Educational Psychology Assignment Help

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Final Project Description – Summer 2024

For your final project, you will create a 5-6 page (excluding title page and references) “fact sheet” on a principle, theory, or technique from Educational Psychology that you believe would be helpful to a first-year teacher. You must make a practical application – in other words, a teacher should be able to read your fact sheet and directly apply it to their teaching. You must use two peer-reviewed research articles and an additional high-quality reference in your paper.

Though you are free to pick as a topic any concept we’ve covered this semester, I would encourage you to consider using something that is more concrete than abstract. For instance, it would be much better to choose something like the jigsaw technique since you can describe a step by step procedure for doing it as opposed to constructivism (more abstract and more difficult to describe a step by step procedure).

Here are some examples of topics that would fit the above recommendation: problem-based learning, jigsaw technique, token economy, Good Behavior Game, models of culturally relevant pedagogy, contingency contracts, functional behavioral assessment, mnemonic/memory techniques, specific learning strategies (see chapter 9), TARGET model

Your fact sheet must contain the following:

Title page: Include your name, date, the class, and semester. This should be centered on the first page. This page will not count towards your page total.

Description of the principle, theory, or technique: You should describe the topic of your choosing in some depth. Draw from your textbook and your additional references to write this section — you can reference the textbook here, but your summary must go beyond what is listed in the textbook. By reading this section, I should be able to tell that you really understand the topic of your paper.

Summary of one peer-reviewed research study on the principle, theory or technique: Provide at least two paragraphs of summary on one of the research articles. Your summary should minimally contain the following: summary of the research questions, methods used to answer the research question, and the results/conclusions the authors drew. You MUST contain this reference, and another peer-reviewed reference, formatted in APA style at the end of your paper. In addition, when you discuss the article within the paper, you MUST include an in-text (parenthetical) citation of the material.

Example of when the theory, principle or technique could be used in the classroom: Provide a specific example or scenario when a first-year teacher would use the theory, technique or principle. Imagine a hypothetical scenario and describe the scenario and why it would be appropriate to implement the concept in this particular scenario. Be sure to identify the scenario and clearly and explicitly connect it to why the principle or technique would be appropriate in this situation.

How the teacher should implement: Provide a step-by-step procedure of how the teacher could incorporate the theory, principle, or technique into his or her classroom. If your topic is more of an idea than a technique, give a first year teacher key things to think about when implementing. You should be concise, but also make sure that the reader has enough detail to fully understand how the principle, method, or technique would be used in a classroom.

References: The minimum references for this paper are your textbook, two peer-reviewed research articles, and one additional reputable source. For your additional reputable source, you could use (for example) the DSM-5, a peer-reviewed research article that discusses the topic, or a reputable website. Reputable websites include websites from professional organizations such as the American Psychological Association or the National Association of School Psychologists, National news outlets (e.g., CNN, New York Times), websites hosted by universities, etc. Blogs, Wikipedia entries, and other websites will not be counted as reputable sources. You can always use a third peer-reviewed source as your additional reference. Please review the guidelines here to help evaluate your sources. If you have questions about whether your source is reputable and appropriate to use, consult the instructor.

All sources must be recent (published in the last 10 years). If you are struggling to find your references, please first view the screencasts posted on Blackboard. If you still need help, please contact the instructor. Your references section should be on a separate page; this page will not count towards your page total.

Please be aware that anytime you refer to someone else’s ideas in your paper, you must cite the source (even if you are not using quotes). All of your references must be cited in your paper so I can see how you used them. I strongly discourage you from using quotes – use your own words to summarize your research.

Formatting: You will use 12 point Times New Roman font. Double-space your paper and have 1 inch margins all around. Do not add any extra spaces between paragraphs or otherwise in your paper. Your References section should be formatted in APA style.

Use the following outline to organize your paper; this way, I can easily identify the content of your paper and verify that you have addressed all the areas above. Each of the points below should be headings within your paper.

  1. Description of (your topic)
  2. Research on (your topic)
  3. Example of (your topic)
  4. How to implement (your topic)
  5. References

General tips:

-Make sure all the information in your fact sheet is summarized and properly cited. Direct quotations should be used minimally, if at all. If you do include a direct quote (and again, I discourage this), it must be noted as a quotation (in quotation marks) and needs to have a full citation with the page number in APA style.

-Use APA citation style for your fact sheet. If you are unfamiliar with APA style, you can find web resources below and on Blackboard. I am most interested in your in-text citations and your references section being formatted in APA style; there is no need to add an abstract, running head, etc. that you would normally find in APA-formatted research paper.

-Don’t wait until the last minute to complete the assignment. Ask questions early and often. If you aren’t sure what to pick or whether something “counts” as a peer-reviewed journal article, or how to format your references – email me (of course, you can email me with other questions as well!)

Grading Criteria:

  • Description of the topic: /10
    • Student describes the principle, theory, method, or technique in sufficient detail. Students’ description is concise but displays understanding of the content that goes beyond what is listed in the textbook.
  • Summary of research /10
    • Student has found a peer-reviewed research article that addresses the topic. Student clearly describes the purpose of the research study, the methods used to study the research question, and a summary of the findings. Excellent summaries are well-written, cohesive, and show that the student understood the research paper and can integrate the research into their understanding of the topic.
  • Example of how the topic can be used /5
    • Student provides a specific, reasonable instance in which a teacher might implement the principle, technique, or theory. The example shows that the student not only understands the topic but can apply it to real-life situations.
  • How to implement /5
    • Student provides a concise, but sufficient explanation of how to implement the topic in a classroom. A reader who is not in Educational Psychology would be able to understand how to implement the technique/theory/principle/method from reading the description
  • Citations/References: /5
    • Minimally, papers must contain the textbook, two peer reviewed research articles, and one additional high-quality reference. Points will be deducted for not including these references.
  • You MUST cite all of your sources. Failure to cite your sources will be considered plagiarism. When in doubt, cite! If you include any direct quotes (I discourage this), they should be minimal. I am interested in your original thoughts, not a collection of quotes.
  • Grammar/Style: /5
    • Student has carefully proofread and edited his/her paper. Paper should be free of grammatical and typographical errors.
    • Paper is organized using the template provided by the instructor. Paragraphs are cohesive and organized.

Points possible = 40

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