Teaching Educational Psychology With and Without a University-Community Partnership

• In Event: AERA Poster Session 2
  In Poster Session: Teaching Educational Psychology Poster Session

Abstract

We posit that early field experiences (EFE) embedded within a university-community partnership promotes deeper learning of educational psychology concepts and meets the psychological need of relatedness as described by self-determination theory. The purpose of this study is to explore the use of university-community partnerships in EFEs within educational psychology. We compare the written reflections of 285 preservice teachers (PTs) in three treatments: student selected field experience, non-field experience, university-community partnered field experience. We compared the mastery of educational psychology concepts and student perceptions of the experience within the essays. The PTs that chose their own experience outperformed the PTs in other conditions. However, the PTs that participated in the university-community partnership reported transformative experiences meeting their psychological need of relatedness.

Authors

• Meagan Arrastia-Chisholm, Valdosta State University

• Samantha Tackett, Florida State University

• Kelly Torres, The Chicago School of Professional Psychology