A Contemporary Approach

Transcription

1 BORICP01.doc - 1 Second Edition Edcational Psychology A Contemporary Approach Gary D. Borich The University of Texas at Astin Martin L. Tombari University of Denver (This pblication may be reprodced for stdent and classroom se withot prior written permission of the athors)

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3 BORICP01.doc - 3 Contents in Brief Preface Chapter 1: Introdction to Edcational Psychology Part I: What Teachers Need to Know Abot Development Chapter 2: Cognitive Development Chapter 3: Personal-Social Development: The Feeling Child Part II: What Teachers Need to Know Abot Learning Chapter 4: The Behavioral Science Approach to Learning Chapter 5: Cognitive Learning I: Understanding Effective Thinking Chapter 6: Making Learners Active Thinkers Chapter 7: Motivation and Classroom Learning Part III: What Teachers Need to Know Abot Instrction and Classroom Management Chapter 8: Grop Process in the Classroom Chapter 9: Positive Approaches to Condct Management Chapter 10: Instrctional Management Part IV: What Teachers Need to Know Abot Assessment Chapter 11: Assessing for Learning: Ability and Standardized Assessment Chapter 12: Assessing for Learning: Objective and Essay Tests Chapter 13: Assessing for Learning: Performance Assessment

4 BORICP01.doc - 4 Part V: What Teachers Need to Know Abot Learner Diversity Chapter 14: Teaching Exceptional and At-Risk Learners Chapter 15: Mlticltral and Gender-Fair Instrction Chapter 16: Family Systems and Home-School Partnerships Appendix: Discssion and Practice Answers Glossary References

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6 BORICP01.doc - 6 Chapter 1 Introdction to Edcational Psychology This chapter will help yo answer the following qestions abot yorself and yor learners: What stages of development can I expect to pass throgh dring my first year of teaching? How can the stdy of edcational psychology help me develop into an expert teacher? How can I evalate the knowledge acqired throgh the stdy of edcational psychology and decide whether to apply it in my teaching? How can I se the knowledge base of edcational psychology to solve specific classroom problems? In this chapter yo will also learn the meanings of these terms:

7 BORICP01.doc - 7 case stdy concerns theory control grop correlational stdy dependent variable descriptive research edcational psychology ethnography experimental grop experimental stdy generalizability hypothesis impact stage independent variable operational definition qalitative research qantitative research randomization srvival stage task stage variables Marisa Washington is a first-year langage arts teacher at Fawkes Middle School. It is Febrary, and on this particlar day she is participating in an after-school seminar on teaching writing. Dr. Cornell Gates, a former professor of Marisa, is presenting the seminar. Dring the break, Marisa goes p to Dr. Gates and introdces herself.

8 BORICP01.doc - 8 Marisa: Dr. Gates, I m Marisa Washington. I took yor class on writing abot a year ago. Do yo remember me? Dr. Gates: Of corse. Yo always sat in the last row on the left side of the room. Yo know what they say abot stdents who sit in the back! Marisa: Yeah. I think the same thing abot some of my stdents. Dr. Gates: This mst be yor first year teaching. How s it going? Marisa: It s jst like yo said in class...the first few months are a matter of srvival. Well, I think I m past that stage now. Had yo presented these ideas abot writing last October, I probably wold have been too overwhelmed to listen. Now I can see where I can se them. Dr. Gates: So, yo re at the point where yor concerns are changing: focsing less on yorself and more on how to teach? Marisa: That s it. I finally feel that I can plan my lessons with a focs on my presentation skills and the content. Before, every lesson plan ended with my asking, Now, what behavior problems might this create? Dr. Gates: And now yo ask whether the lesson will get yor point across? Marisa: Yes. Before, the things yo were talking abot today wold have jst made me worry abot classroom control. Now, I m thinking abot whether they ll help me teach better. Dr. Gates: Sonds like yo re past the srvival stage and beginning to focs on yor teaching skills. Marisa: I wold never have said this in the fall, bt I think I m beginning to see the light at the end of the tnnel. There is a common perception that with certification comes expertise in teaching. Bt it will take time for yo to develop patterns of practice that will enable yo to confidently and effortlessly develop and carry ot effective lesson plans. As a

9 BORICP01.doc - 9 beginning teacher yo will be a developing professional, as Marisa has come to realize and as Dr. Gates has taght. How does a beginning teacher develop into a matre, confident, and competent professional? What conditions mst yo experience? What knowledge mst yo acqire? What skills mst yo develop? Edcators and edcational psychologists have stdied the developmental process of becoming a teacher and have fond that it nfolds in some predictable ways. In this chapter, we will discss the stages of development that all teachers go throgh on the way to becoming expert practitioners. Then we will explore the knowledge base of edcational psychology, the sbject of this book, and how it can help yo in yor classroom. Stages of Teacher Development At this point in yor training, yo probably see yorself in the role of a teacher, and yo may have constrcted some images or pictres of yor first class. Yo may have promised yorself that yo are going to be better than some of the teachers who taght yo when yo were in elementary or high school. Yo probably hope to be as good as some other teachers yo have known. Bt as yo begin yor first reglar teaching assignment yo will find that there is a difference between yor stdent teaching experience and the real world of teaching. First, the classrooms yo have been in came with a made-to-order instrctional and behavior management system. All yo had to do was adjst to it. Soon, no sch system will exist, and yo will have to create one of yor own. Second, dring stdent teaching yo have had instrctional materials and lessons to draw on as aids to help yo plan and teach. This may not be the case when yo start yor first teaching assignment. Yo will have to make many

10 BORICP01.doc - 10 decisions abot what, for how long, and in what manner to teach a grop of learners yo know little abot. Finally, yor cooperating teacher has been an important advisor and confidante dring yor stdent teaching experience, someone yo cold approach for advice on how to teach particlar learners or how to cope with the psychological and physical demands of teaching. It is possible that sch a mentor may not exist in yor first reglar teaching assignment. The Srvival Stage This transition to the real world of teaching shers in the first stage of teacher development, sometimes called the srvival stage (Borich, 1993; Brden, 1986; Fller, 1969; Ryan, 1992). The distingishing featre of the srvival stage of teaching is that yor concerns will focs on yor own well-being more than on the teaching task or yor learners. Bllogh (1989) has described this stage as the fight for one s professional life (p. 16). Dring this stage, yo will typically have the following concerns: Will my learners like me? Will they listen to what I say? What will parents and teachers think of me? Will I do well when the principal observes me? Will I ever have time to myself? Typically, dring this time yo become so focsed on behavior management concerns that yo feel like yo are strggling merely to srvive the day-to-day giveand-take of classroom life. Listen to Kerrie, a first-year teacher, reflect on some assmptions she made dring the fall semester of her first teaching assignment.

11 BORICP01.doc I thoght that if yo planned the crriclm really well, the management jst falls into place. I really thoght that when I was stdent teaching. If yo are not well planned yo are going to have problems, bt planning well doesn t solve those problems; yo still have management problems. At first...i thoght that yo cold plan yor crriclm and [good] behavior wold fall into place; yo cold handle it as it comes. Bt yo really can t. The other half of planning is what yo will reqire behaviorally and yo can plan for that. Now [sixth month] I plan a lot more things, like transition time and walking into the other room [to check on stdents]. (Bllogh, 1989, pp ) The Task Stage For most teachers, srvival concerns and concerns abot self begin to diminish rapidly dring the first months of teaching, bt there is no precise time when they are over. What signals their end is the transition to a new set of concerns and a gradal diminishing of concerns abot yor own well-being. This new set of concerns focses on how best to deliver instrction. Varios labels have been sed to describe this second stage, sch as the mastery stage of teaching (Ryan, 1992), consolidation and exploration (Brden, 1986), and trial and error (Sacks & Harrington, 1982). Fller (1969) described this as the task stage: the stage in which the new teacher focses on the teaching task itself. At this stage yo begin to feel confident that yo can manage the day-to-day rotines of the classroom and deal with a variety of behavior problems. Yo are at the point where yo can plan yor lessons withot an exclsive focs on managing the classroom. Yor focs trns toward improving yor teaching skills and achieving greater mastery over the content yo are teaching.

12 BORICP01.doc - 12 Typically, yor concerns dring this second stage of teacher growth and development are these: How good are my instrctional materials? Will I have enogh time to cover all the content? How can I add variety to my presentations? Where can I get some ideas for a learning center? What s the best way to teach writing skills? The Impact Stage The final stage of teacher growth and development is characterized by concerns that have to do less with management and lesson delivery and more with the impact of yor teaching on learners. This point in a teacher s career is sometimes referred to as the impact stage. At this time, yo will natrally view learners as individals and will be concerned that each of yor stdents flfills his or her potential. At this stage, yor principal concerns might be these: How can I increase my learners feelings of accomplishment? How do I meet my learners social and emotional needs? What is the best way to challenge my nmotivated learners? What skills do they need to best prepare them for the next grade? If yo are a typical beginning teacher, yor thoghts and concerns will focs at first on yor own well-being and only later on the teaching task and yor stdents. Fller (1969), for example, fond that dring the early, middle, and late phases of stdent teaching, preservice teachers concerns shifted from a focs on self (Will the stdents like me? Can I control the class?) to concerns that emphasized the teaching task (Are there sfficient instrctional materials? Is there time to cover all the content?) to concerns that emphasized the needs of ppils (Are the ppils learning?

13 BORICP01.doc - 13 Can they apply what they ve learned?). Fller speclated that concerns for self, task, and impact are the natral stages that most teachers pass throgh, representing a developmental growth pattern extending over months and even years of a teacher s career. Althogh some teachers pass throgh these stages more qickly than others and at different levels of intensity, Fller sggested almost all teachers can be expected to move from one to another, with the most effective and experienced teachers expressing stdent-centered (impact) concerns at a high level of commitment. Concerns theory grew ot of the analysis of recorded transcripts of interviews with stdent teachers. Over an extended period of time, these records were sed to identify and classify problems that stdent teachers experienced and the concerns they expressed abot these problems. These expressed concerns, when groped into developmental and seqential stages, showed that stdent teachers with the least experience were concerned abot self and self-srvival, while stdent teachers with more experience and in-service teachers were concerned abot stdent achievement and learning. Stated in its simplest terms, concerns theory conceptalizes the learning process for a prospective teacher as a natral flow from concerns for self (teacher) to task (teaching) to impact (ppil). The physical, mental, and emotional states of the prospective teacher play an important role in the shift of focs from self to task to impact. The lack of adeqate knowledge or emotional spport dring the critical preteaching and stdent teaching periods can reslt in a slower, more labored shift of focs to task. This, in trn, can reslt in failre on the part of the teacher to reach a concern for his or her impact on stdents. Fller s concerns theory has several other implications. A teacher may retrn to an earlier stage of concern, for example, from a concern for ppils back to a concern for task as a reslt of sddenly having to teach a new grade or sbject. Or,

14 BORICP01.doc - 14 she may move from a concern for task back to a concern for self as a reslt of having to teach in a different and nfamiliar school. Ths, teacher concerns may not always be determined developmentally bt can be context dependent as well. The time spent in a given stage the second time may be shorter than the first. Finally, the three stages of concern need not be exclsive of one another. A teacher may have concerns predominately in one area and still have concerns of lesser intensity in one or both of the other stages. Edcational Psychology and Teacher Growth and Development An important qestion for any teacher is this: What type of knowledge and experiences are needed to pass sccessflly from an exclsive concern for selfsrvival to a concern for the impact the teacher is having on the stdents? Another qestion: What role can the stdy of edcational psychology play in this passage from srvival to impact? Shlman (1992) identifies for types of knowledge that are crcial for teacher growth and development: (1) practical knowledge, which comes from stdent field experiences, stdent teaching, and reglar teaching; (2) case knowledge, which comes from reading abot what both sccessfl and nsccessfl teachers have done; (3) theoretical knowledge, which comes from reading abot important ideas, conceptal systems, and paradigms for thinking abot teaching; and (4) empirical knowledge, which comes from reading what the research says abot a particlar sbject and how to teach it. Edcational psychology is a discipline of inqiry that focses primarily on the latter two categories of knowledge. In the remainder of this chapter, we ll look at how this knowledge is developed and sed by edcational psychologists to solve important classroom learning problems. Bt before learning how edcational psychologists provide information to help teachers progress throgh the stages of

15 BORICP01.doc - 15 teacher concerns, yo may want to determine yor own levels of concern for self, task, and impact at this point in yor teaching career. In the accompanying box yo will find a Teacher Concerns Checklist. By completing this checklist and scoring yor responses according to the directions provided, yo can determine which stage of concern yo presently identify with most closely. Yo may also want to complete the checklist again at the end of yor edcational psychology corse and compare yor scores to determine how mch yor levels of concern have changed from self to impact. The Tasks of Edcational Psychology Below are some common classroom problems, followed by some possible ways to deal with them. Read these problems and choose the soltions that make the most sense to yo. This is not a test! 1. Desi is a first-grader who likes to write simple stories bt doesn t yet know the rles for spelling. So he spells what he hears: school is skool, home is hom, animal is animl, and mother is mtha. What shold the teacher do when Desi makes these mistakes? a. Point ot the mistakes, give the correct spelling, and have Desi practice spelling the words correctly. b. Don t correct the spelling mistakes. Yo want Desi to like writing and not worry abot spelling at this point. c. Point ot the mistakes bt don t ask Desi to correct them. 2. Mr. West is a ninth-grade Spanish teacher. Several of his first-period stdents come late and nprepared for class, and this delays the lesson for the rest of the class. Mr. West is considering a reward system for stdents who are seated and ready to work on time. For each day that every stdent

16 BORICP01.doc - 16 comes prepared and on time, he will set aside 10 mintes on Friday for high-interest activities. Shold he se sch a system? a. No. Most of the class comes prepared. Giving a reward for this behavior will diminish the stdents internal motivation to follow class rles. b. Yes. The reward will help the stdents who are nprepared and will have no harmfl effect on the rest of the class. c. Mr. West shold se both a reward and a pnishment system. Those who are nprepared shold not only lose the reward bt also experience logical conseqences. 3. It is Jne and Ms. Washington is considering retaining some of her firstgraders who are not ready for second-grade reading and math. What advice shold we give her? a. Retain the stdents. Stdents who are retained generally master the skills they failed to learn in the previos grade. b. Retain the stdents. Retained stdents do better than stdents who were passed on bt shold have been retained. c. Don t retain the stdents. Stdents who were passed on bt shold have been retained learn more than their peers who were retained. 4. Cody freqently disrpts his seventh-grade art class. The teacher, Mr. Steinberg, is concerned becase the other learners in Cody s art grop are nable to concentrate and get work done. Mr. Steinberg thinks that an effective conseqence for disrpting class wold be to remove Cody to a time-ot area. a. Time ot is an effective conseqence for redcing disrptive behavior like Cody s. b. Time ot is not effective for redcing disrptive behavior.

17 BORICP01.doc - 17 c. Time ot is effective only when the prpose of the disrptive behavior is to get attention. Yo may be srprised that there is no single correct way to deal with any of the above sitations. Each has been the focs of research, and each reqires more information abot the sitation in order to establish the best decision for learners. For example, correcting phonetic spelling mistakes has not been shown to help learners master the words they misspelled. On the other hand, allowing children to spell phonetically makes them more accrate spellers of nfamiliar spelling words (Maribeth, 1993). Under certain conditions, rewarding children for engaging in expected behavior has no harmfl effects on intrinsic motivation (Emmer, Evertson, Clements, & Worsham, 1994). Bt nder another set of conditions, it does. Althogh some children benefit from retention, most do not (Doyle, 1989). The problem is knowing what learner characteristics make them more or less likely to improve if they are retained in a grade. Finally, removing a stdent from a classroom for disrptive behavior makes the behavior worse in some cases and decreases it in others (Brantner & Doherty, 1983). The key is nderstanding the fnction of the disrptive behavior. We will consider these problems in greater depth when we discss motivation (Chapter 7), grop process (Chapter 8), and condct management (Chapter 9). Althogh there are no clear-ct soltions to these and similar edcational problems, this does not mean that any one approach to dealing with them is as good as any other. Likewise, this lack of certainty does not relegate all yor efforts to help learners to the level of trial and error. It is possible to make informed decisions abot the first steps to take in dealing with classroom challenges sch as these. This is where the stdy of edcational psychology is of most benefit to teachers. While it may not give yo a single best soltion, edcational psychology

18 BORICP01.doc - 18 will help yo devise a plan of action and a rational way to go abot accomplishing yor classroom goals, whether these goals involve teaching spelling, managing the behavior of a grop of learners, helping learners who have learning problems, changing disrptive behaviors, or enhancing self-esteem. By giving yo a knowledge base for making intelligent choices and showing yo a process for making choices, edcational psychology helps yo improve and become more confident abot yor decision making. Ths, the tasks of edcational psychology and the goals of this textbook are twofold: (1) to present the knowledge necessary to effectively teach diverse grops of learners and (2) to present a process by which this knowledge can be effectively implemented in the classroom. First, let s look at how this knowledge is constrcted. Then we will describe the process for making the most se of it. The Knowledge Base of Edcational Psychology We have organized this textbook into five nits, each beginning with the phrase What Teachers Need to Know Abot... Each section reflects the wealth of knowledge edcational psychologists have discovered abot teaching and learning, prioritizes that knowledge, and presents it in a manner that is most relevant to the classroom. Since yo will be sing this knowledge base to make important decisions abot yor learners, yo may well ask, What confidence can I place on the information presented? How was it determined? How is it organized? Will it help me with specific and immediate problems or only with problems that have yet to occr? The first two qestions relate to the research techniqes sed by edcational psychologists to assemble valid information. The last two qestions pertain to the relevance to the classroom of theories of child development, teaching, and learning. Let s begin by examining how new knowledge abot teaching and learning is acqired.

19 BORICP01.doc - 19 Bilding a Knowledge Base Asking Qestions. The process of knowledge bilding in edcational psychology begins with a qestion abot what works best for learners. For example, is it better to correct a first-grader s spelling mistakes or to ignore them? To retain learners or to pass them on? Have learners develop their own classroom rles or have teachers do this? Use rewards to encorage learners to complete homework correctly, dedct points when they don t, or se some combination of reward and conseqence? Teach self-esteem by having learners repeat positive expressions abot themselves or by helping them set realistic goals and showing them how to accomplish them? These qestions are jst a small sample of those addressed by edcational psychologists. Sometimes the qestion may spring from a classroom problem that the researcher has experienced or observed. Or a particlar qestion may come from a theory of learning or development that the researcher spports and believes may be applicable to a certain classroom problem. In any case, formlating a qestion is the first step in the jorney for knowledge. Defining Variables. If yo examine the qestions above careflly, yo will notice that they have one thing in common: a criosity abot how one thing affects another. For example, the qestion abot correcting a first-grader s spelling errors really asks, Does the manner in which yo respond to a spelling mistake have an effect on learning to spell? In other words, how does one thing (the way yo respond to a spelling mistake) affect another (learning to spell). We typically call these things that affect each other variables. Researchers stdy the way in which one variable one teaching method, a particlar classroom management techniqe affects others learning to spell, finishing seatwork. Bt in order to do this, they mst define each variable precisely. In the qestion Does the manner in which yo respond to spelling mistakes have

20 BORICP01.doc - 20 an effect on learning to spell? there are two variables: manner of responding and learning. Before researchers can stdy manner of responding they mst identify the precise variations in the conditions being implied. For example, the variable manner of responding may be defined like this: For one grop of learners the teacher will make no response following a spelling mistake; for a second grop of learners the teacher will point to the spelling mistake and say Yo spelled that wrong, and say no more to the learner; and for a third grop of learners, the teacher will point to the mistake, say to the learner, Yo spelled that word wrong, and have the learner write the correct spelling five times. Similarly, the variable learning may be defined as follows: All three grops of learners will take a test consisting of two grops of 20 spelling words. One grop of words will have been taght and practiced in class; the other grop will be nfamiliar to the learners. The test will be given orally by the teacher, who will say each word once, se it in a sentence, and give the learners 10 seconds to write down the correct spelling. This process of clarifying exactly what yo mean when yo name a variable is called operationally defining a variable. An operational definition involves describing a variable in the precise manner in which yo will measre it or demonstrate it. Giving variables operational definitions is essential if the research that stdies that variable is to prodce sable reslts. Consider the following variables and reflect on how yo might operationally define them: praising learners, learning ability, following rles, self-esteem, reading achievement, knowledge of addition facts, cooperation. Any variable can be defined as either a dependent or an independent variable. The independent variable (IV) is the one yo believe will prodce the effect or bring abot the otcome yo desire. It is the variable yo maniplate, or change, in

21 BORICP01.doc - 21 yor experiment. The dependent variable (DV) is the presmed effect of the independent variable. In other words, the independent variable is what the researcher believes will case a change in the dependent variable. If the researcher is interested in how rewards affect motivation to learn, then the type of reward is the independent variable, and learning is the dependent variable. If we want to know the effect of grade retention on reading achievement, retention is the independent variable, and reading achievement is the dependent variable. In or previos example of spelling tests, the manner of responding to mistakes is the independent variable, and learning spelling words is the dependent variable. Formlating Hypotheses. Once researchers have stated the qestion and operationally defined the variables, they are ready to pose their research hypothesis. A hypothesis is a prediction of the way in which the variables are related to one another. In other words, the hypothesis describes the relationship between the independent and dependent variables. Below are some examples of hypotheses. As yo read them, notice how they differ from the qestions from which the hypotheses were derived: Learners learn nfamiliar spelling words (DV) better when spelling words are corrected (IV). Retaining learners (IV) in the first grade reslts in lower reading achievement (DV) than if they are passed on. Rewarding learners (IV) for behaviors they already perform makes them less likely to perform those behaviors (DV) when the rewards are taken away. Notice that each hypothesis incldes an independent and a dependent variable.

22 BORICP01.doc - 22 Testing the Hypothesis Edcational psychologists can choose from among a variety of methods to test hypotheses. These methods can be groped broadly into two domains: qalitative research, which incldes descriptive research, ethnography, and case stdies; and qantitative research, which incldes correlational and experimental stdies. The distinction between these two general methods is the role played by hypotheses. Qalitative research is condcted primarily for the prpose of describing or creating hypotheses abot the relationship between independent and dependent variables. Qantitative research is condcted primarily for the prpose of testing previosly stated relationships between independent and dependent variables, often formlated from the reslts of qalitative stdies. Qalitative Research. The varios types of qalitative stdies inclde descriptive research, ethnographic research, and case stdies. Descriptive Research. Let s say that yo are interested in stdying yor learners attitdes toward providing health care services to recent immigrants, or in yor fellow teachers attitdes toward children with varios types of disabilities, or in the grading methods sed in yor school. The prpose of yor stdy is to describe what people do, or how learners think abot a specific isse in yor class or school. Sch research is called descriptive research. Typically, yo measre the variables of concern (attitdes, beliefs, grading practices) by means of qestionnaires, interviews, systematic observation, or a combination of these practices. From the reslts yo may choose to formlate specific hypotheses abot the relationships between independent and dependent variables, which sbseqently may be tested with the tools of qantitative research. Ethnographic Research. In Chapter fifteen yo will read abot a year-long research stdy condcted in a classroom by a researcher who was interested in what

23 BORICP01.doc - 23 effective teachers do to motivate cltrally different learners to excel in school (Dillon, 1989). The researcher observed a class and their teacher for an entire year. She made detailed notes of what she observed and recorded her conversations with the teacher, learners, and other school personnel. She posed qestions abot why this particlar teacher was so sccessfl, which later formed the basis for specific hypotheses that made explicit dependent and independent variables. She then collected data that cold spport or refte her hypotheses, thereby combining some featres of the qalitative and qantitative approaches. This research techniqe is called ethnography. Typically, ethnographic stdies concentrate on life in a particlar classroom or school. The researcher acts as observer, recorder, and interpreter and makes explicit his or her point of view. The reslts of sch stdies help s nderstand how people in that particlar sitation interpret and make sense of daily events or circmstances in their lives. Case Stdies. Case stdies intensively stdy persons or sitations singly or in small nmbers. As sch, they sally do not involve as many individals or as extensive a data-gathering process as ethnography. For example, Tombari, Fitzpatrick, and Childress (1985) programmed a compter to give ot rewards in the form of video games and sed it as part of a self-management intervention to help a disrptive child. Kamps et al. (1992) stdied what one particlar teacher did to teach an atistic child to interact with his peers. Trovato and Bcher (1990) described how a peer ttor taght reading skills to a forth-grade classmate. These stdies generated specific hypotheses and planned interventions to determine whether the hypotheses were spported. Hence, case stdies may combine elements of both qalitative and qantitative approaches. Qantitative Research. So far we have described types of research stdies that are sefl for generating hypotheses abot relationships between variables in specific sitations: the effectiveness of one teacher s methods, the effects of rewards in a

24 BORICP01.doc - 24 specific sitation, the effects of peer ttoring in a specific classroom. While they often provide interesting hypotheses and lead researchers to ask interesting qestions, sch stdies may lack generalizability. Generalizability refers to the ability to reprodce research reslts across contexts (e.g., laboratory conditions), settings (e.g., schools or commnities), and learners (e.g., high and low achievers). To show that the reslts of their research are generalizable to a variety of settings, researchers mst trn to qantitative research methods. We stdy two qantitative methods here: correlational and experimental stdies. Correlational Stdies. As a prospective teacher yo are probably interested in whether there is a relationship between hors spent doing homework and learner performance in school, especially since yo will have to grade all that homework. Likewise, yo may want to know whether there is a relationship between learners self-esteem and their performance in school. Edcational psychologists have stdied these relationships and others, sch as the relationship between family disrption and learner behavior problems in school (Christenson & Conoley, 1993), the nmber of changes in children s lives and their learning and adjstment to school (Eccles, 1990), and IQ scores and math achievement (Jensen, 1980). Research stdies that seek to determine whether there is a relationship between two variables are called correlational stdies. They make se of a statistical index called the correlation coefficient, which we will learn abot in Chapter 11. Whenever yo read or hear abot a correlation, it is important to remember that correlations do not tell yo whether one variable cases the other. For example, a correlation between homework and learner performance does not mean that giving lots of homework will case increased performance. It simply means that some relationship between the two variables exists. Ths a statement that a correlation exists implies not casality bt relationship, which can be explored frther throgh an experimental stdy.

25 BORICP01.doc - 25 Experimental Stdies. In all the types of the stdies we have described so far, researchers observe and measre the variables they are interested in bt do not change them in any way. In experimental stdies, however, researchers directly change one of the variables of interest the independent variable to see how the change inflences another variable of interest the dependent variable. Sch stdies se experimental grops and control grops; learners are assigned to either grop on a random basis. The experimental grop is given a program of instrction or some other intervention that presmably cases changes in the dependent variable. This program or intervention is intentionally withheld from a comparably chosen control grop in order to provide a baseline against which changes in the experimental grop can be compared. The process of randomization, which allows large nmbers of individals to have an eqal opportnity to be chosen for inclsion in the stdy and for participation in either the experimental or the control grop, increases the generalizability of the research findings to other research contexts and learners. For example, sppose yo were designing a stdy to determine the effect of correcting spelling errors. Yo wold randomly assign children to one of three grops, and each grop wold experience a different type of error correction: Grop 1 wold be corrected bt given no practice; Grop 2 wold be corrected and made to practice the mistake, and Grop 3 s mistakes wold be ignored. This last grop is the control grop, against whose reslts the reslts of the other grops wold be compared. Most of the research yo will read abot in this text research on how children learn, follow classroom rles, exhibit more motivation, improve self-esteem, and get along with classmates has been accmlated by se of experimental research techniqes. These stdies have sed the process of randomization to achieve generalizability of reslts to a broad poplation of classrooms and learners.

26 BORICP01.doc - 26 Theory Bilding All of the research stdies we describe in this book were carried ot in the context of the reslts of previos research. Each stdy was preceded by other related investigations and is followed by yet others that revisit its reslts and follow p on it in trn. Research is an ongoing enterprise in which the researcher continally relates her particlar stdy with other stdies that came before it. The overall goal of the research process in any psychological discipline, sch as edcational psychology, is to assemble a related, coherent body of generalizations and principles that explain how people develop, learn, and are motivated. These internally consistent bodies of principles and generalizations that explain hman behavior are called psychological theories. In this book we will explore several important theories of development, learning, and motivation. These theories help researchers to organize information gained from their experiments and make decisions abot other variables to investigate, and they also help the nonresearcher, inclding the classroom teacher, in two ways: (1) They help organize many seemingly nrelated facts abot development, learning, motivation, and classroom management; and (2) they help s think abot classroom problems in terms of previosly discovered generalizations and principles that point the way to new soltions. For example, in Chapter 7 yo will learn abot a particlar theory of motivation called self-determination theory (Deci, Vallerand, Pelletier, & Ryan, 1991). This theory has been constrcted careflly, fact by fact, over several decades. Yo will learn abot many of these facts. Bt more importantly, the theory organizes these facts into generalizations, which help explain the critical attribtes nderlying learner motivation. When yo are challenged by a learner who lacks motivation to do schoolwork, what yo are likely to remember are not the isolated reslts of the individal research stdies that contribted the facts, bt the broad

27 BORICP01.doc - 27 principles that can explain hman behavior and bring meaning and prpose to these facts. It is these principles that will gide yor search for new soltions to existing problems. Now that yo are acqainted with how edcational psychologists assemble their knowledge base and its potential seflness for yor teaching, let s trn to the second important way in which edcational psychology can help yo in yor classroom: the search for soltions to classroom problems. A Process of Solving Classroom Problems At every stage of teacher development, yor stdents will challenge yo with their varios needs for achievement, social development, friendships, willflness, and enjoyment. While most of yor learners will thrive nder yor leadership, some will not. Learners bring to the classroom a host of individal differences, which no one program of instrction can meet. A challenge may come from a learner who is gifted in reading or math, or from a child who can t sit still, won t do work, or is considering dropping ot of school. Or yo may be challenged by a learner who has a strong desire to do things on her own and won t accept yor athority. Some teachers, when faced with these and other formidable challenges dring the first year of teaching, become dismayed by the complexity of classroom life. They seek to retrn to the self-protective concerns of the srvival stage of teaching. Borich (1993) describes this as trning p yor nmbness amplifier to blot ot the seemingly intractable problems of yor classroom rather than realizing that yo can have an impact on the problem regardless of how difficlt it may initially appear. Some teachers believe that the only soltion is special class placement, psychological conseling, or a classroom transfer. Others know that while these interventions might be necessary for a given individal, the teacher also has a critical

28 BORICP01.doc - 28 role to play in solving the problem. Dring this problem-solving process, edcational psychology has mch to offer the classroom teacher. Figre 1.1 describes what this problem-solving process involves. The boxes in the diagram describe actions yo can se to think abot and solve everyday classroom problems. The oval above the boxes reflects yor thoghts or considerations at different stages of problem solving. Let s look briefly at the steps yo wold take and the qestions yo wold ask at each stage. Observe Behavior First, ask yorself what the learner is doing that is the sorce of the problem. Be clear abot exactly what yo are seeing that trobles yo. Operationally define expressions sch as these: She s bored; he s immatre; she has no motivation; he s withdrawn. Also, be specific abot yor goals or objectives for the learner. Don t consider only what yo want the learner not to do. Make yorself specify what yo want the learner to do. And don t forget that yor goal shold be operationally defined and measrable. Understand Learner Characteristics Once yo are clear abot the problem and yor goals, ask yorself how the problem and yor goals relate to the developmental level of the learner (see Chapters 2 and 3). Is the behavior yo see typical or atypical of the learner s age, cltre, gender, or edcational history? Are the goals realistic, developmentally appropriate, cltrally compatible? Might there be other reasons (e.g., medical) for the behavior?

29 BORICP01.doc - 29 Reflect on Theories of Development, Learning, and Motivation What are some historical and concrrent explanations of the behavior yo are seeing? What learner needs may not be met? What forces otside the classroom may be playing a role in the learner s classroom behavior? What classroom conditions cold be contribting to the problem? How does the learner perceive the problem? And what is he or she willing to contribte to its soltion? We will consider theories of development in Part I of this book and theories of learning and motivation in Part II. Choose and Implement a Classroom Strategy At this stage, ask yorself what yo know from research abot changing this learner s behavior. What does research say is important for achieving these particlar goals? What changes need to be made in classroom strctre, rles, rewards, conseqences, and activities to meet yor own and the learner s expectations? What spport can yo get from the family? Part III of this book is concerned with practical application of theoretical knowledge to classroom sitations. Evalate Impact What does research sggest shold be an adeqate time to expect to see some reslts? What records shold I keep or what records can the learner keep to docment the reslts? How do I protect against biases that may inflence me to see improvements when none occr or not to see change when change occrs? How will I know if the changes I observe are de to what goes on in my classroom and not to some inflence otside the classroom? Parts IV and V of this book are concerned with evalation of learning, the special needs of learners, and the home-

30 BORICP01.doc - 30 school partnership. Stdying these topics will provide yo with a broad knowledge base against which to jdge the effectiveness of yor interventions. This model of problem solving sggests that there is no classroom problem yo will enconter that yo cannot help resolve. A sccessfl resoltion, however, will reqire that yo obtain the reqisite knowledge and skill to make it happen. The corse of stdy in which yo are now enrolled and yor own ongoing field experiences will start yo on the path to acqiring the motivation, knowledge, and skills needed to have a lasting impact on yor learners. Smming Up This chapter introdced yo to the stdy of edcational psychology. Its main points were these: New teachers pass throgh three interrelated stages of development, characterized by their concerns abot srvival, abot tasks, and abot the impact they are having on their learners. Edcational psychology is a discipline that focses on theoretical and empirical knowledge abot instrction. The tasks of edcational psychology are (1) to provide a knowledge base teachers need to teach diverse grops of learners and (2) to present a process teachers can se to implement this knowledge in the classroom. The knowledge base of edcational psychology is developed throgh the research process, which begins with asking qestions, defining variables, and formlating hypotheses. Edcational psychologists may test hypotheses by sing qalitative research methods sch as descriptive stdies, ethnographic stdies, and case stdies, or by sing qantitative methods, which inclde correlational methods and experimental stdies.

31 BORICP01.doc - 31 The goal of edcational psychology is to bring together the findings of many different research stdies into a coherent body of theoretical knowledge abot development, learning, and motivation. The goal of this book is to teach yo to approach classroom problems by means of a problem-solving process that incldes the following steps: (1) observing learner behavior, (2) nderstanding learner characteristics, (3) reflecting on theoretical knowledge, (4) choosing and implementing a classroom strategy, and (5) evalating the reslts of the chosen strategy. For Discssion and Practice *1. State the three stages of teacher development and give an example of the kinds of tasks yo wold focs on at each stage. *2. Define concerns theory. How did it evolve? What implications does it have for expert teachers as well as for those who are jst starting ot? 3. Give one example of how yo have sed or will se practical knowledge and case knowledge in yor stdent teaching. 4. State a classroom problem yo have encontered, either in yor own edcation or in stdent teaching. Formlate a research qestion based on that problem. 5. Using the research qestion yo stated in answer to qestion 4, define the variables involved in yor problem. What is yor independent variable? Yor dependent variable? 6. Using the variables yo defined in answer to qestion 5, formlate a hypothesis that states how yor variables are related.

32 BORICP01.doc Is yor research qestion most amenable to qalitative or to qantitative research? Explain yor answer. What specific research method wold be most sefl for stdying yor problem? Sggested Readings Borich, G. (1996). Effective teaching methods (3rd ed.). Colmbs: Merrill/Macmillan (Chapter 3). This chapter on teacher planning sets ot a framework for sing the concerns theory and yor level of concerns for instrctional planning. Fller, F. F. (1969). Concerns of teachers: A developmental conceptalization. American Edcational Research Jornal, 6, This article, which won the best research article of the year from the American Edcational Research Association, describes the original research with stdent teachers that led to the development of the concerns theory. Shlman, L.S. (1991). Classroom casebooks. Edcational Leadership, 49 (3), This article illstrates how case knowledge is acqired and sed to promote instrctional theory and methods. Stdent teachers can qickly move from concerns abot self and self-srvival to concerns abot stdent achievement and learning. What stages of development can I expect to pass throgh dring my first year of teaching?

33 BORICP01.doc - 33 Srvival stage. The first stage of teaching dring which beginning teachers focs primarily on their own well-being rather than on their learners or the process of teaching. Task stage. The second stage of teaching in which a teacher s concerns focs on improving his or her teaching skills and mastering the content being taght. For most teachers, concerns abot srvival or self diminish rapidly after several months of teaching. What follows is a new set of concerns abot how to best help stdents learn. Impact stage. The stage of teaching when instrctors begin to view their learners as individals with individal needs. Concerns abot the impact of instrction on learners growth and development typify the final stage of the teacher s growth and development. Concerns theory. A view that conceptalizes the teacher s growth and development as a process of passing throgh concerns for self (teacher) to task (teaching) to impact (ppil). How can the stdy of edcational psychology help me develop into an expert teacher? Edcational psychology. A discipline that focses on theoretical and empirical instrctional knowledge.

34 BORICP01.doc - 34 Applying Yor Knowledge: Teacher Concerns Checklist Directions. This checklist explores what teachers are concerned abot at different stages of their careers. There are no right or wrong answers, becase each teacher has his or her own concerns. Following are statements of concerns yo might have. Read each statement and ask yorself: WHEN I THINK ABOUT TEACHING, AM I CONCERNED ABOUT THIS? If yo are not concerned, or the statement does not apply, write 1 in the box. If yo are a little concerned, write 2 in the box. If yo are moderately concerned, write 3 in the box. If yo are very concerned, write 4 in the box. If yo are totally preoccpied with the concern, write 5 in the box. 1.Insfficient clerical help for teachers. 2.Whether the stdents respect me. 3.Too many extra dties and responsibilities. 4.Doing well when I m observed. 5.Helping stdents to vale learning. 6.Insfficient time for rest and class preparation. 7.Not enogh assistance from specialized teachers. 8.Managing my time efficiently. 9.Losing the respect of my peers. 10.Not enogh time for grading and testing. 11.The inflexibility of the crriclm. 12.Too many standards and reglations set for teachers. 13.My ability to prepare adeqate lesson plans. 14.Having my inadeqacies become known to other teachers.

35 BORICP01.doc Increasing stdents feelings of accomplishment. 16.The rigid instrctional rotine. 17.Diagnosing stdent learning problems. 18.What the principal may think if there is too mch noise in my classroom. 19.Whether each stdent is reaching his or her potential. 20.Obtaining a favorable evalation of my teaching. 21.Having too many stdents in a class. 22.Recognizing the social and emotional needs of stdents. 23.Challenging nmotivated stdents. 24.Losing the respect of my stdents. 25.Lack of pblic spport for schools. 26.My ability to maintain the appropriate degree of class control. 27.Not having sfficient time to plan. 28.Getting stdents to behave. 29.Understanding why certain stdents make slow progress. 30.Having an embarrassing incident occr in my classroom for which I might be jdged responsible. 31.Not being able to cope with troblemakers in my classes. 32.That my peers may think I m not doing an adeqate job. 33.My ability to work with disrptive stdents. 34.Understanding ways in which stdent health and ntrition problems can affect learning. 35.Appearing competent to parents. 36.Meeting the needs of different kinds of stdents. 37.Seeking alternative ways to ensre that stdents learn the sbject matter. 38.Understanding the psychological and cltral differences that can affect my stdents behavior.