Educational Psychology and its relevance to the distance education (DE) practice of UP Open University (UPOU) was the main topic of the Research Conversations organized by the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs (OVCAA) held on Friday, 13 January 2017 at Sandbox, CCDL, UPOU Headquarters in Los Baños, Laguna.
Asst. Prof. Rameses A. de Jesus and Asst. Prof. Roja L. Rivera of the Faculty of Education shared their knowledge and expertise on educational psychology with their presentation entitled “Educational Psychology: Aspects Relevant to our Distance Education Practice at UPOU.” They tackled the foundational concepts and principles of educational psychology in the context of work at UPOU and also looked at the principles relevant to the student and faculty support. They also identified specific areas of research interests that can be pursued either as an individual or as a team.
Their presentation was divided into two parts – discussion on the overview of Educational Psychology and the group interaction. Asst. Prof. de Jesus presented the foundations, theories and the main concerns of Educational Psychology. Quoting from the American Psychological Association (APA), Asst. Prof. de Jesus said that “Educational Psychology promotes teaching and learning but there is no single learning approach or style that works for everyone.” Educational Psychology, being the branch of psychology concerned with the scientific study of human learning, is focused on identifying and studying the learning methods to better understand how people absorb and retain new information. It was also mentioned that the aim of educational psychology is to provide research knowledge that can be effectively applied to teaching situations.
Educational psychology, as applied in teaching and learning in UPOU, affects the students, instructors and the administrative leadership, hence, research areas surfaced from the discussion mainly centered on student and teacher development by which can be done qualitatively and quantitatively processes. Asst. Prof. Rivera cited several experiences showing the different learning styles of UPOU students wherein she stressed that studying these can help in better understanding of the students’ learning process. In relation to providing psychological support, she suggested exploring the institutionalization of guidelines for student support that will cut across all faculty offices and all UPOU programs.
The topic elicited active participation from the audience, each contributing to the research suggestions. The activity was also streamed live through the Research Conversations Youtube Channel. Faculty members, researchers, and administrative staff actively participated in the conversation. (Anna Cañas-Llamas & Jamsie Joy Perez)
