Exploring The Dynamics Of Educational Psychology

Within the elementary classroom, there is a copious amount of rules, guidelines and considerations a teacher must take into account. Learning theories such as social, cognitive, and behavioral learning should be implemented to provide framework and boundaries for the children. When incorporating learning theories in the classroom, it is important to have a clear understanding of how they work and how they will benefit the child and the teacher. These particular theories allows the teacher to run an efficient and effective classroom from day one.

A consistent approach to behaviour helps pupils learn right from wrong and to appreciate that rules exist for the good of everyone.

For years, there have been many theorists who have shared their views on how individuals learn. Such research has determined that individuals have different learning styles. It is important for teacher to understand the learning styles of both themselves and their students because it helps them to relay the subject knowledge to the students. The teacher is in a position where they must be able to assess the learning styles of their students. This means that the students and teachers are both in a process of learning.

Teaching theories are as much part of the classroom as the student and the teacher. The effect individual theories have on an environment depends how they are incorporated within the classroom in addition to the influence they have had on the curriculum construction. This essay will briefly look at how motivation theory, cognitive and social cognitive theory along with constructivism have impacted on education and the classroom.

“It takes a village to raise a child.” I never quite understood that saying when I was growing up, but my experiences teaching and working in school settings have showed me how true it really is. Obtaining a degree in school psychology will allow me to give the support that students, families and educators need to ensure that every student will thrive.

​When I declared a psychology major during the second year of my undergraduate career, my objective was to attend medical school and eventually become a psychiatrist. I enjoyed the psychology classes in which I was enrolled and found them to compliment the premed curriculum I also wanted to study. I reasoned that a major in psychology would provide insight that could later be useful in my planned studies of psychiatry. Although I decided against going to medical school, psychology remained the primary area of focus of my studies with the ultimate career goal of becoming a clinical psychologist. While my long term professional plans include achieving a PhD and becoming a clinical psychologist. Pursuing a masters degree in

In Psychology 101, you learn about a personal fable; something that I have not lost. I have always wanted to change the world that I was destined for greatness and teaching elementary school students gives me that power. In the words of Nelson Mandela, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”

Don't preach (Gonzalez-Mena & Eyer, 2015, p. 6). For this principle I would model the behavior that I want teach like if I see a child being rough with a stuffed dog I would correct this behavior by letting them know how to pet the stuff dog and being rough to the dog hurts the animal.

Strengths of social learning theory include the ease of implementing an optimistic and appropriate behavior modification to counter maladaptive behaviors in place, it is applicable to various behaviors, it is easy to understand, and it integrates social and cognitive skills through observation and practice. This theory is considered empowering as it helps individuals identify for themselves appropriate behaviors through observation and practicing the desired behavior. Weaknesses of this theory are that it does not take into account individual interpretations of situations, it does not relate to all behavioral differences, and it focuses more on what is happening in the situation rather than explaining why the situation is occurring.

In a behaviourist classroom, learning depends on systematic reinforcement of correct behaviours. The students have a relatively passive role in the learning process, while the teacher is the transmitter of knowledge who assesses, corrects and reinforces pupil responses. Pollard (2014, p. 36) suggests that through this type of teaching, subject expertise can be transmitted in a coherent, ordered and logical way because there is a high degree of adult

Drawing on examples from chapters 3, 4 and 8 of Investigating Psychology, examine and assess the extent to which psychological research is of value to society.

Learning is not a skill that is necessarily instinctual or easy, and therefore different approaches must be used to make learning easier and more fun for students. Teaching is not a skill that can be memorized or made repetitive, and so teachers must continue to challenge not only their students, but also themselves. Teachers that become complacent in their jobs are not good teachers. Those who can find a way to make an old lesson new and exciting will have an energized classroom, and will be reenergized themselves.

One of the more popular areas of psychology is Educational Psychology. Educational Psychology can be explained several ways. The idea is to study theories and concepts from different parts of psychology and apply them in educational settings. These educational settings may occur in different school settings such as preschool. The goal of educational psychology is to create a positive student-teacher relationship. Educational psychology uses five different types of psychology, behavioral, cognitive, developmental, and social cognitive, and constructivist in this research paper I will be briefly discussing each type of psychology listed above.

Over the course of this semester, I have had the opportunity to learn about educational psychology. I have always enjoyed psychology and was especially interested in how it applied to teaching in the classroom. There were five specific concepts we discussed over the semester that especially interested me. I found that homogenous and heterogeneous grouping, extrinsic and intrinsic motivation, operant conditioning, cooperative learning, and divergent versus convergent thinking are five psychological concepts that every teacher should learn about in preparation for teaching.

Educational Psychology fosters an understanding for student development and helps teachers be effective, design lessons and make a difference for their students. First we must define what education psychology is, and how it applies student development and to the education community. The textbook, “Educational Psychology” written by Anita Woolfolk, (2012), defines educational psychology as, “A distinct discipline with its own theories, research methods, problems, and techniques. Educational psychologists do research on learning and teaching and, at the same time, work to improve educational practice.” (p. 12). Essentially, educational psychology is the study and research behind creative and effective learning strategies and the principles for development and learning. It enables teachers to reach and engage their students at the highest level of learning with effective learning strategies. Learning educational psychology through the study of cognitive development and the influences on children and adolescents as they grow, the implication of moral and identity development, as well as obligations teachers have professionally to create safe learning environments that promote high expectations and inclusion of all learners, helps teachers to nurture and understand their students. For example, learning about student diversity and culture, characteristics, learning levels, how to design and present content, enhance classroom management creating a safe effective learning