Educational Psychology:
Effective Teaching,
Effective Learning
3^rd Edition
Elliott, et. al.

Chapter One Outline

THEMES OF THIS BOOK

To help you relate the theories and research that you'll be reading about to the everyday world of teaching and to prepare you for the kinds of decisions that you'll be faced with, we have developed TIPS for each chapter. TIPS stands for Teaching Interaction Principles and Strategies and are brief summaries of key teaching principles and related instructional actions. Our TIPS focus on five themes that permeate the lives of teachers: communication, learning, motivation, time, and assessment. Let's briefly examine each of these themes that we see permeating the lives of teachers and their students of the future.

Communication

This is certainly the broadest of the themes we present, and it may well be the most important when you think about successful teacher-student interactions. The summary of characteristics of effective teaching and learning we examined earlier in this chapter provides strong evidence of the role that communication plays in the establishment of learning and behavior expectations, teacher-student interpersonal relationships, and the delivery of quality instruction, which involves questioning, praising, and individualized feedback.

Learning

Many of our students initially talk about learning as something a student does, but if you read and listen during your journey through this book you will learn that learning is the outcome of an interaction-an interaction between a teacher and a student, two or more students, a student and a computer, a student and a parent, and so on-and is often a social and active enterprise. Given that learning is an interactive enterprise and often takes place in classrooms, it is desirable to create environments where routines are smooth and efficient, instruction facilitates personal connections between what is taught and a person's prior knowledge, students' attention is maintained and they are frequently asked to act and use information, and material is periodically reviewed and retaught because students learn at different rates and in different ways.

Motivation

Theoretical and practical aspects of motivation are presented explicitly in only one chapter (Chapter 9) in this book, yet we see it as a pervasive theme with theoretical roots in both behavioral and cognitive psychology and practical connections to effective learning and behavior management. In our introductory review of the qualities of effective teaching and learning, motivational issues were featured as part of incentives and rewards used to promote excellence and positive personal interactions between teachers and students. Many other aspects of teaching and the classroom environment can influence the motivation of students, which in turn impact achievement and behavior. Therefore, understanding what motivates students to learn will be an ongoing topic of inquiry for every reader of this book.

Time

Perhaps time is the most pervasive theme in all our lives. Did you realize, however, that students spend between 11% and 14% of their lives in school (grades K to 12)? Many people are surprised by this small amount of time allocated to learning, given the expectations that parents and educators have for students. Therefore, more has to be done with time. That is, the proportion of actual learning or engaged time within this small segment of time must be used wisely and ideally increased. This is generally accomplished by being organized (that is, smooth and efficient classroom routines), maintaining a brisk instructional pace where students get opportunities to respond, requiring homework and out-of-class learning activities, and communicating with parents about learning expectations and homework.

Assessment

Although assessment is discussed near the end of this book and primarily occurs after teaching and learning, it plays a central role in planning instruction and documenting the effects of teaching. The role of assessment in teaching is emphasized as frequently monitoring the learning progress of students. How you achieve such progress monitoring depends on the skills and behaviors of interest and who you are trying to communicate with. In most cases, daily work assignments, projects, and teacher-constructed tests are the main tools that will be used to assess and communicate results. In other cases, when schoolwide or even statewide comparisons of learning are deemed important, professionally developed tests will be the best tools to use. Regardless of the assessment method used, effective teachers must have a command of tests and basic measurement concepts. This knowledge of assessment thus enables them to communicate about learning with their students, the students' parents, and other educational stakeholders.