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Improving Education

Improving Education

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Hartford Courant
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92 views1 page

Improving Education

Improving Education

Uploaded by

Hartford Courant
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Science

NIE ACTIVITY

MATTERS!
… IN CONNECTICUT

Improving Education with


Applied Psychology Research
Michael J. Strambler, PhD
Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine

Students often hear that earning good by helping us to behave in ways that consider others. It also helps us reach
grades is important for attending our goals because self-control allows us to set aside our short-term desires
college and building a successful to focus on our long-term goals.
career. However, there is a lot more
to success than academic skills in My work in this area focuses on using psychological knowledge to understand
subjects like math, English language what schools, teachers, and parents can do to support students in developing
arts, and science. Strong social and important social and emotional skills. Can we teach students these skills through
emotional skills are also an important classroom instruction? What beliefs or approaches help teachers to develop
part of being successful in school, a social and emotional learning skills in their students?
job, and in other aspects of life.

Since these questions cannot be answered in a research laboratory, my


As a psychologist, I work to find ways research is done in real-life settings. My team partners with school districts
to help children and youth develop these social and emotional skills. There are and other organizations to study the impact of programs and approaches on
many types of psychologists, but in general, we are all interested in studying student success. By doing research in real-life settings, our goal is to improve
or improving how people think, feel, and behave. Applied psychologists, education by producing findings that are useful for teachers, school leaders,
like myself, are interested in taking what has been learned from psychological and policymakers. The educational settings
research and using it to solve problems. One area of my work focuses on we work in require understanding a complex
social and emotional learning, the process of learning skills like self-control web of factors that impact students’ success,
of behaviors and emotions, as well as skills that are important for developing such as differences in students’ abilities, the
positive relationships. classroom and school culture, teachers’
expectations of students, and educational
Consider the example of self-control. Young children tend to blurt out whatever policies. This can be very challenging, but
is on their mind, and they may have it’s also what makes our work exciting and
a tantrum if they can’t have what relevant as we strive to learn what works for
they want. As children age, they students.
learn to consider the expectations of
the people around them when they
speak and act. Eventually, most older SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE
children and adults develop the ability
to control their words and actions, at To be an applied psychologist, you need
least most of the time. This kind of knowledge of how human behavior is
self-control improves relationships influenced by our biology, minds, culture,
and social environments. You also need
strong scientific thinking and other scientific

WORDS to know skills that are important research skills,


such as statistics. Becoming an applied
Social and emotional learning: the psychologist requires an undergraduate
Psychology: the scientific study of the process of developing the knowledge, attitudes, degree as well an advanced degree,
mind and behavior
and skills necessary to understand and manage like a Doctorate of Philosophy (PhD) or a
Psychologist: someone who is trained in emotions, reach goals, show empathy for Doctorate of Psychology (PsyD).
psychology others, build positive relationships, and make
responsible decisions. For more information, see
http://www.casel.org/what-is-sel/
Applied psychologist: a psychologist
who uses knowledge about the mind and For Students and Teachers Making
behavior to solve practical problems involving
children, youth, and adults.
Curriculum Connections, see the following:
Connecticut State Department of Education (CSDE) -

Hyperlinks: Common Core State Standards (CCSS): Mathematics


• CCSS.Math.Practice.MP1 Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them
Videos about the importance of growth mindset and perseverance, • CCSS.Math.Practice.MP3 Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others
and how to develop them https://ideas.classdojo.com
• CCSS.Math.Practice.MP5 Use appropriate tools strategically
Background information on growth mindset
CSDE - Next Generation Science Standards: Scientific and Engineering Practices
https://www.mindsetworks.com/science/Impact
• Asking questions and defining problems; developing and using models; planning and
carrying out investigations; analyzing and interpreting data; using Mathematics
Video about the power of passion and perseverance and computational thinking; constructing explanations and designing
https://www.ted.com/talks/angela_lee_duckworth_grit_the_
solutions; engaging in argument from evidence; and obtaining,
power_of_passion_and_perseverance
evaluating, and communicating information.

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