Educational Psychology: Everything You Need To Know
The Educational Psychology ensures that the methods used in the classroom to help develop the cognitive abilities of the students clear.
What is educational psychology ?
Educational psychology is a sub-discipline of psychology. It deals with mental processes and human behavior. The focus is on the quality of learning in educational institutions.
The aim is therefore to increase the effectiveness of the teaching process and the acquisition of knowledge. In short, it analyzes exactly how individual students develop and learn.
For example, educational psychologists adapt learning methods so that educational institutions can work with them more efficiently.
Psychological theories relating to education
Educational psychologists develop theories about human development and the learning process. Their emphasis is on the way we deal with knowledge. This in turn has led to an overall improvement in learning.
It is important that educational psychologists work continuously to advance what we know about education.
Jean Piaget: Four stages
The Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget found that children go through four stages of development in their cognitive abilities. One of his theories focused on how students aged 11 and over can develop abstract logical thinking.
In this regard, he is one of the most influential figures in the field of psychology.
Lev Vygotsky: Learning, Society and Culture
Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky studied how society and culture influence children’s cognitive development. Vygotsky’s studies focused on the behavior patterns children adopt depending on the social environment in which the child develops.
In addition, he delved into the concepts of the educational framework and the zone of proximal development. Both concepts are still relevant today.
Educational Psychology: The Social Variables by Albert Bandura
Albert Bandura was interested in how social variables and a person’s environment can affect the learning process. As such, Bandura emphasized a concept he called self-efficacy. It refers to the perception that people have of their own abilities to cope with adversity and difficult situations.
This is an important concept for overcoming obstacles and developing coping strategies to face everyday challenges that we face on the way to our goal.
The paradigms of María Montessori
María Montessori was a well-known teacher who developed many of her own pedagogical theories. She suggested four cornerstones for student education. Her research was based on the learning environment and the minds of students, whether they were a child or an adult.
In addition, she was also interested in the so-called sensitive periods, or those periods when the student is more likely to learn.
Individualization of the learning process
The educational psychologist analyzes the characteristics of the students. He also values each student’s differences, which he uses to strengthen their development and learning. The following aspects are important for the educational psychologist:
- creativity
- motivation
- Communication skills
- intelligence
In this regard, motivation is fundamental. Because through them the student is more willing to acquire knowledge and to achieve his life goals.
The Educational Psychologist works to increase student motivation to strengthen classroom learning. This method also implements tasks that meet learning objectives.
Learning Difficulties and Educational Psychology
Learning disabilities are another focus of educational psychology. When a student cannot learn in the same way as his classmates, the psychologist begins to look for the reasons.
Another part of the work of an educational psychologist is the treatment of dyslexia or other learning disorders, such as attention deficit disorder or hyperactivity.
Together with the teacher, they create study plans that are tailored to the respective case. The idea is to avoid negative effects on the learning outcomes for the child, adolescent or adult.
Disorders such as depression and anxiety, as well as problems caused by bullying, are additional research topics for the educational psychologist. Finally, educational psychologists use individualized therapies. They also take care of changes in the curriculum if necessary.
The history of educational psychology
The first studies relating to educational psychology and children with problematic behavior appeared in the 1880s. Later, around 1920, experts looked into psychological problems that were specific to children, both inside and outside the classroom.
Around the same time, experts began to grapple with the affective aspects of learning and the student’s emotional and social development.
The first psychologists who were specifically trained as learning experts did not appear until 1955. Then the work of educational psychologists in schools and other educational institutions became visible.
However, there was another rethink from the 1970s when educational psychologists began to develop their own educational models. Educational psychologists initially experimented with the application of learning models in private schools and in cooperation with parents’ associations.
In summary, it is clear what role educational psychology plays in learning today. These specialists help every student to better reach their full potential based on their individual learning ability.
They also train and support teachers and students’ families. As a result, their work is fundamental to the successful development of the teaching and learning process.
