The Field Of Educational Psychology

“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

Johann Friedrich Herbart (1776-1841) was a German philosopher, psychologist and founder of pedagogy as an academic discipline. According to Herbart, abilities were not innate but could be instilled, so a thorough education could provide the framework for moral and

Recently single-sex schools have made a comeback, and this has raised the question of whether they are better than coeducational schools. In single-sex educational systems, male and female students are separated and taught in different school buildings or classrooms. In a historical point of view, only boys were given the opportunity to pursue formal education in the United States. Schools for women began to spread in the beginning of the nineteenth century, almost one hundred years before they were granted the right to vote. By the end of the twentieth century coeducational schooling had reached all elementary and secondary schools

The field of psychology is steadily expanding due to the progression in technology, which is being driven by the advancement of civilization. More and more time is spent on the internet, which has gradually altered the method in which primary communication takes place. Previously face-to-face interaction was touted as the primary method of interfacing with one another, now communication via the internet is almost mandatory to establish and maintain healthy relationships (Greenfield and Yan, 2006). This is especially true amongst children, adolescents and teenagers. The need for psychologists have never been greater in order to assess how individuals are able to acclimate to this societal change. Traditionally, there are two methods in which children, adolescents and teenagers communicate via the internet, through social media and video games. Each primary method presents their own unique social challenge. In response to the issues in of teenagers over use of the internet, psychologists are providing assistance for internet addictions at a greater rate. The first method utilized by mental health professionals is traditionally counseling and if those efforts fail, then the potential exists for adolescents to be placed on medications.

The study of Educational Psychology pairs the science of psychology to educational practices and provides teachers with evidence-based knowledge to support their day-to-day decision making in the classroom (PowerPoint, Mullin). Therefore, it is no surprise that many educational psychologists focus their research and understanding on learning theories about how the human brain processes and stores new information. Learning incorporates 3 critical components; permanent, change, and experience. When written in a sentence together, learning is any relatively permanent change in an organism that results from experience (PowerPoint, Mullin). One domain of learning theories named

Developmental psychology is the study of how and why people develop the way they do over the course of their lives. In the early days of study it was primarily concerned with the development of the child. Now it is understood that development continues throughout adulthood. Initially developmental psychology focused on the differences between adults and children but then the study of Darwin’s theory of evolution prompted a re-think. ‘Functionalism’ suggests that behavioural changes are a result of a realisation that this new behaviour will benefit the individual. This idea derives directly from Darwin’s theory which argues that behaviours which increase an organism’s chance for survival are selected for through the process of evolution. Changes

Tuckman, J., & Lorge, I. (1952). The influence of a course on the psychology of the adult on attitudes toward old people and older workers. Journal of Educational Psychology, 43(7), 400-407. doi:10.1037/h0062469

In the future, I ultimately intend to be a psychologist. With being a psychologist, I am taking on the responsibility on how to lead people into having an overall better life and promote positive change for them. Psychologists often specialize in studying and examining the brain and human behavior. That being said, psychology is a very important branch of science that attempts to help us stay sane!

Tomorrow’s leaders are sitting in desks, roaming the halls, and hanging out with friends. They are being influenced by the people around them. Their social development today impacts their roles in society tomorrow. Prevention clubhouses are working to target at risk youth and empower them to make a difference. One of these dedicated facilities is located in Northeast Georgia. Next Generation Prevention Clubhouse is impacting adolescents through positive social development. Next Generation also uses teaching styles that are student driven. I was fortunate enough to get to observe how this takes place and its relation to educational psychology.

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.

Importance of continued education. I think it should be a priority for educators to be up to date on research being conducted in the field of Educational Psychology because it promotes effective teaching and learning. If they stay updated, they will continue to learn new teaching methods and learning styles that will help their students to succeed. I think if educators are only sticking to the past research that they learned in educational psychology rather than current research, they may not be making any improvement with the academic performance of their students.

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

     Intrinsic motivation can be defined as “motivation associated with activities that are their own reward” (Perry 2003). It is motivation that stems from your inner feelings and views which feed your desires to accomplish and perform. Oppositely, extrinsic motivation is “motivation created by external factors such as rewards and punishments” (Perry 2003). When you are extrinsically motivated, you are only performing the task for what you will gain from completion. On the other hand, when we are intrinsically motivated, there is no requirement for external rewards or punishments