Educational Psychology
by Anita Woolfolk
CHAPTER 1
Teaching after No Child Left Behind










January 2002, NCLB
Teaching will never be the same—no judgment!
Reauthorization of ESEA, 1965
Age of Accountability
Each state’s HOUSSE (high objective uniform state
standard of evaluation)
Age of Testing
All students in grades 3-8, plus one high school exam.
Others to be added after 2002.
Age of making Adequate Yearly Progress
Age of being a “highly qualified teacher”
More to come on NCLB…………………….
Do Teachers Make a Difference?
 1966—Coleman Report—wealth and social status were
noted as major factors determining learning in schools.
 Effective Schools Research—refuted the Coleman Report.
More to come on Effective Schools Research…..
 Good teaching does make a difference in student
learning: Three Studies on Teacher Effectiveness
 Effective Teacher-Student relationships affect student
learning. (Harme/Pianta-2001) K-8 study. Conclusions:
the association between the quality of early teacher-child
relationships and later school performance is both strong
and persistent.
Do Teachers Make a Difference?
 Teacher Preparation and Quality—Linda Darling-
Hammond (2000) found that the quality of teachers
(fully certified and majored in their teaching field)
was related to teacher performance.
 Tennessee math study of 5th graders: students with
best teachers three years in a row (3,4,5)-83rd
percentile in one district; 96th in another. Students
with the least effective teachers scored 29th
percentile and 44th percentile. All students benefit
from good teachers, but particularly low achieving
students. Effects were cumulative and residual.
What is good teaching?
What are the qualities and characteristics of good teachers?
 1.
 2.
 3.
 4.
 5.
 6.
 7., 8., 9., 10, 11., 12., 13., 14., 15., 16., 17…..
Woolfolk’s take on “good teaching”
 Expert Knowledge; they know content
 General teaching strategies (effective classroom






management, effective teaching, and evaluation)
Curriculum: the “what” of teaching
Subject-specific knowledge for teaching
Characteristics and cultural backgrounds of students.
The settings in which students learn—pairs, small
groups, teams, classes, schools, and community
The goals and purposes of teaching
Self-knowledge (biases, strengths, blind spots)
Educational Psychology
 Goals of educational psychology are to understand
and to improve the teaching and learning process
 Educational psychologists develop knowledge and
methods.
 Use knowledge and methods of psychology and other
related disciplines to study learning and teaching in
everyday situations.
Concerns of Beginning Teachers
 Learning to teach is a gradual process.
 The concerns and problems of teachers change as
they progress.
 Beginning years often focused on maintaining
discipline, motivating students, evaluating students’
work, and dealing with parents.
 More experienced teachers might focus on
professional growth and effectiveness with a wide
range of students.
There is so much to learn…
…and so little time!