The department offers a range of courses. Below is a description of each course:
PSYC 1010 2cr. Basics of Scientific Research (in Arabic). (2 hrs. Lecture)
This course provides an overview of the fundamentals of research methods in education and psychology. It covers topics like scientific method; identifying a research problem; forming hypotheses; locating resources and references; reviewing literature, the types of samples; the proper selection of samples, methods of data collection. The course focuses on writing a research proposal and research report in education and psychology.
PSYC 1011 2cr. Basics of Scientific Research (in English). (2 hrs. Lecture)
This course provides an overview of the fundamentals of research methods in education and psychology. It covers topics like scientific method; identifying a research problem; forming hypotheses; locating resources and references; reviewing literature, the types of samples; the proper selection of samples, methods of data collection. The course focuses on writing a research proposal and research report in education and psychology.
PSYC 2010 3cr. Educational Psychology (in Arabic). (3 hrs. Lecture)
The aim of this course is to acquaint students with knowledge relevant to application of learning and instruction. Topics include: definition of educational psychology, its principals and scope, characteristics of good teachers, developmental characteristics of learners (focusing on cognitive development), learning and application of learning theories, individual differences, creativity, mental retardation, learning disabilities, giftedness, motivation and its application in the classroom, classroom interaction, attitudes and thinking, problem solving, and transfer of learning. The course will also concentrate on the psychological basis of learning and instructional processes that facilitate students' ability to deal with problems they are expected to face when they become teachers.
PSYC 2011 3cr. Educational Psychology (in English). (3 hrs. Lecture)
The aim of this course is to acquaint students with knowledge relevant to application of learning and instruction. Topics include: definition of educational psychology, its principals and scope, characteristics of good teachers, developmental characteristics of learners (focusing on cognitive development), learning and application of learning theories, individual differences, creativity, mental retardation, learning disabilities, giftedness, motivation and its application in the classroom, classroom interaction, attitudes and thinking, problem solving, and transfer of learning. The course will also concentrate on the psychological basis of learning and instructional processes that facilitate students' ability to deal with problems they are expected to face when they become teachers.
PSYC 3010 3cr Counseling Psychology (in Arabic). (3 hrs. Lecture)
This course is designed to help student get acquainted with the definition of counseling psychology, its nature, historical development, philosophical and psychological foundations, role and importance in society, perspectives, and applications. This course also focuses on physical, emotional, social and moral development stages and their problems among school students. The course covers counseling interventions, techniques, coping strategies and ethical considerations and issues related to counseling psychology.
PSYC 3011 3cr. Counseling Psychology (in English). (3 hrs. Lecture)
This course is designed to help student get acquainted with the definition of counseling psychology, its nature, historical development, philosophical and psychological foundations, role and importance in society, perspectives, and applications. This course also focuses on physical, emotional, social and moral development stages and their problems among school students. The course covers counseling interventions, techniques, coping strategies and ethical considerations and issues related to counseling psychology.
PSYC 4010 3cr. Educational and Psychological Measurement and Evaluation (in Arabic). (3 hrs. Lecture)
This course provides the students with the basic facts, concepts, and procedures in measurement and evaluation. The course covers the kinds of tests, their goals and the steps in developing them and the methods of insuring their validity and reliability as well as the effectiveness of the items in measuring the educational outcomes. The course focuses on utilizing the skills acquired in the course namely the skill of developing, administering, and using results of the tests to improve students' learning of students and the teacher performance.
PSYC 4011 3cr. Educational and Psychological Measurement and Evaluation (in English). (3 hrs. Lecture)
This course provides the students with the basic facts, concepts, and procedures in measurement and evaluation. The course covers the kinds of tests, their goals and the steps in developing them and the methods of insuring their validity and reliability as well as the effectiveness of the items in measuring the educational outcomes. The course focuses on utilizing the skills acquired in the course namely the skill of developing, administering, and using results of the tests to improve students' learning of students and the teacher performance.
PSYC 1030 3cr. Introduction to Special Education. (3 hrs. Lecture)
The purpose of the course is to acquaint students with the history of special education, its purpose and philosophy, and the characteristics of individuals with special needs. The course also includes the nature of disability, its classifications, causes, and prevalence rates in the society.
PSYC 2105 3cr. Developmental Psychology (Childhood and Adolescence). (3hrs. Lecture)
The course aims at providing students with basic knowledge in developmental psychology and its use in dealing with children. The course also includes topics such as: definition of developmental psychology and its basic definitions, growth over life span, laws and principles of human development, methods of research in developmental research, the impact of hereditary and environmental factors on development, theories and models explaining the moral, cognitive, and social development, characteristics of development in early and middle childhood, the role of teacher and specialist in meeting children's needs with emphasis on play and peer relationships, some developmental problems of children and the role of teacher in intervention, and characteristics of adolescence and problems of adolescents.
PSYC 1040 3cr. Principles of Early Intervention. (3 hrs. Lecture)
This course aims at highlighting the importance of early intervention with individuals with disabilities. It includes the theoretical foundation, concepts, definitions, importance, goals and strategies of early intervention. The course also includes the evaluation of early intervention programs and the educational implications in the field of disabilities.
PSYC 1050 3cr. Disability, Family and Community. (3hrs. Lecture)
This course aims to identify some of the issues related to individuals with disabilities, and attitudes of family and society toward them. The course includes the knowledge and impact of disability on the family and society. It also aims at identifying the international disability laws and legislations related to individuals with special needs, and the international, regional and local organizations involved in the affairs of the individuals with disabilities. The course also includes the knowledge of disabilities from an Islamic anthropological perspective as stated in the holy Quran and Sunna.
PSYC 1070 3cr. Characteristics & Methods of Teaching Individuals with Mild Disabilities. (3hrs. Lecture)
This course aims at introducing candidates to psychological, environmental, and cultural conditions that contribute to mild disabilities (mental disabilities and learning disabilities). It covers etiology, characteristics, development, prevention, and intervention, theories and legal aspects of mild disabilities. This course also emphasizes academic skills, curriculum planning and implementation, alternative instructional strategies, class organization, maintenance and generalization of skills.
PSYC 1080 3cr. Educational Psychology. (3hrs. Lecture)
This course is designed to introduce educational psychology and its importance and methods of the study of development. Topics include: the nature and basic concepts in educational psychology, research methodology in educational psychology, learners' individual differences, learning forms, learning theories such as behaviorism and its educational applications, motivation, memory and forgetting, classroom environment, concepts' learning and problem - solving, and transfer of learning effect.
PSYC1090 3cr. Rehabilitation. (3hrs. Lecture)
This course aims at providing students with knowledge of rehabilitation and its types. Topics covered in this course include psychological, social, educational, and vocational rehabilitation. It also covers recent developments in rehabilitation of individuals with special needs such as "social-based rehabilitation", and laws and legislations pertaining to their employment.
PSYC2115 2cr. Critical Issues and Trends in Special Education. (2hrs. Lecture)
This course aims at providing the students with the recent trends and issues related to special education such as sorting, selecting, and diagnosing individuals with disabilities, following the ethical considerations in dealing with parents of disabilities, and the impact of environmental factors in the disabilities (e.g. pollution, wars, accidents, etc.) and the multiple disabilities in the inclusion classrooms. The course also introduces topics related to the role of scientific developments, laws and legislations, inclusion, and dual exceptionality (e.g. gifted with disabilities, deaf and blind, etc.), and worship places in the development of the field of special education. Also, the course offers a synopsis about the recent role of schools and teachers and its impact on the educational process, theories explaining these roles with shedding light on the recent trends in the field of instruction for individuals with disabilities in the light of the changes, and the discussion of the Islamic perspectives related to the rights of the individuals with disabilities.
PSYC 2020 2cr. Giftedness and Talentedness. (2hrs. Lecture)
This course aims at acquainting students with concepts related to giftedness, creativity, and talent, and the ability to differentiate between them, methods of identifying gifted and creative individuals using tests that help in this identification and diagnosis, and understanding their mental, academic, social, and linguistic characteristics. The course will also cover curriculum and teaching methods that are appropriate to them.
PSYC 2030 3cr. Behavior Management and Modification. (3hrs. Lecture)
The course aims at providing students with theoretical and empirical foundations of students' behavior management and helping acquire knowledge related to different strategies. The course also includes basic principles in classroom management and different theoretical perspectives.
PSYC 2040 3cr. Language and Communication Disorders. (3hrs. Lecture)
This course focuses on the understanding of language use and development in children with special needs who have language and communication disorders. This course also deals with identification of common language and communication disorders, patterns, conditions and their impact on learners with special needs.
PSYC 2050 3cr. Diagnosis and Assessment in Special Education. (3hrs. Lecture)
This course aims at providing the students with the essential procedures and strategies of the assessment of individuals with special needs. It covers topics such as tests and scales that are appropriate for categories of individuals of special needs, the skills necessary for their administration, and the ethical considerations involved in the use of these measurements.
PSYC 2060 3cr. Characteristics & Methods of Teaching Individuals with Moderate & Severe Disabilities. (3hrs. Lecture)
This course provides students with the knowledge related to moderate and severe disabilities such as intellectual disability, autism, and some health and physical disabilities. It also aims at identifying the causes and characteristics of moderate and severe disabilities and the psychological medical, educational and social needs. The course also focuses on the services provided to people with moderate and severe disabilities and institutions involved in the provision of different services (e.g. medial, social, educational, etc.)
PSYC 2070 3cr. Characteristics and Methods of Teaching Individuals with Sensory Impairment. (3hrs. Lecture)
This course provides students with the knowledge about the different characteristics of individuals with sensory impairment (visual impairment and hearing impairment), its impact on educational and psychological aspects through the knowledge of classification, educational programs, and relevant methods of teaching (e.g. sign language and Braille method).
PSYC 2080 3cr. Counseling Individuals with Special Needs and their Families. (3hrs. Lecture)
This course provides the students with knowledge related to the needs of individuals with special education and the strategies of counseling them and their families. The course also includes providing the students with counseling skills and the impact of the disabilities on the families' adjustment, and the communication between the counselors, social workers, and parents.
PSYC 2022 6cr. Field Training. (12hrs. Field)
This course aims at giving students opportunities to participate in the actual teaching and assessment of children with disabilities. It includes classroom observation and assessment of children with disabilities. It enables students to apply the knowledge and skills they acquired in the theoretical courses.
PSYC 1001 2cr. Study of Human Behavior. (2hrs. Lecture)
This basic course is designed to acquaint the student with theoretical and applied aspects of psychology; topics include meaning, definition and analysis of behavior, the importance and purposes of studying human and animal behavior, categories of human behavior, human behavior in the fields of education, industry, media, counseling and therapy.
PSYC 1002 2cr Psychology and Human Problems. (2hrs. Lecture)
This basic course is designed to acquaint the student with the contribution of psychologists in solving human, societal and different adjustment problems; topic include childhood and adolescent problems, marriage and family problems, school problems, social and vocational relationships problems, city- environment problems, psychological environmental problems, and different adjustment to life problems.
PSYC 1007 2cr. Criminal Psychology. (2hrs. Lecture)
This course introduces the potential applications of psychological knowledge in the legal, judicial and criminal fields. The course includes the following topics: definition of criminal psychology, research methods in criminal psychology, characteristics of criminal behavior, psychological and legal trends in classification of crimes and criminals, theories explaining criminal behavior, juvenile delinquency, drug abuse, psychology of the officer, lawyer and judge, psychological aspects of the witness, means of criminal investigation, mental illness and crimes, psychology of punishment and imprisonment, prevention, treatment and rehabilitation in the criminal field.
PSYC 1005 3cr. Mental Health. (2hrs. Lecture)
This course is designed to help students get acquainted with the basic knowledge of mental health, its concepts and levels. This course covers the importance of mental health, its promotion methods in an individual, family, school and society. It also focuses on mental illnesses and disorders, psychosomatic disorders, their classifications, symptoms, diagnosis and therapeutic techniques.
PSYC 1008 2cr. Identification and Education of the Gifted and Talented. (2hrs. Lecture)
The purpose of this course is to help students acquire knowledge about the identification and education of gifted and talented individuals in both academic and other domains. Topics in this course include: recent international trends in the identification of the gifted, theoretical models that explain the identification of giftedness in different domains (especially math, science, and technology), methods of teaching the gifted, the most appropriate regional and international experiences in gifted education (e.g. associations and research centers) from which a strategy of the identification and education of gifted students in the Sultanate can be developed.
PSYC 1009 2cr. Disability, family and the society. (2hrs. Lecture)
This course aims to tackle the issues which are related to individuals with disabilities, familial and societal attitudes towards their needs. The topics of the course include recognition of the effect of the disability on the family as well as on the society, recognition of international laws and legislation related to the individuals with disabilities, the role of regional and international association which work in the area of disability. The course also aims to discuss disability from an anthropological as well as Islamic perspective and compare between both perspectives and their effect on handling disability related issues in the society. The course discusses the wider perspective on the inclusion of individuals with disabilities and the importance of adopting the concept of inclusion from social, religious, political, cultural, artistic, and media and information perspectives. The course tackles the most recent issues in the inclusion of individual with disabilities in the society.
PSYC 1017 2cr. Learning Through Play. (2hrs. Lecture)
This course aims to introduce students to the concept of learning through play and multiple characteristics and functions, in addition to the most important theories and contemporary approaches. The mentioned course will also address other topics relevant such as the role of parents, teachers and educators and supervisors in child development cognitively, physically, socially and psychologically through direct aiming towards learning through play. Furthermore, this course will also focus on the role of play in resolving the behavioral and psychological problems through educational programs and applications taking in consideration the appropriateness of pupils developmental stages.
PSYC 1016 2cr. Introduction to Psychology. (2hrs. Lecture)
The aim of the course is to acquaint students with information important for interpreting human behavior. It also aims to encourage students to establish a positive attitude towards human personality and factors influencing it. Topics included are: definition of psychology, fields of psychology such as learning, attention, perception, sensation, memory, individual differences, personality, and factors affecting the development of personality.
PSYC 1015 3cr. Human Motivation. (3hrs. Lecture)
The course aims to equip students with some knowledge and information about the concept of motivation, its significance in the daily life, and the study of the explaining theories for motivation. It as well aims to familiarize students with some ways and strategies that contribute to higher levels of motivation, and to study some of the factors related to increasing or decreasing motivation. Students will also learn about and apply some motivation measurement tools.