Learning, Teaching, and Educational Psychology Cluster 1 Modules 1 – 2

Focus Questions Who are the students in today’s classrooms? What is the No Child Left Behind Act? Does teaching matter? What is good teaching? What are the greatest concerns of beginning teachers? Why should I study educational psychology? What roles to theory and research play in this field? Describe three families of theories explaining learning and development and three issues that run through these theories.

The Role of Psychology in Education Learning and Teaching Today What is Good Teaching? The Role of Educational Psychology Preview: Theories for Educational Psychology Diversity and Convergences

What Would You Do? Read “What Would You Do?” on p. 1 What would you do to help all your students to progress and prepare for the testing? How would you use the intern so that both she and your students learn? How could you involve the families of your non-English speaking students and students with learning disabilities to support their children’s learning?

Learning and Teaching Dramatic Diversity: Students Today Have many different backgrounds Come from diverse families Face difficult challenges Many have disabilities Teachers are less diverse 91% are white

No Child Left Behind Reauthorization of Elementary and Secondary School Act of 1965 All students in grades 3-8 must take standardized tests once per year All students must take one standardized test in high school AYP- Adequate Yearly Progress Schools must report results separately for groups such as minorities and students with disabilities

Do Teachers Make a Difference? Teacher-Student Relationships “The association between the quality of early teacher-child relationships and later school performance can be both strong and persistent” The Cost of Poor Teaching Less effective teaching can contribute to lower academic gains

What is good teaching? A science, or an art? Are teachers sages on stages or guides on the side? Teachers must be knowledgeable and inventive Use a range of strategies Use research-based strategies for managing classes Flexibility Knowledgeable about your students

Beginning Teachers Concerns Classroom management Motivating students Accommodating students with differences Evaluating student work Dealing with parents Getting along with other teachers Difference between new and experienced teacher: New teacher- “How am I doing?” Experienced teacher- “How are the students doing?” Educational psychology provides new teachers the foundation they need

Role of Educational Psychology Educational Psychology and teaching Began with early educators and psychologists observing children in classrooms Educational Psychology today Research on teaching and learning Child/adolescent development Motivation Others?

Educational Psychology Is it just common sense? How do we find answers to many of our most pressing challenges in the classroom? Often, we rely on common sense responses that may not serve students well. Educational psychology is a field dedicated to the scientific study of teaching and learning.

Using Research Descriptive Studies Correlation Studies Survey results Interview responses Video or audio of classroom interactions Correlation Studies Ask: what is the relation between two variables?

Using Research Experimental Studies Random assignment Cause and effect Single-Subject Experimental Designs Examines the impact of an intervention Microgenetic Studies Study cognitive processes in the midst of change

Using Research The role of time in research Teachers as researchers Short term observations Longitudinal studies Teachers as researchers Action research (problem-solving investigation)

Using Scientific Research NCLB- educational programs and practices receiving federal funds must be based on “scientific research” Observations or experiments Valid and reliable data Clearly described and repeatable Must be peer reviewed

Theories for Teaching Theory: “an interrelated set of concepts that is used to explain a body of data and to make predictions about the results of future experiments” Principles and theories are both useful- Principles will help you with specific problems Theories will provide new ways of thinking about problems

Theory Preview Jean Piaget Lev Vygotsky Sigmund Freud Erik Erikson ‘Natural’ cognitive development Lev Vygotsky Sociocultural Theory Sigmund Freud Dream analysis, sex and aggression Erik Erikson Psychosocial theory

Contextual Theories Lev Vygotsky- Urie Bronfenbrenner- Zone of proximal development Development within the context of human interaction Urie Bronfenbrenner- Bioecological model for development Many diverse contexts for development

Diversity and Convergences Students are increasingly diverse, while teachers remain primarily white and middle class. Diverse approaches to research can address a variety of problems. No Child Left Behind seeks to close the gap between high achieving and low achieving students. Is it working? If not, how would you fix it?