Educational Psychology

by Anita Woolfolk, Ellen L. Usher

Educational Psychology uses clear, jargon-free language to explain how you can use educational psychology research in your own classroom. Theory and practice are considered together, showing how research on child development, cognitive science, learning, motivation, teaching and assessment can be used to solve the everyday problems of teaching. This practical resource includes specific strategies, guidelines, real-world issues, case studies and tips from expert teachers to help you learn how to create an inclusive classroom for every student.

The 15th Edition features expanded analysis of the brain and neuroscience; integrated coverage of social-emotional learning and trauma-informed teaching; and a bold approach to issues of identity, race and privilege

Genres: Education, Psychology, Nonfiction, Textbooks, School, Teaching, Grad School

880 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 12, 2022

Reviews

[Sara]

I added this to my list of read books because I felt I needed some recognition of the pain and suffering I went through in reading this for a college course.
While I did learn a little, I didn't even know it was possible to fit so many words on one page. I read the first few chapters word for word, and by chapter 8, I gave up and just started using the study guide my professor gave.
If you must read this book for class, I hope that you are offered study hints like I was. If you are reading this book for fun, you're crazy.

[Blabberwart · Rating 2 out of 5]

The information is great and I would even say that Woolfolk's writing is okay. However, the text itself is every student's worst nightmare. The chapters are quite long and the pages are filled with tiny text that is hard enough to read sometimes, just because of the subject matter, without the added intimidation from the layout! I did not get to look at the modular edition but I feel like that would be a huge benefit to anyone trying to work through this text. If you are serious about reading the book... good luck. You're gonna need it.

[TK · Rating 4 out of 5]

Used this as my textbook for a Human Development and Learning unit for primary school teaching. The edition I read was the Australian version. I found the book had many positive points but the structure and layout of the text made it very difficult to understand the context and therefore place a lot of the books content.

First the positive points, and there are many:
1. Each chapter starts with a 'Teachers Casebook/What would you do?' which is a fictional scenario designed to get you thinking and that the chapters content should equip you to solve. The end of each chapter then has a blurb from multiple teachers on how they would approach the scenario;
2. Standard textbook fair of chapter outlines, chapter learning objectives, definitions in margins;
3. 'Check yourself' questions throughout the chapters that relate to that sections content. The answers to these questions are provided in a summary section at the end of the chapter;
4. 'Guidelines' sections which provide specific advice on how to take the theoretical content of the chapters and apply to a classroom;
5. 'Point/Counterpoint' sections that provide views to both sides of those topics that are still debated in educational psychology. Examples include 'What is good teaching?' or 'What should schools do to encourage students' self-esteem?'; and
6. The content itself is well written and interesting to read.

Negatives are the structure and outline of the book, specifically:
1. The section headings and sub-headings and are not easy to distinguish (nor numbered) and I found myself continuously flicking back to check if I was still in the same section or had moved on to a different section. This is extremely frustrating when you are trying to learn new material and place it in context; and
2. The structure of the book made it difficult to understand the underlying major theories at times. Though I'm unsure if this was partly because my course did not follow the structure of the book or that generally some concepts in educational psychology (such as contructivism) are hard to define.

Is there are better book on educational psychology? Not sure.

Did I enjoy reading this book? Yes.

Will I keep it on my shelf for reference as I move into teaching? Yes, and I think this is the best indicator of a books usefulness at times.

[Carmen Cibella · Rating 5 out of 5]

One month and 650 pages later and Anita Woolfolk has provided me with a pretty solid foundation of educational psychology.

Clear, organized, and well-written - due primarily to her emphasis on the either/or issue and her assertion for the need to analyze the advantages and disadvantages of the various perspectives that can be taken on any particular issue. I also really enjoy her cluster on motivation and believe that it will be especially helping in terms of helping me understand and develop the layers of and flows of motivation within the characters of the story that I've been working on for the past years.

Can't wait to apply all I learned towards teaching and writing.

[Annie Lanier · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excellent information about psychology but remember it is an over-load on everything psychology for education-majors

[Darca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Engaging and insightful view on psychology in education.

[Belle Meade School]

370.15

[Dwi Indah]

i want to read this book to become my reference for my skripsi

[Sushant Dhaka · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is very good and needful

[Keso Gagoshidze · Rating 5 out of 5]

2020 წლის სასირცხვო reader's block-ს ვავსებ უნისთვის წაკითხული აკადემიური ლიტერატურით.

[Amelia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting.

[Kylie]

Read for my Educational Psychology class and it was amazing for teaching how to deal with complex problems with students in the classroom.

[charlie · Rating 4 out of 5]

useful for my uni class on the subject, but this font size is an absolute nightmare. headache-inducing when i had to read chapters ahead of time for lectures

[Angie Miles]

this textbook had a lot of great content in it, but my god was it a SLOG to read the text is so small and the chapters are SO LONG

[caro]

When I tell u I read every fricken word. I don’t care that it’s for a class my pain will be remembered here.

[Mel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Libro de texto de la clase Psicología del Aprendizaje con el profesor Jorge H. Larrache.

Un buen libro sobre la psicología educativa. Explica las diferentes teorías del aprendizaje que actualmente se utilizan. Da ejemplos de situaciones que se puedan presentar en el salón de clase o que le puedan estar ocurriendo a los estudiantes y posibles soluciones de como manejar las mismas.

Adicional a esto, cada capítulo tiene una sección llamada "Aprobar PRAXIS" la cual está dedicada a proveerle las herramientas necesarias al futuro maestro para que pueda complementar sus conocimientos y poder pasar los exámenes de certificación de maestros en los Estados Unidos. Además de una sección por capítulo, el libro contiene un apendice dedicado a la certificación de maestros llamado: "Estándares y certificación: PRAXIS II™ e INTASC"

En resumen, es un muy buen libro, fácil de leer y muy explicativo. En Puerto Rico las pruebas para la certificación de maestros se conocen como el PCMAS, este libro será una muy buena herramienta al momento de repasar para ese particular exámen.

[Jana · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very valuable textbook for those going into teaching. There is so much information in this book, which made it hard, but also will be a very good reference to go back to in the future. I liked the way the author wrote it, with lots of examples and personalized it at times, referring to herself and those she teaches.

My teacher told us to memorize everything in this textbook. Although she was kidding, I almost wish I could because there are so many concepts and ideas and helps that would help me be a better teacher when that comes.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read most of this book while sitting in my educational psychology class (pretending to listen to my boring professor). I found it to be both interesting and insightful since it balanced facts and theory with practical "how-to" solutions for dealing with particular kinds of adolescent behaviors. I also liked that the book focused more on concepts than actual science of how the brain works -- the scientific crap is what put me to sleep in my undergrad psych classes.

[Tyler · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the second and primary required text for my current online class. It's way too big! Thankfully I don't have to read it in its entirety. Insightful and fairly interesting so far, but I'd rather be spending my reading time on other books.

Finally finished w/ the class! (A+) The professor wasn't very good, but the material was pretty helpful. A lot of redundancy w/ other classes I've already taken though.

[Wolfe Tone · Rating 1 out of 5]

Boring and shallow, skimming over interesting points, not taking any stands and treating its readers as complete morons. This is one of those typical standard works for many social studies, because it contains most of the theories in a certain field of work. But I would sooner pick a few of those theories based on wikipedia for all I care, and study the original works, because this just doesn't cut it.

[Catharina Lenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

belum baca seluruhnya, karena bahasa inggris. tapi yang pasti ini buku tutop lah. biar kita dituntun jadi guru yang baik, istilahnya dia penuntunnya.. biar kita tetep di rel kita... hai guru guru. bacalah.. biar kita jadi guru yang MANUSIAWI. gimana kita bantu mahasiswa untuk bisa meraih tujuannya yang di awang2 dengan selangkah-selangkah. dan tentunya bisa menghasilkan sesuatu yang lebih baik.

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

For a textbook, this was pretty good. The information was actually relevant and at the end of each chapter was a summary of the key points of the chapter, which made it easy to find the information again. Some of it was a bit too vague but for the most part it's a useful book on educational psychology.

[Bookish Dervish · Rating 5 out of 5]

Remarkable book! A must-read for all teachers out there especial EFL teachers... very thoughtful examples, Leads the reader from the abstract theory to insightful applications for teachers.
Well designed and organized from the first chapter the last..... What I liked the most is chapter 2 Vygotsky's sociocultural perspective and chapter 3 Kohlberg's stages of moral development.

[Beth · Rating 2 out of 5]

Woolfolk tries to make the information interesting, but there's just so much information packed into a short space. I found it difficult to come away with the big information after reading each chapter and don't know how I would have fared without a professor walking me through it. That said, it does contain a lot of important information that gave me a better understanding of the subject.

[A.B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very well organized and practical book. It was very useful for studying for the Praxis as well as feeling more prepared for teaching in general. It was easy to read and did not feel like a chore, I can see myself turning back to this book again and again.

[Jennah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was required to get this book for my "Education Psychology" class. I used it for quizzes, tests, exams, discussion posts, application assignments and observations. I rated this 5 stars just because it a great book for this class, but I would never use it for the future.

[Mitchell Clifford · Rating 4 out of 5]

This text is a really useful resource I found myself coming to using and referencing this year. However, while the text is quite lengthy and has lots of helpful information, it can be difficult to navigate at times.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good...for a textbook.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was organized well and had a lot of helpful tables and guides for use in teaching.

[Julie S.]

Educational Psychology class fall of my freshman year.