Chapter Highlights

Journal Entries
-What are the main aspects of education addressed by educational psychology? How can I use information from educational psychology to evaluate and enhance my approach and development as a teacher?
-According to Erikson's theory of psychosocial development, what are the main issues that my students will be facing in my classroom? As a teacher, what role can I play in helping my students resolve these issues in a positive manner?
-How will I deal with the emotional problems that my students bring to the classroom? What can I do as a teacher to promote positive self-esteem in all of my students?
-What role can technology play in my classroom to help promote and appreciate the individual differences that exist in my classroom?
-What steps can I take as a teacher when I notice that students are not fitting in with others due to differences in culture?
-As a teacher, what is my role in ensuring the provisions of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) are met? How does this law affect my classroom? What can I do in my classroom to provide further support of this law?
-What are some ways that I can use my knowledge about operant conditioning to extinguish or end unwanted behaviors in my classroom? How do the students react to these approaches?
-Based on my experiences, what do I see as the strengths and weaknesses of information-processing theory? What changes would I suggest for this theory?
-How can I use different types of technology to improve students' self-regulation skills? How can I use technology to enhance the self-efficacy of my students?
-Am I taking advantage of situations that allow students to construct their own learning? What steps have I taken recently to incorporate constructivist approaches? What steps can I take in future lessons?
-Many approaches to teaching can be useful to me as a teacher. How can I use technology to further support my instructional approaches? How can I incorporate technology into the classroom in ways other than as a reward or a word processing mechanism?
-What impact is my use of technology having on the motivation of my students? Is it having the impact that I had expected? What are some ways that I can add to or adjust my use of technology to increase student motivation?
-What approach to classroom management am I taking? Am I making sure to include my students when decisions and policies need to be made in my classes?
-Am I using a variety of items on my tests? Are there any specific items on my tests that students are misinterpreting or having difficulty with? What can I do to make these questions more clear? Should I try to switch the format of the questions?
-Are the standardized tests I am using in my classroom norm-referenced or criterion-referenced tests? What are the implications of each type of test for my students?
-Have I reflected on my overall teaching approaches and philosophy? How am I growing as a teacher? How has my teaching philosophy changed since I started teaching?