Elizabeth McNulty

Educational Philosophy Paper

4/29/15

Over the course of taking the educational psychology course, I have learned an incredibly
vast amount about the impact and effect of psychology that goes into educating students. Overall,
the course opened my eyes to the immense amount of skill and knowledge that goes into being a
teacher, which most people never really realize. Learning all of these psychological aspects of
being a teacher inspired me and made me more motivated and excited to become a really good
and knowledgeable instructor to my future students. I believe that sometimes people overlook
how great of an impact that teachers have on their child’s development, not only in school and
subject matter, but in essentially every aspect of their lives. Therefore, teachers have a huge
responsibility to work hard and strive to acquire the most skills to achieve the most perfect form
of their profession that they can. They should take this great opportunity to shape the students in
a positive way, giving them all the ingredients for success that they could possibly need, rather
than leading them down a negative path and making it harder for them to love school and
learning.

There is so much more that goes into every single aspect of a classroom than people,
including myself, even realize. There are countless developmental theories that contribute to an
overall idea of the essence of what motivates the human brain and behavior. One theory that I
really need to keep in mind while teaching is Piaget’s theory of cognitive development. This
theory includes the educational stages that people go through, with each stage marking a sort of
new intelligence that the subject attains. Each new stage gives the subject the ability to
understand the world in more and more complex ways. Because I will be an early childhood
educator, I will mostly be dealing with people that are in the preoperational, and concrete
operational stages. In these stages, children develop the ability to use symbols to represent
objects and begin to relate them to real life. They also begin to think logically and problem solve
on their own. Teachers must also be very aware of the fact that not all the students will fall
perfectly into each stage and some may be more advanced, as well as less advanced. Teachers
should be able to adapt to this fact and make learning as easy as possible for each student. It is
really important for teachers to be aware of where their students fall in these stages because it
will help them understand their students better and thus better adapt to their learning needs.

Some of the most interesting theories I found while taking this course were the learning
theories. Many of these theories revolved around memory concepts and how people store the
information they learn. One of the most prevalent theories is the information processing theory.
This theory describes the path that information travels through when it enters your brain. The
information first goes to the short term memory where it is stored for only a few brief seconds.
These few seconds; however, are extremely crucial because this is the place where the
information is saved, discarded, and related to other memories. Information that makes it to the
long term memory is safe for much longer and there is much more room to store information
here. Based on what I have learned from these theories, I know that as a teacher, I should be
constantly trying to find ways to not completely crowd the student’s memories with an overflow
of information, while making sure they learn everything that they need to know. A good goal
would be to have the information you give them to make it to the long term memory because it
would help them in the future with other classes. I will also do my best to apply the constructivist
view to my teaching. With the help of this view, the students will be able to reach conclusions
more on their own, and with the help of peers, rather than having me just feed them all of the
answers. This will help the students remember he information better when it comes time for
testing or applying what they have learned because they had to reach the information on their
own and therefore made connections in their own head. In my opinion and according to my
personal philosophy on education, the fact that the students are learning and remembering
information which they can then apply to other classes and then to real life is really the only
thing that matters.

Classroom set up as well as the environment are very crucial aspects of any given school.
There are many moving pieces that must be thought of by the teacher prior to the start if school.
First of all, in order for any instructor of any classroom to have the most successful year that they
can, teachers must start the year of right. The teachers must be extremely prepared on the first
day of school with an idea of how they want their classroom to be for the rest of the year. First
impressions are really important for teachers, especially those dealing with younger grades
because depending on how the teacher comes off on that first day, the students will either respect
their authority and obey them, or see them as no threat and walk all over them. In my future
classroom, I hope to come off very firm and no-nonsense on the first day so that the students
have a clear idea of what is expected of them. I will make certain rules that must be followed,
and go over them as well as make a sign of them to hang in the room. In addition to that, I will
discuss any consequences for breaking these rules. I hope to create an environment where the
students feel completely safe by reassuring them constantly that I am here for them and that they
can come to my with anything they need. This would also include never using harsh or
judgmental tones when asked a question, and teach by the “there are no stupid questions” motto.
This way, the students will be much more open to expressing themselves and more participation
will flourish. It is also important for teachers to realize that they can always be the students
“friend” later in the year once they have already received their respect. Because I will be
teaching the lower grades, in terms of actual physical classroom set-up, I will have many
decorations that have to do with learning hanging around the room. This may include having the
alphabet all along the walls, or hanging up the students various projects so they can feel proud
and that their work is being appreciated. These decorations can help create a fun atmosphere and
help all the kids learn simply by looking at the walls every day. Another aspect of the classroom
set up would be the use of technology. After learning about the various benefits of using
technology in the classroom, I would want to use it in my own classroom, but not all the time, or
even every day. I will use it now and again as an aid to certain lesson plans and to keep the kids
interested and excited, as technology is something that always seems to capture kids’ attention.

Throughout the course of educational psychology, I have come to learn much about what
an effective lesson is and how exactly it can be achieved. One major type of lesson that seems to
be the most common and popular is the direct instruction method. This is where the teacher
directly transmits information to the students and any lessons taught are goal oriented and
structured by the teacher. I will definitely be using this in my classroom as a guiding form of
instruction. I will first tell the students the goal of the lesson and any skills they will need to learn
the lesson to the full extent. Then I will teach the lesson and do my best to keep the students
engaged, asking them questions and answering any of theirs. After I am sure I have done
everything in my power to convey the information to the students, I will assign some individual
work so that the students can immediately practice what they have just learned. After they have
completed the work to the best of their ability, I will go over the answers with the class, having
them tell me their answers and working through any mistakes. With this method, the students can
learn without the pressure of a grade looming over their heads. They will of course need to take
assessments to test their knowledge, but that should come after they have been given the
opportunity to really learn the information as best they can. Another aspect that I would want to
incorporate into my lesson plans would be having whole class, as well as small group
discussions. Students are all incredibly different in terms of how they learn best as well as how
they express themselves. Therefore, there must be equal opportunities given to those who are
more extroverted, and enjoy sharing with the whole class, as well as those who are more
introverted and prefer a more intimate learning setting. To meet this standard, teachers can first
break the students into small groups to discuss a series of questions or problems. When each
group has discussed each question, the teacher can bring all the students back together and have
some members from each group share with the whole class whatever their group talked about.
This is one plan that I know I will be implementing in my own classroom, to make sure that
every student has the chance to share in a setting most comfortable for them.

One of the most important skills that a teacher must have is being able to discipline their
students. Without this power, students will catch on to the fact that you don’t have control of the
classroom, and they will take advantage of you. A good teacher will use disciplinary tactics that
will prevent the action from occurring again, rather than threatening them for the time being,
only for the student to be temporarily scared and do the same action again because he or she did
not learn their lesson. This course in educational psychology laid out some very helpful measures
and steps that can be taken to correct a situation and prevent it from reoccurring. One tactic that I
would like to master and use in my classroom is Pavlov’s idea of classical conditioning. This is
essentially the process of repeatedly associating a previously neutral stimulus with an
unconditioned stimulus in order to evoke a conditioned response. With the help of this
conditioning model, students will be trained to have a certain response, without even having to
think about it. I would also use reinforcers in my classroom to help prevent or promote certain
behaviors and incidents from occurring again. This may include giving out stickers or some sort
of reward for good behavior, which could be considered a positive reinforcer. This may also
include taking away some privilege when bad behavior occurs, such as having to stay inside
during recess, or not allowing the fun activity that had been planned for that day to occur. Any
visitor in my classroom would see this and know that they are tactics used to either reinforce or
take away behavior with the common goal of having students become trained to behave well all
the time and without anyone having to tell them.

There are several skills that a teacher can have that makes individualizing instruction
much more efficient and effective. Personally, as a future teacher, I would want to make sure that
I have a very high knowledge of the subject matter which I am teaching. If I do not have a firm
grasp on the material, then I cannot have the expectations for my kids to ever be able to know the
content. I would hope to have several strategies that combat all the different personality types
and learning abilities of the students in my classroom, including being able to adapt to diverse
learners. Someone visiting my classroom may assume that I am exhausting the material by
teaching the same things in various ways, but in reality I would just be creating equal
opportunity for all of the diverse students to learn the information in a way that is best and most
helpful to them. Another approach that I will plan to master in my classroom is instructional
planning. Planning is such a crucial aspect of teaching because if the teacher does not have a
very specific plan with concrete goals, then this will show and the kids will be able to pick up on
it. Kids can and will take advantage of teachers who seem flustered or do not have some sort of
organized strategy.

In conclusion, taking this course has enlightened me on the wide array of skills and
knowledge that I would need to acquire before I could manage a classroom. While this is
overwhelming, it also makes me very excited to start learning how to master these skills. I am
surer than ever that education is the right field for me and something that I want to give a one
hundred percent effort to achieving. I have a huge respect for teachers and I personally believe
that they often do not get the credit they deserve and it is sometimes a thankless job. If I am
going to become a teacher, this is something I need to recognize, and learn that I will never be
able to please everyone. However, there are too many positive aspects that come with being a
teacher to let these other negative aspects deter someone from pursuing education. I hope that
personally, as a teacher, I can find gratification simply from having a student finally grasp a
difficult concept that have been struggling with, or having at least one thing I teach resonate with
at least one student. In the end, it is really all about the student and how they are able to grow
during and after having you as a teacher.