Teaching in the twenty-first century offers a number of satisfactions—witnessing and assisting the growth of young people, lifelong learning, the challenge and excitement of designing effective instruction. Four trends have affected the way that these satisfactions are experienced by classroom teachers: (1) increased diversity of students, (2) the spread of instructional technology in schools and classrooms, (3) increased expectations for accountability in education, and (4) the development of increased professionalism among teachers. Each trend presents new opportunities to students and teachers, but also raises new issues for teachers. Educational psychology, and this textbook, can help teachers to make constructive use of the new trends as well as deal with the dilemmas that accompany them. It offers information, advice, and useful perspectives specifically in three areas of teaching: (1) students as learners, (2) instruction and assessment, and (3) the psychological and social awareness of teachers.
Further Resources
At the end of each chapter of this book are references to a large website, Teaching Ed Psych, which has many resources that can assist in learning more about educational psychology. The Teaching Ed Psych website can be used either by you, as a student preparing to become a teacher, or by your instructor if he or she is looking for materials useful for class sessions related to educational psychology.
Later chapters will cite particular pages within the website. For Chapter 1, though, simply have a look at the teachingedpsych home page.
Additional References
Cochran-Smith, M. (2003). Assessing assessment in teacher education. Journal of Teacher Education, 54(3), 187–191.
Educational Testing Service. (2004). Study guide for Principles of Learning and Teaching, 2nd edition. Princeton, NJ: Author.
Glassford, L. (2005). Triumph of politics over pedagogy? The case of the Ontario Teacher Qualifying Test. Canadian Journal of Educational Administration and Policy, Issue #45. Online at http://www.umanitoba.ca/publications/cjeap/articles/glassford.html.
Harris, D. & Herrington, C. (2006). Accountability, standards, and the growing achievement gap: Lessons from the past half-century. American Journal of Education, 112(2), 163–208.
Harvard Educational Review. (2005). Interview: United States Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings. Harvard Educational Review, 75(4), 364–382.
Lubienski, C. (2005). Public schools in marketized environments: Shifting incentives and unintended consequences of competition-based educational reforms. American Journal of Education, 111(4), 464–486.
Neil, M. (2003). The dangers of testing. Educational Leadership, 60(5), 43–46.
Rudalevige, A. (2005, August). Reform or séance? Seeking the “spirit” of the No Child Left Behind. Teachers College Record. Online at http://www.tcrecord.org/, ID# 12112.
Sutton, R. (2004). Teaching under high-stakes testing: Dilemmas and decisions of a teacher educator. Journal of Teacher Education, 55(5), 463–475.
United States Government Printing Office. (2002). No Child Left Behind Act: A desktop reference. Washington, D.C.: Author.
Federal Registry. (2005, June 21). Assistance To States for the Education of Children with Disabilities. United States Government Printing Office: Author.
Volante, L. (2004). Teaching to the test: What every educator and policy-maker should know. Canadian Journal of Educational Administration and Policy, Issue #35. Online at http://www.umanitoba.ca/publications/cjeap/articles/volante.html.