Written by experienced classroom practitioners who are experts in the field of psychology, Psychology in the Classroom provides a thorough grounding in the key principles of psychology and explores how they can be applied to teaching and learning. It draws on both classic and cutting-edge research, offering practical advice on commonly overlooked or misunderstood concepts that contribute to positive academic outcomes. It aims to show the value of psychology in enabling teachers to make and justify everyday classroom decisions. Designed to equip teachers with the skills to identify and tackle common issues that affect students’ learning, each chapter highlights key areas of research and discusses how lesson planning and material design can be informed by the psychological concepts presented. It covers core areas essential for improving learning, including: memory and understanding; creativity; motivation; independent learning; resilience; cognition; and self-theories and mindsets. Full of advice and strategies, Psychology in the Classroom is aimed at both new and experienced teachers, across primary, secondary and post-16 education, providing them with practical ways to apply these psychological principles in the classroom. With an emphasis on understanding the theories and evidence behind human behaviour, this book will allow you to reflect critically on your own classroom practice, as well as making simple but valuable changes.

Psychology can be applied to understanding a range of current issues and topics in teaching and educational practice. Starting with the question, ′what is psychology?′, and a topical overview of child and adolescent development, Stephen James Minton moves on to discuss seven areas of contemporary concern in education, showing how psychological approaches can help teachers in key areas of practice. Areas covered include: - the self, self-esteem, and self-esteem enhancement - intelligence, learning styles and educational attainment - positive teaching, co-operative learning and assertive discipline - special educational needs - preventing and countering bullying and cyber-bullying - dealing with prejudice - stress and stress management This detailed text will be vital reading for all those studying psychology and applied psychology in primary and secondary teaching degree programmes. Constant links between theory and practice also make it a valuable read for practitioners reflecting on their approach to common classroom scenarios. Stephen James Minton is a lecturer in Psychology of Education at Trinity College Dublin.

Cover page -- Halftitle page -- Title page -- Copyright page -- Title page -- Copyright page -- Dedication -- Contents -- Acknowledgements -- Introduction -- Section I Focus: Cognitive aspects -- [I] Intelligence -- I The concept of intelligence -- 2 The development of intelligence -- [2] Thinking, problem solving and concept learning -- 1 Thinking -- 2 Problem solving -- 3 Concept learning -- [3] The concept of creativity -- 1 What is meant by creativity? -- 2 Theoretical approaches to the study of creativity -- 3 Intelligence and creativity -- [4] The creative person -- 1 Creativity and personality -- 2 Environmental influences on the development of the creative person -- 3 Fostering creativity -- Section 11 Focus: Social aspects of the classroom -- [S] Social interaction and social perception -- 1 Methods of research -- 2 Elements of social interaction -- 3 Social perception -- [6] Groups and social influence -- 1 Groups -- 2 Social influence in groups -- [7] Classroom behaviour -- 2 Teacher/pupil interaction -- 3 Pupil/pupil interaction -- Section 111 Focus: The individual in the classroom -- [8] Individual development -- 1 Infancy and early childhood -- 2 The middle years and adolescence -- 3 Two approaches to adult personality -- [9] Individual differences and learning -- I Sex differences -- 2 The child's position in the family -- 3 Date of birth -- 4 Anxiety -- 5 Learning, personality and cognitive style -- 6 Academic motivation -- [10] School achievement -- 1 Exceptional children -- 2 The role of language -- 3 The effect of the home -- 4 The effect of the school -- References and name index -- Subject index

Teachers often find that their training has not provided them with sufficient knowledge and understanding about underlying social forces and processes in their classrooms. This new book addresses this gap by focusing on the social psychology of the classroom, providing the relevant social psychological knowledge and facilitating the application of that knowledge in the practice of the teacher in the classroom. Elisha Babad discusses "the state of the art" of classroom management theory, research and practice and explores a full range of teacher and classroom experiences (such as teachers' differential behavior in the classroom and its psychological price, students' roles and relationships, and distinguishing between "educating" students and "changing" students). This exceptional book will be of interest to students and scholars of educational studies and educational psychology as well as for teachers-in-training, experienced teachers, and "educators-at-large."

Originally published in 1977, Psychology for the Classroom is offered as an aid to people who are learning themselves and helping other people to learn: that is, to parents, students and particularly to teachers. The activity of teaching, to be successful, requires the teacher to understand the behaviour of the learner as fully as possible. Some of the insights into human behaviour gained by psychologists may prove helpful to the teacher in complementing his or her experience and intuitive understanding, and it is with this in mind that the topics covered in this book have been selected. Section one deals with cognitive aspects, an understanding of which his essential since cognitive processes are the means by which individuals are able to make sense of their environment. Section two considers the social situation in which knowledge and understanding develop, i.e. the way in which social interaction affects learning. Section three focuses on the individual, stressing that academic achievement depends not only on hard work but is intimately related to an individual’s personal development and personality. The book will be valuable to psychology students, student teachers and teachers on in-service courses, for its coverage of relevant psychological research and the description of pertinent experiments and studies of the time. Its originality lies in the way in which it communicates the importance of teachers using psychology as a basis for forming hypotheses which they can test for themselves – not necessarily as researchers, but in a mood of personal exploration.