I was pleasantly surprised to learn that some of my classmates read my journals – and then, of course, I immediately felt guilty for not posting this entry as soon as I finished it!
This journal is for the second course in the MEd program – all the courses include a journal component, which adds a sense of consistency as well as encourages us to reflect on what we’re learning and how we can use it in the classroom. So, voila – better late than never!
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Psychology of Learning
Journal #1
June 2005
Psychology in the classroom
Presumably the aim of these journals is to encourage us to be reflective teachers. I think the journals can also be valuable simply in terms of recapping what we’ve been thinking about. After all, unlike our students, we are not given progress reports or quizzes to make sure we’re on track; our knowledge, understanding and application are entirely our own responsibility.
I’ve never taken a psychology course before this one; as a Cegep student all those many years ago, I escaped the implementation of the reforms by a year or two and so was free to study whatever took my fancy – which turned out to be everything from macroeconomics to film study. (I preferred film study.) As a teacher, my use of psychology, therefore, has been by and large non-existent, or perhaps more specifically, accidental. I have not set out to establish behaviours in my students; on the other hand, as I assume is true of all of us, I have used strategies like reinforcement without recognizing them as such.
For me, the role of psychology in the classroom is not necessarily about how I deal with every student, but rather about how I can deal with those individual students who don’t act predictably – the male student who seems determined to question my authority, for instance, or the female student who believes it’s appropriate for her to come to me for personal guidance. In both cases, I want to help the student, but feel inadequate.
As for the learning styles we’ve discussed, again I feel as though I’ve been teaching in a certain way and now I can label it. My style definitely tends toward the second model, teaching as student activity. I have taught a course in peer teaching, so I have read a little on the different learning styles – visual, auditory and kinesthetic – so I try to incorporate aspects of each into my lessons and assessments.
So far the ideas we’re talking about are fascinating. I’m recognizing psychological patterns and behaviours in myself, my kids, and my students. Of course, I’m also dealing with the slightly paranoid idea that our class is one big psych experiment 
How are we doing so far?