Write a succinct and persuasive at-a-glance document explaining the benefits of classroom observation and consultation with an educational psychologist.
Note: The assessments in this course build upon each other, so you are strongly encouraged to complete them in sequence.
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Educational psychologists are often hired by school districts to identify ways to improve learner outcomes.
By successfully completing this assessment, you will demonstrate your proficiency in the following course competencies and assessment criteria:
Competency 1: Describe the current issues, parameters, and central tenets that define the specialization of educational psychology.
Explain the role of an educational psychologist and benefits to teachers and students.
Competency 5: Explain how educational psychology models enhance learner engagement and mediate issues of learning and performance.
Describe factors that could impact classroom management.
Describe factors that could impact student motivation and engagement.
Explain how an educational psychology aligns learning techniques to skill development by age and ability level to enhance skill development.
Competency 7: Communicate in a manner that is scholarly, professional, and consistent with university expectations for graduate education, including discipline knowledge and current APA formatting standards.
Write clearly and logically, with correct use of spelling, grammar, punctuation, and mechanics, and correctly format citations using APA style.
Classroom Management
Some approaches to classroom management work better than others. The goal for teachers should be to produce competent and self-regulated individuals. A teacher sets the classroom environment to enhance intrinsic motivation by engaging the students with four intrinsic rewards: a sense of meaningfulness, a sense of choice, a sense of competence, and a sense of progress (Thomas, 2009).
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Motivation
According to Pintrich and Schunk (1996), “Motivation is the process whereby goal directed behavior is instigated and sustained” (p. 4). We could discuss the skills necessary to be a good student and a good teacher all quarter, but if the student is not motivated, we all know that learning will not take place. In this assessment, we explore the construct of motivation, a topic that is inextricably tied to learning.
References
Pintrich, P. R. & Schunk, D. H. (1996). Motivation in education: Theory, research, and applications. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
Thomas, K. (2009). Intrinsic motivation at work: What really drives employee management (2nd ed.). San Francisco: Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
To deepen your understanding, you are encouraged to consider the questions below and discuss them with a fellow learner, a work associate, an interested friend, or a member of the business community.
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How would you attribute success to maximize future achievement if your child announces the intention to “just to be a C student”?
How would you explain views of motivation to parents, such as: behavioral view, the social cognitive view, etc.?
Are the approaches to classroom management situational?
Does one approach work better that another, depending on the situation?
What are the the pros and cons of using an authoritarian, permissive, and authoritative approach to classroom management?
Preparation
Teachers are wary of classroom observation. Many feel judged and defensive. Your task in this assessment is to persuade teachers of the benefits of a classroom observation and consultation. Since teachers do not have time to read an article, a long email with an attachment, or a complex memo, create a very succinct, high-level explanation in the form of an at-a-glance document, something typically used in business. These documents often take the form of a question and answer sheet, and there are numerous examples from business training and government on the Internet that you may wish to examine before beginning this assessment.
Scenario
Imagine that you are a consultant in educational psychology for an institution that serves children ages 14–18. You have been hired to observe the learning environment and provide recommendations that will improve classroom management, motivation, engagement, and student performance.
Although the education institution hired you for this consultation, it will be important to prepare a brief introduction to the teachers you will be helping. In other words, you have to sell teachers on the benefits of consulting with an educational psychologist, in order to gain their trust and cooperation.
Deliverable
Create a one- to two-page at-a-glance document for teachers. The purpose of an at-a-glance document is to impart information in an easily scannable, comprehensible, and succinct format.
Sub-headings help the reader quickly locate information in a text-only format. You may decide to use an illustrated approach using graphics. You may use bullet points and phrases to succinctly explain the benefits of classroom observation and consultation with an educational psychologist. There is no correct way to format this document. Use whatever format you wish to create a document that meets the criteria below, is persuasive, and easy to read.
Include the following in your document:
Explain the role of an educational psychologist.
Explain how the results will help teachers in the classroom.
Explain how students will benefit.
Describe factors that could impact classroom management.
Briefly explain why each factor is important to improve classroom management.
Describe factors that could impact student motivation and engagement.
Briefly explain why each factor is important to improve student motivation and engagement.
Explain how an educational psychology aligns learning techniques by age and ability level to enhance skill development.
Provide examples of learning techniques for skill development for the age group.
Additional Requirements
Written communication: Writing is free of errors that detract from the overall message.
Length: 2 pages.
