Educational Psychology

 

Educational psychology deals with (1) human learning at educational settings; (2) psychology of teaching; (3) social psychology of learning institutes as organizations or communities; and (4) educational interventions from individual level to global policy level.  From education practice perspectives, educational psychology seeks to inform a broad range of specialisms such as instructional design, curriculum development, classroom management, educational technology, special education, organizational learning, and in a less direct manner, educational psychology also contributes to and benefits from the advancement of cognitive (learning) science and neuroscience. 

 

Amongst the specialisms influenced by educational psychology, instructional design and classroom management have very close association with the development in educational psychology.  While educational psychology researchers focus on learning and cognition, the respective findings have instrumental impacts on (1) learning behaviors such as self-determination theory and intrinsic motivation; (2) mental constructs such as beliefs, traits, memories and emotions; (3) developmental competence at successive phases of development that include physical, cognitive, social and emotional progressions; (4) social cognitive and learning theories such as observational learning, self-efficacy and self-regulated learning; and (5) many others.  Educators also need to be aware of the distinctive application of the theories and concepts to various fields such as language learning and use of problem solving techniques at difference domains of studies (Wichadee, 2011).

 

Educators need to be informed of the latest development in educational psychology in order to match the rapid changing demands and needs in the classroom and instructional approaches.  Professional development in education can hardly be theoretical-based only; applications are always based on customization of theoretical framework for specific needs of specific settings.  Education psychological theories need social manifestation of the understanding (Shulman, 2000).   

 

There are many ways that educational psychology can guide and inform professional development of teachers.  Amongst the potential approaches are: (1) communities of practice to serve the opportunity for teachers’ direct engagement in taking theoretical framework to a customized practical level; (2) case study method where teachers are being put in the role of decision maker facing a contemporary and advanced learning and teaching problems of other teachers’ experiences; and (3) coaching / mentoring by enhancing a teacher’s competencies in a specific skill area by providing a process of observation, reflection and action (FPG Child Development Institute, 2008).

 

References:

 

FPG Child Development Institute, (2008).  “What do we mean by professional development in the early childhood field?”.  National Professional Development Center on Inclusion, Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina.

 

Shulman, L. S. (2000). Teacher development: Roles of domain expertise and pedagogical knowledge. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 21(1), 129–135.

 

Wichadee, S. (2011).  Professional development: A path to success for EFL teachers.  Contemporary Issues in Education Research, 4(5), 13–21.