Editing Educational psychology (section)

===1890–1920===
There were three major figures in educational psychology in this period: William James, G. Stanley Hall, and John Dewey. These three men distinguished themselves in general psychology and educational psychology, which overlapped significantly at the end of the 19th century.<ref name="Berliner" />

====William James (1842–1910)====

[[File:William James, philosopher.jpg|thumb|upright|William James]]
The period of 1890–1920 is considered the golden era of educational psychology when aspirations of the new discipline rested on the application of the scientific methods of observation and experimentation to educational problems. From 1840 to 1920 37 million people immigrated to the United States.<ref name="zimmerman2"/> This created an expansion of elementary schools and secondary schools. The increase in immigration also provided educational psychologists the opportunity to use intelligence testing to screen immigrants at Ellis Island.<ref name="zimmerman2"/> [[Darwinism]] influenced the beliefs of the prominent educational psychologists.<ref name="zimmerman2"/> Even in the earliest years of the discipline, educational psychologists recognized the limitations of this new approach. The pioneering American psychologist [[William James]] commented that:
{{blockquote|Psychology is a science, and teaching is an art; and sciences never generate arts directly out of themselves. An intermediate inventive mind must make that application, by using its originality".<ref name=james>[[William James|James, W.]] (1983). ''Talks to teachers on psychology and to students on some of life's ideals''. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. (Original work published 1899)</ref>}}
James is the father of psychology in America, but he also made contributions to educational psychology. In his famous series of lectures ''Talks to Teachers on Psychology'', published in 1899, James [[Definitions of education|defines education]] as "the organization of acquired habits of conduct and tendencies to behavior".<ref name="james"/> He states that teachers should "train the pupil to behavior"<ref name="james"/> so that he fits into the social and physical world. Teachers should also realize the importance of habit and instinct. They should present information that is clear and interesting and relate this new information and material to things the student already knows about.<ref name="james"/> He also addresses important issues such as attention, memory, and association of ideas.

====Alfred Binet====

[[Alfred Binet]] published ''Mental Fatigue'' in 1898, in which he attempted to apply the experimental method to educational psychology.<ref name="zimmerman2"/> In this experimental method he advocated for two types of experiments, experiments done in the lab and experiments done in the classroom. In 1904 he was appointed the Minister of Public Education.<ref name="zimmerman2"/> This is when he began to look for a way to distinguish children with developmental disabilities.<ref name="zimmerman2"/> Binet strongly supported special education programs because he believed that "abnormality" could be cured.<ref name="zimmerman2"/> The Binet-Simon test was the first intelligence test and was the first to distinguish between "normal children" and those with developmental disabilities.<ref name="zimmerman2"/> Binet believed that it was important to study individual differences between age groups and children of the same age.<ref name="zimmerman2"/> He also believed that it was important for teachers to take into account individual students' strengths and also the needs of the classroom as a whole when teaching and creating a good learning environment.<ref name="zimmerman2"/> He also believed that it was important to train teachers in observation so that they would be able to see individual differences among children and adjust the curriculum to the students.<ref name="zimmerman2"/> Binet also emphasized that practice of material was important. In 1916 [[Lewis Terman]] revised the Binet-Simon so that the average score was always 100.<ref name="hergenhahn"/> The test became known as the Stanford-Binet and was one of the most widely used tests of intelligence. Terman, unlike Binet, was interested in using intelligence test to identify gifted children who had high intelligence.<ref name="zimmerman2"/> In his longitudinal study of gifted children, who became known as the Termites, Terman found that gifted children become gifted adults.<ref name="hergenhahn"/>

====Edward Thorndike====

[[Edward Thorndike]] (1874–1949) supported the scientific movement in education. He based teaching practices on empirical evidence and measurement.<ref name="zimmerman2"/> Thorndike developed the theory of [[instrumental conditioning]] or the law of effect. The law of effect states that associations are strengthened when it is followed by something pleasing and associations are weakened when followed by something not pleasing. He also found that [[learning]] is done a little at a time or in increments, learning is an automatic process and its principles apply to all mammals. Thorndike's research with [[Robert Woodworth]] on the theory of transfer found that learning one subject will only influence your ability to learn another subject if the subjects are similar.<ref name="zimmerman2"/> This discovery led to less emphasis on learning the [[classics]] because they found that studying the classics does not contribute to overall general intelligence.<ref name="zimmerman2"/> Thorndike was one of the first to say that individual differences in [[cognitive]] tasks were due to how many stimulus-response patterns a person had rather than general intellectual ability.<ref name="zimmerman2"/> He contributed word dictionaries that were [[scientifically]] based to determine the words and definitions used.<ref name="zimmerman2"/> The dictionaries were the first to take into consideration the users' maturity level.<ref name="zimmerman2"/> He also integrated pictures and easier pronunciation guide into each of the definitions.<ref name="zimmerman2"/> Thorndike contributed [[arithmetic]] books based on [[learning theory (education)|learning theory]]. He made all the problems more realistic and relevant to what was being studied, not just to improve the general [[intelligence]].<ref name="zimmerman2"/> He developed tests that were standardized to measure performance in school-related subjects.<ref name="zimmerman2"/> His biggest contribution to testing was the CAVD intelligence test which used a multidimensional approach to intelligence and was the first to use a ratio scale.<ref name="zimmerman2"/> His later work was on programmed instruction, mastery learning, and computer-based learning:
{{blockquote|If, by a miracle of mechanical ingenuity, a book could be so arranged that only to him who had done what was directed on page one would page two become visible, and so on, much that now requires personal instruction could be managed by print.<ref name=thorndike>[[Edward Thorndike|Thorndike, E.L.]] (1912). ''Education: A first book''. New York: MacMillan.</ref>}}

====John Dewey====

[[John Dewey]] (1859–1952) had a major influence on the development of [[progressive education]] in the United States. He believed that the classroom should prepare children to be good citizens and facilitate creative intelligence.<ref name="zimmerman2"/> He pushed for the creation of practical classes that could be applied outside of a school setting.<ref name="zimmerman2"/> He also thought that education should be student-oriented, not subject-oriented. For Dewey, education was a social experience that helped bring together generations of people. He stated that students learn by doing. He believed in an active mind that was able to be educated through observation, problem-solving, and enquiry. In his 1910 book ''How We Think'', he emphasizes that material should be provided in a way that is stimulating and interesting to the student since it encourages original thought and problem-solving.<ref name=Dewey>Dewey J. (1910). How we think. New York D.C. Heath & Co.</ref> He also stated that material should be relative to the student's own experience.<ref name="Dewey"/>
{{blockquote|"The material furnished by way of information should be relevant to a question that is vital in the students own experience"<ref name="Dewey"/>}}

====Jean Piaget====

[[Jean Piaget]] (1896–1980) was one of the most powerful researchers in of developmental psychology during the 20th century. He developed the [[theory of cognitive development]].<ref name="zimmerman2"/> The theory stated that intelligence developed in four different stages. The stages are the sensorimotor stage from birth to 2 years old, the preoperational state from 2 to 7 years old, the concrete operational stage from 7 to 10 years old, and the formal operational stage from 12 years old and up.<ref name="zimmerman2"/> He also believed that learning was constrained to the child's cognitive development. Piaget influenced educational psychology because he was the first to believe that cognitive development was important and something that should be paid attention to in education.<ref name="zimmerman2"/> Most of the research on Piagetian theory was carried out by American educational psychologists.