Psychological Foundations of Education, Essay Example

Abstract

This paper summarizes three key points discussed over the semester that I feel are the most beneficial to becoming an effective educator.  I have focused on key points and case studies located in chapter 11-Motivation and Affect, chapter 13-Creating a Productive Learning Environment, and chapter 9-Behaviorist Views of Learning.  Through the readings, group discussions, and case studies during this semester I have gained a great amount of insight on the psychology of education and how through an understanding of environment, process and behavior and educator can be most effective in the classroom.

Semester Reflection of Psychological Foundations of Education

Key Points and Teaching Application

Each topic when discussing the psychological foundations of education is important.  Each student is a product of their environment, not only at home but in school as well.  It is imperative that educators understand and accommodate students recognizing common behaviors and the reasons for those behaviors.  Equally as important is to understand what drives and motivates the student to learn. I believe the foundation for both of these points is upheld in creating a productive learning environment that is both conductive to the individual student’s academic success as well as their emotional and physical well-being.

Creating a Productive Learning Environment

Something as simple as how the furniture in the classroom is arranged or what is displayed on the walls is a significant factor in the learning environment.  Setting up a classroom so that it can function when needed individually and collectively is important. Strategically placed learning tools or technology can help reduce distractions and focus the student’s attention more effectively toward the teacher.  Even more important than the physical arrangement of the classroom is the emotional atmosphere, or classroom climate.

Making sure that a student feels safe and secure in a classroom will help students engage and make learning the priority. Feeling comfortable with the teacher and peers students are more apt to engage in activities and have less fear of making a mistake.  Establishing a student-teacher relationship and mutual respect as well as a community appreciation and respect in the classroom all attribute to creating a productive learning environment. When forming the classroom community it is important to consider the classroom differences, taking into consideration socioeconomic class, gender, learning ability and cultural differences.

Communication is important, not only with your students, but with parents, colleagues, and other community resources.  Keeping an open two-way channel with parents to discuss a students’ progress and working with other teachers or administrators to promote the students success.  Making the extra effort to involve parent and keep them informed reinforces the learning in the classroom.  Communication is not always negative, relaying positive information is key to academic achievement and emotional well-being for a student as well.

Reoccurring misbehavior is the most common reason for conferring with a student’s parent or guardian.  Knowing when and how to address misbehaviors depends on the situations.  Some misbehavior merely a result of age appropriation and others could be a result of culture or possibly a disability. Sometime behavior can become violent or aggressive.  Creating a three-level approach can help prevent aggression and violence in schools and sustain the students emotional well-being

Behaviorist Views of Learning

Behaviorists suggest that a person’s behavior is a result of their environment and their experiences and stimuli in that environment.  Based on this principle it is easy to conceive that as a teacher if your wish to change a behavior you need to change the environment and the stimuli in that environment.  It is the goal of teachers to create an environment that promotes relaxed responses and not create anxiety.

In creating a relaxed environment teachers can recondition students who have acquired involuntary responses as a result of classical conditioning.  Helping to remove the negative response from stimuli can allow students to be reintroduced or exposed to something that previously was avoided due to a negative experience.  Understanding positive and negative rein forcers and their affects is instrumental molding student behavior.  As teachers we can apply the behaviorist principles to help encourage productive behavior in the classroom and help reduce unwanted behavior over time, positively reinforcing desired behaviors and not reinforcing undesired behaviors.

Motivation and Affect

Motivation is defined as the drive to accomplish something, a goal or an outcome.  Motivation can be extrinsic resulting from an external influence or intrinsic resulting from an internal personal influence.  Though neither is a right or wrong motivator, intrinsic motivation is thought to be more effective in learning over the long run.

As a teacher finding ways to arouse students and develop an interest in the classroom can help motivate their ability to learn.  For example in a speech class a teacher may find it more productive to allow students to select a speech topic that is of interest to the student rather than assigning one at random.  This can accomplish several things; students will be more motivated and more comfortable speaking about a topic that they are familiar with or have a personal connection to and therefore be more successful in developing and learning the fundamentals of speech.  It can also reduce the anxiety of having to speak in front of a group about an unknown topic or one that the student has no interest in.

Reducing any negative affect or mood and reducing anxiety in a classroom can lead to greater learning.  Students will learn and remember more when they are emotionally and cognitively involved in the learning process.  Teachers that help meet their student’s basic psychological needs within the classroom and provide arousal and stimulus in the learning environment can help create intrinsic motivation in their students and create a better learning experience.

Conclusion

Environment, behavior and motivation are tightly interlinked relative to a student’s ability to learn. Understanding the psychology the driving mechanisms of these things can greatly help a teacher design and structure their classroom and instruction to allow students regardless of situation to gain the most from their education. All three of these topic directly affect each other and to ensure student success and create a conducive learning environment a teacher must understand their mechanics.  For me, these are the topics that opened my mind over the semester and created my arousal an interest to learn making them the reason I am motivated to reflect upon them now.