Graduate and Postgraduate Students, Graduate and Postgraduate Teachers, High School Students, Pre K - 12 Teachers, Undergraduate Students January 1, 2018

Looking back at 2017: A Year In Review from the Psych Learning Curve.

2017 was a great year for the blog. We highlighted psychologists doing great work, a series on how to get into graduate school and featured many articles on the application of psychology in schools.

As a wrap up to 2017, I’d like to share with you our most popular posts and articles for the year. We look forward to bringing you more great stories from psychology and education in 2018. Thank you for all your support and feedback in our second year!

Graduate and Postgraduate Students, Undergraduate Students December 25, 2017

The Problem with Jogging

On a whim and while struggling with the challenge of finishing my doctoral dissertation, I purchased a flask with the following quote engraved on its leather sleeve: “The problem with jogging is that the ice falls out of your glass.” I thought that was quite a hoot given my current state of mind and long-held belief that running could never be something I would enjoy. The notion of running for fun also contradicted my memories of eighth grade and running suicides in the Moore Junior High School gym.

Pre K - 12 Teachers, Undergraduate Teachers December 18, 2017

Technology in Education: Why Being a Luddite is No Longer an Option

On Twitter, educator Justin Tarte wrote about technology in education no longer being a luxury but a necessity. Larry and Laurie, the campus Luddites and technophobes will need to retire to make way for the new tech-savvy teachers of tomorrow. Technology will not be for the rich districts; it will be for everyone. Every school will have some form of 1:1 and all teachers and administrators will need to be able to adapt to changing software and technological tools in the future. Good teaching and good pedagogy will still be needed, but we are approaching the science of learning from a different place than when I began teaching. This is a great change.

Pre K - 12 Teachers December 11, 2017

Using Tech Tools in Your High School Psychology Classroom

As I write this post, I have a smile on my face because I just ended a class that included several “woos”, high-fives and screaming!  And, no it wasn’t because my heel broke in class and I landed flat on my face (I’ll reserve that story for an APA event so that I can fully act out my embarrassment).  The hooting and hollering came from the excitement students had while they played a review game on Quizlet Live.  As a teacher, I really enjoy experimenting with new tech tools in my classroom, even if it ends with me cursing under my breath at my computer after school. Through my adventures in experimenting with technology, I have learned a few lessons:

Graduate and Postgraduate Teachers, Pre K - 12 Teachers, Undergraduate Teachers December 3, 2017

Help Your Students Believe in Themselves: Self-Efficacy in the Classroom

In his pioneering work, Albert Bandura characterised self-efficacy as the individual’s belief in his capacity to execute behaviours necessary to produce specific performance attainments. It reflects confidence in the ability to exert control over one’s own motivation, behaviour, and social environment. As teachers, this is an important element of human behaviour that can be harnessed to optimise students’ learning experience.

A host of research has already demonstrated that self-efficacy appears to be an important variable because it impacts students’ motivation and learning. But what are the factors that teachers should bear in mind to ensure that self-efficacy flourishes in the classroom?

Pre K - 12 Teachers November 27, 2017

5 Must Ask Questions For Parents in Search of the Best Early Childhood Program

You’ve read the brochures, checked out the shiny pictures, and narrowed down your choices to the programs that work in terms of location and schedule. You’ve visited the building and checked for clean toys and rooms, qualified teachers, and center accreditation. You have the center policies in brightly colored folders, and know the math – teacher/student ratios, and square footage. Somehow, though, there’s still something missing. What is the next step in figuring out where your child should spend their early childhood years? Surely the decision is more than just ratios, square footage, and accreditation.

Pre K - 12 Teachers, Undergraduate Teachers November 20, 2017

Learner-Centered Assessment Strategies for Greater Student Retention

Teachers usually have their own set of ways to teach their students and make sure that the students are actually learning. Most teachers usually don’t challenge the traditional way of teaching, which can leave some students overwhelmed and confused. When I first started teaching, without even thinking, I constructed courses that looked the same as how they looked when I was in school. Step one: Teach a unit; Step two: Give an in-class exam; Step three: Teach a unit; Step four: Give an in-class exam. Etc. My observation is that a lot of teachers do the same thing. In my own research, however, in-class exams are poor alternatives to something called learner-centered assessments.

Parents, Pre K - 12 Teachers November 13, 2017

School Psychologists: Powering Growth in Student’s Academic and Mental Health

Updated November 11, 2019

Children and adolescents in the United States face significant challenges related to academic achievement and mental health. For example, only 36% (reading) and 40% (mathematics) of 4th grade students scored at or above proficiency on standardized tests in 2015 (McFarland et al., 2017). Approximately 1 out of every 17 students will not complete high school and about 13% of the school population, representing 6.6 million youth, require special education services for one or more disabilities that invariably affect their learning and mental health (McFarland et al., 2017). Roughly 1 out of every 5 students will experience a clinically significant mental disorder chiefly including anxiety disorders, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and mood disturbances such as depression (Kessler et al., 2012). Thus, it is clear that our student population needs ongoing, effective support to meet and overcome these challenges successfully. Who will answer the call to address these needs? Fortunately, school psychologists are ideally suited to enhance student academic and mental health given their extensive training and experience in educational and mental health support strategies.

Graduate and Postgraduate Teachers, Undergraduate Students, Undergraduate Teachers November 6, 2017

Avoiding the “I’m So Busy” Trap

Anyone who has had the chance to work in more than one psychology department – either as undergraduate, graduate, or faculty member – comes to realize that every workplace is different. There are different norms, different dress codes, different colleagues, and different leadership styles. But whatever work setting you end up in, you are guaranteed to find one strong commonality:

everyone is so busy.

And you will find this commonality immediately because everyone will want to tell you how busy they are.

Undergraduate Students October 30, 2017

Preparing your personal statement for graduate school applications

Nearly all doctoral programs and many master’s degree programs in psychology require submission of a personal statement as part of the application package. In my experience advising students as well as serving as a graduate dean for many years, few things in the application process cause students as much anxiety and prompt so many questions.