EDTE 116
The Psychology of Instruction
CSU-Sacramento
Single Subject
Teacher Credential Program
Community Building
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Name Game
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Involves learned associations
Linked to prior learning
Associations need to be meaningful
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Learning theory (Associationism)
Introduction
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What do you want to learn about
this semester to help you become
an effective and creative teacher?
What concerns do you have about
being a classroom teacher?
Overview of Key Topics
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Lesson/unit planning & instructional
strategies
Cognitive & socio-emotional
development
Student diversity
Creativity & higher-order thinking
Learning theory & motivation
Metacognition & reflection
What makes a good teacher?
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Warmth, enthusiasm, caring
Knowledge of the domain
Mastering a variety of teaching skills to
encourage critical thinking, problemsolving, and performance skills
An intentional teacher plans actions based
on the desired outcomes
High Aspirations for Self and Students
High Perceived Self-Efficacy
Responsibility for Self and Actions
Ability to Delay Gratification
What is the role of research in
educational psychology?
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Teachers are Consumers of Research
Teachers are Researchers/Decision Makers
Goals of research are to question, describe, and
predict relationships between factors leading to
principles, laws, and theories
Research teaches how to recognize problems and
issues, how to consider situations from multiple
perspectives, how to call up relevant professional
knowledge to formulate actions, how to take the
most appropriate action and how to judge the
consequences
Research + Common Sense = Effective Teaching
Common Misconceptions about
Educational Psychology
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Good teaching decisions rest solely
on common sense and educational
and psychological research has little
relevance to classroom practice
Cause-effect relationships can come
from correlational research
Teacher education programs provide
all the skills necessary to be an
effective teacher
Research Methods
Used in Educational Psychology
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Experiments
Correlational Studies
Descriptive Research
Action Research
Appreciative Inquiry
All the above are used for more effective
decision making in the classroom
Important Websites
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www.lessonplanspage.com
www.csun.edu
www.lessonplanz.com
www.lib.csufresno.edu
www.edhelper.com
10 Minute Break
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Questions?
Wanted!
College-educated individuals who are willing to put in
excessively long hours without commensurate
compensation; who can work under adverse conditions,
with unappreciative supervisors and even more
unappreciative clients, many of whom prefer to be
uninvolved, as well; who do not mind having inadequate
resources and support services; who agree to assume
unspecific responsibilities without prior notification; but
who will be held accountable for the satisfaction and
performance of the unappreciative and uninvolved
clients. Candidates for the position must be willing to
receive inadequate wages and expect not to be able to
double their income in constant dollars in a lifetime.
Applicants are encouraged to send resumes to the
Teacher Education Office of the ______ School District.
(adapted from Linda Darling-Hammond,1983, in Dworkin,
2001).
The Dynamics of Creative Teaching
Connection
Self-student awareness
Feedback
Preparation
Constraints
Reflective Teaching
Values and Goals
Creative Teacher Characteristics
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Cognitive Characteristics:
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Metaphoric thinking, flexibility and skill in decision
making, independence in judgment, coping well with
novelty, logical thinking skills, visualization, problemfinding, escaping entrenchment and finding order in
chaos
Personality Characteristics:
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Willingness to take risks, perseverance, drive, task
commitment, curiosity, openness to experience,
tolerance for ambiguity, broad interests, valuing
originality, intuition and deep emotions and being
internally occupied
How Do Optimism
Levels Influence Creative Teaching?
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Life inflicts the same setbacks and tragedies on the
optimist as on the pessimist, but the optimist weathers
them better.
Optimists are resilient and therefore achieve more at
work, at school, at home and on the playing field. They
have better health and even may live longer.
Resilience comes from how optimists explain misfortune
to themselves (Explanatory Style).
According to Seligman (1991), the three critical
dimensions of explanatory style are permanence,
pervasiveness, and personalization.
Explanatory Style
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Permanence
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Pessimists language negative events as permanent
happenings and positive events as temporary
happenings.
 “My class was absolutely unruly today. I’ll never
be able to be an effective leader or attain any
sense of classroom management with them!”
Optimists language negative events as temporary
happenings and positive events as permanent
happenings.
 “My class was really spirited today. They must
all be ramped up for holiday.”
Explanatory Style
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Personalization
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Pessimists apply internal explanations for negative
events and external explanations for positive events.
 “Nothing went right today. I am such a horrible
teacher!”
 “That lesson went very well, what a stroke of luck.”
Optimists apply external explanations for negative
events and internal explanations for positive events.
 “Nothing seemed to go right with this lesson. It must
be a Monday thing.”
 “I think the lesson went really well. I’m definitely
improving as a teacher.”
Explanatory Style
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Pervasiveness
 Pessimists make universal explanations for negative
events and specific explanations for positive events.
 “The administration never supports me with what I
want to do in my classroom.”
 Optimists make specific explanations for negative
events and universal explanations for positive events.
 “My principal doesn’t want me to take the students
on a field trip this month. She must be getting
pressure from the district.”