Tag: educational psychology

Educational psychology is the study of how people learn, including teaching methods, instructional processes, and individual differences in learning. It explores the cognitive, behavioral, emotional, and social influences on the learning process. Educational psychologists use this understanding of how people learn to develop instructional strategies and help students succeed in school.

This branch of psychology focuses on the learning process of early childhood and adolescence. However, it also explores the social, emotional, and cognitive processes that are involved in learning throughout the entire lifespan.

The field of educational psychology incorporates a number of other disciplines, including developmental psychology, behavioral psychology, and cognitive psychology. Approaches to educational psychology include behavioral, developmental, cognitive, constructivist, and experiential perspectives.

This article discusses some of the different perspectives taken within the field of educational psychology, topics that educational psychologists study, and career options in this field.

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8 Things to Know About Educational Psychology

Perspectives in Educational Psychology

As with other areas of psychology, researchers within educational psychology tend to take on different perspectives when considering a problem. These perspectives focus on specific factors that influence learning, including learned behaviors, cognition, experiences, and more.

The Behavioral Perspective

This perspective suggests that all behaviors are learned through conditioning. Psychologists who take this perspective rely firmly on the principles of operant conditioning to explain how learning happens.1

For example, teachers might reward learning by giving students tokens that can be exchanged for desirable items such as candy or toys. The behavioral perspective operates on the theory that students will learn when rewarded for “good” behavior and punished for “bad” behavior.

While such methods can be useful in some cases, the behavioral approach has been criticized for failing to account for attitudes, emotions, and intrinsic motivations for learning.

The Developmental Perspective

This perspective focuses on how children acquire new skills and knowledge as they develop.2 Jean Piaget’s stages of cognitive development is one example of an important developmental theory looking at how children grow intellectually.3

By understanding how children think at different stages of development, educational psychologists can better understand what children are capable of at each point of their growth. This can help educators create instructional methods and materials aimed at certain age groups.

The Cognitive Perspective

The cognitive approach has become much more widespread, mainly because it accounts for how factors such as memories, beliefs, emotions, and motivations contribute to the learning process.4 This theory supports the idea that a person learns as a result of their own motivation, not as a result of external rewards.

Cognitive psychology aims to understand how people think, learn, remember, and process information.

Educational psychologists who take a cognitive perspective are interested in understanding how kids become motivated to learn, how they remember the things that they learn, and how they solve problems, among other topics.

The Constructivist Approach

This perspective focuses on how we actively construct our knowledge of the world.5 Constructivism accounts for the social and cultural influences that affect how we learn.

Those who take the constructivist approach believe that what a person already knows is the biggest influence on how they learn new information. This means that new knowledge can only be added on to and understood in terms of existing knowledge.

This perspective is heavily influenced by the work of psychologist Lev Vygotsky, who proposed ideas such as the zone of proximal development and instructional scaffolding.

Experiential Perspective

This perspective emphasizes that a person’s own life experiences influence how they understand new information.6 This method is similar to constructivist and cognitive perspectives in that it takes into consideration the experiences, thoughts, and feelings of the learner.

This method allows someone to find personal meaning in what they learn instead of feeling that the information doesn’t apply to them.

Recap

Different perspectives on human behavior can be useful when looking at topics within the field of educational psychology. Some of these include the behavioral perspective, the constructivist approach, and the experiential perspective.

Topics in Educational Psychology

From the materials teachers use to the individual needs of students, educational psychologists delve deep to more fully understand the learning process. Some these topics of study in educational psychology include:

• Educational technology: Looking at how different types of technology can help students learn
• Instructional design: Designing effective learning materials
• Special education: Helping students who may need specialized instruction7
• Curriculum development: Creating coursework that will maximize learning
• Organizational learning: Studying how people learn in organizational settings, such as workplaces
• Gifted learners: Helping students who are identified as gifted learners8

Careers in Educational Psychology

Educational psychologists work with educators, administrators, teachers, and students to analyze how to help people learn best. This often involves finding ways to identify students who may need extra help, developing programs for students who are struggling, and even creating new learning methods.

Many educational psychologists work with schools directly. Some are teachers or professors, while others work with teachers to try out new learning methods for their students and develop new course curricula. An educational psychologist may even become a counselor, helping students cope with learning barriers directly.

Other educational psychologists work in research. For instance, they might work for a government organization such as the U.S. Department of Education, influencing decisions about the best ways for kids to learn in schools across the nation.

In addition, an educational psychologist work in school or university administration.9 In all of these roles, they can influence educational methods and help students learn in a way that best suits them.

A bachelor’s degree and master’s degree are usually required for careers in this field; if you want to work at a university or in school administration, you may need to complete a doctorate as well.

Recap

Educational psychologists often work in school to help students and teachers improve the learning experience. Other professionals in this field work in research to investigate the learning process and to evaluate programs designed to foster learning.

History of Educational Psychology

Educational psychology is a relatively young subfield that has experienced a tremendous amount of growth. Psychology did not emerge as a separate science until the late 1800s, so earlier interest in educational psychology was largely fueled by educational philosophers.10

Many regard philosopher Johann Herbart as the father of educational psychology.11

Herbart believed that a student’s interest in a topic had a tremendous influence on the learning outcome. He believed teachers should consider this when deciding which type of instruction is most appropriate.

Later, psychologist and philosopher William James made significant contributions to the field. His seminal 1899 text “Talks to Teachers on Psychology” is considered the first textbook on educational psychology.12

Around this same period, French psychologist Alfred Binet was developing his famous IQ tests.13 The tests were originally designed to help the French government identify children who had developmental delays and create special education programs.

In the United States, John Dewey had a significant influence on education.14 Dewey’s ideas were progressive; he believed schools should focus on students rather than on subjects. He advocated active learning, arguing that hands-on experience was an important part of the process.

More recently, educational psychologist Benjamin Bloom developed an important taxonomy designed to categorize and describe different educational objectives.15 The three top-level domains he described were cognitive, affective, and psychomotor learning objectives.

Significant Figures

Throughout history, a number of additional figures have played an important role in the development of educational psychology. Some of these well-known individuals include:

• John Locke: Locke is an English philosopher who suggested the concept of tabula rasa, or the idea that the mind is essentially a blank slate at birth.16 This means that knowledge is developed through experience and learning.
• Jean Piaget: A Swiss psychologist who is best known for his highly influential theory of cognitive development, Jean Piaget’s influence on educational psychology is still evident today.
• B.F. Skinner: Skinner was an American psychologist who introduced the concept of operant conditioning, which influences behaviorist perspectives.17 His research on reinforcement and punishment continues to play an important role in education.

Recap

Educational psychology has been influenced by a number of philosophers, psychologists, and educators. Some thinkers who had a significant influence include William James, Alfred Binet, John Dewey, Jean Piaget, and Benjamin Bloom.

A Word From Verywell

Educational psychology offers valuable insights into how people learn and plays an important role in informing educational strategies and teaching methods. In addition to exploring the learning process itself, different areas of educational psychology explore the emotional, social, and cognitive factors that can influence how people learn. If you are interested in topics such as special education, curriculum design, and educational technology, then you might want to consider pursuing a career in the field of educational psychology.
Frequently Asked Questions

• What can you do with a masters in educational psychology?

A master’s in educational psychology can prepare you for a career working in K-12 schools, colleges and universities, government agencies, community organizations, and counseling practices. A career as an educational psychologist involves working with children, families, schools, and other community and government agencies to create programs and resources that enhance learning.

• What is the primary focus of educational psychology?

The primary focus of educational psychology is the study of how people learn. This includes exploring the instructional processes, studying individual differences in how people learn, and developing teaching methods to help people learn more effectively.

• Why is educational psychology important?

Educational psychology is important because it has the potential to help both students and teachers. It provides important information for educators to help them create educational experiences, measure learning, and improve student motivation.

• How does educational psychology help teachers?

Educational psychology can aid teachers in better understanding the principles of learning in order to design more engaging and effective lesson plans and classroom experiences. It can also foster a better understanding of how learning environments, social factors, and student motivation can influence how students learn.

Psychology is defined as the study of science that studies the psychology and human behavior. Educational psychology is intended to influence educational activities and teaching and learning processes more effectively by paying attention to the psychological responses and behavior of students. The state of the learning system, teaching methods, and students in each region is not the same.
The habits of students when they are in the family environment and the educational environment are sometimes also different. Educational psychology appears to provide improvements in the world of education in implementing curriculum, teaching and learning processes, counseling and evaluation services to get better quality students.

Understanding Educational Psychology According to Experts

Psychology can be interpreted as a science that studies the behavior and symptoms of the human soul (Abu, 2003).
In the Big Indonesian Dictionary, education is the process of changing the attitude and behavior of a person or group in an effort to mature humans in a learning or training (KBBI).
According to Muhibin Syah (2003), educational psychology is a psychological discipline that addresses psychological problems that occur in the world of education.
Educational psychology is a systematic study of processes and factors related to education (Whiterington, 1982).
Meanwhile, Djiwandono (2002), said that psychology is a science that studies human behavior and experience.
Educational psychology intends to apply psychology to processes that bring about changing behavior, in other words to teach. While the meaning of educational psychology is the study of learning, growth, and individual maturity and the application of scientific principles to human reactions. Such education aims to influence the process of teaching and learning.

The definition of educational psychology according to these experts can be concluded that educational psychology is a discipline of psychology that influences the teaching and learning process in the world of education.

Scope of Educational Psychology

Educational psychology has a scope that forms the basis and boundaries or what distinguishes it from other psychological sciences. According to Sumadi Suryobroto, the scope of educational psychology includes:

Knowledge

Educators or teachers need to have more knowledge to provide teaching to their students. The teaching and learning process has a knowledge (cognitive) impact on students who initially do not know about the material provided to know. Teachers or instructors need to have knowledge of learning methods and other knowledge about problems that may exist in students.

Knowledge of student mental activity, intelligence, personality, individual character, student talent, growth and development, fostering discipline in the classroom, learning motivation, teacher behavior, teaching and learning strategies, and special problems in teaching and education.

carrier

The interactive learning process from the teacher will provide motivation and positive responses from students during the teaching and learning process. Innate owned by a teacher as a style of delivery of material, the concept of teaching while in class. And it is also necessary to change the atmosphere which stimulates students to always be active will improve the quality of learning outcomes.

Behavioral processes

According to Soerjabrata, educational psychology is reviewed dynamically, which includes changes in behavior such as:

Changes in behavior due to growth and development.
Behavior change due to learning is an important factor in learning.

The interactive learning process given by the teacher to students will bring about changes in behavior such as skills during the learning process such as speaking in front of the class, discussing, or activities that involve sensory and motor responses. These activities provide changes to students to become more active and change attitudes (affective) from an unfavorable attitude to a positive attitude. The positive attitude that is brought when returning to the family, to the community is the result of a quality education process.

The nature and scope of learning

Nature is the underlying thing in the learning process. The nature and scope of learning refers to learning processes such as interactions, materials given to students.

Student development

The teacher influences student development from the behavior shown when in class, interest or activeness when following lessons, the results obtained during tests. And also the development of students which can be seen from the attitude, way of speaking, interactions with teachers and friends. All of that is the result of the learning process. A positive development if you look at the progress of students in their interactions and their intelligence increases to

good direction.

Factors that influence learning

The learning situation greatly influences the learning process. Situations such as place and atmosphere greatly affect the success of teaching a teacher. The condition of classrooms, laboratory rooms, library rooms are facilities that help influence the quality of teaching and learning.

Room conditions in terms of cleanliness, air circulation, adequate room capacity, bench and seating conditions, lighting, and quiet conditions are needed to arouse students’ interest in learning and also the teacher’s teaching enthusiasm. Teacher attitudes, class spirit, family and community attitudes are also factors that influence learning situations and ultimately affect the quality of learning processes and outcomes.

Other factors that affect learning come from within or within the student, namely motivation, talent, intelligence, self-ability to adapt to the learning environment.

Education measurement

Educational measurement is an evaluation carried out on students after getting the learning process within a certain time to measure the educational development that has been obtained.

Practical aspects of measurement

The practical aspect of measurement is a measuring tool used to determine changes in student behavior as a result of the learning process.

Learning transfers

Learning with good and positive systems and interactions with pleasant communication between teachers and students causes students to accept the knowledge given and like their teachers. However, if the teacher’s interaction and communication with students is not good, then students will dislike it and show a negative attitude. The positive attitude that is taught and applied while at school will be owned by students such as those who were initially undisciplined became disciplined, those who previously could not dress neatly became uniformed neatly.

Mental health

The mental health of students is marked by their participation and activeness in participating in every learning activity both individually and in groups.

character building

Psychological character is formed from the culture that is applied during the learning period at school by educators. Culture is in the form of disciplinary rules or principles of culture that exist in an area.

Short curriculum

The curriculum is a learning framework for effective and efficient learning purposes.

Learning Theory in Educational Psychology

There are several educational psychology theories which are the basic concepts of implementing psychology in the world of education.

Theory of Behaviorism

According to the theory of behaviorism, learning is a change in behavior. These changes are the impact of the interaction between stimulus and response. It can be interpreted that learning is a form of behavior change in students from interactions with stimuli. A person is said to have learned if there is a change in his behavior.

Then, in this theory, the concept that takes precedence is the input or stimulus given such as the teacher teaching students how to read. Then the output which is the result or response as a result of the stimulus, such as students being able to read even though they are still stuttering. That’s what learning is. However, if at the output students are still unable to read, then the process is not considered a learning activity because there is no result from the stimulus given.

Operant conditioning Theory

Operant conditioning is a type of learning where behavior is controlled by the consequences that can be obtained. The key to operant conditioning is positive and negative reinforcement, positive and negative punishment. Positive support is giving something pleasant to a behavior. For example: a teacher who gives praise to his students for having answered correctly. Negative support is discarding something unpleasant as an acceptable gesture. For example: It is very noisy outside, so turning on the TV loudly makes it more comfortable and reduces unpleasant noises.

Then, positive punishment is used to reduce the unpleasant behavior. For example: When there is a child who is naughty in class, he receives a punishment standing in front of the class. Negative punishment is used to reduce unpleasant behavior by taking away something pleasurable. Example: Kevin broke his sister’s doll, so he is not allowed to play outside with his friends (Saul, 2015).

Classical conditioning Theory

Classical conditioning is a theory that involves learning new behaviors through a continuous process. There are three stages in this theory by providing a new stimulus at each stage.

• Stage 1 – Before Conditioning: at this stage the stimulus from the environment issues a response that has not been studied and there is a response that has never been thought of. Example: Perfume can cause a response happiness.
• Stage 2 – During Conditioning: Stimulus from the environment does not respond to a known stimulus. Example: perfume may be associated with a person.
• Stage 3 After Conditioning: the formation of a new response. Example: Someone who was previously associated with fragrant perfume becomes very attractive (Mcleod, 2008).
• Cognitive Theory

Cognitive theory focuses on the changes in mental processes and structures that occur as a result of trying to make sense of our surroundings. Cognitive theory is used for simple learning processes such as remembering telephone numbers and others. Then, cognitive theory has four basic principles: (1) Students are active to gain an understanding of the knowledge given, (2) Development of knowledge depends on what they have learned, (3) learning builds experience (4) learning is a change in one’s mental structure .

Connectionism

Connectionism theory was developed by Edward L. Thorndike (1878-1949) and is known as the stimulus-response theory. According to him, the basis of learning is the association of stimulus and response. The stimulus will give a message to the five senses and then respond with behavior. Such associations are called connections. This principle is called connectionism.

Gestalt theory

Gestalt is a theory that explains the process of perception through the arrangement of components of sensation that have a relationship or pattern to form a whole. It is concluded that, a person tends to see something around him as a unified whole. Gestalt theory explains how visual perception can be formed. For example, when we are looking at a cloud and see a shape that looks like an object.

The Role of Psychology on Education
Educational psychology has become the basis for the formation and development of curriculum, learning and assessment systems in the world of education. His contribution to the development of the world of education can be explained as follows:

1. The role of psychology in the educational curriculum

Psychologically, self-development of students is based on affective, cognitive, and psychomotor abilities. This ability can be seen from the development of attitudes, motivation, behavior, and other components. The learning component is a process from input to output. Then, the use of the curriculum as a framework for input flow towards output or good results requires psychological properties.

The curriculum currently being developed is a competency-based curriculum. Competence aims to develop abilities in skills, knowledge, and reflection in thinking and acting. The habit of thinking and acting with consistent self-reflection enables the formation of superior and competent individuals.

2. The role of psychology in the learning system

Related to psychological theories that have an impact on a person’s behavior, psychology also influences the learning system in the world of education positively. Students become serious about learning when their psychological responses are well guided by the teacher.

And also, the process of understanding the learning of a topic becomes easier by solving the learning problems experienced. Desire or desire to be higher with a psychological approach from the teacher with pleasant interactions and communication.

In addition, educational psychology has also given birth to learning principles as described by Sudirwo, 2002:

Someone who studies must have a goal.
Goals are born out of necessity not compulsion
Must be willing to experience some difficulties.
Learning is evidenced by changes in behavior.
Learning requires insight into what must be learned and understood.
Someone needs guidance.
Exams need to be done but preceded by understanding.

3. The role of psychology in the rating system

Psychology has also given its role in the assessment system. For example, with psychological tests to determine the level of intelligence of students, aptitude tests to find out potential talents in students so that it is easier to provide guidance in helping students develop their potential.

Tests on personality aspects can also help teachers get to know their students better so they can provide a better approach to the learning process. These various psychological tests help provide an assessment of each student to make it easier to bridge the desires, potential, and dreams of students according to their abilities and talents.

Benefits of Studying Educational Psychology
There are several benefits of studying educational psychology according to Muhammad and Wiyani (2013), namely:

1. Understand student differences

Each student has different abilities and potential. As a teacher, it is necessary to understand the differences in the characteristics of each student, the stages of growth and development, and the type of behavior. This understanding can produce

appropriate learning interactions and effective and efficient learning.

Not only that, the teacher’s understanding of these differences makes it possible to provide different learning interactions for each student so that the approach and learning process are more acceptable without discriminating between students personally or favoritism.

2. Creating a conducive learning climate in the classroom

The teacher’s ability to create a conducive learning climate increases the effectiveness of teaching and learning activities in the classroom. Knowledge of the basic principles of fun approaches and interactions with students according to each student’s characteristics will provide a conducive learning climate and an effective learning process.

3. Choose the right learning strategy

Studying psychology to get to know the characteristics of each student and get to know the preferred learning methods, will provide the ability to choose appropriate learning strategies in the classroom. Learning strategies that are appropriate, will provide an effective teaching and learning situation.

4. Provide guidance to students

Psychology gives teachers the ability to become a guide for their students with an emotional heart-to-heart approach to gain students’ trust. When students have given their trust to the teacher, the process of helping to solve problems for an effective learning process can be done easily.

5. Interact appropriately with students

The principles of psychology underlie the right way of communicating in learning. Communication with students is expressed by placing oneself according to the stages of student growth and development. So that it can provide a pleasant interaction. Adjustment to the stages of student growth and development creates an understanding of the teacher from the student’s point of view and knows the wishes or preferred learning process as well as the character of each student.

6. Provide evaluation of learning outcomes

As an educator, studying educational psychology will be able to provide a fair assessment of learning outcomes. In addition, it can also adjust to the abilities of each student without distinguishing one from another. Evaluation of learning outcomes can be in the form of intelligence test scores, attitude values, and active participation in school activities. These three things determine the quality of improving student behavior for the better.

7. Motivate learning

Provision of educational psychology for teachers so that teachers are able to provide support, encouragement or motivation for their students in a higher learning enthusiasm. Educational psychology teaches about understanding each student’s characteristics and providing motivation according to these characters so that they can more effectively influence student learning enthusiasm. Providing positive support to students results in increased enthusiasm for learning.

8. Set learning goals

Educational psychology helps students to determine learning objectives regarding what kind of behavior changes are desired as learning outcomes. Learning objectives are set for each material that will be given. Therefore, learning objectives are used as a benchmark for the suitability of learning outcomes whether they are considered successful or not.

9. Use of appropriate learning media

Knowledge of educational psychology is also useful for determining the right learning media for students, for example audio, visual, motor media, and so on as fun learning activities. Learning media is also adapted to the learning material to be delivered. Students are sometimes more interested in learning processes that use audiovisual components in the process of understanding material and are more efficient in developing students’ imaginations.

10. Preparation of appropriate lesson schedules

The preparation of the lesson schedule is also adjusted to the conditions of the students, such as lessons that require more complicated thinking such as mathematics which would be better if placed during the first study hour, when students’ minds are still fresh and their concentration is still maximum. If a subject like math is placed at the end of the class, it will not be as effective. Students are tired, their comprehension decreases, concentration decreases, and learning becomes ineffective.

Educational psychology provides impacts and benefits from various aspects of learning. Educational psychology helps teachers to understand students more deeply based on their characteristics, stages of development, behavior and behavior, emotionally to provide an appropriate and appropriate teaching and learning process so as to produce an effective and efficient learning process. A good learning process will have an impact on satisfying results. Students who get a good learning process will apply good habits after they enter the family and m

society and impact positive behavior in every life.

Hopefully, this article on educational psychology can help teachers to better understand the character of their students and adjust the learning process accordingly so that they are able to produce generations that are superior both in intelligence and attitudes and behavior which will later be brought into social life so that they can provide a positive and useful role.

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