Unit name | Psychophysiological Methods in Educational Research |
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Unit code | EDUCM0035 |
Credit points | 10 |
Level of study | M/7 |
Teaching block(s) |
Academic Year (weeks 1 - 52) |
Unit director | Professor. Howard-Jones |
Open unit status | Not open |
Pre-requisites |
Successful completion of: Statistics and Education (EDUCM5504), Brain, Mind and Education (EDUCM5404) and Cognition and Learning (EDUCM0042) |
Co-requisites |
None |
School/department | School of Education |
Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
In this unit students engage critically and practically with psychophysiological methods in educational research involving measurement of autonomic and somatic nervous system response (e.g. skin conductance, skin temperature, heart rate and respiratory rate). Students build on concepts acquired in Introduction to Educational Inquiry (EDUCM5000), such as those around ethics, validity, trustworthiness and reliability in research, to investigate the various components of the experimental research process as they relate to designs involving physiological data collection. These components include identifying a research question and hypothesis, developing a sound and ethical methodology, selecting appropriate methods of psychophysiological data collection and analysis, and drawing evidence-based conclusions, including through the undertaking of their own small-scale research experiment. Within this unit, an overview of the philosophies underpinning this experimental method of data collection and analysis, and their relation to other research perspectives, will be studied in terms of the interrelation of brain/body, mind and education.
The unit aims to:
At the end of this unit, students will be able to:
A variety of teaching strategies will be used to deliver this unit, which may include whole group lectures, case studies, practical demonstration and hands-on practical tasks, critical analysis of key readings, group discussions and student presentations. ELearning approaches will augment face-to-face teaching to facilitate individualised study and support within the broad parameters of the unit and the pathway. These will include: on-line discussion, online supervision and peer mentoring/feedback.
Contact Hours
10 hours
Summative assessment:
The assignment will arise from generating a critical report (2000 words or equivalent) on a small-scale experiment using one or more psychophysiological measures. This experiment will test one or more hypotheses addressing a focused research question selected in negotiation with the tutor. Within this report, students will be required to demonstrate their understanding of concepts covered in the unit such as replicability, ethics and validity in relation to the methods used.