Educational Psychology:
Foundation for Teaching

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Introduction

The word "research" is likely to conjure up visions of stodgy old academicians, cloistered in their ivory towers, compiling data and scratching out reports that make sense to no one but themselves. While it's true that some research studies can be tedious or difficult to understand, most provide accessible information that has real bearing on what we do in the classroom.

Research offers us the chance to see theories put to the test—to find out how real students in real classrooms respond to a variety of teaching methods; to test long-held beliefs about educational practices so that we can judge if they might be flawed or incomplete. Research helps us to become better informed, more competent professionals.

Because we have chosen to teach, we have a responsibility to continually revise our understanding of effective teaching practice, to deepen our awareness of how children learn, of what motivates them, of what can help them or of what might harm them. We have a sacred trust and it is up to us to prepare ourselves thoroughly so that we can make responsible, informed decisions in the classroom.

Ideally, we should all spend some time in the library browsing the professional journals. Eventually, you will probably want to subscribe to one or two educational psychology journals that will help keep you abreast of current research in the field. But in the next few minutes, you will discover how simple it is to stay informed without spending a penny—or a great deal of time.

Tasks

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