Editing Educational psychology (section)

====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.