Glossary of Educational Psychology

Basic Psychological Needs Theory (BPNT)

• BPNT emphasizes the significance of autonomy, competence, and relatedness for psychological well-being.
• Contexts that support or thwart these basic needs significantly impact wellness.
• Thwarting any of the three needs leads to distinct functional costs, highlighting their universality across cultures and development stages.

Behavioral Engagement

• Refers to attendance, participation, and positive behavior in learning environments.
• Involves active involvement in classroom activities, academic tasks, and school-related events.

Cognition

• Defined as the mental processes involved in acquiring knowledge through thought, experience, and senses.

Cognitive Engagement

• Involves a student's investment in learning, focusing on self-regulation and strategic use.
• Characterized by thoughtfulness, effort in comprehending complex ideas, and acquisition of difficult skills.

Cognitive Load Theory

• An instructional theory based on human cognitive limitations and how they affect learning.

Educational Psychology

• This subfield examines the processes of teaching and learning, covering motivation, classroom management, assessment, and instructional strategies.
• Investigates how different teaching methods impact student engagement and academic performance.

Emotional Engagement

• Relates to positive (happy, interested, excited) and negative (anxiety, boredom) reactions to school and learning.
• Feelings of belonging and valuing the school environment are also included.

Extraneous Cognitive Load

• Refers to distractions that impede learning, often due to poorly designed learning materials.

Intrinsic Cognitive Load

• Describes the inherent difficulty of a task; simpler tasks (e.g., recalling facts) have low intrinsic load compared to complex tasks (e.g., explaining relationships).

Long-term Memory

• A storage system with vast capacity, allowing the retention of information for extended periods.
• Involves connecting new information from working memory to existing knowledge.

Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development

• Suggests that children's intelligence evolves in stages, influenced by interaction between natural ability and environmental experiences.
• Identifies four stages:
  • Sensorimotor Stage: Birth to 2 years - Understanding through sensory experiences.
  • Preoperational Stage: 2 to 7 years - Use of symbols to represent objects and events.
  • Concrete Operational Stage: 7 to 12 years - Logical thinking about concrete objects.
  • Formal Operational Stage: 12 years and above - Abstract and hypothetical reasoning.

Schemas

• Mental structures that categorize and store new information in long-term memory.
• Can include various types such as behavioral schemas for specific activities.

Self-Determination Theory (SDT)

• A framework for understanding human motivation, personality, and social development.
• Differentiates between intrinsic and extrinsic sources of motivation, highlighting their impact on well-being and performance.

Working Memory

• Holds and processes new information temporarily, facilitating tasks like reading and problem-solving.
• Has a limited capacity, typically retaining around 7 +/- 2 items before information is forgotten or transferred to long-term memory.

Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD)

• The gap between what learners can achieve independently and what they can achieve with guidance from a skilled partner.