Eileen Brinkman

Educational Psychology
12/6/16

Educational Philosophy Paper

This semester has been very eye opening for me in different ways through my

classes and my field experience. In this class especially, I have learned more about how

students learn, how we as teachers can motivate our students, and how we can teach our

students in a positive and most beneficial way. Teaching is so much more than providing

the material to the students. Being a teacher means truly understanding your students,

learning from them, and basing your activities and lectures on their learning styles. The

most important thing I learned from this course was the different types of development

and the learning styles that come along with each developmental stage. Knowing all of

this new information will allow me to recognize the differences in students when I have

my own classroom.

During the beginning of this course, there was a focus on what educational

psychology is and how is it implemented in the classroom. Because Educational

psychology focuses a great amount on the study of learners, learning and teaching, it

is necessary to understand that one of the most important aspects of teaching,

intentionality, can completely change a classroom. Intentionality is doing things for

a purpose. Teachers plan their actions based on the outcomes they want to achieve. I

want to be an intentional teacher because those are the teachers who really

influenced me. Intentional teachers inspired me to learn even in the subjects I was

not fond of. I will be intentional in my classroom because I know math is not the

most well liked subject, especially in high school. Being intentional will look like
hard work and dedication to my students. Dedication in and outside of the

classroom. I want to put in time and effort in perfecting my lesson plans as well as

considering the different learners in my room as well as the content I am teaching

and how it might be received best.

Another aspect of educational psychology is the diversity of students both in

backgrounds and their ways of learning. This past semester I observed a high school

geometry class two times a week for my first field experience. The experience of this

school was so much different than my own high school experience. I attended an all-girls

catholic high school and took many challenging and AP classes. The classes I observed

this past semester were regular classes with students from poor socio-economic

background. There is such deep poverty for the students at this high school, much more

than I have ever personally experienced. Recognizing the diversity of my students and

the diversity of their backgrounds, ethnic but especially home life is something I really

want to focus on in my future classroom. As an educator I am called to live a vocation of

service through love. How am I supposed to help my students if I am unable to recognize

their needs? I want the students to feel recognized and respected. There is such a

difference between a teacher who barely knows their students’ names and a teacher who

takes time to invest in them and learn about their differences.

Finding different ways to engage students can improve learning for any grade

level. As a high school math teacher, I will need to be creative in finding different ways

to present the material. One of the required courses for being a math teacher is a course

focused on Mathematical programs for the classroom. In particular I think of the program

Geometer Sketchpad. It provides hands on learning for students in geometry. Instead of

listening to a teacher lecture the entire class, students are given opportunities to discover

the material on their own. The use of technology can provide both positive and negative

effects. As a teacher I can aim to always have positive effect by having control of the

classroom and being available for the students to ask questions.

Classroom management was talked about in chapter 11 and addressed many of the

problems and effective ways in disciplining students. While reading the material my

future classroom would always come to mind. It is important to remember I will be

teaching high school students. This is much different than elementary school students.

Things such as daily report card and time out were some of the examples of discipline but

I have to realize this would not be effective in my classrooms. For the most part, I will

only see most of my students once a day for fifty minutes at a time. This, along with the

fact that my students will be teenagers, throws out many of the suggestions given in the

book. One idea I do think would work are positive reinforces. In order to use reinforcers I

would need to see who is struggling and may need some help. There are always students

who seem to misbehave more than others. Many times they are looking for attention.

Before starting the positive reinforcers I can talk with them to discuss their behavior. We

can set goals together and for the times they do do well, I can praise them or reward them

for their good efforts. I have learned that positive reinforcement is more effective than

negative. If I am willing to invest time in my students and work together with them to

succeed, I think the outcome will be a beneficial to not only the student, but also the

entire class and myself. My goal is to provide an environment in my future classroom

where students are not afraid to ask questions and are not afraid to be open about things

whether it be schoolwork or things that are bothering them about class.

 Along with positive reinforcement, I was greatly influenced by PBIS. Although it

was just studied in the last learning session, I think it may have been my favorite thing we

talked about. The entire concept of PBIS amazes me, but what really impressed me what

the PBIS implemented at the middle school level. With my major I am able to teach in

either high school or middle school. Teaching at a school with PBIS or helping a school

transition to that way of thinking is not a dream of mine. I know that sounds somewhat

dramatic, but the focus of the schools and the teachers is such a unique one that I have

never seen before. The administration is really calling the students on to a high standard.

Forming them in many more ways then just educational, the schools influence the

students to build better character and integrity. Whether or not I get to teaching in a

school with PBIS or help a school implement it, I want to call my own students to the

same standards. When people interact with my students I want them to be respected as

well as impressed by their maturity. I think I can do this in many different ways.

One specific teacher of mine from high school reminds me of someone who

called us to high standards not only in the classroom but also as people. My freshman

biology teacher was one of the most challenging teachers I have ever had. Being a

freshman I was nervous about many things. It was my first year of high school as well as

my first year at a different school. Even though things were so hectic as freshmen, our

teacher never treated us like we were. She held us to such a high standard it inspired us to

be the best we could be. I remember we would have daily quizzes on the material we

learned the day before. Something about these quizzes made me really focus and become

a better student. There was also never any mention of the fact we were freshmen. In her

mind we were just students there to learn about biology. There was nothing she held back
from us because of our age. This is the type of classroom I want to have. No matter what

grade level I teach, I want to see them as students and challenge them in the necessary

ways. Even just pushing my students academically will influence them in their day-to-

day lives.

The last part of this course I want to focus on is the different forms of instruction.

Direct instruction and whole brain teaching both have their positives and negatives but I

think it is important to incorporate many different types of instruction into the classroom.

Direct instruction is an approach to teaching in which the teacher transmits information

directly to the students. Lectures are an example of direct instruction. The teacher stands

at the front of the room and speaks for the entire fifty minutes. The pros of this for mu

high school or middle school math classroom would be I am able to teach what I want to

as well as tell the students exactly what they need to know. The downfall of direct

teaching in my classroom would be the fact that students learn differently and some may

not be auditory learners. Having only lectures would not be a possibility for my classes.

Whole brain teaching has much more interaction between the teacher and the students.

The teacher talks for a few minutes at a time and then asks the students to explain the

certain concept to the student next to them. This provides an opportunity for the student

who is not an auditory learner to interact and move around during the lesson. For some

students this is much more beneficial than just listening to lectures. The downside for

whole brain teaching is the need for complete focus from the students in order to get

everything done. Regarding these instructional techniques, I think I will use both in my

future classroom. I want to have a mixture of lectures as well as student led learning.

Having both will allow me to keep the students engaged as well as interested in the
material being covered. I typical week in my classroom may look like a few days of

lecture with a few days of interacting whole brain teaching or possibly a mix of both

every day. I do not think I will use the whole brain teaching method exactly though

because I think it is more effective in the elementary school setting. I am excited to use

the interaction and group work it provides though.

Overall I have learned many great techniques as well as gained many ideas for my

future classroom. The different topics discussed especially when it comes to how students

learn and develop because of background, how to motivate students as well as discipline,

and how to teach effectively have allowed me to really start thinking about the future. I

am so excited to one day have my own students and begin to form their minds and

characters. Educational psychology is something I will continue to grow in knowledge of

because it is something so important to both the teacher and the student.