Educational Psychology

What is educational psychology

the study of learners, learning, and teaching

Who are learners

Students, the nature of students, their abilities, background, culture, social status, etc

What is learning

cognitive processes, emotions, and motivation

What is teaching

methods and approaches

What makes a good teacher

decision making, knowledge of subject matter and education research, reflection, self knowledge, self regulation, effective communication, takes into account student diversity, gets students interested and motivated, can assess students, manages the classroom well

What is pedagogy

the method and practice of teaching, instruction, tasks involved in teaching

Teacher Efficacy

when teachers are aware that they can make a difference and impact and they are good teachers

In relation to teachers, what is a major predictor of how students do in school and how they ultimately do in life?

Teacher efficacy

Describe the intentional teacher

knows what to do, identifies goals for students and ways to achieve those goals, active in the process of learning, thinking of outcomes for students, thinking of the effects of teacher decisions on students, flexible, thoughtful, uses a wide variety of: instructional methods, experiences, assignments, and materials, 

Define development

the process of how people, change, grow, and adapt to different situations over the course of their lifetimes

What are the different types of development

• personality

• socio-emotional

• cognitive

• language

Nature vs Nurture

Genes and environment interact to influence development, ultimately teachers and parents influence learning and above any child’s genetic predisposition

Continuous Development

smooth progress, environment is more important than genetics in determining development

Discontinuous Development

fixed sequence of stops; stages of development

Piaget’s 4 stages

sensorimotor, preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational

Piaget’s Sensorimotor stage

0-2 years old, learning through accidents/trial and error approach, object permanence is developed, progression from reflective behavior to goal directed behavior

Piaget’s Preoperational stage

2-7 years old, egocentric thinking, use symbols to represent reality, rapid language development, lack an understanding of the principle of conservation, centration, lack of reversibility

Centration

the tendency to pay attention to only one aspect of a situation

Reversibility

the ability to change direction in one’s thinking

Concrete operational stage

7-11 years old, logical and objective thinking, need to relate learning to personal experience, difficulty with abstract thoughts, grasp: conservation, reversibility, and seriation, acquire transitivity, capable of decentered thinking

Transitivity

the ability to infer relationships between 2 objects on the basis of knowledge of their respective relationships with a third object

Seriation

arranging things in a logical progression, whether by color, size, weight, etc.

Schemes/Schemas

patterns of behavior/thinking used in making sense, mental framework that organizes and interprets information about the world

Adaptation

general process that occurs when new information is integrated into existing schemes/schemas

Assimilation

using existing schemes/schemas to understand new things, schemes/schemas do NOT change

Accomodation

modifying schemes/schemas to incorporate new information, creates disequilibrium

Equilibration

restoring balance to understanding/schemes/schemas, by creating new ones or adapting old ones

Constructivism

Piaget’s theory that learners play an active role in building their own understanding by interacting with new information and their existing knowledge

Formal operational stage

11 years old to adulthood, abstract thinking, able to monitor emotional reactions

Criticisms and revisions of Piaget

children are more competent than he thought, difficult to justify the concept of set stages of development, culture and experience play a large role in the rate and methods of development

Neo-Piagetian

theory that views development in terms of different types of tasks

Educational Implications of Piaget

focused on process and not just products of thinking, self initiated and active involvement, de-emphasis on practices aimed at making children adult like

How did Vygotsky view cognitive development

intellectual development is understood only when we look at the historical and cultural contexts a child develops, and development depends on sign systems individuals grow up with

Social Learning

learning involves the acquisition of signs by means of information from others and deliberate teaching, the child internalizes these signs, and is eventually able to think and solve problems without the help of others, self regulation

What are the steps of self regulation in relation to social learning?

1. actions and sounds have meaning

2. child practices what they are learning

3. child uses signs to think and solve problems without help

Zone of Proximal Development

proposed by Vygotsky, tasks a child can’t achieve alone but can do with help of an adult or more competent peers

Mediation in relation to the zone of proximal development

adults modeling, explaining, and breaking down tasks

How did Bronfenbrenner view development

biological model that emphasizes interconnectedness of influences on a child’s development (social and instituational)

Microsystem

the child’s immediate environments like school, friends, family, neighbors, work, etc

Mesosystem

the connectedness between a child’s different microsystems

Exosystem

mass media, local governments, extended family, parents’ friends, etc.

Macrosystem

laws, customs, subculture, socioeconomic class, etc.

Chronosystem

Historical events and changes over time

Oral language development

learning words and rules of word and sentence structure, influenced by the amount/quality of parents talking to/with their child

Reading development

emergent literacy is based on knowledge about reading, interpreting pictures, having concept of print, recognizing elements of a story, often developed through teaching at home or school and through exposure to books at an early age

How would one promote literacy development

read to children, surround them with books, encourage reading and writing

Erikson’s psychosocial theory

relates principles of psychological and social development, adaptation of developmental theories of Freud, 8 stages, each presenting a crisis or critical issues to be resolved

Erikson’s Stages of Personal and Social/Psychosocial Development

Trust vs Mistrust, Autonomy vs Shame and Doubt, Initiative vs Guilt, Industry vs Inferiority, Identity vs Role Confusion, Intimacy vs Isolation, Generativity vs Self-Absorption, Integrity vs Despair

Trust vs Mistrust

birth to 18 months old, develop basic trust, typically with the mother, inconsistent, rejecting, caring, source of pleasure or frustration

Autonomy vs Shame and Doubt

18 months to 3 years old, develop independence, walking and talking

Initiative vs Guilt

3 to 6 years old, exploring, communicating, learning about own abilities, and role of the parents to punish

Industry vs Inferiority

6-12 years old, expanded social world, making things, feeling good about oneself and one’s abilities

Identity vs Role Confusion

12 to 18 years old, changing physiology, decisions about the future, determining “who am I?”, ego identity, new sense of self, not simply the sum of past identifications

Intimacy vs Isolation

young adulthood, sharing life with another, enhancing the identity of both partners, repeated tries failing leads to isolation

Generativity vs Self-Absorption

middle adulthood, establishing, guiding next generation, other forms of productivity/creativity, continuing growth, stagnation and interpersonal impoverishment

Integrity vs Despair

late adulthood, acceptance of accomplishments, failures, limitations, facing reality of death, regret can lead to despair

Implications and Criticisms of Erikson’s Stages

variations in timing and degree of experiencing crises, resolution of crises may come at later age as individual’s experiences change, constant interactions of personal and social development, emphasis on role of environment both in causing and resolving crises, no explanation about how individuals progress from stage to stage

Piaget’s Theory of Moral Development

theory that believes that young children are incapable of moral reasoning

Heteronomous Morality

inflexibility of rules: subject to rules imposed by parents/others, belief that misbehavior will always be punished, associated with concrete operational stage

Autonomous Morality

coincides with formal operations, judgements and punishment based on intentions of behavior, people see “what is right” differently, breaking rules can be okay at times

Criticisms of Piaget’s Theory of Moral Development

Underestimation of young children’s consideration of intentions in judging behavior

What does play promote in children

Linguistic, cognitive, social skills, and personality development

What are the four categories of play

Solitary, Parallel, Associative, Cooperative

Peer acceptance

a critical issue in children, child is seen as popular, rejected, neglected, average, or controversial among their peers

What are the factors of acceptance for peers

• physical attractiveness

• cognitive ability

• pro-social skills

Why do teenagers engage in riskier behaviors and have a high risk of developing mental disorders

brain plasticity, mismatch between maturation of limbic system and the prefrontal cortex

What is culture

system composed of shared norms traditions, behaviors, language, and perceptions of a group

What was the Parent-Child Home Program Initiative

mothers of toddlers were given materials and taught how to teach and interact with their kids and their kids developed faster

Disadvantages for lower class students

• higher rates of disease

• poor healthcare

• cognitive delays

• exposure to toxic stress

• uncorrected vision

• hearing problems

• asthma

• fall further behind over the summer than higher SES students