RESEARCH WRITING

Research Writing

Research Writing

Part 1: Annotated Bibliography of Articles on Educational Psychology

Seifert, K. (2005). Learning about Peers: A Missed Opportunity for Educational Psychology: Clearing House: 78(5): p239-243

This article discusses the benefits of having pre-service teachers proceed through education courses in cohorts. Cohort programs are becoming common in teacher education as a strategy for stimulating students academically and facilitating supportive social ties among them.

Although cohorts can vary widely in size, they are usually small enough so that individuals can know all other individuals in their group. Because cohort members take the majority of classes together, they typically end up having much, or even all, of their free, out-of-class time in common as well. There is usually no written or unwritten rule requiring them to spend free time together, but it is often convenient to do so. The net result is considerable social and academic contact with the same people during the day and throughout the week.

Martin, J. (2006). Self Research in Educational Psychology: A Cautionary Tale of Positive Psychology in Action: Journal of Psychology: 140(4): p307-316

Recent calls for a positive psychology that would deemphasize human pathology and dysfunction in favor of building an understanding of positive features of human life and human flourishing make two assumptions that the author questions in this article. First, he challenges the assumption that disciplinary psychology has been fixated on pathology and dysfunction by considering work in educational psychology that, both historically and currently, espouses the characteristics of positive psychology as articulated by its major advocates. Second, through a brief, critical consideration of research on the self in educational psychology, he contests the assumption that psychology has sufficient resources to develop into the positive psychology envisioned by its promoters. He argues that psychology's emphasis on the individual, whose core self resides in a deep, internal psyche, radically strips psychology of the historical and sociocultural resources that enable self-development, constrain self-understanding, and constitute the self.

Snowman, J. (1997). Educational Psychology: What Do We Teach, What Should We Teach? Educational Psychology Review: 9(2): p151-170

Teacher education students sometimes question the value of educational psychology courses even though educational psychology textbooks are primarily concerned with understanding and improving classroom teaching and learning. A survey of current educational psychology textbooks and instructors reveals that (a ) most texts cover a wide variety of topics, (b) instructors rate most of these topics as important, (c) there are large variations in depth of coverage among texts, and (d) all texts contain numerous classroom applications. The questionable reputation of the educational psychology course may stem from its broad coverage. A dozen or more topics in one semester may decrease the probability that most students will achieve a solid grasp of any one topic, leaving students uncertain about the course's meaning and applicability. A proposed solution is to offer the introductory course as a two-semester sequence, with the second course offered as an elective.

O'Donnell, A . M.; Levin, J. R. (2001). Educational Psychology's Healthy Growing Pains: Educational Psychologist: 36(2): p73-82

This article outlines ...