Chapter 1 — Introduction to Educational Psychology
0
, Chapter 1 — Introduction to Educational Psychology
Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION TO EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
BIG IDEAS AND CHAPTER OUTLINE RELEVANT ITEMS
BIG IDEA 1.1: Effective teachers use research findings and research-based Multiple-Choice 1–28
theories to make decisions about instructional strategies, classroom Essay 33–34
management, and assessment practices.
GENERAL GUIDING PRINCIPLES OF EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
An in-depth knowledge of students must drive teacher decision making.
The effectiveness of various classroom practices can best be determined
through systematic research.
Research can provide quantitative information, qualitative information, or
both.
Different kinds of research lead to different kinds of conclusions.
Research can be seamlessly integrated into teachers’ ongoing classroom
practices.
Drawing conclusions about cause–and–effect relationships requires that all
other possible explanations for an outcome be eliminated.
BIG IDEA 1.2: Effective teachers continually work to enhance their professional Multiple-Choice 29–31
knowledge and skills.
DEVELOPING AS A TEACHER
Keep up to date on research findings and innovative practices in education.
Learn as much as you can both about the subject matter you teach and about
strategies for teaching it effectively
Learn as much as you can about the culture(s) of the community in which
you are working.
Continually reflect on and critically examine your assumptions, inferences,
and teaching practices.
Communicate and collaborate with colleagues.
Believe that you can make a difference in students’ lives.
BIG IDEA 1.3: Learners read, study, and learn more effectively when they Multiple-Choice 32
actively try to make sense of new information. Essay 35
STRATEGIES FOR LEARNING AND STUDYING EFFECTIVELY
Relate what you read to your existing knowledge and prior experiences.
Actively consider how some new information might contradict your existing
beliefs.
Tie abstract concepts and principles to concrete examples.
Elaborate on what you read, going beyond it and adding to it.
Periodically check yourself to make sure you remember and understand
what you have read.
1
, Chapter 1 — Introduction to Educational Psychology
Multiple-Choice Questions
• 1. Which one of the following alternatives best describes learner-centered instruction?
a. Instruction that is tailored to individual students’ characteristics and needs
b. Instruction in which students determine the specific topics they will study
c. Instruction geared primarily toward students who are highly motivated to learn
d. Instruction geared primarily toward students who are not very motivated to learn
• 2. Students with special needs are students who:
a. Have cognitive and emotional deficits that impair their classroom performance
b. Have physical disabilities such as cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord
injury, epilepsy, or AIDS
c. Have inherited conditions (e.g., Down syndrome, some instances of dyslexia) that
adversely affect their ability to achieve at appropriate levels in the classroom
d. Are different enough from their peers that specially adapted instruction or
materials are necessary to promote their success at school
• 3. The practice of inclusion involves which one of the following?
a. Keeping students with disabilities together in one class so that they can take part in
all of their classroom’s activities
b. Selecting high-achieving students to assist with the instruction of students who
have special educational needs
c. Educating students with special needs in general education settings alongside their
nondisabled peers
d. Incorporating instruction in social skills into the regular classroom curriculum
• 4. Which one of the following statements is consistent with research findings described in
the textbook?
a. Students who play video games are more likely to have delays in their cognitive
development than students who play video games infrequently.
b. Students learn a new idea most effectively when they keep it simple, without trying
to remember its potential implications or applications.
c. Students use both their right and left hemispheres for thinking.
d. Students are usually the best judges of what they do and don’t know.
•• 5. Which one of the following is an example of elaboration?
a. Sharon automatically knows how she can best study for an upcoming history test.
b. When Melissa first learns about inertia, she thinks of examples of it in her own life.
c. Darren repeats the detailed excuses his friend Logan suggests he use to explain
why he didn’t do his homework.
d. Rosie repeats the spelling of each word several times the night before her spelling
test.
2
, Chapter 1 — Introduction to Educational Psychology
• 6. Which one of the following statements is consistent with research findings described in
the textbook?
a. Repeating something over and over is usually the most effective way to learn it.
b. Students often study differently for different kinds of classroom assessments.
c. For optimal performance, students should never feel any anxiety in the classroom.
d. By the time children are 8 or 9 years old, most of them have developed effective
ways of learning classroom material.
•• 7. Judging from the textbook’s discussion of educational research, which one of the
following would be the best course of action for teachers to take?
a. Teachers shouldn’t take research findings very seriously, because there are too
many gaps in the knowledge we’ve gained from research.
b. Teachers should focus on research that relates to a single theoretical perspective
(such as Piaget’s theory or information processing theory).
c. Teachers can use findings from educational research to guide their classroom
decision making.
d. Teachers should always go with their common sense and “gut” feelings about how
to teach, regardless of any research findings to the contrary.
•• 8. Which one of the following teaching practices is definitely an example of evidence-
based practice?
a. A kindergarten teacher asks students to bring something from home that begins
with the letter B.
b. A fourth-grade teacher uses a reading program that research has shown to be
effective for fourth graders.
c. A seventh-grade science teacher asks students to conduct experiments in which
they must determine which one of several variables makes a pendulum swing fast
or more slowly.
d. A high school art teacher encourages students to choose a medium (e.g., clay,
watercolor paints) that they can best use to express themselves.
•• 9. The following paragraph is taken from a textbook’s discussion of children who have
physical disabilities:
Physical and health impairments are general physical or medical conditions
(usually long-term) that interfere with school performance to such an extent that
special instruction, curricular materials, equipment, or facilities are necessary.
Students in this category may have limited energy and strength, reduced mental
alertness, or little muscle control. Examples of specific conditions that may
qualify students for special services include traumatic brain injury, spinal cord
injury, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, epilepsy, cystic fibrosis, asthma, heart
problems, arthritis, cancer, and AIDS. The majority of students with physical and
health impairments attend general education classrooms for part or all of the
school day (U.S. Dept. of Education, 1996).
Which sentence within the paragraph most clearly shows APA style?
a. The first sentence
3
0
, Chapter 1 — Introduction to Educational Psychology
Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION TO EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
BIG IDEAS AND CHAPTER OUTLINE RELEVANT ITEMS
BIG IDEA 1.1: Effective teachers use research findings and research-based Multiple-Choice 1–28
theories to make decisions about instructional strategies, classroom Essay 33–34
management, and assessment practices.
GENERAL GUIDING PRINCIPLES OF EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY
An in-depth knowledge of students must drive teacher decision making.
The effectiveness of various classroom practices can best be determined
through systematic research.
Research can provide quantitative information, qualitative information, or
both.
Different kinds of research lead to different kinds of conclusions.
Research can be seamlessly integrated into teachers’ ongoing classroom
practices.
Drawing conclusions about cause–and–effect relationships requires that all
other possible explanations for an outcome be eliminated.
BIG IDEA 1.2: Effective teachers continually work to enhance their professional Multiple-Choice 29–31
knowledge and skills.
DEVELOPING AS A TEACHER
Keep up to date on research findings and innovative practices in education.
Learn as much as you can both about the subject matter you teach and about
strategies for teaching it effectively
Learn as much as you can about the culture(s) of the community in which
you are working.
Continually reflect on and critically examine your assumptions, inferences,
and teaching practices.
Communicate and collaborate with colleagues.
Believe that you can make a difference in students’ lives.
BIG IDEA 1.3: Learners read, study, and learn more effectively when they Multiple-Choice 32
actively try to make sense of new information. Essay 35
STRATEGIES FOR LEARNING AND STUDYING EFFECTIVELY
Relate what you read to your existing knowledge and prior experiences.
Actively consider how some new information might contradict your existing
beliefs.
Tie abstract concepts and principles to concrete examples.
Elaborate on what you read, going beyond it and adding to it.
Periodically check yourself to make sure you remember and understand
what you have read.
1
, Chapter 1 — Introduction to Educational Psychology
Multiple-Choice Questions
• 1. Which one of the following alternatives best describes learner-centered instruction?
a. Instruction that is tailored to individual students’ characteristics and needs
b. Instruction in which students determine the specific topics they will study
c. Instruction geared primarily toward students who are highly motivated to learn
d. Instruction geared primarily toward students who are not very motivated to learn
• 2. Students with special needs are students who:
a. Have cognitive and emotional deficits that impair their classroom performance
b. Have physical disabilities such as cerebral palsy, multiple sclerosis, spinal cord
injury, epilepsy, or AIDS
c. Have inherited conditions (e.g., Down syndrome, some instances of dyslexia) that
adversely affect their ability to achieve at appropriate levels in the classroom
d. Are different enough from their peers that specially adapted instruction or
materials are necessary to promote their success at school
• 3. The practice of inclusion involves which one of the following?
a. Keeping students with disabilities together in one class so that they can take part in
all of their classroom’s activities
b. Selecting high-achieving students to assist with the instruction of students who
have special educational needs
c. Educating students with special needs in general education settings alongside their
nondisabled peers
d. Incorporating instruction in social skills into the regular classroom curriculum
• 4. Which one of the following statements is consistent with research findings described in
the textbook?
a. Students who play video games are more likely to have delays in their cognitive
development than students who play video games infrequently.
b. Students learn a new idea most effectively when they keep it simple, without trying
to remember its potential implications or applications.
c. Students use both their right and left hemispheres for thinking.
d. Students are usually the best judges of what they do and don’t know.
•• 5. Which one of the following is an example of elaboration?
a. Sharon automatically knows how she can best study for an upcoming history test.
b. When Melissa first learns about inertia, she thinks of examples of it in her own life.
c. Darren repeats the detailed excuses his friend Logan suggests he use to explain
why he didn’t do his homework.
d. Rosie repeats the spelling of each word several times the night before her spelling
test.
2
, Chapter 1 — Introduction to Educational Psychology
• 6. Which one of the following statements is consistent with research findings described in
the textbook?
a. Repeating something over and over is usually the most effective way to learn it.
b. Students often study differently for different kinds of classroom assessments.
c. For optimal performance, students should never feel any anxiety in the classroom.
d. By the time children are 8 or 9 years old, most of them have developed effective
ways of learning classroom material.
•• 7. Judging from the textbook’s discussion of educational research, which one of the
following would be the best course of action for teachers to take?
a. Teachers shouldn’t take research findings very seriously, because there are too
many gaps in the knowledge we’ve gained from research.
b. Teachers should focus on research that relates to a single theoretical perspective
(such as Piaget’s theory or information processing theory).
c. Teachers can use findings from educational research to guide their classroom
decision making.
d. Teachers should always go with their common sense and “gut” feelings about how
to teach, regardless of any research findings to the contrary.
•• 8. Which one of the following teaching practices is definitely an example of evidence-
based practice?
a. A kindergarten teacher asks students to bring something from home that begins
with the letter B.
b. A fourth-grade teacher uses a reading program that research has shown to be
effective for fourth graders.
c. A seventh-grade science teacher asks students to conduct experiments in which
they must determine which one of several variables makes a pendulum swing fast
or more slowly.
d. A high school art teacher encourages students to choose a medium (e.g., clay,
watercolor paints) that they can best use to express themselves.
•• 9. The following paragraph is taken from a textbook’s discussion of children who have
physical disabilities:
Physical and health impairments are general physical or medical conditions
(usually long-term) that interfere with school performance to such an extent that
special instruction, curricular materials, equipment, or facilities are necessary.
Students in this category may have limited energy and strength, reduced mental
alertness, or little muscle control. Examples of specific conditions that may
qualify students for special services include traumatic brain injury, spinal cord
injury, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, epilepsy, cystic fibrosis, asthma, heart
problems, arthritis, cancer, and AIDS. The majority of students with physical and
health impairments attend general education classrooms for part or all of the
school day (U.S. Dept. of Education, 1996).
Which sentence within the paragraph most clearly shows APA style?
a. The first sentence
3
