| Throughout our school years, our learning, thinking, and memory abilities have been guided and evaluated through procedures that educational psychologists designed. School psychologists give psychological tests to students, consult with students, teachers and parents, and try to help students adjust to academic requirements. Educational psychologists often work behind the scenes conducting research or consulting with school officials to help maximize the effectiveness of the educational system. The field of educational psychology focuses both on how students learn and how instructors teach.
The theories and techniques of learning, reinforcement, and punishment have been applied in the classroom for many years. For example, when students do well they are reinforced with praise, high grades, or leisure activities, and when they do poorly, they are punished with detentions, low grades, or threats. Edward Thorndike wrote Educational Psychology in 1903, in which he emphasized the role of reinforcement in learning, and encouraged teachers to evaluate students' progress. John Dewey also contributed to the techniques used in education with his emphasis on "learning by doing." Gage and Berliner (1988) outlined several tasks involved in the instructional process. Instructors should develop a set of learning objectives that students are expected to achieve. Instructors ought to understand the personalities, problems, interests, and abilities of their students as well as how their students can best learn. To achieve these goals instructors ought to have an understanding of learning theories and psychological principles that influence the learning process. With this understanding, instructors must then decide which teaching methods to use--lecture, discussion, demonstration, programmed instruction, computer- assisted instruction, or hands-on experience. Instructors must also evaluate the achievements of their students. Ultimately, education is a joint venture between instructors and students. Jere Brophy (1983) suggested several techniques instructors might use to understand and facilitate student motivation to learn. Classroom performance is unique because it is largely cognitive, usually compulsory, and often publicly evaluated. From an examination of these three characteristics, Brophy draws several implications. Students are most likely to be motivated when they can achieve success through gradual steps rather than abrupt leaps (for example, small reports rather than a large paper). Likewise, students are likely to learn most readily when motivation is moderate rather than intense and stressful. Brophy suggested that the instructor must reduce obstacles to successful motivation, such as anxiety and fear of failure. The instructor should make sure the reinforcement value is appropriate for the effort of the student. And, the instructor can motivate students by helping them apply what they learn in a variety of situations. |
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