The Reciprocal Influence of Educational Psychology and Technology | Base Group Summary | Discussion

Question 1:

Overall, we agreed that the advances in technology will stimulate theoretical growth in the field of educational psychology by providing new contexts and new phenomenon for research . Technology will advance the methodology used in educational psychology by enabling new ways of study design, data collection, and analyses. We discuss whether technology’s influence on the field of educational psychology is characterized as an evolutionary process or a disruptive process.

As a whole, we concluded that critiques presented in Kirschner, Sweller, and Clark’s (2005) is outdated due to the authors’ omission of technology and their emphasis on traditional learning outcomes to assess learning. The authors’ criticisms, which rests upon theories of cognition, were weakened because they do not consider the impact of technology on augmenting cognitive processes. A common point of discussion was that technology has the potential to reduce cognitive load, which was unacknowledged Kirschner, Sweller, and Clark’s (2005) paper. A secondary line of criticism centered around how learning outcomes are assessed. A few posts pointed out that changes in long-term memory may not be the most appropriate way to define learning, especially in PBL environments.

In regards to how the field may be impacted by the integration of media into formal and informal learning, a common point of agreement was the importance of acknowledging the new contexts that have emerged through social media, virtual learning environments, etc. Educational psychology must take into consideration the effects of technology on any given context. A few posts discussed the need for the generation of new theories that capture the learning processes in digital contexts such as social media and blended learning environments.

Question 2:

Mishra, Koehler, and Greenhow (2015) present eight general categories describing the way technology interacts with educational psychology; however, as a group we focused in on only a few of these.

It seems that many of us think that technology has greatly influenced the way in which educational psychologists collect and analyze data. Multiple people mentioned new ways in which technology can be used to collect data and operationalize old concepts in new ways. For example, eye tracking and mouse clicks can be used in studies involving digital manipulatives, and simulated environments can give educational psychologists a deeper look into metacognitive strategies. Analyzing qualitative data has been improved through the use of technology by offering researchers new tools to collect, manage, and code video, audio, and text data. Additionally, machine learning algorithms are quickly approaching humans in their ability to accurately code and analyze qualitative data.

Another common thread identified as an important interaction between technology and educational psychology was that of study phenomenon, which included the sub-sections of social media, games and virtual learning environments. Social media was mentioned multiple times as a novel method to study the way in which individuals interact, and the way in which social media is a forum for identity exploration and development of new literacies.

It is also worthwhile to note that the categories of: assessing learning, read, write, publish, and disseminate ideas, and confront ethical issues were not mentioned at all during the discussion. This might speak to the types of research and ideas which are valued in the current academic atmosphere, and perhaps society more generally

Discussion Questions:

1. Is change in long-term memory the best way to define learning?
2. How can we redefine our learning goals in today’s environment?
3. Why do you think that assessing learning, read, write, publish, and disseminate ideas, and confront ethical issues were not mentioned during the discussion?