The short answer is educational psychology will have to shift/change/develop/grow a considerable amount, if it intends to keep up with technological shifts in the new millennium. Mishra, Koehler, & Greenhow (2015) make an interesting claim that the technologies they address in their paper will have evolved in just a few years, and I have to say this is very true. In this same vein, the reciprocal relationship between educational psychology and educational technology is important to consider moving forward (Salomon and Almog, 1998). While technology will inevitably evolve, the field of educational psychology has a responsibility to continue evolving and expanding as well. Considering a theme that emerged from various readings this week (Kuhn, 2007; Mishra, Koehler, & Greenhow, 2015) educational psychologists should consider the role of context, by using innovative methods involving technology, to understand human behavior.
Kuhn (2007) expands on this notion by discussing the importance of contextual information in addressing direct instruction. Kuhn states “educators have long been concerned about whether students are motivated to learn and whether teachers know how to teach. Perhaps we are now at a point at which we should focus attention on what it is that students may be motivated to learn and why they wish to do so. What do they see as the value of this learning? Only then are we in a position to contemplate how best to help them achieve their goals.” (p. 112). This is a clear direction in the way motivation research (based on my interests) would shift.
Hi Krystal,
In your answer you state that, “…educational psychologists should consider the role of context, by using innovative methods involving technology, to understand human behavior.”. I am curious as to how you see technology being used in innovative ways to understand human behavior. Social media offers an opportunity to investigate the unique and new ways in which individuals are using technology to communicate and learn. Social media networks are becoming important aspects in many areas of pedagogy to increase collaboration in ways never before possible (Mishra, Koelher, Greenhow, 2015). How do you see the increased used of social media impacting the trajectory of educational psychology research?
Hi Krystal, I like that you brought up the Salomon and Almog (1998) reading. Though this question focuses on how technology influences educational psychology, you include a nice reminder that this relationship is reciprocal. Not only will educational psychology change in response to technology, but these changes in educational psychology will very likely lead to more advances in technology and so on. To your point regarding context, I think the reciprocal nature of educational psychology and educational technology results in rapidly changing contexts, so I agree with you that this is an important consideration for research. Luckily, advances in technology allow for better study of context!
Hi Krystal, I too like that you mentioned ‘the role of context’. An important aspect that came up in Mishra et al (2015) this week was the role of data: we now have increased access to data and more sophisticated than ever analyzing capabilities. But I think it also extends beyond that. For instance, do you think technology/social media has made it a bit easier than before for underrepresented minorities to have their voices heard? Or perhaps it has made it worse in some cases (eg. Parkland media coverage has been criticised for marginalizing minority groups of students) It makes me wonder if the changing social landscape due to tech might contribute something meaningful in motivation research *even if* one use completely traditional data collection and data analyzing methods. Meaning, even if we don’t make a conscious effort to use technology in research, I think technology still has effects on ed psych!
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