Psychology Question

Psychology Question

ASSIGNMENT GUIDELINES & DESCRIPTION

This is an overview of Individual Assignment #1A & 1B: Your Educational Psychology (EP) Paper. This paper is a personal reflection and an academic analysis of an educational psychology experience. The draft of your EP Paper (#1A) should be 3 to 5 pp. (no more than 6 pp.) Refer to the guidelines for the final EP Paper due at the end of the course. Your references section does do not count toward your total paper page limit (at least two references cited accordingly). Your paper may be 10-12 size font and single- or double-spaced. For the draft, you can use bullets, a formal outline, or write your thoughts using complete sentences and paragraphs. Make sure your draft demonstrates that you put in the time and effort expected: personal reflections, critical thinking, creativity, and relevant references. Review the paper overview including the requirements noted below. Do your best to address all the areas required for the draft (we'll expect at least 75% of your preliminary ideas outlined in this draft). YOU'LL BE ABLE TO USE THIS DRAFT TO HELP YOU COMPLETE YOUR FINAL EP PAPER THAT IS DUE AT THE END OF THE COURSE.

Overview/Template:

Identify one of the following time periods from your life that you would like to reflect on and discuss using an educational psychology perspective: childhood, adolescence, or adulthood. State why you selected this life phase. Describe the specific learning environment(s) or context(s) of the educational psychology experience you will focus on (one or two). Examples: school classroom, school library, school extracurriculars, home setting, workplace, place of worship, community service activity, etc. Describe the the specific academic area(s) that your educational psychology experience falls under (one or two). Examples: Human Development, Behavioral Development, Social Development, Emotional Development, Moral Development, Brain Development, Cognitive Development, Information Processing, Metacognition, Transfer of Skills and Knowledge, Higher Order Thinking, Cognitive Theories, Theory of Constructivism, Self-Theories, Social Learning Theories, etc. Describe the specific person(s) or group(s) and their respective influences (if applicable) that played a role in your educational psychology experience. Examples: parents, siblings, other family members, teachers, coaches, friends/peers, some organization's members, or other people (non-family members).

Select at least two theories or concepts (or one theory and one concept) to discuss and analyze your educational psychology experience (as mentioned under the first bulleted item above). Discuss the main points of the theories or concepts and note why you feel they are relevant to your experience. Clearly state the theories or concepts you decide to use up front in your paper. Note the name of the recognized researcher/scholar who advanced the theories or concepts. Use the theories or concepts presented in this course (readings, lecture notes, videos, research reports, etc.). You can use applicable concepts and theories you’ve learned in other courses or from your own research.

• In telling your educational psychology story, use the theories or concepts to highlight the factors that influenced your perceptions (taking in or processing information), thinking (cognition), attitude (feelings), behavior (actions), or overall motivation (intrinsic or extrinsic forces propelling actions).Address at least two of these areas (or all five). Specifically, discuss the influential personal factors, influential environment(s), or influential person(s) or group(s). Address at least one of these areas (or all three). You may talk about the questions raised, new insights, consequences, the negative or positive sides, or hindrances or promotion aspects. You may frame the influence as impacting you personally, academically, professionally, or socially.

Give us an idea on how this educational psychology experience impacted your subsequent phase in your development (the time period immediately following the one you selected to analyze).

Conclude your educational psychology analysis by delineating one theoretical and one practical takeaway that are related to your personal experience(s). In discussing the former, keep in mind a perspective from psychology and speak to a scholarly or research-oriented community. For the latter, keep in mind your real-world experience and speak to the lay public or professional practitioners who are seeking pragmatic advice related to psychology-related phenomena.

In your paper, reference at least two sources and cite accordingly (use APA, ASA, Chicago, etc.). One of the sources should be from an empirical, research-based journal, book chapter, or report of some sort. You can use course materials as references, including the textbook, lecture notes, and reports.

Structure your paper in the following manner: Title your paper “My Educational Psychology Experience." Or, come up with your own descriptive and catchy title. Include commonly used formal essay or research paper sections, such as an introduction, body, conclusion, and references. Use headings and sub-headings to clearly identify the key areas of your paper and guide the reader through your reflection and analysis. Consider using the appropriate underlined/bolded areas noted in the bulleted guidelines above as headings or sub-headings.

* For potential EP Paper topics and approaches, consider doing the following. Step one: Review the textbook table of contents section, professor's lecture notes, and introductory videos. As you do this, focus on general ideas, specific theories, core concepts, and relevant research highlighted. Step two: Reflect on your developmental phases and identify a handful of memorable experiences that appear to be related to educational psychology. After brainstorming, narrow your focus and identify one developmental phase (time period) and do your best to zero in on an educational psychology experience. Step three: Use the EP Paper guidelines to write your draft and eventually your final paper.

* If for some reason you do not want to discuss a personal educational psychology experience, it is perfectly understood. However, proceed with this assignment from your personal perspective and reflect on and analyze the educational psychology experience of someone you know very well. Specify who this person is in your paper. To maintain anonymity, you may use a pseudonym (not the actual or real name). This assignment will still be a personal account coming from you.

* Everything noted in the assignment template are suggestions. Feel free to use your own organization and creativity in writing your paper. However, make sure to address the stipulated requirements.

* Enjoy the process of organizing your EP Paper. There is no doubt that you’ll learn much as you reflect on and critically analyze an important part of your developmental and educational psychology experiences. We look forward to learning about your story and drawing theoretical and practical insights.