Información del Plan Docente

1.1. Aims of the course

1. To get deeper into the knowledge, diagnosis and treatment of the most common difficulties in learning.

2. To know the psychological processes in order to be able to take part in learning difficulties.

3. To become familiar with the techniques and procedures for evaluating learning difficulties.

4. To develop skills for the design and elaboration of resources and action guidelines that allow you to help, individually and specifically, the students with learning difficulties.

5. To know intervention programs for the specific needs of the students.

6. To learn strategies to integrate in the daily activity the student who has limitations or who finds difficulties in following the learning rhythm of your normative group.

1.2. Context and importance of this course in the degree

It is an optional subject that the student can take in the second year of the Degree.

It is part of the itinerary of Developmental Psychology and Education.

It is a subject that is based in a transversal way on other disciplines, basically, educational psychology,

the psychology of learning and the psychology of instruction

It focuses on the detection, diagnosis and intervention on the main School learning difficulties.

1.3. Recommendations to take this course

It is important that students who course this subject have knowledge about developmental and educational psychology, especially in the aspects that have to do with stages of development and their characteristics as well as the instructional aspects, in order to adapt the contents and requirements of the different stages to the possibilities of each child.

It is required interest  in education, as well as the development of an adequate vocabulary and of a minimum level of awareness for attention to diversity and learning difficulties.

It is necessary for the student to properly manage the virtual moodle platform where materials are availablel to develop and prepare the subject, class activities will be delivered in this platform.

Finally, the knowledge of a second language is useful for an extensive bibliography.

2.1. Competences

the student will be more competent to:

(1) Know and understand the laws and principles of psychological processes.
(3) Know the main processes and stages of psychological development throughout the life cycle in its aspects of
normality and abnormality.
(9) Know the different fields of application of Psychology and have the necessary knowledge to influence and
promote the quality of life in individuals, groups, communities and organizations in different contexts:
educational, clinical and health, work and organizations and community.
(26) Know how to analyze the needs and demands of the recipients of a specific function according to the context.
(27) Acquire the necessary skills to analyze situations, define problems, design elementary investigations,
execute them, statistically analyze the data and write a report correctly.
(28) Be able to establish the goals of psychological performance in different contexts, proposing and negotiating
the goals with affected.

2.2. Learning goals

- To know the origin and historical development of the discipline, as well as the historical context of psychology in which produces.
- To know the fundamental characteristics of the main theoretical-methodological approaches that address the study of
learning difficulties and their etiology.
- To know and understand the current state of scientific knowledge of psychology in relation to processes
affected in the so-called learning difficulties, as well as the professional intervention guidelines that can be
derive from that knowledge.
- To know the main methods of assessment and intervention of learning difficulties, both about specific learning difficulties
(Difficulties in reading, writing mathematics) as well as on the School learning difficulties related aspects related to the
main socio-personal variables that affect learning difficulties.- Know the different models and approaches that define the Discipline of Difficulties of School Learning
- To know the historical development, conceptualization and the different classifications of the School learning difficulties.
- To know the main theoretical orientations explaining the learning difficulties.
- To Know the instruments and tools useful for diagnosis and the most efficient psychoeducational intervention.

2.3. Importance of learning goals

The discipline is relatively recent and very important for a Psychologist, since every time more specialized professionals are required in School Learning Difficulties, a frequent problem for social contexts in which we live.

3.1. Assessment tasks (description of tasks, marking system and assessment criteria)

The evaluation of the student will tend to be carried out throughout the development of the subject. The evaluation tests to be carried out by the student are the following:
1. Practical activities that will consist of:
1.1. Observations, case resolution reports and other materials in different support (cases, videos or research reports). There will be two to six task reports.
1.2. Preparation of a project focused on some of the contents of the subject. Must be tutored in your follow-up

2. Final evaluation: Final written individual test.
Those students who have not completed or passed the practical activities, can make the final evaluation: a practical test that will consist of the resolution of one or several cases and / or the comment of a short text. The project must be submitted by all students.
Evaluation criteria

Practical activities: Valuation Criteria and Level of Requirement:
An adequate resolution of this type of task requires:
- To know how to identify, analyze and reflect on the specific situation of a subject at a particular time of learning, in which shows difficulties, without affecting their performance in other areas of learning.
- To be able to perform a diagnostic assessment related to learning difficulties.
- To be able to develop an adequate intervention program in front of a subject with specific learning difficulties.

Final evaluation: Valuation Criteria and Level of Requirement
An adequate resolution of this type of task requires:
- That the student uses psychological terminology to describe the behavior.
- To know the basic psychological processes involved in learning, knows what involves the learning of basic instrumental techniques, and is able to design actions coherent with such learning, and in this sense prevent and address some of the difficulties that may arise in the same.
- To be able to recognize the theoretical perspectives that underlie the different models of psychoeducational intervention in the field of learning difficulties, and assess the consequences of applying each one of them.
- To know techniques of orientation to families to prevent and / or optimize the learning of students who have difficulties in learning or who are at risk of presenting them.

Qualification criteria and Requirements to pass the subject:
The final grade will be given by the sum of the tests made throughout the course. Each one of the tests will be rated 0-10 and weighted according to the following table:

It will be necessary to overcome both sections (practical activities and final test) to overcome the subject.
So that the evaluable activities during the course are qualified and computed in the final grade, they must be delivered on the dates established by the professors. They are designed to encourage continuous learning and not merely as a final grade.
For a student to be computed this section, must have completed at least 80% of them.

For more information, consult the Regulation of Evaluation of Learning Standards of the University of Zaragoza: http://www.unizar.es/sg/doc/6.1.Evaluaciondefinitivodia24_001.pdf.

4.1. Methodological overview

4.2. Learning tasks

Brief description of its contents: Definition and theoretical perspectives of learning difficulties. Models of
diagnosis and intervention.

The first part of the program is dedicated to present in depth the historical development, conceptualization and
classification of learning difficulties, as well as the main theoretical orientations explaining the learning difficulties, in particular the constructivist perspective.

In the first didactic units, the student is provided with a theoretical-conceptual framework sufficient to deal in relative depth the main variables of a personal nature that have a more or less direct impact on the learning difficulties. Specifically, basic cognitive skills, abilities and processes are analyzed related to learning difficulties, as well as socio-affective and motivational characteristics predominant in students with learning difficulties.

The second part of the program is referred to the evaluation and intervention in the learning difficulties, analysis
in depth of the specific learning difficulties in the educational context and difficulties in the strategies, in reading, in writing and in mathematics, etc.

The main characteristics and difficulties presented by a student will be presented; also the theoretical orientations explanations and especially the specific learning difficulties with the basic evaluation and intervention tools in each of them, from an applied point of view.

FORMATION ACTIVITIES:

Name of the activity: Theory classes
Credits: 4 (40 hours)

Teaching methodology: The professor will choose among the following activities those that he/she considers most appropriate to develop the competences of the students.

- Master lesson
- Bibliographic search
- Readings
- Evaluation

Name of the activity: Practice classes
Credits: 2 (20 hours)

Teaching methodology: The professor will choose among the following activities those that he/she considers most appropriate to develop the competences of the students.
-Individual work
-Group work
-Detection and analysis of specific school situations
-Activities to develop competences

4.3. Syllabus

PART 1: INTRODUCTION TO THE DIFFICULTIES OF LEARNING

Unit 1:
Historical Approach, conceptualization and classification.

Unit 2:
Explanatory theories and classifications of the Difficulties of school learning.

PART 2: SPECIFIC DIFFICULTIES OF LEARNING. EVALUATION AND INTERVENTION

Unit 3:
Specific Difficulties of Reading Learning.

Unit 4:
Specific Difficulties of Writing and Calculation Learning.

Unit 5:
Difficulties of the Procedural Learning or disorder of the NON VERBAL Learning.

PART 3: PERSONAL AND SOCIOCULTURAL VARIABLES INVOLVING IN THE DIFFICULTIES OF SCHOOL LEARNING

Unit 6:
Difficulties of School Learning related to socio-affective deficits.

Unit 7:
Learning Difficulties related to sociocultural deficits.

PART 4: MAIN DISORDERS ASSOCIATED WITH DIFFICULTIES OF SCHOOL LEARNING

Unit 8:
Intellectual Disability Limit.

Unit 9:
Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

Unit 10:

Learning problems and Behavior Disorders.

4.4. Course planning and calendar

Activities:
* Academic sessions
* Autonomous work
* Field and laboratory practices
* Exhibition and debate

Key dates: all the activities will be announced in the moodle calendar of the subject once it starts
the course.

Schedule: can be consulted on the website of the Faculty of Social and Human Sciences (http://fcsh.unizar.es/).

4.5. Bibliography and recommended resources