Educational psychology (EP) and educational technology (ET) have a relationship in flux. There is the potential for a reciprocal relationship, but it’s not fully developed. As couples go, EP and ET are a perfect match, but they have not been “dating” long enough to be in a steady, long-term commitment.
EP brings the focus on student learning to research and practice. Salomon and Almog (1998) describe the evolution of constructivism, now the foundation of EP. The established constant of EP juxtaposes the continual newness and novelty of technology. ET brings the advancements of the real world into research and practice.
In a perfect, symbiotic relationship, ET eases cognitive load to enable more advanced task completion, skill mastery, and “novel pedagogical possibilities” (Nickerson, 2005; Salomon & Perkins 2005, p. 7). Simultaneously, EP provides the structure and theory necessary to inform meaningful tech implementations in classrooms. The end result of this marriage? The birth of beautiful, ideal learning environments.
Perhaps I have taken my metaphor a bit too far, but needless to say EP and ET are not yet happily married with children. Just as Salomon and Almog (1998) warn against, ET is often thrown into schools unjustified and for no specific learning purpose, leading to disappointing results. EP is also continually playing “catch-up” with ET advancements. New frameworks that accommodate technology within meaningful learning theories are not being developed quickly enough. Given time EP and ET can have a reciprocal relationship, but thus far they remain at odds.
Hi Sarah – Great and fun way of describing the relationship between EP and ET. I think you’re right that they are compatible, but not a “perfect match.” Based on Salomon and Along (1998), I also gathered a “cat-mouse game” relationship. For instance, they state “the pedagogy that develops around students’ opportunity to design their own Internet Web sites is a case in point… In fact, such a technological possibility needs educational psychology for rationales and persuasive justifications. As technologies and educational usages develop, and particularly in recent years when those developments have outpaced developments of our psychological conceptions, technology comes to challenge educational psychology.” In other words, they both seem to want or need to catch up to each other but a variety of challenges arise.
Haha, great way to describe the relationship Sarah. I do wonder if EP and ET will ever by “happily married”. Just as Salomon and Almog (1998) say, it seems that we are all discussing an inherent tension in the relationship between EP and ET, with one always trying to catch up to the other. That got me thinking that perhaps this tension and pressure to catch up between the two is GOOD. It seems possible that this tension and pressure is exactly what is driving innovation by the other. If this was to go away I wonder what motivation would be left to continually innovate, change, and explore from both the ET and the EP perspective.
Hi Matthew,
That’s an excellent point. If EP and ET become “too comfortable” with each other, the fields might become static. However, I highly doubt that as a possibility (at least not any time soon) when technology continues to race forward. I don’t think EP will ever run out of new ET to spark innovations. Ideally, their “marriage” would entail a balance between EP and ET both pushing and supporting each other. Right now, it seems like ET is advancing too quickly for EP to adequately accommodate. Hopefully the pace of both fields will even out, allowing them to actually benefit from each other to their full potentials.
This post made me smile! ☺ It’s almost as if educational psychology and educational technology were on Tinder and “swiped right” because they both liked the way the other looked, but have not had the time to get to know what the other needs. I agree with Matthew’s analysis that maybe these needs are less about resolution an more about “bringing out the best in each other.” In fact, according to Salomon and Almog (1988), educational psychology needs to be pushed by educational technology to develop new theories and pedagogy. Educational technology, on the other hand, needs the theoretical and rationale support from educational psychology. Perhaps educational psychology and educational technology have not accurately assessed each other’s needs yet. Researchers can facilitate the necessary dialogue (i.e. couples counseling) to allow each field to better provide for its partner. Upon the completion of counseling, this is a union I want to attend!
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