pm-6:15pm
This course is designed to familiarize students with all aspects of the conduct of research in the field of educational psychology.
This includes skills in reading, critiquing, and formulating research studies. Specifically, students will be taught to define problems, to advance hypotheses, to select appropriate research designs and statistical procedures, to choose or devise relevant measures of performance, to analyze and interpret the data and to communicate in writing the results of research.

EPSY 71400 – Instructional Issues: Individual and Cultural Factors; 3 Cr; J. Lucariello – Tuesday 4:15pm-6:15pm
This course examines research and theory related to the influence of individual and cultural factors on teaching and learning. The
applications of psychological research and theory to educational policy and practice are emphasized. Topics include models of
teaching and assessment for diverse classrooms, the characteristics of learning paradigms within content areas, effective
instruction for multilingual learners, Response to Intervention, and the cultural, familial, and personal factors that influence
readiness to learn. Particular emphasis is placed on educational approaches and instructional strategies that respect and draw
upon student diversity and individual differences to foster learning.

EPSY 71700 – Language and Communicative Development: Research and Education; 3 Cr.; P. Brooks –Wednesday 4:15pm-6:15pm
This course focuses on contemporary research on language and communicative development and its effects on education. It
includes a consideration of empirical research on the following topics: structural and functional development, age and critical
period, processes of development, first language development, second language development, language environments, and
preschool development.

EPSY 73000 – Intro to Psychometrics; 3 Cr.; K. Markus – Wednesday 6:30pm-8:30pm 
Prerequisite: EPSY 70600
The course offers a general introduction to psychometric methods primarily emphasizing classical test theory, test construction
and validation, and test use. The emphasis lies with developing a firm understanding of basic psychometric concepts. This course lays a foundation for more advanced courses in specific topics introduced here. The course understands psychometrics and testing as applying broadly, not just to paper and pencil tests but also to performance assessments, behavioral observations, measured variables in experiments and quasi-experiments, surveys, and other forms of behavioral data collection. However, much of the material will emphasize measurement involving multiple indicators of a common construct.

EPSY 74000 – Mathematics for Social and Behavioral Scientists; 3 Cr.; J. Verkuilen – Thursday 4:15pm-6:15pm
This class will cover mathematics useful for social scientists. The purpose of learning this mathematics is to improve your ability
to understand advanced methodological approaches such as structural equation models, hierarchical linear models, categorical
data analysis, visualization, or network analysis. While this material is available elsewhere, taking several undergraduate
mathematics courses is impractical for most students in a social science Ph.D. program. Examples will all be social science-based and the problems will involve understanding statistical techniques, some of which may not be covered in existing courses.
Students intending to do further study, self-study, or who have already taken mathematics courses but do not have a clear
application to real problems in social science literature will find this course helpful.

EPSY 83500 – Categorical Data Analysis; 3 Cr.; J. Verkuilen – Monday 4:15pm-6:15pm
Prerequisite: EPSY 70600 or equivalent
This course presents the theory and application of methods for analyzing nominal and ordinal data, including the use of computer programs for performing these analyses. Methods covered include loglinear models, logistic regression, logit models, and latent class analysis.

EPSY 85100 – Advanced Seminar on Technology, Learning, & Development; 3 CR.; B. Homer – Tuesday, 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM
Prerequisite: 71400, 85000
This course examines how digital technologies affect children’s development, and the implications of this for education. We will
overview key theoretical and empirical issues related to digital technology in students’ learning. By the end of the course, students will be familiar with the key theories related to technology and learning, they will know some of the main empirical research in this area, and will have an understanding of the current “state of the art” in both theory and research.

LDI

EPSY 70200; CRN [58831] – Overview of Educational Psychology: Foundations and Contemporary Issues; A. Lipnevich
At the GC on Mondays at 4:15 p.m. – 6:15 p.m.; Room TBA

EPSY 71100; CRN [65277] - Cognitive Development and Learning Processes in Education; J. Lucariello
At the GC on Mondays at 4:15 p.m. – 6:15 p.m.; Room TBA

EPSY 71300; CRN [58833] – Socio-Emotional & Cultural Factors in Development & Education; D. Murano
At the GC on Thursday at 4:15 p.m. – 6:15 p.m.; Room TBA

Quant

EPSY 70500; CRN [57580] – Statistics and Computer Programming I; D. Rindskopf
At the GC on Wednesday at 4:15 p.m. – 6:15 p.m., 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.; Room C415A

EPSY 83200; CRN [57583] – Statistical Theories of Mental Testing; J. Verkuilen
At the GC on Tuesdays at 4:15 p.m. – 6:15 p.m.; Room TBA

EPSY 83300; CRN [57585] – The General Linear Model; J. Verkuilen
At the GC on Mondays at 4:15 p.m. – 6:15 p.m.; Room TBA

PSYC 86001 (Equivalent to EPSY 83400); CRN [58990] – Structural Equation Modeling; K. Markus
At the John Jay on Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m. – 8:30 p.m.; Room TBA

EPSY 84200; CRN [57593] – Hierarchical Linear Models; W. Wang
At the GC on Mondays at 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.; Room TBA

Course Descriptions

Educational Psychology 70200 – Overview of Educational Psychology: Foundations and Contemporary Issues
This course is designed to provide an in-depth overview of research and theory on cognitive and social development,
motivation and learning, individual and group differences, teaching approaches, and assessment of learning. It will cover
critical current and emerging issues in educational psychology with an emphasis on research investigations of cognitive
processes and the brain, the influence of motivation on learning, the role of assessment in learning, the psychology of
teaching, the effectiveness of instructional interventions, and the relationship between cognition, learning, and
instruction for diverse learners. The foundational theories and contemporary issues of educational psychology will be
examined across the lifespan of human development and within varied contexts, including the school, home, and
community.

Educational Psychology 70500 – Statistics and Computer Programming I
Introduction to the basic principles underlying data exploration, description, and analysis, statistical inference and the use
of computer packages for data analysis. 70500 and 70600 form an integrated sequence covering descriptive statistics,
point and interval estimation, hypothesis testing, t-tests, analysis of variance, correlation, regression (including
elementary matrix algebra), repeated measures designs, cross-classified data, and the use of computer packages for these
analyses.

Educational Psychology 71100 – Cognitive Development and Learning Processes in Education
In this class, we discuss theories of cognitive development and learning. The range and diversity of these theories is
considerable. We will explore the role of biology and of the environment in learning and cognitive development. We will
examine different interpretations of the environment (e.g., as a sociocultural one or as one of physical objects). Also, we
will discuss whether learning and cognitive development are the same thing or different processes. If understood as
different, we can ask whether cognitive development precedes learning. In this case, cognitive development can make
learning possible (readiness for learning). Or does learning precede cognitive development and push cognitive
development forward? Practical applications of theory and research to behavior - such as language, memory, and
mathematical and object understanding will be discussed.

Educational Psychology 71300 – Social and Motivational Development in Education
This course will survey theories of social and motivational development that have made major contributions to the field
of education. Social learning experiences that affect children’s self-perceptions and motivation to achieve will be
considered. Conversely, the effects of such motivational processes as goal setting and outcome attributions on children’s
willingness, choice of social activities will also be treated. The instructional implications of this bi-directional relationship
between children’s social development and motivation will be considered.

Educational Psychology 83200 – Statistical Theories of Mental Testing
Prerequisite: EPSY 73000
In recent years the traditional or classical methods of constructing and evaluating psychological tests have been replaced
by more sophisticated statistical approaches. The general term for these newer methods is Item Response Theory (IRT).
This course will examine the theory of these models as well as their application to real life test construction and validation
problems. The course will include practice in the use of computer programs for data analysis, such as BILOG, and (if
available) MULTILOG and TESTFACT.

Educational Psychology 83300 – The General Linear Model
Prerequisite: EPSY 70600
This course presents a general statistical procedure (the General Linear Model) for analyzing relations between a set of
dependent and independent variables. Problems such as experimental designs with unequal cell frequencies, analysis of
covariance, and multivariate analyses with multiple dependent variables are considered within this framework.

John Jay PSYC U86001.01 (Equivalent to EPSY 83400) – Structural Equation Modeling
Prerequisite: EPSY 70600 or equivalent
The course will provide a general introduction to the use of structural equation modeling in empirical research. The course
will pay special attention to criminal justice applications, although it will provide an appropriate introduction for
applications in any social or behavioral science. The course will cover path analysis, confirmatory factor analysis, and
structural equation models with latent variables, including some useful special cases. The coverage will include
appropriate research design, model specification, parameter estimation, assessment of model fit, and model
interpretation. The treatment of these topics will emphasize practical application. The course will also introduce the use
of at least one software package.

Educational Psychology 84200 – Hierarchical Linear Models
Prerequisite: EPSY 70600 or equivalent
Data often structured in hierarchies. Examples include students within classrooms, classrooms within schools; employees
within departments within organizations within industries. The behavior of individuals is often affected by characteristics
of the higher-level units; such effects are also called contextual effects by some researchers. New statistical methods
allow the hierarchical structure of data to be included in the modeling process. Multilevel models include related areas
such as variance component models, contextual models, empirical Bayes models, aggregation bias, and unit-of-analysis
problems. This course will teach the history and current theory of such models, as well as their application using computer
packages.