Built upon a century of extensive research, educational psychology has undoubtably proved to be

the backbone of all science-based education systems in this technologically advancing world. To
the ordinary science teacher, it is actually the driving force behind all classroom activities. On
these bases, this particular write up seeks provide an extensive analysis into the importance of
educational psychology to a secondary school science teacher. The key term in this essay is
educational psychology.

According to Cherry (2022), educational psychology is the study of how people learn, including
teaching methods, instructional processes, and individual differences in learning taking into
account cognitive, behavioural, emotional, and social influences on the learning process. Mandal
(2007) also defines educational psychology as the part of psychology that deals with the teaching
and learning process. In general, educational psychology is a study of behavioural, social and
other cognitive influences surrounding teaching and learning process.

A science teacher according to Ziprecruter (2020) educates students on the concept of scientific
methods and scientific principles. Therefore, a science teacher is focused on teaching methods of
scientific concepts and principles.

To begin with, educational psycology is the foundation of understanding and dealing wth critical
issues that affect learners and teachers in the 21st century. Accoding to Shama and Shakir (2017),
the teacher is able through educational psychology, to create a positive learning environment in
the classrooms through studying the abilities,interests, intelligence and needs of the student
resulting in effective learning. In this light, the teacher is now able to adress different individual
learning capabilities as per student. Through educational psychology teachers gain advantage
according to the knowledge of student abilities, interests, intelligence and needs that they posess.
With this knowledge they are able to teach in a way that suits every learner.They are able to
teach even those with less intelligence in a way that they are able to comprehend resulting in
effective learning.

Educational psychology also allows the teacher to adopt different techniques of teaching for
effective communication and it aids the teacher in curriculum development.According to Alvior
(2022), educational psychology provides information about the teaching and learning process,
seeking answers on how a curriculum will be organized to achieve students’ learning at the
optimum level and what amount of information they can absorb in learning the various contents
of the curriculum. In regard to this, the teacher is now able to relate to the curriculum as per
developmental stage of every individual learner since mental maturity influences the learning
process to a greater extent.As an example, a grade one pupil cannot understand the Newton’s
laws of motion just because the subject is too complex for the young mind. So, they would need
curricula which is compatible with them. Another scenario is that of the level of science taught to
form learners, it can never be the same with that taught to form fours. This just shows how
educational psychology play a pivotal role in the career of a secondary school science teacher.

Moreso, educational psychology allows the teacher to measure and monitor learning outcomes
and progress of pupils. According to Wang (2015), performance in the classroom can only be
monitored through learning probes such as practical exercises, homeworks or quizes to
demonstrate their understanding. Learning probes have a beneficial effect on student monitoring
and measuring since they are perfomance based. For teachers to know if the students have
grasped the concerpts they have learnt, they use this psychology technic to monitor the progress
of their learners.

Also, it helps to solve class room issues. According to Parankimalil (2012), educational
psychology helps to equip the teacher through studying the characteristics of the problem
children, the dynamics of the group, behavioural characteristics and how they can possibly
adjust. This gives the teacher the right means to deal with bullying, cheating in class as well as
peer presure amoungst learners. The teacher is also able in this regard, to deal with gender
sensitive as well as disability related issues as they affect learning in the classroom. In essence, it
assists the teacher to acquire necessary skills to deal with the problems of learners and to
maintain a healthy atmosphere in the classroom as well as monitor their progress.

According to Wang (2015) it helps teachers to understand their own personalities, motivations,
conflicts as well as behavioral patterns and incoporate whilist adjusting these in order to create a
conducive teaching and learning environment. With this consideration, the teacher is able to
achieve proper conditioning for effective learning and teaching. The teacher is also able to
behave in a certain way that encourages learners to effectively learn as well as give respect to the
teacher. For example, teachers drink beer, through educational psychology will try not to make
the mistake of coming to school drunk since it will influence how the learners view and respect
the teacher and this directly affects the learning process. According to actions to be taken on his
part in the classroom play a vital role in provoking effective and efficient learning on the part of
the students. Parents trust their children to be taught and

In conclusion, educational psychology is important to a secondary school science teacher to a

greater extent since it provides the teacher with relevant and effective teaching practices for
effective teaching and learning in this modern world of science and technology.