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educational
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psychology
for Learning a n d Teaching
Sue Duc h e sn e A n ne Mc M augh Sa nd ra Bo c h n e r Kerri-Lee K r au se

viii c o n te n ts
Motivation and engagement in learning 287

Why is engagement important? 288
School factors that influence engagement 289
Classroom factors that influence engagement 290
Social factors that influence motivation and engagement 295
Concluding comments 296
Chapter review 296
Questions and activities for self-assessment and discussion 297
Key terms 297
Putting it together 298
Further research 298
Chapter 8 Intelligence 300
Introduction 301
What is intelligence? 302
Cultural influences on intelligence 303
Models of intelligence 304
One thing or many? 304
Spearman and ‘g’ 305
Cattell’s crystallised and fluid intelligence 305
Is intelligence fixed or changeable? 305
Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences 306
Emotional intelligence 307
Sternberg’s triarchic model of intelligence 310
Is intelligence mainly influenced by nature or nurture? 311
Strengths and limitations of models of intelligence 315
Measuring intelligence 317
The Stanford-Binet test 317
Wechsler’s intelligence scales 317
Administering intelligence tests 319
Interpreting IQ scores 319
Strengths and limitations of intelligence tests 323
Learners with exceptional abilities 323
Concepts of giftedness, talent and creativity 325
Identifying gifted and talented learners 326
Creativity 327
Educational programs and provisions for gifted students 330
Strengths and limitations of programs for gifted, talented
and creative students 330
Chapter review 333
Key terms 334
Chapter 9 Learners with special needs and inclusive
education 336
Introduction 337
Special education and inclusion 338
Policies and legislation 339
The extent of school inclusion 340
Learners with special needs 341
Concepts of disability 342
A non-categorical view of disability 347
c o n te n ts ix
Disability in classroom settings 347

Intellectual and developmental disability 348
Specific learning disabilities 349
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) 350
Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) 351
Physical disabilities 353
Sensory and speech disabilities 355
Mental health disorders 358
Evidence for effective teaching 360
Supporting learners’ individual needs 364
Over-representation and discrimination 368
Alternative schools 369
The debate continues 372
Chapter review 373
Key terms 374
Chapter 10 Sociocultural factors in the learning process 376
Introduction 377
Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological model of
development 378
Ethnicity, language and culture 381
Language and culture 381
Culture and beliefs about knowledge and learning 382
Individualism and collectivism 383
Other sources of cultural difference and misunderstanding 385
Addressing racism and prejudice 386
Culture, advantage and disadvantage 387
Resistance 388
Multicultural education 388
Gender 389
Sex and gender differences 390
Gender identity formation 391
Gender issues in schools 393
Sources of gender difference in educational outcomes 395
Gender bias in classrooms 398
Coeducational and single-sex schooling 400
Socioeconomic status (SES) 401
Social class and SES 402
Poverty and education 403
School factors 406
Threatening environments 408
Inclusive education for Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander students in Australia, and Maori
students in New Zealand 410
Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders:
Diversity and commonality 410
What makes the difference to Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander students’ success in school? 411
Ma–ori learners and New Zealand’s education system 419
Effective teaching for New Zealand Ma–ori and Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander communities 421
x c o n te n ts

Chapter review 422
Key terms 424
Module IV Educational psychology in

contemporary classrooms 426
Chapter 11 ICT in learning and teaching 428
Introduction 429
Shifts in ICT use in education over time 432
Thinking critically about ‘digital natives’ 432
ICT literacy 434
Information literacy 435
ICT Transforming learning 438
Changing patterns of cognitive skills? 438
Strengthening of neural pathways 439
Building cognitive capacity 439
ICT transforming pedagogy 440
ICT and theories of learning 440
Humanist learning theories and ICT 448
Strengths and limitations of different approaches
to learning with ICT 448
Transforming curriculum 449
Transforming teaching and learning activities 452
Transforming assessment 454
Transforming classroom management 455
Transforming approaches to motivation 456
Transforming student welfare 457
Transforming equity issues 463
Transforming special education 466
Strengths and limitations of using ICT in the classroom 468
Chapter review 470
Key terms 471
Chapter 12 Assessment and reporting 474

Introduction 475
What is assessment? 476
Why do we assess? 476
Assessment for learning 477
The place of assessment in the teaching–learning cycle 477
Key strategies in assessing for learning 477
Assessment of learning 478
c o n te n ts xi
Approaches to assessment 479

Traditional assessment 479
Dynamic assessment 480
Authentic assessment 480
Performance assessment 483
Assessment tools 483
Observing students 483
Anecdotal records 484
Checklists 484
Student work 484
Portfolios 487
Rating scales 487
Testing 487
Conversations with students around learning 488
Formal assessments 489
Diagnostic assessment 492
Considering the role of students in assessment 492
Strengths and limitations of different assessment tools 494
Ensuring quality in assessment 495
Reliability 497
Validity 497
Culture-sensitive and culture-fair tests 498
Evaluation of assessment data 499
Interpreting assessment information 500
Strengths and limitations of norm-referenced,
criterion-referenced, curriculum-based and ipsative
assessment procedures 503
Reporting the results of assessment 504
Reporting to students 504
Reporting to parents 507
Reporting for teachers 510
Reporting for school psychologists, counsellors
and guidance officers 511
Reporting to schools and school administrators 511
Reporting to employers 512
Reporting to government 512
Reporting to the community 512
Recording and reporting assessment results 512
Chapter review 516
Key terms 517
Chapter 13 Managing classrooms for effectively working
with students 520
Introduction 521
Defining classroom management 522
Supportive and caring relationships 523
Teacher–student relationships 523
Supportive peer relationships 526
A sense of school belonging 527
xii c o n te n ts
Organising instruction for access to learning 528

Good beginnings 528
Establishing routines and procedures 529
Classroom rules 530
Setting relevant tasks 531
Smooth transitions 531
Organising the physical space 532
Group management for facilitating engagement 533
Strategies of effective teachers 534
Strategies for group management 535
Social skills and self-regulation 537
Self-regulation approaches 537
Social skills and problem-solving approaches 538
Interventions to manage problem behaviours 539
What type of problems do teachers report? 540
What do students think about problem behaviours? 540
How do teachers respond to behaviour problems,
and is this appropriate? 540
Types of interventions 541
School-wide issues and approaches 549
Creating safe schools 550
Managing conflict and bullying 551
Summary 559
Chapter review 559
Key terms 560
Glossary 562
References 569
Index 602
About the authors
Sue Duchesne
Dr Sue Duchesne coordinates the teacher education program at the University of Wollongong's Bega
Campus. Sue has teaching experience in primary and secondary schools, as well as in the tertiary sector.
She currently lectures in educational psychology, sociology, quality teaching and pedagogy. Her research
interests include parent involvement in schooling, the roles of peers in language learning, and teacher
education, with a particular interest in partnerships.
Anne McMaugh
Dr Anne McMaugh is a Lecturer in the School of Education at Macquarie University. Anne teaches in child
development, educational psychology, inclusive education and pedagogy, with a focus on childhood social
development. Her research interests encompass child and adolescent education and development, with a
special interest in the developmental and educational experiences of children with disability and chronic
health conditions.
Sandra Bochner
Dr Sandra Bochner is an Honorary Associate (formerly Associate Professor) at the School of Education at
Macquarie University in Sydney and has over 40 years of teaching and research experience in educational
psychology and child development. Sandra's specific interests include the early development of children
with developmental delay and those at risk of difficulties in learning, particularly in early language
development. She has convened large introductory teaching units in educational psychology and has
published widely in the field of special education, with a particular focus on the early stages of learning
to talk and on programs for children at risk of difficulties in early language and literacy as a result of
socioeconomic and educational disadvantage.
Kerri-Lee Krause
Professor Kerri-Lee Krause is Pro Vice-Chancellor (Education) and Professor of Higher Education at the
University of Western Sydney. She works with colleagues to enhance the quality of learning, teaching and
academic quality across the University. She is nationally and internationally recognised for her research
on the contemporary undergraduate student experience and implications for the quality of learning and
teaching in universities. Her research expertise spans broadly across higher education policy areas, with
a focus on the changing student experience, the evolving nature of academic work and implications for
quality and standards in higher education. She has a commitment to evidence-based enhancement of
institutional performance and quality improvement in higher education.
xiii
Acknowledgements
Cengage Learning and the authors would like to thank the following reviewers for their incisive
and helpful feedback:
■■ Anna Whitehead, Auckland University of Technology
■■ Anne Tietzel, University of the Sunshine Coast
■■ Cedric Greive, Avondale College
■■ Christine Rubie-Davies, University of Auckland
■■ Craig Deed, La Trobe University
■■ Danielle Tracey, University of Western Sydney
■■ Katie O’Brien, Australian Catholic University
■■ Karen Swabey, University of Tasmania
■■ Madeleine Laming, Australian Catholic University
■■ Maxine Cooper, University of Ballarat
■■ Sue Sharp, Edith Cowan University
AUTHORS’ aCKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This book is the result of the combined efforts, energies and encouragements of many of our colleagues,
students, friends and family. We thank the team at Cengage Learning Australia who have supported us
in the development of this fourth edition. Ann Crabb, Kylie McInnes, Matthew Duchesne of Milk & Honey
Photography, and Peter Hynes of Filmtime showed great patience and willingness to listen as we explained
the particular ideas we wanted to come out from the text design, photographs, animations and video.
Our colleagues and students in teacher education at the University of Wollongong and at Macquarie
University have contributed to our understanding of the field and have continual input into our thinking
about educational psychology and how it can be taught. Special thanks go to the teacher education students
in EDUC363 Education as Social Development who have provided useful feedback and inspiration for the
resources and activities in this text.
Cara Swit and Gabbie Stroud made many valued contributions to the text, including research
assistance, written material, support and feedback.
We have consulted various classroom teacher colleagues, whose practical classroom experience has
made an important contribution to our text. In particular, we would like to thank the following teachers
who have provided ideas and content for the text and its supplements:
■■ Chrisanthi McManus, Mumbulla School for Steiner Education
■■ Gabbie Stroud, St Patricks School
■■ Tracey Hughes-Butters, Lumen Christ Catholic College
■■ Ann-Louise Clark, Sapphire Coast Anglican College
■■ Alyson Whiteoak, Jervis Bay Public School
■■ Ursula Brown
■■ Anne Warburton
■■ Cheryl Russell
Our thanks go to the children who have contributed ideas, images and content to the text: Natalie,
Jake, Jesse, Etienne, Odette, Katie, Kirsty, Laura, Emma, Mitiana, Jed, Tully, Nicole, Hannah and Kai.
A special thank you to our families who have provided constant support, good humour and
encouragement along the way. This edition of the text builds on the vision and work of Kerri-lee and
Sandra in earlier editions; we would like to thank them for their support in this latest edition of the text.
xiv
Resources guide
FOR THE STUDENT
As you read this text you will find a wealth of features in every chapter to help you learn the theory
of educational psychology and then link it to what happens in the classroom.
4 c h ap t e r 1 e m e rgin g sk il ls 5
chapter 1
Source: Matthew Duchesne, © Milk and Honey Photography, 2010.

Emerging skills
emerging
Figure M1 Module 1 concept map.
skills
Key questions
After reading this chapter you should be able to answer the

following questions:
• What are some milestones of physical development from early

Motor childhood to adolescence?
the learner development syntax semantics • how are physical development, language development and school
developing skills connected? Give examples of the relationships between them.
over time Physical Physical language
growth development building blocks
Phonology • how do developments in the brain over time explain the broad
social, emotional patterns of development seen in physical, language and school skills?
cognitive
development
and moral
development Brain Morphology
• Broadly describe the course of language acquisition. What
the role of Pragmatics influences it?
development
the physical
and social the role of
• how does the teaching of literacy and mathematics build on earlier
developments?
28
environment in the individual’s
core question: How can theories of development enhance

m o d u l e i T h e l e a r n e r d e v• e l o p i n g o v e r T i m e
development genes and
activity in
What are some key principles of development?
development
the understanding of learning and teaching? Figure 1.2 Each child brings skills
to school with them. What
human development occurs in many areas: physical, cognitive, social, emotional and moral, to name a few. none introduction influences their development?
of these aspects of development occurs in isolation. to understand the learner as a whole person, you need to see
the interconnections between the different facets of development and the ways in which these contribute to the What influences development? Consider a child starting to walk or to talk for the first The CourseMate website for
Language development during early childho

this text offers many additional
emergence of a complex but integrated individual. time. List the factors that might contribute to these remarkable developments. now think resources to help you get the
most out of this chapter.
Although genetic influences on development are significant, the role of social and cultural factors is receiving about the same child playing netball at school, or writing an argument in an essay. do the
school-based skills
increasing attention. in this module, you will notice the use of the prefix ‘socio’ in words such as ‘socioemotional’, contributing factors change, or are new ones added? development sometimes appears
‘sociocultural’ and ‘sociomoral’, to highlight social influences on development. to occur spontaneously – a matter of natural growth – yet maturation is only one factor
the three chapters in this module highlight the learner’s complex and multidimensional nature. in Chapter 1 literacy numeracy contributing to development. the physical and social environments also play a role, as
second
we explore the physical and linguistic dimensions of development, including brain development, and how these language do children’s activity and learning. teachers play a role in children’s learning, and also in
acquisition their development. in this chapter, we describe the development of a number of physical,
relate to learners who are developing the basic skills of literacy and numeracy. Chapter 2 focuses on the learner’s
Between two and three years of age, children start to speak in three-wor
mind and the ways in which thinking and reasoning develop over time. Chapter 3 examines what makes the learner Figure 1.1 Chapter 1 concept map.
language and school-based skills. As you read through the chapter, consider how these
unique – the self – and how thinking about the self and others develops as cognitive-processing abilities become skills are related and how they build on each other, and the factors that contribute to
more complex. We also examine the relationship between cognitive, social and emotional development, the capacity development. You might also consider how learning and development are connected.
word order of their native language (in English, subject–verb–object) (Mara

for moral reasoning and the development of values and beliefs.
Recognising how developments in one dimension support and contribute to developments in other areas
helps teachers consider all aspects of their students’ lives in order to design appropriate learning and teaching
develops, with categories such as nouns, pronouns and verbs appearing in sen
experiences. in each chapter of this module, we encourage you to consider how teachers can adapt their teaching
to cater for the varying developmental needs of students.
3
them. Thus, preschoolers’ speech begins to more closely resemble that of adu
The kinds of errors children make as they acquire language reveal the pro
which they are engaged. Very young children ‘underextend’ and ‘overextend’
Concept maps introduce each of the Chapter concept maps provide a Key questions at the start of each
work to define the limits of a category; that is, they may use the word ‘dog
four modules to give you an overview visual overview
overextension of the key concepts chapter
example of overextension ) orgive youonly
to refer a broad outline
to their own dog (an example
of how the chapters in the module Inappropriate use of
in each chapter and may a word for howalso
these of own
whatexpressions
the chapter will cover.
a class of things rather than for
develop their for words they do not know by comb
relate to each other. concepts connect
one particular thing to each other.
Jake, who is four years and seven months, said:
underextension You can’t touch his head because there’s a hole and you might hurt his think
A core question at the start of each Inappropriate use of a word for c h ap t e r 1 e m e rgin g sk il ls 31
one thing rather than for a class while Eloise, who is two years and four months old, said:
module helps you to connect your of things
Don’t fall me down [drop me]. Thi
study of educational psychology to Abonuk
real-world issues. 19
■ How might we let individual children control the focus and pace of their
p t e r 1 e m e rgin g sk il ls overregularisation
learning in the schoolOverregularisation
context? of grammatical forms occurs at the preschool stage as chi t
Application of a grammatical
rule and attempt to apply it. Initially, they tend to ignore irregular forms and
rule, ignoring its exceptions
for example:
Think about... panels encourage you to reflect on and critically analyse I goed to the zoo with Nana and we seed a baby giraffe.
ete development cerebral cortex important concepts and your beliefs about the processes of learning and
and
see Figure 1.10). The outer layer of the brain, teaching as you progress through each chapter.
which is responsible for human He did it well-ly, Mummy.
structure known intelligence It is a measure of children’s understanding of the language system that s
te with the outer limited to the appropriate part you’ll
of speech (verbs, in ‘I goed . . . we seed’) and t
Throughout the book, find CourseMate
Key terms are defined in the Some of these kinds of errors are also made by learners in the process of ac
icons that direct you to additional online
ly functions and margin when they are used and by children learning to spell.
materials.
The emergence These include
of grammar videos,
has been linkedinteractive
to children’s ability to find p
e visual cortex is in the text for the first time. Explore an example of
children’s storytelling activities and go further
(Tomasello, 2005, 2011). As children begin to form materials such moreas complex sentences
as lateralisation A lateralisation
full list of key terms is also with the Interactive
another
The specialisation of functions Activity on this text’s additional case studies and examples to helpcognitive
sequence is evident that appears to parallel you development
ple, the right side available in the glossary, CourseMate website. ‘and’, followed by ‘then’ or ‘when’ and ‘because’ or ‘so’. Children learn in a s
in the two hemispheres of the deepen your understanding of particular topics.
right side of the which
cerebralcan
cortex.be found at the first that things can be grouped together (‘and’), then that they can be sequenc
At points where it may be appropriate to consider
ated sounds such back of the book. relationships may be causal (‘because’) (Bloom, 1998). Bloom reminds us tha
your personal philosophy in of learning
children’s and teaching,
storytelling the icons will
and understanding direct you
of stories.
s associated with
to develop your
Figure 1.13 When philosophy using
adults and children read
The books,the template
do puzzles
directpragmatics
or other documents
activities,
of children’s it works best
language online.
for children’s language
also develop throughout the pe
eralisation of the development if the child can the activity.
childhood, as children’s use of language moves from simple expressions of em
rocesses function Child-directed speech language can be used to direct and control others. Children as young as two
the whole brain. Adults worldwide adjust their language
say to takewhenaccount
talking to of children, producing
the listener a special&register
(Dunn of speech
Kendrick,
xv
1982), although the
termed ‘motherese’ or child-directed speech. This type of speech tends to be higher in pitch than other child-directed
outer regions of their awareness of others’ points of view (perspective-taking ability)
speech, simple in grammar and vocabulary, and characterised by exaggerated expression and enunciation speech
improve
left side positive of words. It appears to help children separate the flow of speech into words, and to attend to the key
A type of speech directed
res o urces G uide
72 m o d u l e I t h e l e a r n e r De v e l opin g ov e r tim e
210 modu le I I the le a r ning proCess
c h ap t e r 1 e m e rgin g sk il ls 23
Box 2.5 Box 1.4 Box 5.6

THINKING CRITICALLY ABOUT THE FORMAL-OPERATIONAL STAGE THINKING CRITICALLY ABOUT BRAIN RESEARCH AND THE CLASSROOM IMPROVING STUDENT LEARNING AND MEMORY SKILLS THROUGH EXPLICIT TEACHING
Research implications Case study
Piaget (1974) recognised that part of a story about an imaginary world, children are able to Research into brain development to tap into the skills of one or other side of the brain Seabrook Primary School is a student outcomes
Links for educators
adolescents may only show formal- answer correctly. has been prolific over the past (see, for example, edwards, 1981). Bruer (1999) coeducational government school
decade, but work investigating warns against such simplistic applications of brain- the outcomes that have been achieved are:
operational thinking in familiar Kuhn and Franklin also report on adults’ reasoning in located in the western suburbs
the application of this new lateralisation research, pointing out that most skills ■ students identifying correct thinking strategies for
contexts. Research reported by similar problems. See how you do: of Melbourne. the teachers have
understanding of how the brain involve the coordination of messages from both sides of learning, and using them
Kuhn and Franklin (2006) also shows knowledge of content if tom studies, he’ll pass the exam. acknowledged that students need
works to classrooms is still in its infancy. Yet teachers around the brain. healthy brains rely on the two hemispheres ■ students choosing to mind map for note taking, rather
area to be a contributing factor to the use of sophisticated to have an understanding of what effective learning is and how
a tom passed. did he study? the world report that they are being bombarded by requests to working together for most tasks. than using traditional methods
thought by children, adolescents and adults. however, in join ‘brain-based learning’ workshops or attend seminars on differences in the structure of male and female brains students can use strategies to ensure personal improvement.
b tom didn’t study. did he pass? ■ ■ feedback from previous Grade 6 students that they are
some situations, knowledge interferes with reasoning. Asked ‘brain-based teaching’. Although we are learning more about have been used to support suggestions that males and in order to accomplish this task, teachers are explicitly
in fact, you cannot answer the question of whether tom using skills learnt now that they are in secondary school
the following questions, children and adults have difficulty the structure of the brain, how this relates to its function females learn differently (Gurian & henley, 2001). Some teaching students in Grades 5 and 6 to think about how they
studied or passed – he may have passed the exam for some ■ students achieving better test results after using memory
discounting the irrelevant information: in learning and teaching is still being examined and is very structural differences have been observed, but how they think, how they remember, how they structure and reproduce
reason other than study. Kuhn and Franklin report that adults techniques to help them with studying.
Cats miao. Phoebe is a cat. does Phoebe miao? difficult to research. A number of research centres worldwide affect learning style is not established. there are wide what they have studied, and how they can use what they have
tend to make a false conclusion in this situation. Just as in the have taken up the challenge to investigate the applications of variations in learning styles within groups of males or What have the teachers learnt?
Children correctly answer this question from about four been taught. Areas of focus include brain function, short- and
example with children, our knowledge or beliefs interfere with brain research to education. females, which should caution us not to generalise too ■ the importance of students being empowered in their
years of age – Kuhn and Franklin argue that they are showing long-term memory, mind mapping, mnemonics, study and
our logical reasoning. Goswami (2004) reviewed links between neuroscience broadly. Learning styles are discussed in Chapter 5; learning process
the beginnings of deductive reasoning prior to the stage of thinking skills, multiple intelligences, and learning styles.
and education, and suggested some likely areas for useful Chapter 10 discusses gender differences in more detail.
formal operations. however, there are limitations to their if tom cheats, he’ll pass the exam. After working through these topics, teachers have ■ the power of personal goal setting by learners
application, such as in understanding reading acquisition and ■ Because of the idea of ‘critical periods’ of brain growth
ability to reason deductively. a tom passed. did he cheat? observed learners experiencing feelings of success and self- ■ that student engagement is more powerful than student
dyslexia, or in training children with autism to understand and the concept of synapse proliferation, some programs
belief. it has given them proof that they each have potential participation, and that it requires students to take
Cats bark. Phoebe is a cat. does Phoebe bark? b tom didn’t cheat. did he pass? emotion. however, caution should be used when reading targeted at teachers have suggested special teaching
recommendations for teachers that are billed as being interventions that promote ‘neuroplasticity’. in fact, any to achieve, if given the right strategies for effective learning. responsibility for their learning
this is more difficult, as the child’s knowledge of cats in this case, adults tend to correctly judge that the
‘brain-based’ (Fischer, 2004). Sometimes this label is used teaching intervention or life experience that leads to a through the study skills section, students have become more ■ that many learning skills need to be explicitly taught
interferes with their ability to reason about the information answer can’t be known, because it is easier to imagine other
they have been given. to describe educational applications that are based on change in behaviour and knowledge will be ‘remapped’ independent and responsible learners by setting personal Source: Adapted from Maycock and Finegan (n.d.).
possibilities – our knowledge helps us to judge accurately.
educational psychology generally (for example, Caine & in the brain – neuroplasticity occurs naturally without the learning goals and managing their time more effectively.
hyenas laugh. Phoebe is a hyena. does Phoebe laugh? the relationship between knowledge and reasoning is a Caine, 1991), but others have claimed direct applications of need for costly programs.
do you think this would be easier or harder for children complex one. neurological research to learning and teaching strategies that ■ there may be sensitive periods during which the
who don’t know about hyenas? in fact, it is easier. however, evidence such as this challenges Piaget’s picture of formal are not supported by research evidence. these are sometimes development of certain abilities is optimised, but these do not ACTIvITIeS 1 The case study does not provide details of how memory skills and thinking strategies
if the second situation (in which cats bark) is presented as operations as a stage in which deductive reasoning appears. called ‘neuromyths’ (oeCd 2002). here are some examples: prevent learning from occurring later. For example, London
were taught.
■ Some educators have used brain lateralisation to taxi drivers who are particularly good at navigating around
ACTIVITIES explain children’s academic strengths and weaknesses, the city have been found to have enlarged hippocampi (the
2 Discuss with your peers, colleagues or tutorial group specific strategies that you would
1 Ask these questions of children, adolescents and adults, and discuss your results. What do they tell
describing students as being ‘left-brained’ or ‘right- area responsible for spatial memory), suggesting they have use to explicitly teach thinking strategies and memory techniques.
you about development in reasoning ability?
brained’ (for example, McCarthy & McCarthy, 2005). developed synapses in this area in response to their task
2 Describe your view of the differences between adults’ and children’s thinking. others have used this as a basis for programs that seek (Maguire et al., 2000, cited in Goswami, 2004). AQ1
3 How might familiarity of context help students to learn new information in the classroom? In what
situations might it interfere with students learning new concepts? activities What ‘neuromyths’ have you heard of in the classroom? Use the Go Further link to make some online
visits to centres for research in the application of neurological research to learning and teaching, and Strengths and limitations of the information processing
discover some of the evidence-based findings.
approach
Opportunities for challenging students’ thinking at both the concrete and formal levels can be
identified in most teaching situations. For example, the plot in one of Shakespeare’s plays can be studied
Case studies in each chapter help
The information processing account of how we process and remember information is widely accepted
Brain development in middle childhood is the expression and refinement of many of the processes in the field of cognitive psychology. There are several models of information processing, each with
Research links' boxes highlight

in terms of a sequence of events that follows logically from beginning to end. At the same time, attention
you see how theories are applied in

started in early childhood. Neural networks are faster and the regions of the cerebral cortex continue to its own merits and limitations. In contrast to the behaviourist focus on observable behaviours, the
Implications for educators’ boxes

can be directed to the more abstract themes that underlie the action: compassion, jealousy, pride, desire. grow, culminating in the final stages of growth in adolescence. information processing approach attempts to depict the complex mental processes that contribute to
Hypothetical situations can be identified from the plot, and a sequence of events identified as being
learning and remembering.
possible if alternative actions had been taken or different motives followed. Here, the main focus is Brain development in adolescence
specific studies and help you to real life classroom settings.
to encourage and provide opportunities for students to begin to think abstractly about possibilities, GO FURTHER:
strengths
provide concise overviews that help

Follow the links to visit
divergent solutions and so on. These thinking patterns are most likely to be achieved in areas of activity The adolescent brain enters a new ‘critical period’ of development during which two processes appear centres for research
in which students are ‘experts’. Teachers at the secondary level who want to stimulate more advanced to underpin the emergence of the adult brain. First, as the grey matter of the cerebral cortex completes into the brain and Using the computer as a metaphor for the human mind, the classical views of information processing
learning on this text’s
patterns of thinking in their students can begin by capturing students’ interest and creating enthusiasm development, a process of synapse pruning begins, resulting in an adult brain that is actually less dense CourseMate website. help us understand the complexity of cognitive processing and the many stages and processes involved
understand the role of research infor the curriculum area in which they are working. Teachers cannot assume that all high school students in storing and recalling information. This approach facilitates close study and analysis of cognitive
you to understand the implications processes – something particularly beneficial for educators seeking to understand how best to assist young
people to learn and recall important information. The multistore model draws attention to different
teaching and learning. for learning and teaching of the

c h apt er 2 Co g nitiv e De v elopm e n t 57
Box 2.1
40 m o d u l e i T h e l e a r n e r de v e l opin g ov e r Tim e
material you have been reading. About
Jean Piaget
Jean Piaget (1896–1980) was born
in neuchâtel, Switzerland, to well-
educated, professional parents
psychology at the Sorbonne in Paris. While there, he worked
in the laboratory of Alfred Binet, who was interested in
measuring intelligence (see Chapter 8). Piaget assisted
(Brainerd, 1996). his childhood in standardising a French version of a reasoning test. his
was not happy – his mother had task was to identify norms for the average French child and
mental health problems and this compare them with those for an english child. this was
Box 1.9 led Piaget, like his father, to spend his time in scientific study a rather dull, mechanical task, and Piaget’s interest was
Center (2005) recommends ■ introduce each sound over the year, helping children to rather than pursuing more conventional leisure activities. it captured by the wrong answers that children gave to items
classroom a balanced approach to the identify them in words, and to write them
Activities at the end of these boxed

also stimulated an interest in psychology. on the test. Using interview techniques he had learned at
links teaching of reading, balancing the ■ give children ‘decodable texts’ (that is, readers with Piaget showed early promise of intellectual ability. At the the Sorbonne, Piaget asked the children to explain their
systematic teaching of phonics with simple text using the sounds the children can recognise) age of seven he began to study molluscs, carrying out very answers and found their explanations of errors were
teaching children to make meaning ■ have other books available for children to read and have detailed observations in the much more interesting than
from texts. these skills need to be read to them
Source: APL/Corbis/© Farrell Grehan.

features encourage you to apply the
lakes around neuchâtel. By explanations of correct answers.
combined so that children have the skills both to decode the ■ develop phonemic awareness through activities such as
10 years old he had published during these interviews, Piaget
text and to make meaning from the sounds and words they thinking of words starting with a sound, blending sounds
his first scientific article, and noted that 6-year-olds, 8-year-
decode. in the first year, she suggests that teachers: together to form words, and pulling words apart orally to
at 14 years old was offered a olds and 13-year-olds made
■ read a variety of texts daily with the children to develop separate phonemes
theory you have just learnt and to

curator’s position at the Geneva different types of errors. he also
listening comprehension, vocabulary, knowledge and ■ encourage children to write in response to literature
Museum of natural history noticed that children of roughly
enjoyment of the reading process and to put in practice their phonological knowledge
■ read texts interactively, including predicting, discussing and skills
but was too young to take it up the same age not only got the
and retelling the story ■ teach spelling systematically to support children’s (Wadsworth, 1996). At the age same items wrong but also made
of 18, he gained a Bachelor’s the same kinds of errors. he
check your understanding.

■ use Big Books (large-format texts) to develop print reading and writing skills
awareness ■ start to teach syntactic awareness degree from the University of became convinced that children
■ explain to children how learning individual sounds will ■ include plenty of oral language activities, particularly for neuchâtel, then a Phd, and by think in ways that are qualitatively
help them to read all the books they encounter students of language backgrounds other than english. the age of 21 had published 25 different from the ways in which
scholarly papers. adults think.
As well as his study of Piaget held chairs of
activities 1 See the CourseMate website for research on approaches to teaching reading. science, Piaget was also psychology, sociology and related
2 Interview a teacher about their approach to teaching reading, and think about the skills that are interested in philosophy and areas at universities in Switzerland
being developed. in the origins and nature of between 1925 and 1964, and was
human knowledge. his dual director of the international Centre
involvement in the biological for Genetic epistemology in Geneva
sciences and philosophy was from 1955 until 1980. he continued
■ Users of texts are able to recognise and use different genres of text for different purposes. The highly influential in his later to publish scholarly works until
functional approach (Gibbons, 2002) teaches about what texts do, and how different text types work on children’s intellectual just before his death in 1980 at
Classroom links provide real-life

development. Figure 2.3 the age of 84. his enormous
are structured and defined. Students’ attempts to write for particular purposes are supported by
Piaget’s interest in how Piaget observed children and questioned them about the productivity over a 60-year period
modelling and guided practice. way they solved problems. His work changed the way we
people acquire knowledge is one of the reasons he is so well
■ Analysts of texts read between the lines to judge the point of view of the writer, and to write for think about cognitive development.
led him in 1919 to study regarded.
particular purposes themselves. Critical literacy is particularly important in the later years of
examples of research or applications schooling, as students select between a number of resources, judge the appropriateness and validity
of what they read, and write for particular audiences. This
remain influential. More importantly, subsequent theories of cognitive development have had cognition
skill is highlighted when searching for information on the The mental processes involved
Internet, for example. to address many of the issues Piaget initially raised. In particular, his method of questioning
of theory. Leading contemporary and historical

in perceiving, attending to,
Teachers can contribute a range of practices within each children about how they make sense of their experiences – probing to understand their errors understanding and recalling
resource family to each student’s repertoire. As different and then following up with further questions – is one of his most significant contributions. information
students will use different practices in different contexts, In reviewing some of the main questions that interested Piaget, and in looking at the implications of
having a range of practices available within each resource his ideas for educators, it is important to be aware that Piaget’s language can be confusing. The meaning
family is important. In a classroom reading lesson, you
might see students learning to associate letters with their psychologists and their theories are
of some of the words he used is different from that in common usage, such as his use of ‘conservation’,
‘assimilation’, ‘accommodation’ and ‘egocentrism’ (defined later in this chapter). This can be attributed in
sounds and to blend sounds, predicting what will come next, part to Piaget’s background as a biologist, and to his use of biological terms to explain cognitive development.
highlighted throughout.
taking part in a shared reading activity in which they talk
about a book and what it is about, sequencing text, reading
alone, reading aloud to someone else, rewriting a story to
Figure 1.14 Literacy activities may involve reading text, pictures and
icons in multimedia, and navigating through a range of put it into a different context, exploring the structure of a
text types, as well as skills of analysis and evaluation. fairytale, writing a response to a story they have read, using
At the end of each chapter, you’ll find several

learning tools to help you review the chapter and key
concepts, and extend your learning.
232 modu le I I the le a r ning proCess c h a p t e r 5 C o g n i t i v e e x p l a n a t io n s o f l e a r n i n g 233

1 Chapter review sections provide
1 Chapter review 2 Questions and activities for valuable summaries of key concepts and
self-assessment and discussion
issues.
• Cognitive views of learning focus on internal mental • Connectionist models focus on the connectivity between
processes, and learners as active constructors of meaning. pieces of information that are stored as memories. They
1 What could a teacher do to help students to think in more 5 What are the key features of constructivist theories of
• The social cognitive approach recognises the agency of depict the brain as a vast computer network, with all of the
complex ways? learning? How could you use it as a learner and as a
the learner, and links cognitive to behaviourist views by information interconnected.
2 Draw a schematic representation of information processing teacher? What could you do to avoid its limitations?
describing environmental, personal (including cognitive) and • Cognitive learning theory offers several explanations
and describe how information is processed according to the 6 Design a collaborative learning task with the aim of
behavioural factors as mutually influencing one another and of why we forget. Three reasons for forgetting are that:
multistore model. What have other models of information developing students’ thinking about a concept. How will you
learning. (1) memory decays over time; (2) long-term memories
Your revision is made easier with

processing added to this? structure the task, the group, and your role to maximise the
2
• The information-processing model likens the human mind interfere with each other and inhibit remembering;
3 For each of the processes in information processing benefits of this approach? Which theories help you to make
to a computer, and learning is depicted as the processing of and (3) we do not always have the necessary cues to
(attention, chunking, rehearsal, elaboration and these decisions?
information. retrieve stored information.
organisation) identify strategies the teacher can employ to 7 Describe your own cognitive style. To what extent are you a
• Constructivist approaches focus on the role of social
questions and activities for self-

• The multistore model of information processing describes support the process and maximise learning. reflective or impulsive, dependent or independent, deep or
three memory-storage areas in the brain: the sensory interaction and on the impact of sociocultural factors on our
4 How important is metacognition for learning? Explain how it surface learner? What benefits stem from your particular
memory, the working memory and the long-term ability to process information cognitively.
contributes to the learning process. style? How can you become a more effective learner?
memory. • Four key principles of constructivism are (1) learners
are active participants in learning, (2) learners are self-
assessment and discussion.

• Metacognition is the executive control process that directs
our thinking. Learners develop metacognitive knowledge regulated, (3) social interaction is necessary for effective
about how they and others process material (person
knowledge) about particular tasks and the metacognitive
learning, and (4) learners’ knowledge may be relative, since
learners construct their own meaning, which depends on
Key terms
skills they demand (task knowledge), and about a range of individual factors such as prior knowledge and sociocultural cognitive learning theories encoding levels of processing model schema
metacognitive strategies and how best to use them (strategy context. cognitive load episodic memory long-term memory self-monitoring
knowledge). • Cognitive styles depict learner differences in the cognitive style executive control metacognition self-regulation
3 Putting it together sections highlight

processing of information and may be understood in terms collaborative learning field dependence peer-assisted learning semantic memory
• The levels-of-processing approach distinguishes between
of perceptual style (field dependence–independence), connectionist model field independence procedural memory sensory memory
deep and shallow information processing. According to this
conceptual tempo (impulsivity–reflectivity) and approach to constructivism impulsivity psychological constructivism short-term memory
model, depth of processing determines how information is
learning (for example, deep, achieving or surface learning). cooperative learning information processing model reflectivity social constructivism
processed and remembered.
links to key concepts across the chapters.

discovery learning inquiry learning rehearsal working memory
elaboration learning style retrieval
COURSEMATE WEBSITE RESOURCES

● Self-check quiz
3 Putting it together
● Crosswords Flashcards Glossary
CourseMate
http://login.cengagebrain.com ● Go Further
Making links to material in other chapters
Compare the behavioural and cognitive approaches to learning. Which is closer to the ways you have been taught? Which do
You’ll find suggestions for further
● Video you prefer as a learner and as a teacher? Return to chapter 2 and consider how development of cognition might influence how
you teach, and how students learn at different stages of development. Are there approaches that would be more and less effective
for students of different ages? research, including useful websites to
visit and recommended database search
terms to help you find more information.
xvi
res o urces G uide
Online resources
Visit http://login.cengagebrain.com and use the access code that comes with this book for 12 months’ access to:
■■ an e-book version of this text
■■ the CourseMate for Educational Psychology website, which includes:
➜➜ self-check quizzes
➜➜ crosswords
➜➜ interactive flashcards
➜➜ glossary
➜➜ interactive activities
➜➜ ‘develop your philosophy’ materials
➜➜ ‘go further’ materials, including additional case studies and examples
➜➜ videos that illustrate some of the concepts discussed in the text
➜➜ and much more!
■■ Search me! education. Fast and convenient, this resource is updated daily and provides
you with 24-hour access to full-text articles from hundreds of scholarly and popular
journals, e-books, and newspapers, including The Australian and The New York Times.
FOR THE INSTRUCTOR
Cengage Learning is pleased to provide you with an extensive selection of Instructor resources
that have been specifically developed to supplement Educational Psychology: for learning
and teaching 4th edition. These are available on the Instructor’s companion website,
accessible via http://login.cengage.com.
ExamView Testbank PowerPointTM presentations

ExamView helps you create, Chapter-by-chapter PowerPoint presentations cover
customise and deliver tests in the main concepts addressed within the text and can be
minutes for both print and online. The Quick Test Wizard edited to suit your own requirements. Use these slides to
and Online Test Wizard guide you step-by-step through enhance your lecture presentations and to reinforce the
the test-creation process. The program also allows you to key principles of your subject, or for student handouts.
see the test you are creating on the screen exactly as it will
Artwork
print or display online. With ExamView’s complete word-
These digital files of graphs, tables, pictures and flow
processing capabilities you can add an unlimited number
charts from the book can be used in a variety of media.
of new questions to the bank, edit existing questions and
Add them into your course management system, use
build tests of up to 250 questions using up to 12 question
them within student handouts or copy them into lecture
types. You can export the files into Blackboard or WebCT.
presentations.
The testbank includes a variety of true/false, multiple
choice, completion, short answer and essay questions. Local videos
These short, easy-to-consume video segments
Instructor’s manual
encourage students to think about the implications of
The instructor’s manual provides you with a wealth of
educational psychology theory for teachers, students
content to help set up and administer your subject. It
and classrooms. Chosen specifically to accompany
includes chapter overviews and chapter objectives; a
Educational Psychology: for learning and teaching 4th
resource integration guide; student activities; research
edition, the videos feature students, teachers and parents.
ideas; case studies; suggested essay topics; questions to
use with the companion videos, and more.
xvii
INTRODUCTION
For many students using this book, the field of educational psychology - or ‘ed. psych.’, as you may soon
call it – will represent uncharted waters. You may have chosen this area because you have always been
interested in psychology, or perhaps you are studying to be a teacher and educational psychology is a
compulsory subject. Whatever your reason for using this text, we encourage you to take a few minutes to
read these introductory comments before you go further. These notes may help you to better understand
the subject and to make links to other aspects of your experience and study.
What is educational psychology?

educational Some students ask: ‘Why not just simplify and call it psychology?’ The reason is that educational
psychology psychology is a discipline in its own right, and connects the disciplines of education and psychology
A branch of psychology
concerned with studying (Walberg & Haertel, 1992). It involves not only scientific research on the various dimensions of learning
how people learn and the and teaching, but also the investigation of ways to apply psychological principles to educational contexts
implications for teaching
with the aim of enhancing learning and teaching quality.
One of the things students enjoy most about this subject is that by studying theories of learning
and development they learn a lot about their own development and what influenced it. A number
of the effective teaching practices you experienced at school could be traced back to some element
of educational psychology. As you read this book, you will begin to understand your own learning
processes and how to improve them. You will also be challenged to think about ways in which teaching
could be improved to cater for student differences and particular student needs.
Who studies educational psychology?

The discipline of educational psychology can be applied in many contexts. You may have taken up this
book because you plan to be a teacher, and must study educational psychology as a foundation unit.
Other readers may be psychology students who are interested in working with children or adolescents,
whether in professional practice or as a counsellor in a school setting. Others may be preparing to
be educational psychologists – qualified psychologists who specialise in applying their expertise in
educational contexts, and who work in schools or other institutional settings (for example, university,
government or corporate settings) where education takes place. Still others may be reading this text so as
to better understand their own learning and the education process.
We recognise that the majority of this book’s readers will be planning a teaching or related career.
For this reason, our examples focus on early childhood, school-aged children and youth.
Why study all those theories?

It is true that when you first start studying educational psychology you are introduced to many theories.
Some educational psychology students have been heard to say: ‘Ed. psych. is just a lot of theory ... I came
to uni to learn how to teach kids!’ Our advice to you is to not lose heart and to remember that theories
have an important purpose.
You will discover that theories form the foundation for understanding many critical issues that face
learners and educators in the 21st century. Throughout this book, and particularly in the first half, we
link theory to practice and encourage you to do the same. You will find that theories help us answer
questions such as: What are the best ways of studying? How can I improve motivation – both mine
xviii
I N T R O D U C T ION xix
and others’? Why do some young people give up on themselves, and what can I do about it? How can
technology be used to enhance learning? Is education redundant in the Information Age?
Educational psychology and the theories of development and learning covered in this text will:
■■ help you understand your own development and factors that have contributed to it
■■ provide strategies to enhance the quality of your learning and motivation
■■ guide your understanding of how learners learn and how educators can become more effective in
their teaching practice
■■ contribute to your personal philosophy of learning and teaching.
➜ Table 0.1 Overview of this text
Standard Elements Chapter
1 Know students 1.1 Physical, social and intellectual development Module 1: Chapters 1, 2, 3

and how they and characteristics of students
learn
Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of physical,
social and intellectual development and characteristics of
students and how these may affect learning
1.2 Understand how students learn Module 2: Chapters 4, 5, 6

Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of research
into how students learn and the implications for teaching
1.3 Students with diverse linguistic, cultural, Module 3: Chapter 10

religious and socioeconomic backgrounds
Demonstrate knowledge of teaching strategies that
are responsive to the learning strengths and needs of
students from diverse linguistic, cultural, religious and
socioeconomic backgrounds
1.4 Strategies for teaching Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander students
Demonstrate broad knowledge and understanding of
the impact of culture, cultural identity and linguistic
background on the education of students from Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds
1.5 Differentiate teaching to meet the specific Module 3: Chapters 8, 9

learning needs of students across the full range
of abilities
Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of strategies
for differentiating teaching to meet the specific learning
needs of students across the full range of abilities
1.6 Strategies to support full participation

of students with disability
Demonstrate broad knowledge and understanding of
legislative requirements and teaching strategies that
support participation and learning of students with disability
2
Know the 2.5 Literacy and numeracy strategies Module 1: Chapter 1
content and
Know and understand literacy and numeracy teaching
how to teach it
strategies and their application in teaching areas
2.6 Information and communication Module 4: Chapter 11

technology (ICT)
Implement teaching strategies for using ICT to expand
curriculum learning opportunities for students
xx I N T R O D U C T ION
Standard Elements Chapter
3
Plan for and 3.2 Plan, structure and sequence learning programs Module 2: Chapters 4, 5, 6
implement
Plan lesson sequences using knowledge of student
effective
learning, content and effective teaching strategies
teaching and
learning 3.3 Use teaching strategies
Include a range of teaching strategies
3.4 Select and use resources Module 4: Chapter 11

Demonstrate knowledge of a range of resources, including
ICT, that engage students in their learning
4
Create and 4.1 Support student participation Module 3: Chapters 7, 9
maintain
Identify strategies to support inclusive student
supportive
participation and engagement in classroom activities
and safe
learning 4.2 Manage classroom activities Module 4: Chapter 13
environments
Demonstrate the capacity to organise classroom activities
and provide clear directions
4.3 Manage challenging behaviour
Demonstrate knowledge of practical approaches to
manage challenging behaviour
4.4 Maintain student safety
Describe strategies that support students’ wellbeing and
safety working within school and/or system, curriculum
and legislative requirements
4.5 Use ICT safely, responsibly and ethically Module 4: Chapter 11

Demonstrate an understanding of the relevant issues and
the strategies available to support the safe, responsible
and ethical use of ICT in learning and teaching
5
Assess, 5.1 Assess student learning Module 4: Chapter 12
provide
Demonstrate understanding of assessment strategies,
feedback
including informal and formal, diagnostic, formative and
and report
summative approaches to assess student learning
on student
learning 5.2 Provide feedback to students on their learning
Demonstrate an understanding of the purpose of
providing timely and appropriate feedback to students
about their learning
5.3 Make consistent and comparable judgements

Demonstrate understanding of assessment moderation
and its application to support consistent and comparable
judgements of student learning
5.4 Interpret student data
Demonstrate the capacity to interpret student assessment
data to evaluate student learning and modify teaching
practice
5.5 Report on student achievement
Demonstrate understanding of a range of strategies for
reporting to students and parents/carers and the purpose
of keeping accurate and reliable records of student
achievement
I N T R O D U C T ION xxi
Changes in the education landscape

In the past few years, Australia has experienced major changes in policy and curriculum relating to
schools and teaching, with the Early Years Learning Framework in 2009, the Australian National
Curriculum (shaping paper endorsed in 2011, with continuing development of the curriculum
itself over several phases) and the National Professional Teaching Standards in 2011. You will find
reference to all of these documents in this edition of the text. Here, we consider how your study of
educational psychology in this text might contribute to your development of knowledge towards the
National Professional Teaching Standards. Educational psychology will contribute towards a number
of elements of your Professional Knowledge and Professional Practice. Table 0.1 on the previous page
provides an overview.
Reflective teaching
Students sometimes enter teacher education courses with the aim of discovering ‘the best way to teach’.
Researchers in educational psychology have also looked at what makes an effective teacher. In one
international study Clarke, Keitel and Shimizu (2006) researched the practices of competent teachers
in 16 different countries, including Australia, and found that many different approaches were used
across the world. They also discovered that effective teachers drew on a variety of teaching and learning
strategies. In line with their conclusions, we argue in this book that there is no one best way to teach,
but rather that effective teaching is linked to making effective choices for yourself as a teacher, and about
your subject matter and for your students. These may involve choices about curriculum content, learning
and teaching strategies, methods of assessment and reporting, how to motivate students, catering for
individual difference and classroom management. How do teachers evaluate whether their choices were
good ones? Educational psychology can help.
Thi
■ What makes an effective teacher, in your experience? Abonuk
t
Teaching can be described as a complex problem-solving activity. As such, research on effective

problem solving and effective learning is applicable to teaching. In Chapter 5 you will see that effective
learners are reflective about their learning, and have knowledge of themselves, the task they are undertaking
and strategies they can implement. Planning, monitoring and evaluating are metacognitive (thinking
about thinking) strategies employed by effective learners. In the same way, reflective teachers draw on
metacognitive knowledge of self, task and strategies as they plan, monitor and evaluate their teaching.
Schon (1987) coined the term ‘reflective practice’, focusing on the ways in which people think
about their experiences and formulate responses as they happen (‘thinking on your feet’, which he called
‘thinking in action’), as well as afterwards (‘thinking on action’). In teaching, reflective practice occurs at
all stages of the teaching process (see Figure 0.1 on page xxii).
Farrell (1998) pointed out the need for outside input to ensure that reflection on teaching experience
goes beyond simple description. Reflective teaching is informed teaching. Thus, reflection can draw on
immediate experience, as well as theory and research in other settings, research in your own classroom
(action research), discussion with colleagues, and feedback from students. The study of educational
psychology is an important element that informs your reflection on your teaching.
xxii I N T R O D U C T ION
Reflection in planning
Reflection in evaluation Reflection in action
Figure 0.1 The cyclical nature of the reflective teaching process.
Ferraro (2000) listed the benefits of reflective teaching. They include:

■■ understanding of personal teaching style
■■ validation of ideals
■■ challenge to traditional ways of doing things
■■ recognition of teaching as artistry
■■ respect for diversity in how theory may be applied in the classroom
■■ (ultimately) increased effectiveness as a teacher.
This chapter outlines four main tools to help you become a more reflective practitioner, all of which
draw on educational psychology. These are:
1 reflecting on your teaching practice
2 developing your personal philosophy of learning and teaching
3 using existing research to inform your practice
4 conducting research of your own.
Reflecting on your teaching practice

critical reflection Critical reflection involves analysing your own and others’ thoughts and beliefs. It involves thinking
Analysing what we are thinking
about why people – yourself and others – behave in certain ways. When you reflect critically, you analyse
and learning by questioning
assumptions, perspectives and and question existing knowledge and assumptions.
values related to our thoughts or Reflection is a constant process, linked to practice. It can be supported by a range of activities,
to new information
including reflective journals and portfolios, observation, and consulting with colleagues such as mentors
or critical friends.
Keeping a reflective journal and portfolio

A reflective journal is written as a record of your experience with the purpose of examining and evaluating
it. Portfolios extend this idea with the collection of work samples, lesson plans, worksheets and other
artefacts of your teaching, accompanied by reflective commentary on the collection. Some prompts for
reflection might be research reports, other professional reading, or discussions with colleagues. Here are
some questions to guide your reflection on your teaching:
1 What are my goals for this class/this lesson?
2 How does what I do reflect those goals?
3 What are students responding well to?
4 What is not working? What are students responding poorly to?
I N T R O D U C T ION xxiii
5 What is frustrating me or the students?

6 Are my goals being met? Why or why not?
7 What does research and my professional reading tell me about what is happening or what should
be happening in this class?
8 What have I seen or heard about in other classes that might be helpful?
9 What other goals do I need to focus on?
10 What new strategies do I need to explore?
Box 0.1 gives an example of one teacher’s reflective journal.
Box 0.1
ANNE’S REfLECTiVE JOURNaL
Case study
Anne was teaching a Year 8 French the class and very disruptive. Not sure how motivating this
class. The following is from her would be, but she says they are powering through them, and
Term 1 journal: like the structure, and the idea that they can do it. Success is
everything. Should look up the research on using immersion
I want to use immersion but it is too overwhelming for in Australia. I’m sure other teachers must have encountered
some students – they just give up. There is a wide range of this. Meanwhile for next lesson: set up activities with a
abilities, with some students able to translate the cartoon series of exercises, stems on board, and some direct
with ease, and others with no idea of the basics (pronouns!). instruction. Small groups with cards in English (advanced
It’s difficult for them to do exercises with minimal vocab, and students) or French (beginners) to complete the stems
for some, little understanding of how the language works.
I think group work would allow the better students to move Je veux . . . or je ne veux pas . . . Je peux . . . or je ne peux pas . . .
ahead while the beginners learn the basics. Will have to Money for the show Visit grandma
work on my classroom management skills for this to work.
Buy clothes/a skateboard Play at a friend’s house
Spoke to [another teacher] about what she does with her
German class. She has set formal grammar exercises for a Do the washing up Go to a movie
small group of difficult ones who were way behind the rest of Go to Europe for the holidays Stay at home
Activities Keep a journal of your ideas about teaching at present, and compare them with those you have
at the end of your training, when you start teaching full-time, and several years hence.
Using mentors, critical friends and colleagues

Mentors are expert practitioners who take on a responsibility to share their skills and experience with a mentor
An expert practitioner inducting
novice to help them to develop professional expertise. This may involve direct transfer of teaching skills,
a novice into their profession
but it may also involve many other strategies: helping novices to reflect on their practice, or pointing
them in the right direction to seek help, for example. Mentor programs may be formal or informal.
Many universities and education departments in Australia and New Zealand make use of mentors in
teacher education and beginning teacher induction programs, and mentors are also seen at other levels
of professional development, such as school leadership.
xxiv I N T R O D U C T ION
As well as expertise, there are a number of characteristics you may want to consider when choosing
who you will approach to request a mentor relationship, thinking about someone who communicates well
with you, is reflective, whom you trust, and who has expertise and a degree of match with your philosophy
of learning and teaching. You are entering into a relationship that will involve demands on their time, and
need to consider that as well. Is the person likely to have the time to listen to and talk with you, to come
and watch you teach, and to reflect on your concerns? Possible roles mentors can fill include:
■■ advice
■■ guidance about the particular setting
■■ helping you settle in to a new class, school or role
■■ a sounding board (feedback)
■■ an ‘outsider’ who can look at your classes and give an honest assessment
■■ encouragement
■■ clarification of your ideas
■■ prompting reflection
■■ a model
■■ developing the higher-order problem-solving skills characteristic of experts (Barnett, 1995).
Given this range of roles, you may want to consider a number of colleagues: critical friends who can
give you feedback on your ideas, a more senior colleague for advice, another teacher in your department
with whom you can pair up to watch and comment on each others’ lessons, and a friendly person who
encourages you. All of this suggests a teamwork approach to teaching. Colleagues provide an important
source of assistance and input for reflection.
Observation
It can be helpful to observe your own class with fresh eyes, as well as observing others teaching. Aids to
observation may include video and audio. Of course, you must gain the consent of your students to record
them in this way, and make clear to them the purpose of the recording. Additionally, you may choose to
focus on certain behaviours you or your students are exhibiting. In this case, an anecdotal record or checklist
may be useful. An anecdotal record is a simple description of an activity or event giving information on
the setting of the activity, the individuals involved, what was said or done by whom, and the length of time
involved. Such information is useful for analysing what is happening in a problematic situation, and for
describing and defining specific behaviours. Information collected for an anecdotal record can be organised
in the form of a checklist, with data organised in segments of time, or by student behaviour, with the
observational categories listed across the top and time units or student names listed in the left-hand column.
Reflecting on your personal philosophy

of learning and teaching
Studying educational psychology provides an ideal opportunity to develop the ability to reflect critically,
and in so doing to develop a personal philosophy of learning and teaching. A philosophy is like a
personal mission statement: it guides your choices, behaviours, thoughts and feelings. Whether you
plan to teach in classrooms, work as a school counsellor, support your own children’s learning or simply
be a responsible and informed member of society, your personal philosophy will be central to what you
believe, how you think and behave, and how you relate to others.
I N T R O D U C T ION xxv
All of us have experience as learners, and possibly as teachers as well. As such, we come to the
learning–teaching process with implicit theories, and preferences regarding learning and teaching. It can
be helpful to examine that implicit knowledge, and to become aware of its origins. As you study units in
education, and gain further experience, your philosophy may well change. We hope, for example, that
studying educational psychology will give you new insights into the learner, the learning–teaching process,
and some of the choices available to you as a teacher. With further teaching experiences, and deepening
knowledge, your philosophy of learning and teaching is likely to continue to evolve. Developing a
personal philosophy helps you to be aware of your beliefs, how they are related to your knowledge
and experience, and the ways in which they can have an impact upon your learning and teaching. As a
teacher, your philosophy should be informed by relevant theory and research in educational psychology.
It will help you to set goals, make choices and evaluate your progress.
Here are some questions that might help you to start thinking about your personal philosophy:
■■ What does teaching involve?
■■ What (and who) has an impact upon learning?
■■ What is the role of the teacher?
■■ What makes an effective teacher? Take a moment
■■ What is the role of the learner? to consider your
personal philosophy.
■■ What is learning? You may wish to use
■■ What makes an effective learner? the Develop your
Philosophy tool on
On the CourseMate website, you will find ‘Develop your philosophy’, which provides a space for this text’s CourseMate
website.
you to consider your philosophy of learning and teaching related to each module of this text.
Using research as a reflective teacher

Research in educational psychology can assist the reflective teacher in several ways. First, it can be
a source of new strategies or ideas for teaching. In studying this text, you may identify some ideas
and strategies of which you were previously unaware. Second, research can help teachers to evaluate a
number of choices in order to select the most appropriate one for their circumstance.
Research in educational psychology can also help teachers to make sense of their experiences by
comparing them with others’ findings and with theory.
John Hattie (1999, 2003, 2009) has conducted a number of meta-analyses, combining the results of
thousands of studies to compare the effects of various factors on student achievement. He reported that
student factors account for about 50 per cent of variance in achievement,
while teachers accounted for about 30 per cent, and home, peers, schools
and school principals each accounted for between 5 per cent and 10 per students
cent of achievement variance (see Figure 0.2). Hattie (2009) argued that
teachers
beyond student ability, what teachers do in classrooms makes the greatest
contribution to student learning, so it’s important to think about how we home
evaluate what we do. peers

Hattie’s research showed that almost all teacher interventions made schools
some difference to student learning. This is in part because of the
principals
process of reflection the teachers go through in preparing, conducting
and evaluating the program. This is a strong argument for research as
a tool for reflection. He argued that because the average effect size was Figure 0.2 Percentage of achievement variance.
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COMMENTS
If children are spoken to kindly about the condition of their hands

and several are sent at once to wash, they will take less offense. It will
seem then a matter of school-room practice rather than a personal
affront.
Drills or plays are often used to bring about habits of cleanliness.
ILLUSTRATION (FIRST GRADE)
Miss Barry organized her first grade room “Sanitary

into a “Sanitary Brigade.” Every one’s own Brigade”
ten fingers were the private soldiers over which each one’s face was
the captain. One child in each row, appointed by the teacher each
Monday morning, was the Lieutenant General of his row, and Miss
Barry was the Major General of them all.
Each captain inspected his ten soldiers and demanded that each
one—right and left Thumbkin, right and left Pointer, right and left
Longman, Ringman and Littleman—be perfectly clean. Then the
Colonel inspected the captains and finally the General had a grand
review of all the troops. The captains and colonels made daily
inspections. If they failed to do their work well they were sent to the
ranks and new officers appointed in their places. In other words, if
one did not keep his own hands clean, some one else was appointed
to be inspector and reporter of his hands. If any one was found with
unclean hands or face, a new colonel was appointed for the row in
which that child was found.
Inspection was made every morning and any reported disorder
was remedied in the lavatory. When there was no further need of
scrutiny as to clean hands and faces and when therefore the game
had lost in interest, a similar game was instituted that required clean
teeth, brushed hair, and clean shoes.
CASE 79 (THIRD GRADE)

Miss Burr, the third grade teacher, sighed Use of
as Elma Colders passed her handkerchief to Handkerchief
her twin sister Zelma. This was a daily, almost hourly, occurrence.
The handkerchief wasn’t absolutely clean. These twins seemed to
take turns having colds, and Miss Burr believed the common
handkerchief was largely to blame for the transferred infection, but
she dared to say nothing about it.
Near to her desk sat Asa Kramer, who sniffed momentarily for
want of a handkerchief, while Fannie Black had a habit of often
wiping her nose with an upward stroke that was fast causing her nose
to have a decided skyward slant at the end.
One day she saw Morris Millspaugh repeat his habit of wiping his
nose on his coat sleeve and the following quotation popped into her
head, “Ye gods! Must I endure all this?” As if in answer to her
question, Annie Daily, in the back row, lowered her head and used
the under side of the bottom of her dress for a handkerchief.
“My query is answered,” groaned she. “Annie’s action says, ‘All
this? Ay, more!’”
Miss Burr said to a teacher friend, “If I were the family doctor of
these children, I’d be free to give their mothers a lecture on
sanitation, but since I’m not, I must keep within my prescribed
field.”
CONSTRUCTIVE TREATMENT
Correct these disgusting habits of your pupils. This can be done by

asking each child to bring a clean handkerchief every morning. A
certain teacher each morning asked all who received a grade of one
hundred in spelling or arithmetic the day before to stand and walk to
the front of the room. She then asked the other children who had
clean handkerchiefs to give them the Chautauqua salute, and the
children in front were asked to return this salute. The children
enjoyed this immensely and demanded from their mothers clean
handkerchiefs every morning in order that they might be allowed to
take part in this exercise.
COMMENTS
Miss Burr was wrong to conclude that it was not her business to
protect the health of her pupils.
There were several beneficial results accompanying the
Chautauqua salute program described above. Those who did good
work were rewarded and those who cheered them were given drill in
the hard task of praising their fellows who had succeeded where they
themselves had failed.
This salute was given in the morning, so that all handkerchiefs
would be clean for it.
Teachers can do no better than tactfully Enlist the
to enlist the aid of mothers in matters of Mothers
cleanliness.
ILLUSTRATION (FOURTH GRADE)
Miss Shaw, who taught the fourth grade in a very poor district in
New York City, organized a mothers’ meeting to convene alternate
Fridays after school hours. At one of these meetings she asked a
trained nurse to talk about cleanliness especially.
After the nurse had clearly explained the danger of infection in the
care of the nose, a mother who was a good shopper was delegated to
take orders for handkerchiefs from all present who needed them for
their children, to buy by the dozen and to deliver to the mothers at
cost.
By teaching and helping the mothers in this way, Miss Shaw
bettered conditions in her own room and established a wholesome
community spirit among her patrons.
CASE 80 (FIFTH GRADE)
Something was the matter with Dora Decaying Teeth

Payne. Miss Hubbart, her teacher, was
astonished at her stupid answers and generally inattentive attitude.
Usually Dora was alert and smiling; today she was morose, even to
tearfulness. Miss Hubbart finally said, “What is the matter, Dora?”
“My tooth aches,” said Dora.
“Did it ever ache before?”
“Yes, it ached last week and mamma took me to the dentist.”
“Charlotte, you may go with Dora to the dentist to see if he can
stop her toothache,” said Miss Hubbart.
The girls were gone only about half an hour, for it was but a few
blocks to the office of the only dentist in the village. After they came
back Dora was relieved and went on with her school work as usual.
When Miss Hubbart returned to the schoolhouse for the afternoon
session that day, she was greeted by Mr. Payne, Dora’s father, who
said:
“Dora says you sent her to Dr. Hammond’s office today.”
“Yes, she was suffering with toothache.”
“What I want to know is, who is going to pay the bill?”
“Surely you wouldn’t want Dora to suffer with toothache.”
“That tooth has troubled Dora before and my wife took her to Dr.
Hammond and he said that she’d lose this tooth in a year or so, and
we concluded not to have it worked on. When she gets her last set of
teeth it will not be money thrown away to have them filled.”
“But you wouldn’t want Dora to suffer for a year, surely.”
“Maybe we know how to take care of our own child without the
help of a stranger. I’ll thank you to keep on your own ground after
this.” And Mr. Payne stalked away with anger showing even in his
walk.
When you feel assured that, from a health standpoint, a child is

unfit to do school work, send him home and as soon as possible
thereafter consult with his mother as to his health, giving advice only
when you see that his parents are ignorant or neglectful.
In the matter of the care of the mouth and teeth, give instruction
as to the age a child should be when the several kinds of permanent
teeth appear. Name the causes of decay of teeth and show children
how to use their tooth brushes to the best advantage.
COMMENTS
Teachers should never send children to a Rhythmic Drills

doctor without the consent of their parents.
A teacher’s help can be rendered in instituting preventive measures
better than in administering or advising curative remedies. The harm
done to the teeth by allowing them to decay through the use of
improper food, also the proper use of the tooth brush, and the value
of a sterilizing mouth wash can easily be taught and come within the
teacher’s legitimate province. In many towns she may also secure the
coöperation of the school nurse.
ILLUSTRATION (FIFTH GRADE)
Miss Stow, who taught the fifth grade at Deadwood, made up this
motion song which the children sang occasionally, suiting the proper
motions to each verse:
This is the way we brush our teeth

At morning, noon and night,
Keeping them free from food and germs,
Making them clean and white.
This is the way we brush our hair,

Making it smooth and clean,
Keeping it free from kinks and dust
And beautiful to be seen.
This is the way we brush our shoes,

Making them fairly shine,
Then we ever shun dirt and mud
And keep them looking fine.
When they sang the first verse she let them hold lead pencils in
front of their mouths for tooth brushes and had them make the up
and down motion that dentists recommend.
She noticed a marked improvement in the personal habits of her
children after they had learned this song, and they very much
enjoyed singing it.
CASE 81 (FOURTH GRADE)
Merrill MacFarland was elected to a Scattering Paper

position as teacher of the fourth grade after
three years of experience in the country schools. He had found the
circumstances in his former situation very unsatisfactory, and
resolved that since he was entering upon work in a graded school, he
would have some things different. Looking over the room after he
had wrestled his way through the first week, and recalling the events
of the past five days, he was strongly reminded of his former school
experience, since there was really a disgraceful amount of waste
paper all over the floor. The janitor had been complaining about the
matter, but MacFarland had been too busy with other matters to give
attention to it.
Monday morning, after the opening exercises, he made this
announcement:
“Now, I want every one of you boys and girls just the moment you
have a piece of waste paper in your hand to go to the wastebasket
and throw it in. Last Friday our room was a perfect disgrace. On
every desk there were slips of torn-up paper and some whole sheets.
We can’t get along this way. George, you just this moment dropped a
piece of paper in the aisle there at your left. Pick it up at once and put
it in the wastebasket as I just told you.” George noisily moved his
slow frame according to the order, hardly imagining what would be
the case if the teacher’s idea were literally carried out and no more
waste papers were thrown upon the floor.
As soon as he had reached the basket, Mr. MacFarland discovered
that there were several pieces of paper on the floor in different parts
of the room, and said, “Each one look about his desk now and see if
there is any rubbish on the floor that should be taken away. If so,
pick it up at once and throw it into the basket as I told you. This is
the thing to do at any time when you want to throw something
away.”
It need hardly be said that, with a great bustle, each one made the
desired search, and about nine pupils soon were on their way to the
basket with something or almost nothing that needed to be thrown
away.
However unsatisfactory the noisy method had proved, it did bring
about the condition desired, for at the end of the day there was really
nothing that needed to be complained of regarding the cleanliness of
the room, so far as waste paper was concerned.
A wise teacher does not make so much ado about one aspect of
school-room management. Mr. MacFarland could easily have
foreseen that he was introducing another evil along with his reform.
Reverse the process. Arrange that the wastebasket be passed around
mid-way between intermissions according to a definite schedule. Let
the passing of the basket be a privilege that is handed down from one
pupil to another according as they are seated, beginning with the
pupil who sits to the extreme right of the teacher’s desk. One pupil
each day is appointed as guardian of waste. The privilege and honor
will be appreciated, and with a word of caution, the service can be
performed with the very slightest interruption.
The following instructions might be properly given to the children
when the new system is established:
“We are going to save time as much as possible. Four times every
day we shall pass the wastebasket and you may put into it whatever
you have on hand to be thrown away. Nothing is to be said to the
person who carries the basket. He will go quietly, promptly, passing
down the aisles, doing a favor to everyone in the room by his careful
attention to this matter.”
COMMENTS
It is of the utmost importance that the necessary organization of
school-room conduct be established according to principles and
policies that are useful to the child at home and in other situations
outside of school life. He must be taught how to economize his own
time, and the attention of his fellows, how to do necessary things in a
way that shall be both effective and unobtrusive.
While the handling of waste is a small affair for one room in a
school, taken on a larger scale for home, state and nation, the
problem of waste is big enough to command the attention of every
citizen; therefore, to dispose of the matter properly in school is a
valuable lesson in civics and economics.
ILLUSTRATION (FIFTH AND SIXTH GRADES)
Supt. Kennelworth suffered the inconvenience of moving from an

old building into the new one near the middle of a school year.
In the final plans for the proper use of the Bags for Paper
new plant, it had been agreed that each
pupil must bring with him a small waste-paper bag to be attached to
each desk. There were no very definite rules as to its size, but the
warning was given that it must not be too large for the convenience
of all concerned.
The matter was brought up only once, each teacher making the
announcement in his own room according to the superintendent’s
instructions.
Wallace Jackson made his announcement for the fifth and sixth
grades as follows: “Each one of you is to bring a small, neatly made
waste-paper bag, barely large enough to hold what you think is the
waste paper that gathers at your desk every day. Are there any
questions about this?” A hand went up and the question was asked,
“Who is going to empty these bags?”
“Well,” said Mr. Jackson, “you will empty them yourselves. Just
before the close of school each day the wastebasket will be passed;
your bags will be laid down upon your desk, and in just a very few
minutes every bag will be emptied and placed in your desk. Any more
questions?”
Another hand and another question, “How are we going to decide
who will carry the basket?”
This was answered by the statement: “I shall appoint some pupil to
this task every day. The method of selection will be announced to you
later. The only matter I want now to tell you about is the making of
the bags. Further details will be given to you when we actually begin
our work next Thursday in the new building.” Owing to the fact that
some success in keeping a neat room had been attained already in
the old building, Mr. Jackson’s announcement was received without
surprise or anxiety.
(10) Imitation of wrong social standard. There is an imitation of
mere precedent which is a sort of social instinct, that can best be
handled socially. This is because the responsibility can be fixed on no
one individual, and as all the members of the group are equally
guilty, all should share in the needed lesson.
CASE 82 (RURAL SCHOOL)
George Marston went into the country as Dropping Shot

teacher in a school in which there had been
much bad order. The directors were in earnest; they wanted a good
school, but for the salary they offered they had not been able to
secure a man who could handle the big boys who made the trouble.
They were not especially bad boys; but the tradition of mischief in
the school was so persistent that no teacher had been able to
overcome it.
During the fall term there was no trouble, for then only meek little
girls and small boys attended. But on the first Monday after
Thanksgiving, corn-shucking being over, the older pupils came in an
avalanche of good-natured noise. The room, before so sparsely
populated by a few pupils, seemed to overflow with their energy.
Trouble was not long in coming, and it took the shape of a shower of
fine shot, which pattered down from the ceiling during the spelling
lesson. George knew that the hour of trial had come, and he called
out bravely:
“Who did that?”
There was no response. The little girls were peeping timidly from
their books, but the big boys and girls frankly relished the coming
fun.
“We may as well settle it now,” said George Marston. “We can’t
have a school without good order. Of course I want to be just, and
first of all I want to know who threw that shot. Will you tell me?”
No one spoke. Then the teacher went around the room, asking
each one in turn if he had done it. Every one denied it. There was
clearly an understanding among the pupils that gave the teacher no
chance.
So Marston gave it up for the time being, and lessons were taken
up again. But at four o’clock he asked four of the leading boys, those
he suspected most, to stay after school. When the rest had gone, he
conducted an exhaustive examination, trying to find who was
responsible for the disturbance. The evidence was flippant,
contradictory, mockingly frank; but he found out nothing. Still with
his idea of locating the offense in one person, George held another
trial the next night, with the same result. Then he took the matter to
the board.
“One or two persons must have thrown that shot,” he said to the
board members, “and if I can find the person who did it, and make
an example of him, then I know I can manage the school without
trouble. But so far I can’t find the offender. There doesn’t seem to be
a ringleader; they all hang together so.”
“Why can’t you find the offender?” asked one member.
“Because they all lie about it—at least there’s one person who is
lying. If only I could find that one person!”
“Why not lick them all, since they’re all mixed up in it?” This
director was a coarsely practical man.
“Because one person did the deed, and he ought to bear the
punishment,” George replied. “If I keep my eyes open and wait, in
time I’ll be sure to catch the boy that threw that shot.”
So he waited and kept his eyes open, but he never discovered the
shot-thrower. There was much more misbehavior during the days
that followed, and the struggle to keep even a semblance of order
made the term a nightmare to the harassed teacher. Little real work
was accomplished. The board, anxious to have a good school, but
ignorant of principles and methods, saw its desire come to nothing.
Marston’s ideas of discipline seemed to be centered on “making an
example” of some one offender, and the school took a mischievous
satisfaction in shielding each offender from discovery.
The crisis came late in January. Marston Explosion
had just put a full scuttle of coal on the
blazing fire in the big stove, when a sharp noise and a great puff of
smoke and flame burst from it. The explosion broke apart the
sections of the stove, and a serious fire was averted with some
difficulty. When they had made things safe and could look at each
other with smoke-grimed faces, teacher and pupils knew that a
reckoning was at hand.
“John Coffey, you brought in that coal. Did you put the gunpowder
in it?” John was fairly cool, and the reckless boys had been cowed
and sobered by the extent of the mischief that had been done.
“No, sir, I didn’t,” replied John; and his denial rang true.
“Did you, Carl?”
“No, sir.”
Marston went around the circle, as he had many times before; and
all denied their guilt. Finally Marston turned to the school.
“You may all go home now. We can’t have school until this mess is
cleaned up, of course. I shall see the board at once.”
The board decided, at a called meeting, that it would best get a new
teacher, and Marston resigned with infinite relief. The board sent to
a state normal school, explained the situation, and asked for a strong
man.
ILLUSTRATION (RURAL SCHOOL)
The president of the normal school sent them Isidor Thomberg, a

man of experience and high scholarship. He came with the
understanding that the board was to support whatever he did, and he
agreed to reduce the school to order. He was confident, fearless, and
told no one of his plans. But he did meet the board on the night of his
arrival, and heard their full account of the troubles.
The next morning school opened as usual, with the new teacher
and the new stove dividing the honors of attention. Mr. Thomberg
made just one reference to the situation:
“Of course you know why I’m here,” he said. “I want to say one
thing. I shall never waste a moment’s time trying to find out who
does anything bad. We have to make up for a great deal of lost time
this winter; you’ll have to work hard from now until spring. We shall
have no school but a good one. Now we’ll go to work.”
Under the stimulus of his quiet confidence, the order was excellent
that first day. The school needed organization, and much time was
spent in showing the pupils economical ways of doing things. While
the novelty lasted there was no tendency to disorder, and when
things settled down into a regular routine the lessons proved so
interesting under Mr. Thomberg’s teaching that the boys forgot for a
time to have fun in the old way. A fancy skating club had been
organized; a new era seemed to have dawned, when one day, quite
unexpectedly, the old problem popped up again.
A row of pupils, coming quietly forward to the recitation bench,
found themselves stepping on a number of match-heads which had
been scattered in the aisle. At the same moment Mr. Thomberg
himself, who had stepped to a window to adjust a shade, exploded
two of these little trouble-makers. Every one looked up in surprise,
for bad order had been almost forgotten.
The teacher went to his desk. Very quietly he sent the class back to
their seats. Then he told the pupils to put away all books, and they
obeyed in a dazed way, afraid of they knew not what.
“I told you when I came,” said Mr. Thomberg, “that we couldn’t
have anything but a good school. The reason that we can’t afford to
have bad order is that we have too much serious work to do. I had
begun to like you all so much that I’m sorry some one has had to
spoil our pleasant beginning. But I meant what I said. So this school
is closed, now, indefinitely. You are all, without exception, suspended
from school until further notice. You will pass out as you always do.”
There was a breathless silence. Such a thing as suspending a whole
school had never been heard of before. Mr. Thomberg gave the usual
signals, and the boys and girls passed into the hall as though they
had been at a funeral. Mr. Thomberg went to the nearest house and
called the directors by telephone for a conference, which was scarcely
begun when parents began to inquire indignantly why their children,
guiltless of dropping match-heads, had been suspended from school.
Mr. Thomberg dictated the answer:
“Tell them,” he said, “that I have no time to ferret out the doers of
silly little tricks in my school. When the school gives me the
assurance that there’ll be no more trouble, then we’ll go back to
work. Whoever dropped those match-heads thought the school liked
that sort of thing, and you must show him that he is mistaken. I am a
teacher, not a policeman.”
The parents really wanted their children in school, and guided by
the suggestion, skillfully made by the teacher, they took steps to
secure the concerted action which Mr. Thomberg knew was the
remedy for the evil. He was reading the daily paper in the living
room of his boarding house that evening, when the response for
which he had planned came. There were seventeen of his twenty-six
pupils in the party which called on him. One of the older boys, Felix
Curry, was spokesman.
“We came to ask you if you’d have us in school again,” he said. “All
our fathers and mothers want us to go back, and we’ll be good if
you’ll let us. The boy that threw the match-heads will tell you about it
himself. He told us he would.”
“There is no need of that, although he may do so privately
tomorrow if he wants to. But I should rather not know who did it, if
you’ll all be responsible for its not happening again. You see, I like
you all so much that I’d hate to know who did so foolish and wrong a
thing. And if you will agree that it is to be a good school, in which
everyone works together in the right spirit, I’ll agree to stay until the
end of the year. Otherwise I pack my trunk tonight.”
The pupils gave ample promises, which were not broken. Mr.
Thomberg stayed through that year and the next one also, and had
the best school in the county.
COMMENTS
This is an extraordinarily difficult situation. Mr. Thomberg’s

success in dealing with this unusual case depended first of all on the
fact that his knowledge of pedagogy enabled him to analyze the
situation truly. He saw that the bad order was not caused by any one
pupil, but was the result of a social tradition for which many persons,
in and out of the school, were responsible. All the pupils upheld the
disorder; therefore all the pupils were dealt with in a group.
In the second place he was independent, as a really first-class
teacher can be. He set the standard of behavior, and required his
students to come up to it or give up school altogether. Had the school
declined to take the social responsibility he asked of them, he would
really have packed his trunk and left. He was well prepared for his
work, and was greatly in earnest about it, nor did he propose to do
what he considered an undignified thing in probing for evil.
His personality was strong enough to set up a new standard for
imitation, and to supplant the old one of inefficiency and mischief.
The problem of order was for a time swallowed up in the greater one
of securing real mental development in his pupils, and when it did
show itself he treated it as a matter to be dealt with socially by the
pupils. This seemed to put upon them a responsibility they had been
used to having the teacher assume unaided, and they rose to the new
honors imposed upon them. Mr. Thomberg utilized imitation in
setting up a new regime, by requiring united action of his pupils. In
this way he met a psychological situation with psychological
weapons.
(11) Snobbishness. Snobbishness is a very hard thing to meet
wisely, and a sin which is too easily learned by imitation.
CASE 83 (HIGH SCHOOL)
Joseph Lescinszky was a tailor in a small Middle West city, who

lived in five small rooms over his shop, with his wife and seven
children. He had plenty of patronage, for he was a good tailor, but he
was unhappy, for one of the dreams long associated with his
American citizenship had failed to materialize. His eldest son,
Joseph Junior, was in the high school—a homely, awkward boy with
great wistful eyes and an incurable shyness. He was a good student,
but suffered constantly under the heartless, matter-of-fact ridicule of
his American schoolmates.
This ridicule was but the echo of the Race Prejudice
attitude of the whole community toward the
Polish family. They were the only foreigners in the place, and their
appearance, habits and speech afforded unlimited amusement to
everyone. Men who had had their suits made by the skillful, little,
Polish tailor told funny stories in which his broken English figured as
the chief point, and their sons and daughters in turn laughed at the
shy and awkward children whom they met at school.
No one realized how this ridicule embittered the life of the tailor
until Miss Swainson came to Hovey to teach in the high school. She
took her old cape to the tailor one day, thriftily planning to have it
made into a coat for school wear; and over the making of the coat,
tailor and teacher began to discuss Joseph and his school life. No
teacher had ever talked to him about Joseph before, and the little
Pole voiced his feelings tremblingly.
“My Joseph does not like the school,” he confided. “He goes
because I command him that he shall, but he has not his heart in it.”
“He does very good work,” comforted Miss Swainson. “His lessons
are always excellent.”
“Ah, the lessons he gets with no trouble. But the boys, they like
him not. They all time make fun on him, and my poor Joseph is not
happy. He is Polack, they say. It is not true—we are Americans now;
there is the paper,” and he pointed proudly to the naturalization
paper, framed upon the wall.
“We’ll see if we can’t make Joseph happy at school,” Miss
Swainson promised. “I’ll see what I can do.”
Now, Miss Swainson was one of the upright, downright people
who go at things directly and openly. She began a campaign for the
kinder treatment of Joseph Lescinszky, Junior. She had no doubt of
her success.
An opportunity for beginning her kindly efforts in Joseph’s behalf
came soon. Joseph was always the butt for practical jokes, and
Charlie Owen was his particular tormentor. Therefore, when Joseph
was tripped, going to the dictionary, by Charlie’s projecting toes, she
kept Charlie after school and had a serious talk with him.
“Don’t you see what a contemptible thing it is for you to tease this
bright boy just because he is of Polish blood?” she inquired warmly
of smiling Charlie Owen.
“Why, Miss Swainson, he don’t mind. Everybody always laughs at
those Lescinszkies, and they don’t care. If they ever showed fight like
Americans I guess we’d let them alone, but they don’t. They’re not
like us.”
“That’s just why you should treat them better. They haven’t
learned that a boy has to fight in order to be decently treated,” Miss
Swainson returned with fine scorn.
“No, ma’am. If they could only learn that, they’d be all right.” Fine
scorn was wasted on Charlie.
All Miss Swainson’s efforts ended in this way. Secure in their
feeling that traditional American means for securing respect were the
only ones, smug with the provincialism of the small town, the school
children continued to express to the alien boy the contempt they had
imbibed from their elders. They merely smiled at Miss Swainson’s
indignant efforts to win justice and kindness for their Polish
schoolmate.
Toward the end of the year the young teacher thought she detected
a shade of difference in the treatment given Joseph. This was due
partly to her constant shaming of the thoughtless cruelty of their
conduct, and partly to the respect he himself won by his good work in
the classroom. But although this small degree of success comforted
her somewhat, she felt still the defeat of her efforts keenly, not
realizing that a change of conduct based on imitation must come
through a change of example followed.
COMMENTS
Miss Swainson’s method did not go deep enough. Mere protest will
occasionally effect a change, but not often. If she could have gotten
behind Charlie Owen’s attitude, and found its roots, which were
probably in the attitude of some member of his family or a powerful
older friend, she might have truly converted Charlie to her way of
thinking. His statement that “everybody always laughs at those
Lescinszkies,” might have given her a clue, but she did not realize
that she was only working on the surface.
ILLUSTRATION (RURAL SCHOOL)
Sallie Lou Pinkston came from Mobile, Alabama, to the small,

northern town of Cade Mills, when she was ten years old. She was
the only girl in an adoring family of brothers—a lovely, sunny-haired
child, with the confidence in her right to rule her world which her
happy family life had given her. She entered the fifth grade that fall,
and scored an immediate success with the whole room, teacher
included. Her southern accent was a continual source of delight; her
matter-of-course assumption that everyone wanted to do the
entertaining things she planned kept the whole room, with two
exceptions, tied to her dainty apron-strings.
The two exceptions were Laurastine and Enameline Flack.
Laurastine and Enameline belonged to the one colored family in
town, and they had always attended the public school and had always
been well treated by the other children. But when Sallie Lou cast her
golden charm over the room, things changed. Sallie Lou didn’t
understand why they should be there at all, and she surely didn’t
intend to tolerate them as her social equals. Led by the irresistible
charm of Sallie Lou, vying with each other to stand in her graces, the
other children began to ignore the two little colored girls, or openly
to laugh at them and pointedly to leave them out of their games.
Miss Stone, the teacher, being a northern woman and a believer in
literal democracy, thought this a very bad state of things indeed. The
two little girls were well behaved, wistful, little creatures, whose tears
at the new turn of things went straight to Miss Stone’s big heart. She
knew that the remedy must come in some way through Sallie Lou,
who had caused the havoc; for there was no possible way to supplant
her dominant influence, nor was such a thing desirable except for
this one cause. Sallie Lou had wakened the room to a new interest in
many things, and in everything except the treatment of the little
“niggers” she was sweetness and docility itself.
Could Sallie Lou be converted? Miss Stone tried it, with doubt in
her heart; she knew what prejudice is. She invited Sallie Lou to her
house for supper one Friday night, and after supper they sat by the
fire and had a long talk about it. Miss Stone presented the pathetic
cases of Laurastine and Enameline as touchingly as she could, but
Sallie Lou merely smiled divinely and told her, most sweetly, that of
course she wanted to do what was right, but that it wasn’t right for
“niggers” to mix socially with white people, and that the town should
provide a separate school for them. She was firmly entrenched
behind the prejudice of her rearing in a community which solved the
problem this way.
Miss Stone reluctantly retreated from the attack, but she did not
give up. She went behind the prejudice to its support, behind the
example to its example. She cultivated Sallie Lou’s mother, her
father, her four charming brothers. The parents, finding few cultured
people in the little town, welcomed the well-read teacher and were
very cordial to her. When she had won their respect and liking, Miss
Stone asked for a frank talk with them about the conditions in her
room, and told them just how the irresistible Sallie Lou was leading
all the other children in the fifth grade to snub the two little Flacks.
At first the Pinkstons were amused, then they were indignant.
They too felt that the two colored children had no business in a
school for white children. But when Miss Stone had shown them that
a separate school was impracticable in a town that had but one
colored family, that conditions were very different from those of a
southern city, and that a change in Sallie Lou’s attitude would avert a
personal tragedy for two innocent little girls, the parents came finally
to see the matter from her point of view. They promised to talk to
Sallie Lou and to persuade her to change her tactics. Miss Stone
thanked them, and changed the subject quickly and brightly to
something else.
Sallie Lou, at first with formal and awkward condescension, but
later with the same frank charm that won everyone to her, asked the
two little outcasts back into the fold of fifth grade fun. The rest fell
easily into their old democratic way of sharing things. Miss Stone
had solved the problem of race prejudice by changing the example.
2. Play—A Second Form of the Adaptive Instincts
The child never reveals his whole nature as he does when playing. His physical,
mental and moral powers are all called then into vigorous exercise. On the
playground the boy begins to learn how to struggle with his fellow men in the great
battle of life. His strength and his weakness both manifest themselves there, so
that it pays to study him.
—Hughes.
Much school trouble is caused by the purely sportive impulses of
childhood, impulses which are in themselves entirely innocent and
wholesome. One of the most valuable parts of a child’s training is the
acquiring of a set of notions as to appropriateness—the knowledge of
when he may, and when he may not, rightly give rein to his wish to
play. Some children acquire these ideas of propriety readily, and
adapt themselves seemingly without effort to the customs of their
environment; but most children stumble through the period of
adaptation with many backslidings, for the instinct of play is stronger
than the instinct of adaptation to requirement.
But let it be remembered meanwhile that this same play instinct is
one of the strongest allies of the teacher in securing such adaptation,
if the instinct is properly directed. What lesson of politeness,
neatness, unselfishness, protection of the weak, promptness,
responsibility, care of pets, coöperation, chivalry—yes, even of duty
and religion—may not be taught through play! Draining off the play
impulses into these legitimate channels will relieve many a
wearisome, perplexing day for both teacher and pupils, and at the
same time speed on the child toward conscious self-control.
Perhaps the greatest single help in teaching children the voluntary
limitation of their play impulses, is the knowledge that play is only
postponed, not forbidden. Most children have so strong a love of
approbation that they like to do things in the proper way if the
sacrifice be not too great. They are willing to put off their fun, but not
to put it off forever. The teacher who says, “If you’ll wait until recess,
I’ll show you how to play a new game with marbles,” will secure
willing obedience, when she who takes the marbles away has only
sullen submission for her reward. Here the teacher utilizes the
instinctive love of novelty in teaching control of play impulses.
During the period, when conduct is so largely a matter of instinct,
wise teachers play off one instinct against another to the child’s gain,
knowing that some impulses need encouragement and others need to
be inhibited.
(1) “Just mischief.” One of the most First Grade
frequent ways in which the play instinct
expresses itself in the first and even in higher grades is in the little
annoyances which teachers group together under the general term,
mischief. An energetic child, if he is not constantly employed,
naturally vents his energy either in play or in trying to satisfy his
curiosity.
The principle of suggestion alone will often be sufficient to control
the child. The principle of substitution will work equally well.
Coöperation can be correlated with either of these, and expectation
that the child will do what the teacher desires should be used in
whatever method the teacher may adopt.
The mischievous boy will be quiet so long as he is reciting, but
while others are reciting he will immediately hunt for something else
to do. He will drag his shoe on the floor, reach over and touch his
neighbor, pull out a pocketful of string or help himself to his
neighbor’s pencil.
It is not a case for punishment, but a time to apply one or more of
the fundamental principles. The teacher, without even a word or
look, may reach over and draw him to her side, asking him to look on
her book, or better still she may look on his book (suggesting that he
attend to his lesson). She may send him on some little errand—to
bring a book or a piece of crayon—and by the time she whispers,
“Thank you, you did that like a little gentleman,” he will have
forgotten all about his mischief (substitution and approval).
When the class is dismissed, however, the teacher must see that
the mischievous boy is kept busy and his work changed once or twice
within the half hour. She must not fail to show an interest in his
work. The comment, “That is so good, my boy, that I want you to put
it on my desk where we can look at it,” will so elate the child that he
will work industriously to do his best, and doing his best will keep
him busy a long time. When on the playground or in the gymnasium
the teacher must see that he gets plenty of “full-of-fun” play. It will
use up some of his restless energy.
The teacher must have an abundance of busy work ready for the
next restless period that comes, sorting blocks or marbles, straws or
papers, cutting or coloring pictures, putting books on the shelf, and
anything that will keep him innocently busy. Stencil cards, cutting
out words or letters, the distributing of materials for the class to use,
games for the recess and noon periods, frequent story periods during
school hours, interesting lessons, vigorous exercise, generous
approval of every effort to please the teacher—all these will gradually
win the mischievous boy to habits of self-control and industry. All

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(eBook PDF) Educational Psychology

for Learning and Teaching 4th

Sue Duc h e sn e A n ne Mc M augh Sa nd ra Bo c h n e r Kerri-Lee K r au se

Motivation and engagement in learning 287

Disability in classroom settings 347

Concluding comments 422

Module IV Educational psychology in

Chapter 12 Assessment and reporting 474

Approaches to assessment 479

Organising instruction for access to learning 528

Source: Matthew Duchesne, © Milk and Honey Photography, 2010.

After reading this chapter you should be able to answer the

• What are some milestones of physical development from early

core question: How can theories of development enhance

Language development during early childho

word order of their native language (in English, subject–verb–object) (Mara

Box 2.5 Box 1.4 Box 5.6

Research links' boxes highlight

you see how theories are applied in

Implications for educators’ boxes

provide concise overviews that help

teaching and learning. for learning and teaching of the

Activities at the end of these boxed

Source: APL/Corbis/© Farrell Grehan.

theory you have just learnt and to

check your understanding.

Classroom links provide real-life

of theory. Leading contemporary and historical

At the end of each chapter, you’ll find several

232 modu le I I the le a r ning proCess c h a p t e r 5 C o g n i t i v e e x p l a n a t io n s o f l e a r n i n g 233

Your revision is made easier with

questions and activities for self-

assessment and discussion.

3 Putting it together sections highlight

links to key concepts across the chapters.

COURSEMATE WEBSITE RESOURCES

FOR THE INSTRUCTOR

ExamView Testbank PowerPointTM presentations

What is educational psychology?

Who studies educational psychology?

Why study all those theories?

➜ Table 0.1 Overview of this text

Standard Elements Chapter

1 Know students 1.1 Physical, social and intellectual development Module 1: Chapters 1, 2, 3

1.2 Understand how students learn Module 2: Chapters 4, 5, 6

1.3 Students with diverse linguistic, cultural, Module 3: Chapter 10

1.5 Differentiate teaching to meet the specific Module 3: Chapters 8, 9

1.6 Strategies to support full participation

2.6 Information and communication Module 4: Chapter 11

Standard Elements Chapter

3.4 Select and use resources Module 4: Chapter 11

4.5 Use ICT safely, responsibly and ethically Module 4: Chapter 11

5.3 Make consistent and comparable judgements

Changes in the education landscape

Teaching can be described as a complex problem-solving activity. As such, research on effective

Reflection in evaluation Reflection in action

Figure 0.1 The cyclical nature of the reflective teaching process.

Ferraro (2000) listed the benefits of reflective teaching. They include:

Reflecting on your teaching practice

Keeping a reflective journal and portfolio

5 What is frustrating me or the students?

Using mentors, critical friends and colleagues

Reflecting on your personal philosophy

Module IV Educational psychology in

1 Know students 1.1 Physical, social and intellectual development Module 1: Chapters 1, 2, 3

1.3 Students with diverse linguistic, cultural, Module 3: Chapter 10

1.5 Differentiate teaching to meet the specific Module 3: Chapters 8, 9

1.6 Strategies to support full participation

2.6 Information and communication Module 4: Chapter 11

3.4 Select and use resources Module 4: Chapter 11

4.5 Use ICT safely, responsibly and ethically Module 4: Chapter 11

5.3 Make consistent and comparable judgements