Educational Psychology

How does one develop and construct knowledge? There are many theories about human development in the world of Psychology and Biology.  Some important ones include Erikson’s Stages of Psychological Development and Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development. Both theories provide different ways in which people develop throughout their lives.  Erikson’s model is based off of eight events people experience during their lifetime called “crises”, and each crisis serves to shape that person’s personality and character in either a positive or negative way, depending on the resolution.  On the other hand, Piaget’s model focuses on four major cognitive developments experienced mostly by children as they age into adulthood.  These theories are important for teachers to know because it can help them to understand the way their students learn and behave, which in turn shapes the way they teach and interact with them.

Additionally, the student’s home and family life also impact their learning, and it’s important for teachers to be aware of the diverse students in their class and how their background can affect them.  Several things that can negatively impact their learning are divorce, abuse, and poverty. Even things like different parenting styles can determine the ways in which students behave at school and interact with their teachers and peers.

I come from a home with very permissive parents, meaning they controlled very little in my life.  Although this might sound great to a teenager who thinks they know everything, it was hard for me to get through school without anyone helping me with my homework or encouraging me to get good grades.  It took me until tenth grade to realize I needed to start trying harder to achieve in the same way my friends did.  As a result, I became very independent and hated working with others on projects or interacting a lot with my classmates at all.  Due to the way I got along at home, I mostly just wanted to do everything by myself, as that was familiar to me.

Another example of how parenting styles can affect a child’s learning is a child of very controlling parents might feel overwhelmed with the freedom school can offer, and act out as a result of it.  Children from neglectful parents might steel food from classmates, fall asleep in class, or be very withdrawn from peer groups.  If children don’t feel comfortable in their environment at home, they probably aren’t going to feel comfortable in their environment at school either, and it’s important for teachers to realize this and to accommodate and help those as much as possible.