Weekly Response #5 for EDP 610

R5

Question:  if the teaching machine cannot help teachers, what kind of help could educational psychologists offer to teachers?

Quotation:  “Teachers must learn how to teach, and they must be taught by schools of education.

They need only to be taught more effective ways of teaching” (Skinner, 1984, p. 948).

            Skinner (1984) emphasized the importance of promoting the teaching machine in one of his classical works, “The Shame of American Education.”   Although it is believed that the teaching machine would weaken the role of teachers, Skinner did not dismiss the training of teachers entirely.  He indicated that it is necessary for teachers to learn how to teach.

I am hesitant about use of the teaching machine because it relies heavily on the reinforcement provided by the machine.  Students are viewed as passive organisms without free will whose behaviors are directed by outside stimulation.  It can be asserted that reward and punishment are commonly used reinforcement in school environments.  Grading, praise, gold stars, and even cash are being employed as external influences to regulate students’ studies; however, recent research shows that if students’ behaviors are only controlled by external outcomes, their self-determination and interest to study would be at a low level (Deci & Ryan, 2002).  James (1962) wrote that “in almost any subject your passion for the subject will save you” (p. 67).  Self-determination and interest in performing well on a subject indicate a student’s passion for that subject.  We need to be cautious about using external reinforcement that might decrease the passion of students for study.

Another point in Skinner’s article with which I connect is his emphasis on teacher education.  If schools of education in which teachers are trained were disbanded, our educational system would likely encounter a disaster.  The educational system of a country might fall apart. Without the fundamental education of teaching, teachers from different backgrounds would share little common thoughts about education.  Teachers would have little chance to learn and practice new instructional methods, and teach students in ways with which they familiar.  Teachers would lose a great resource to improve their practice, if schools of education were to disappear.  However, after decades of debate between behaviorism, cognitive psychology, humanistic psychology, constructivism, and so on, we continue to lack consensus on the nature of learning.  Educational psychology is one of the core courses for teacher training, in which prospective teachers have high expectations for learning how to teach effectively.  One of the goals of educational psychology research is to find a bridge between the science of psychology and the art of teaching. The nature of the most effective bridge remains elusive.  As a researcher in educational psychology, I am considering whether studies in our field can meet prospective teachers’ expectations. 

A study using surveys or experiment methods may confirm a positive correlation between teachers’ computer skills and their confidence level.  But many questions about educational practice may remain, such as:  Is research going to help teachers in their practice?  Is it effective for teachers to expend energy toward improving computer skills?  Can computer skills improve teaching skills?  How might the learning effects in classrooms be improved?   The applicability of research findings within a real school context is critical, including exploring possible causal factors.  Although these are some of the challenges we face, educational psychologists believe that we are finding ways to integrate science and practice.  Recent applied research studies will help teachers hone their skills and their passion for teaching, by examining and evaluating a wide array of factors and practices.