EmilyOlis

PSY301OL
ProfessorGregoryBoerio
April29,2016
PhilosophyofEducation
Ibelievethepurposeofeducationistogrowinknowledgeandtofosterthedesireforit.
Inorderforstudentstoreceivethegreatestopportunityforgrowthinknowledge,anoptimal
learningenvironmentmustbeimplementedintheclassroom.Ibelievethatthekeystoanoptimal
learningenvironmentaredifferentiationofinstruction,asstudentsarediverse,effective
classroommanagement,andstudentmotivation.
Twocentralissuesdebatedamongdevelopmentalpsychologistsarenatureversus
nurture.Essentially,thenaturesideholdsthatdevelopmentispredeterminedatbirththrough
heredityandbiologicalfactors.Conversely,thenurturesidebelievesthatdevelopmentisaffected
byexperienceandotherenvironmentalfactors.Today,mostdevelopmentalpsychologists
believe,andIagree,thatnatureandnurturecombinetoinfluencedevelopment,withbiological
factorsplayingastrongerroleinsomeaspects,suchasphysicaldevelopment.However,
regardinglearning,whilesomestudentswillnaturallybemoreaptthatothers,allhavethe
capabilitytolearnandeducatorsshouldworktomeettheneedsoftheirvaryingstudents. 1
AccordingtoErikErikson,thereareeightpsychosocialstagesofdevelopmentthatone
undergoesthroughoutthecourseofalifetime.Eachofthesestagesincludesacrisistobe
resolved,whichresultsineithersuccessorfailure.Asapreserviceteacherstudyingtoteach
secondaryeducation,Iamparticularlyinterestedinthefifthstage,identityversusroleconfusion,

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whichadolescentstypicallyexperience.Thisstagedealswithquestionssuchas,WhoamI?and
WhatdoIwanttodowithmylife?2
Adolescentsexperimentbyexploringdifferentideologies,rolesandinterestsinan
attempttodiscovertheirtrueselves.Asuccessinthisstagewouldbetohaveastrongsenseof
identityandfirmnessinideologiesinthefaceofhardshiporconflict.Afailurewouldoccurif
noconsciouseffortismade,orthereispressuretoconformtotheirparentsviewpoint.Inwhich
case,adolescentsmaydevelopaweaksenseofselfandexperienceroleconfusion.Theywillbe
unsureoftheiridentityandconfusedaboutthefuture. 3
JamesMarciacontinuedtheworkofEriksonregardingadolescentidentitydevelopment.
Basedonmanyinterviewswithadolescentsconcerningbeliefs,preferencesandsimilartopics,
JamesMarciaidentifiedfouridentitystatuses,ordegreestowhichapersonhasachievedaset
identity.4
Thesestagesarebasedprimarilyonoccupation,oronesroleinsociety,andideology,or
onesbeliefs,valuesandconvictions.Thestages,identitydiffusion,foreclosure,moratorium,and
identityachievement,illustratethedifferentlevelsofidentityaccomplishment. 5
Hence,accordingtothesetwopsychologists,adolescentsareintheprocessof
discoveringthemselves.Therefore,astheirteacher,IbelievethatIshouldworktofostera
learningenvironmentinwhichstudentsareableandencouragedtoexploredifferentideologies
andoccupationsinordertofindtheirtrueselves. 5
Thepsychologyoftheagegroupthatoneteachesprovidescrucialinformationfor
instruction.Byunderstandingthedevelopmentalstatusofmystudents,Iamabletocatertotheir
needsandthereforeteachmoreeffectively.Inotherwords,havingsomeconceptofthepsycheof

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mystudentswillallowmetopresentthematerialinawaythatisbothmeaningfulandbeneficial
tothem,whichwillultimatelyincreasestudentlearning.
Asmystudentswillbedevelopingtheiridentity,Iwillformulatemyinstructionto
complimentthisstageofdevelopment;thus,Iwillworktofosteralearningenvironmentinwhich
mystudentsareabletoexploredifferentideologiesandoccupations.Thisincludespresentingand
discussingethicalissuesthatlackclearanswersorsimplyofferingstudentchoiceinassignments,
content,orinstructionalmethods.
Whilemostofmystudentswillbeexperiencingthisstageofdevelopment,theywillall
bedifferentinlearningcapabilitiesandstyles.Inordertomeettheneedsofvaryingstudents,
differentiationofinstructionarenecessary,andinadditiontoutilizingcertainaspectsofthe
constructivistapproach.Constructivismisastudentcenteredapproachtolearningthathasmany
beneficialcharacteristics.Therearemanystudiesthatshowthepositiveeffectofthe
constructivistapproach.Forinstance,in2001,Langerfoundthatsecondaryschoolsperforming
betterthanexpectedusedmoreconstructivistapproachesthanlowerachievingschools.The
partsofconstructivismthatIwouldespeciallyuseinmyclassroomarescaffoldingand
cooperativelearning.6
ScaffoldingwasderivedfromRussianpsychologistVygotskysnotionofsociallearning.
Vygotskyproposedthatcognitivedevelopmentisstronglylinkedtoinputfromothers. 7Thus,
scaffoldingisamajorcomponentofhistheory.Itisessentiallymediatedlearning.Thisiswhen
theteacheristheculturalagentwhoguidesinstructionsothatstudentswillmasterand
internalizetheskillsthatpermithighercognitivefunctioning.Intheclassroom,thiscantranslate
asprovidingstudentswithmorestructureearlyonandthengraduallyhandingtheresponsibility
overtothemtomanageontheirown.Ibelievethiswouldbeparticularlyusefulatthehighschool

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level,asitcomplimentsadolescentidentitygrowthinslowlyhavingthestudentstakemore
responsibilityandformulatetheirownopinions.8
Cooperativelearningispeerassistedlearning,whenstudentsworktogetherinsmall
groupstohelpeachotherlearn.Morethan100studieshavecomparedachievementin
classroomsusingsuchmethodstotraditionalclassroomsoverperiodsofatleastfourweeks
Theresultshaveconsistentlyfavoredcooperativelearning.(204)Generally,studentsareplaced
inagroupthatstaystogetherforaperiodoftime,anywayfromweekstomonths.Inthesegroups,
studentsareusuallytaughtspecificskillsthatwillhelpthemworktogether,suchaslistening
actively,givinggoodexplanations,avoidingputdowns,andincludingotherpeople. 6
ThisisonereasonwhyIbelievecooperativelearningisanexcellenttoolforinstruction.
Itprovidesstudentswithavarianceinlearning,asstudentsreceivethematerialdifferentlyand
fromdifferentsources,andtheninturnhavetoprocesstheinformationtoexplainitagainintheir
ownwords.Additionally,cooperativelearningisbeneficialbecausestudentsarelearning
importantlifeskillsforfutureinteractionswithothers.
Asnoteverystudentisthesame,Ibelievethatdifferentiationofinstructionisnecessary
intheclassroom.Gardnersuggestedthattherearenineintelligencesthroughwhichpeople
learn.Theseincludebodilykinesthetic,spatial,logical/mathematical,andinterpersonal,showing
thewiderangethroughwhichpeoplelearn.Everyonehasdifferentlearningcapabilitiesand
certainintelligencesaremoredominantthanothers.Thisiswhydifferentiationissocrucialin
education:bychangingthemeansofinstruction,everyone,despitetheirlearningstyle,willhave
equalopportunitiestolearnthesubjectmatterwell. 9
Differentiationofinstructionissimplyvaryingthemeansofinstructiontofittheneedsof
thestudent.Thiscanbeassimpleasaddingafewchallengingproblemstoatestforthemore

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advancedstudents,offeringmaterialatdifferentreadinglevelsonthesametopicbasedonthe
studentsability,orhavingareviewsessionbeforeclassonprerequisiteknowledge. 10
Othermeansofdifferentiationincludepeertutoring,inwhichonestudentteaches
another.Peertutoringamongstudentsofthesameagehasbeenshowntobeveryeffective;
reciprocaltutoringisaneffectiveexampleofpeertutoring,whichiswhenthestudentstaketurns
teachingeachother.Thisisespeciallyeffectiveasthestudentsnotonlyhearthematerial
explainedagainanddifferently,butthentheyinturnhavetoprocessandteachitintheirown
words.9Oneofthemosteffectiveindividualizedinstructionmethodforstudents,however,isthe
oneononeadulttochildtutoring,asitessentiallysolvestheproblemofappropriatelevelsof
instruction.11
However,inorderforanyinstructiontotakeroot,aneffectivelearningenvironmentmust
beestablished.Thisisaccomplishedthroughclassroommanagement,whichisstrategiesfor
providingeffectivelearningenvironmentsincludenotonlypreventingandrespondingto
misbehaviorbutalso,moreimportantly,usingclasstimewell,creatinganatmospherethatis
conducivetointerestandinquiry,andpermittingactivitiesthatengagestudentsmindsand
imaginations.12
Classroommanagementisespeciallyimportantinstudentcenteredclassrooms.When
studentsarespendingmoretimetogetherandworkingonopenendedassignments,classroom
managementismoreparticipatorywithstudentsinvolvedinsettingstandardsofbehavior. 13I
believethatthestandardsofbehaviorarekeyformanagingtheclassroom,whichconsistsof
settingconcise,fair,andclearclassrules.

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Whenbehavioralissuesarise,thatis,whentheestablishedclassrulesarebroken,I
believethattheleastamountofinterventionshouldbeused.Inotherwords,thesimplestmeansto
correctcanissueshouldbeutilized.Studieshaveshownthattheamountoftimespent
discipliningstudentsisnegativelyrelatedtostudentachievement.Timespentcorrecting
behavioralissuesistimetakenawayfromthelesson.Thus,classroommanagementiscrucialfor
aneffectivelearningenvironment.14
Itissaidthatpreventionisthebestmedicine;similarly,Ibelievethatpreventionisthe
bestmeansofclassroommanagement.Thisisthesimplestmeansofbehaviormanagementand
shouldbeutilizedfromthestart.Teacherscanpreventbehaviorproblemsbypresenting
interestingandlivelylessons,makingclassrulesandproceduresclear,keepingstudentsbusyon
meaningfultasks,andusingothereffectivetechniquesofbasicclassroommanagement. 15By
preventingnegativebehaviorsfromoccurring,moretimeisspentonthelesson;thisgreatly
contributestooptimizingthelearningenvironment.
However,noteachercanforcetheirstudentstolearn;thestudents,especiallyatthe
secondarylevel,mustchoosetolearn.Thus,Ibelievethatmotivatingstudentstolearnisacrucial
aspectofteaching.Themainmeansthroughwhichateachercanmotivatetheirstudentsis
incentive.Incentivesreinforcebehaviorthroughtheexpectationofwhatonewouldreceiveifthey
performaspecificbehavior.Intrinsicincentivesareaspectsofcertaintasksthatinthemselves
haveenoughvaluetomotivatestudentstodothetasksontheirownwhileextrinsicincentives
areexternalrewards.16
Icanincreaseintrinsicincentivebyarousingstudentsinterestandcuriosity.Thiscanbe
accomplishedthroughvariouspresentationmodesandallowingstudentstosettheirowngoals.

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Increasingextrinsicincentivesincludeincreasingthevalueandavailabilityofrewards,having
clearexpectations,andprovidingclearandimmediatefeedback. 17
Thus,psychologyinformseducationbyprovidingallofthegroundworkforaneffective
lessonbymeansoftheoptimallearningenvironment.Byrecognizingthedevelopmentalstagesof
mystudents,regardingidentity,cognitiveability,andbehavior,Icanproperlycatertotheirneeds
andeffectivelydeliverthelesson.However,moreimportantly,understandingthepsychological
statusandtheoriesregardingthosestatusesofmystudentswillultimatelyprovidethemwiththe
greatestpossibleopportunitytolearn,grow,anddevelop.

WORKSCITED
"Erikson'sStagesofPsychosocialDevelopmentBoundlessOpenTextbook."Boundless.
BoundlessPsychology,08Jan.2016.Web.18Mar.2016.
"JamesMarcia'sIdentityTheory:UnderstandingAdolescents'SearchForIdentity."Study.com.
Web.18Mar.2016.
Slavin,RobertE.EducationalPsychology:TheoryandPractice.11thed.NewJersey:Pearson
Education,2015.5051,57.Print.

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