Spring 2027

How People Learn

An introduction to psychological theories of learning, covering cognitive, social, and affective aspects, individual differences, and practical applications.

offering recorded3 credits
Recorded instructors · Spring 2027 JOEL Beier3.8/5Alina GuhaChaeyeon Kim +3 more

Summary

1 / 6

Past student reviews · Joel Beier

One student reported that exams were easy because they allowed notecards, but emphasized that an analysis paper was required during the semester. The same student noted that grading took a long time.

What you’ll be able to do

  • Acquire a strong foundation in current and past psychological theories of learning

  • Recognize and synthesize multiple perspectives on knowledge, learning, and cognition

  • Apply fundamental theories and multiple perspectives to everyday learning environments.

  • Communicate effectively in collaborative work, so students may share their knowledge, wisdom, and values with others across social and professional settings

  • Understand and evaluate their own learning processes

  • Conduct research, analyze, and interpret resulting data; and create clear and concise reports of their research

  • Demonstrate a knowledge of and sensitivity to human diversity in terms of individual abilities and orientations and sociocultural backgrounds.

Source: UW Guide

Grade history

↗
average GPA
letter grades
A
AB
B
BC
C
D
F

All recorded terms · compare terms & instructors

Prerequisites

Course map

Sophomore standing

  • Sophomore standing
EDPSYCH 301 used by

“Used by” includes alternatives; linked courses may have other requirements. This is a best-effort interpretation; check the catalog requirements above.

Prerequisite text tree
  • Sophomore standing

Professors

Spring 2027
Adjusted rating
RMP difficulty
captured reviews
About this rating

Raw average: 5.00/5 from 3 quality ratings. The adjusted rating blends this with the UW review average (3.66/5), weighted as 20 additional ratings. Smaller samples stay closer to that average. Each captured review is counted once in the prior; this does not correct who chooses to leave a review.

RMP profile ↗ · All captured review dates; profile matched by name.

Past student reviews · Joel Beier

JOEL Beier taught a calm, welcoming class where he actively incorporated the learning techniques he covered in his lectures. Students described the exams as manageable, noting that notecards were allowed and the material was laid-back yet valuable. However, one student pointed out that he took a long time to grade assignments, even though the overall course was considered easy.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2024: 3.76 GPA, 89.1% A/AB (n=101 letter grades); Fall 2024: 3.89 GPA, 95.9% A/AB (n=98 letter grades); Spring 2025: 3.79 GPA, 91.8% A/AB (n=98 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 3.86 GPA, 91.6% A/AB (n=107 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.86 GPA, 94.7% A/AB (n=114 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.93 GPA, 96.0% A/AB (n=101 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.

Recent recorded grades — Fall 2025: 3.81 GPA, 92.9% A/AB (n=113 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.73 GPA, 88.2% A/AB (n=102 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 3.86 GPA, 91.6% A/AB (n=107 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.93 GPA, 97.3% A/AB (n=110 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.82 GPA, 91.8% A/AB (n=110 letter grades). Includes jointly taught sections.

Historical instructors & teaching patterns

Past student reviews · Kelsey Schenck, Fangli Xia

Kelsey Schenck’s lectures were engaging and thought-provoking, with clear explanations and an open question policy. Fangli Xia’s class was straightforward and easy, featuring weekly homework, three exams, and one big essay. Students noted that while the content could be dry, exams were fair and easy if you studied, with many extra credit opportunities available.

AMANDA EVENSTONE is recorded teaching in Fall 2014, Spring 2015, Fall 2015, Spring 2016, Fall 2016, Spring 2017, Fall 2017, Spring 2018, Fall 2021, Spring 2022. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

CHAEYEON KIM is recorded teaching in Fall 2024, Spring 2025, Fall 2025, Spring 2026. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

FANGLI XIA is recorded teaching in Fall 2020, Fall 2022, Spring 2023, Fall 2023, Spring 2024. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

GLENIS BENSON is recorded teaching in Fall 2014. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

INDRANI DEY is recorded teaching in Fall 2025, Spring 2026. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

JENNIFER COOPER is recorded teaching in Spring 2013, Fall 2013. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

JOEL BEIER is recorded teaching in Fall 2023, Spring 2024, Fall 2024, Spring 2025. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

JOYCE HEMPHILL is recorded teaching in Fall 2006, Spring 2007, Fall 2007, Spring 2008, Fall 2008, Spring 2009, Fall 2009, Spring 2010, Fall 2010, Spring 2011, Fall 2011. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

JULIA RUTLEDGE is recorded teaching in Fall 2013, Spring 2014, Fall 2014, Spring 2015, Fall 2015, Fall 2016, Spring 2017, Fall 2017, Spring 2018, Fall 2018, Spring 2019, Fall 2019. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

KELSEY SCHENCK is recorded teaching in Fall 2019, Spring 2020, Fall 2020, Fall 2021, Spring 2022, Spring 2023. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

SARAH SULLIVAN is recorded teaching in Spring 2011, Fall 2012, Spring 2013, Fall 2013, Spring 2014. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

SHARON DERRY is recorded teaching in Fall 2007, Spring 2008, Fall 2008, Fall 2009, Spring 2010, Fall 2010, Spring 2011, Fall 2012. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

TIFFANY HERDER is recorded teaching in Fall 2021, Spring 2022, Fall 2022, Spring 2023. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

XUESONG CANG is recorded teaching in Fall 2020, Fall 2024, Spring 2025, Fall 2025, Spring 2026. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

YUANRU TAN is recorded teaching in Fall 2021, Spring 2022, Spring 2025, Fall 2025, Spring 2026. Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Recorded history may be incomplete and does not establish a future schedule.

Calendar & sections

Spring 2027

Schedule loads here as you scroll.

SectionModeEnrolled / capacityWaitlist
LEC 001Classroom Instruction0 / 1200
LEC 002Classroom Instruction0 / 1200
LEC 003Classroom Instruction0 / 1200

Times are Central. Select a meeting for details; export includes recorded dates for the selected sections. Enrollment reflects scan time.

Meeting source records
Download part 1

Student experience

the class

Past student reviews · Joel Beier

Students described Joel Beier’s classroom as calm and welcoming, noting that he applied the educational psychology techniques he taught in his own instruction. His slides and assignments were clear and valuable for students.

Recent recorded grades — Spring 2025: 3.84 GPA, 92.4% A/AB (n=317 letter grades); Fall 2025: 3.86 GPA, 95.0% A/AB (n=337 letter grades); Spring 2026: 3.83 GPA, 92.0% A/AB (n=313 letter grades).

difficulty & workload

Past student reviews · Joel Beier

One student reported that exams were easy because they allowed notecards, but emphasized that an analysis paper was required during the semester. The same student noted that grading took a long time.

Past student reviews · Joel Beier

A student found the professor caring and down-to-earth, creating a welcoming environment. They described the exams as not being bad and highly recommended the course for those fulfilling an Edpsych requirement.

Topics

  • Memory, learning, and intelligence theories
  • Cognitive, social, and affective dimensions of learning
  • Contextual influences and psychological tools like language and technology
  • Individual differences affecting learning

Skills

  • Understanding theories of learning, memory, and intelligence
  • Applying learning theory to practical contexts
  • Conducting research, analyzing data, and writing reports

Grades

Historical instructor

Spring 2027 · Projected

Before grades are released

– average GPA

Approximate 80% prediction interval

About this estimate

The course’s semester-average GPA, not an individual student’s grade. The center uses 5 same-season terms, weighted toward recent results.

The range uses the finite-sample 80th-percentile rank of absolute errors from earlier same-season forecasts. Each forecast uses only records from earlier terms. At least four forecasts are required; bounds are rounded outward and limited to 0–4. This is an empirical estimate: changing instructors or grading policies can reduce its coverage.

8 earlier forecasts · 0.03 GPA average error.

Grades over time

Through Spring 2027

More grade details Grade mix, volume & source data

Where this course fits relative to

Latest available grades · Spring 2026 · all course levels

GPA

Higher than % of other courses in this group.

Course GPAs · red marks this course’s range

letter grades

More recorded grades than % of other courses in this group.

Typical course in this group: letter grades.

About this comparison

1280 courses over the same term, each with at least 30 recorded letter grades. Cross-listed courses count once. GPA is not a measure of difficulty or teaching quality. The typical course is the median by recorded grade count; tied values are not counted as lower. Grade counts describe course scale, not unique students or typical section size.

Descriptions compare GPA with this group’s average: at least 0.20 higher or lower; otherwise close to average. Section size uses median recorded enrollment: small up to 30, mid-sized 31–99, large 100+. Lectures and discussion/lab sections are described separately.

Sources & history

UW–Madison

Catalog & offerings

Descriptions, prerequisites, and recorded course offerings.

Catalog observation history

Observations at scan time; dates do not imply when a catalog change took effect.

Download part 1
Selected offering source records
EDPSYCH 301 · Spring 2027

How People Learn

Recorded 2026-10-14
Raw records 
[
  {
    "run_id": "20261014T203208-0851c9a1",
    "semester": "1274",
    "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00",
    "offering_id": "1274:315:006099",
    "course_id": "EDPSYCH 301",
    "course_uid": "course_efce20748a02fd76caa36d8a",
    "term_id": "1274",
    "source_course_id": "006099",
    "source_subject_id": "315",
    "title": "How People Learn",
    "credits_min": 3,
    "credits_max": 3,
    "typically_offered": "Fall, Spring, Summer"
  }
]
Rate My Professors

Student reviews

Original comments behind the course and instructor summaries.

Read original reviews
Download part 1
Madgrades

Grade history

Recorded grade distributions by term, section, and instructor.

Explore recorded grades
Dataset & model

Recorded 2026-10-14

View the dataset on Hugging Face
Model outputs & technical records
Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B
LLM outputs across runs
Download part 1
Full model traces

Recorded model configuration, reasoning, and tool conversations.

Download part 1Download part 2
Model & dataset provenance 
{
  "model": "Qwen/Qwen3.8-27B",
  "model_revision": "1d4bf0f2ff6012fd82039f2fa52739d0dd7c60c0",
  "task_version": "17",
  "output_id": "7791597faa4c3f6d9896e95c1ad0b8c1697414ef6f87f9198ca8dc441e27fb9b",
  "requirements_status": "valid",
  "dataset_revision": "fc1811fa52e581ea57a35c0cf3343f8740a8ffbf",
  "observed_at": "2026-10-14 17:50:09.728220+00:00"
}