Chapter 1 Educational Psychology and Reflective Practice

Themes of the ChapterLearning how to understand learners and to

promote their learning helps teachers feel more comfortable and successful.

Students are diverse and some have special needs

Theory and research play major roles in educational psychology and reflective practice

Guiding Questions

What is educational psychology? What primary concerns do

beginning teachers have? What is reflective teaching, and

how is it different from technical teaching?

See next slide for more questions

Guiding Questions (cont’d)

How can teachers recognize, adapt, and respond to diverse learners and students with special needs?

How do educational psychologists use theory and research?

How can teachers apply research findings to improve their own classroom practice?

Overview of Educational Psychology

“The scientific study of psychology in education”

What teachers do How students learn How teachers can help students learn

Critical Thinking

To be able to tell fact from opinion To see holes in an argument To spot illogic To evaluate evidence To tell whether or not cause and

effect have been established

Educational Psychology and Critical Thinking

Provide objective, data-based evidence from research

Challenge our subjective ways of knowing

Use research to make decisions about the practice of teaching

Learning

A relatively permanent change in behavior or knowledge as a result of experience

Depends on many factors:the quality of instructionstudent motivationstudent engagementstudent’s developmental readiness to learn

Teaching

One person’s interpersonal effort to help others acquire knowledge, develop skill, and realize their potential

What Expert Teachers Know

Broad and deep subject matter knowledge How-to instructional strategies Knowledge about learning environments Knowledge about educational materials

Concerns of Beginning Teachers

Classroom discipline Motivating students Special needs Assessment and grading

Teaching Efficacy

A teacher’s judgment of, or confidence in, his or her capacity to cope with the teaching situation in ways that bring about desired outcomes

Beginning teachers generally have lower teaching efficacy than do veteran teachers

Teaching Efficacy Categories

Efficacy for classroom management

Efficacy for student engagement Efficacy for instructional strategies

Examples of Statements of Efficacy

Classroom management: “I can prevent behavior problems in the classroom.”

Student engagement: “I can develop interesting tasks that students will enjoy.”

Instructional strategies: “I can teach writing very well.”

Metaphors for Teaching

Entertainer Coach Lion tamer Choreographer Party host

Circus master Traffic cop Ship captain Air traffic controller

Give examples of how teachers might describe their teaching if they adopted the metaphor of teacher as:

Entertainer Coach Lion tamer Choreographer Party host

Circus master Traffic cop Ship captain Air traffic controller

What Would They Say?

Complete the phrase “The teacher as a(n)___________________”.

Which metaphor captures the spirit of what you would like to accomplish in the classroom?

What Would You Say?

Benefits of Having Metaphors for Teaching

Facilitates reflection Serves as a standard for self-evaluation Helps initiate desired changes in teaching

Two Modes of Teaching

Technical teaching Teaching situation is predictable and calls for routine

action• Classroom experience Constructive learning

experience Reflective teaching

Teaching situation is surprising and calls for conjectures, information gathering, and decision-making.

• Knowledge about the teaching and learning

situation Constructive learning experience

Model for Reflective Teaching: RIDE

Reflection Information gatheringDecision makingEvaluation

Your Turn

Ms Newby is nervous about teaching and feels that she will not be able to handle students’ misbehaviors

How might she solve this problem using the RIDE model?

Diverse Learners

Response to diversityEqualityAccommodation

Instruction for Students with Special Needs

Individualize instruction Offer personalized scaffolding Rely on direct and explicit instructional practices Meticulously arrange or structure the learning

environment Provide external supports, such as calculators,

tape-recorded textbooks, adaptive furniture, special lighting or acoustics

See next slide for more tips

Instruction for Students with Special Needs (cont’d)

Closely monitor students’ progress and provide systematic feedback

Teach skill-based strategies, such as how to generate questions while reading

Use flexible means to reach defined goals Create a caring classroom in which differences

are seen as assets Keep integration into the general education

environment the priority

Theory

An intellectual framework that organizes a vast amount of knowledge about a phenomenon so that educators can understand and explain better the nature of that phenomenon

Why is Theory Important?

Explains a phenomenonHelps teachers create a hypothesis or

prediction Helps educators gain new insightsGuides research studies

Why is Research Important?

Provides evidence that assists teachers make appropriate choices in the classroom

Research Methods

Descriptive studies

Correlational studies

Experimental studies

Action research

Descriptive Studies

A research method used to describe the educational situation as it naturally occurs – what typically happens, how teachers teach, and how students learn and develop

Example research question: “How do Ms. Newby organize the physical layout of her classroom?

Correlational Studies

A research method used to measure two naturally occurring variables and summarize the nature and magnitude of their relationship in numerical form

Example research question: “How is measured intelligence related to school achievement?”

Experimental Studies

A research method used to test for a cause-and-effect relationship between two variables

Example research question: “Is reading program A better than reading program B for teaching first graders to read?”

Action Research

A research method carried out by teachers in their own classrooms to inform and refine their personal theories of teaching and classroom learning

Example research question: “Do I ask boys more questions than I ask girls?”

Steps for Conducting Action Research

1. Identify a problem2. Formulate a plan to address the problem3. Collect and analyze data to see if the plan

worked4. Reflect on what has been learned5. Use the new- and improved personal theory of

teaching6. Repeat steps 2, 3, 4, and 5 as needed

What Kind of Research?

I want to decide if boys in the 6th grade benefit more from cooperative learning than girls?

I want to decide if completion of homework is associated with better achievement

I want to examine the number of errors present in the 8th grade science book

I want Maria to tell me about her experiences in solving a math problem?

Critical Thinking of Teachers

Supplement their subjective ways of knowing with objective, data-based ways of knowing and go beneath the surface of their idea

Guiding Questions Revisited

What is educational psychology? What primary concerns do beginning teachers have? What is reflective teaching, and how is it different from

technical teaching? How can teachers recognize, adapt, and respond to

diverse learners and students with special needs? How do educational psychologists use theory and

research? How can teachers apply research findings to improve

their own classroom practice?