EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY

Educational Psychology

Educational Psychology

Throughout the years, many people have offered educational philosophies and beliefs regarding how teaching and learning should take place. Personal educational philosophies allow different kinds of insight into a learning environment (Ormond, 2003). One's educational philosophy allows for various types of instruction to be implemented in the course setting. Since learning is a very broad experience, different type's educational philosophies and beliefs are needed in teaching and learning (Ormond, 2003).

The purpose of this paper is to offer an educational philosophy that the writer believes will make an academic and personal positive impact on students. The writer's personal educational philosophy is based on motivation which is defined in Driscoll as the process whereby goal-directed behavior is instigated and sustained (Ormond, 2003, p. 309). In Driscoll, motivation was also described as a work-related rather than a play-related concept (Ormond, 2003p.309). The writer's personal educational philosophy called motivational educational learning will be first described. Then, the writer's educational philosophy will be described in conceptual, theoretical, and operational frameworks. Finally, concluding remarks will be given to summarize the importance of developing/implementing a personal educational philosophy.

Motivational Educational Learning Philosophy

It was indicated in Driscoll that evaluating various learning theories for their validity and usefulness ultimately becomes a matter of developing a personal theory of learning and instruction (Ormond, 2003 p. 411). According to Driscoll, the process of a theory of learning is made up of various important steps that include designing and/or implementing instruction, observing the effects of instruction in terms of learning and motivation, and forming an intention to learn and seeking out new knowledge (Ormond, 2003 p. 412). A personal educational philosophy offers particular insight into educational learning and instruction as pointed out in Driscoll. By having various educational philosophies to follow, it allows for different aspects of learning to be brought into the learning environment. It was recommended in Driscoll that when developing a personal theory of learning, it should be conveyed in a specific professional context. This means one should utilize their professional experiences when coming up with their personal educational philosophy due to the expertise they may have in a specific area or grade level for example. (Ormond, 2003).

A motivational educational philosophy was chosen due to the belief that a lack of motivation has a great affect whether a student will be successful academically as well as other aspects of life. As part of creating academics that may motivate a student to excel, instruction should be interesting to the planned learners and that it should make possible the growth of learners self-regulatory knowledge and skills as noted in Driscoll. A key goal in an academic setting described in Driscoll is that students should be motivated to learn before the learning has in fact started, and when it is actually occurring in the class setting. It was suggested in Driscoll that for motivation to occur, certain expectancies about one's abilities, about the task, and about the value of task achievement must be satisfied ...