Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Chapter 1- Questions about Educational Psychology
Educational psychology is concerned primarily with developing theories and conducting research related to human development, learning, motivation, classroom management, instructional approaches, and assessment. What are some questions or concerns that you have about your role as a teacher that you believe can be addressed by educational psychology?
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I believe that by learning more about educational psychology, I will be able to ensure tbat my instructional materials/lessons are developmentally appropriate. I will also be better able to understand how to differentiate my instruction to make sure all students are learning. I will gain knowledge in researched- based best practices to use in the classroom. The knowledge that I gain through ed. psych. will allow me to be more of a reflective teacher and change my classroom instruction and management to meet the needs of ALL students. I hope to also gain strategies for reaching at risk student.
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ReplyDeleteObviously the above comment came from me. I sure hope this studying about educational psychology helps me use a blog correctly. I also think that by studying and understanding this strand of psychology, I will become a better-trained teacher with improved classroom instruction that is research-based. I am often frustrated with new things our district wants to have us do when there is little or no research to back it up. Or worse, the "research" is done by the company offering the new thing that will fix all of our woes. Look! It comes in a pretty box with a flashy cd. It must work. It has built in technology.
ReplyDeleteAs educators, we make many decisions about the best ways to teach children day in and day out. As our textbook mentions, however, many of these well-intentioned "best practices" have not been proven most effective and are frequently based on our own preferences or the latest educational trends. I hope that the study of educational psychology helps me become better at reflecting upon how I am making decisions in my own classroom and at looking for research about these practices. The other piece I want to keep in mind as I continue to study educational psychology is that I can't get caught up in the idea that one theory or one piece of research is going to give me all the answers for implementing the best teaching strategies in my room.
ReplyDeleteI hope that educational psychology will help me better understand my students as individuals. Today, our classrooms are so diverse with students from different home life’s, income, ethnicity, etc. I really hope that I can better understand the diversity that is in my classroom and adapt and develop lessons to suit all learners. I also hope that I can learn to how promote my students to have intrinsic motivation and be excited to learn and push themselves to their potentials. As Blower mentioned, I feel that my district often jumps on the wagon of new educational developments. In the future I hope to be able to help make those decisions and research to make sure that these approaches have a solid foundation that will assist our student learning. Lastly I want to be become a better reflective teacher and really learn to look and contemplate upon what is going on in my classroom. Who is learning? How I am reaching my students? Who isn’t learning and how can I “get” to them?
ReplyDeleteI am hoping to gain a greater understanding of my student population and how I can best serve their needs. I sometimes feel bogged down by all of the testing, especially this year. I realize that my students are more than a test score, but there is a lot of attention that is given to the Istep results. By understanding my students better, I'm hoping to gain strategies that will help me move toward more differentiation in my math lessons.
ReplyDeleteI hope that I can get a better perspective into why some students want to learn and why some students do not. On one end of the spectrum are the students who are like sponges and are eager to absorb it all. On the opposite end are the students who are diagnosed with Oppositional Defiant Disorder. I know that I have a student next year with this diagnosis. How can this class help me reach out and look into this child's mind? Can I make a difference when others have not been successful?
ReplyDeleteAs an educator, I am often concerned that I am not accurately gauging the true ability of my young learners. There are times when I cannot tell if the task I assign is truly at a higher level than the student can perform, or if they are just messing with my head. I am hoping that this course will make me more effective as an assessor and facilitator for students at all levels.
ReplyDeleteI think I am really going to like this blog approach! I like hearing everyone's thoughts. I especially like it when they seem like they are taking words from my mouth! I, too, get frustrated when our school attempts a new or different approach, and then yet again before even giving the first a fair shot. This year was crazy with the extra testing and we tried a new approach to "cram" things in before spring testing. I was so against it, but felt the pressure! I truly feel the approach was NOT best for the students. I am hoping this class gives me some more background about student differences and how to deal with them, as well as the confidence to speak up when I feel that I as the classroom teacher know my students best and what is good for them.
ReplyDeleteI believe that learning (or being reminded) more about educational psychology will help me be a better, more aware teacher. It will give me a better insight into some of their behaviors, and help more effectively help them. I have had three children with autism in the past four years not to mention the other disabilities. Learning how to better "read" these students would be beneficial for both of us. I have lost my cool over what appears to be out right defiance and sheer stubbornness even though I know they don't always perceive things the way other children do. I also had a child who would not do any homework. No matter what I tried, I couldn't convenience him that he needed to do this. I know his parents didn't care either. My final solution was making him stay in at lunch recess and do the work for the next day. I didn't like this solution, but couldn't find any other way. Bottom line, I want to learn how to better interpret my students and therefore do a better job teaching.
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