Essentials of Educational Psychology

Book excerpt: The first book of its kind, "Essentials of Educational Psychology" focuses squarely on the core concepts, principles, and underlying assumptions of the field of educational psychology-the big ideas of ed psych. Because of this focus and the book's exceptionally direct and clear presentation, "Essentials" is a 10 chapter book that can truly be covered and understood in a term. It is a book that enables and empowers students to understand the value and essential importance of educational psychology to becoming a qualified and quality teacher. What instructors and students who have used "Essentials" say about the text: "I have had many students each term tell me that this is the most readable and practical textbook they have ever read. . . .["Essentials"] is something that [Ormrod] wrote after considering her students' needs! This comes out in the writing style but in a way that also maintains the rigor of the content and uses the most recent understandings in the field"Mark J. SzymanskiPacific University "This text creates an integrated and engaging narrative that adeptly weaves theories and concepts of learning, motivation, and development into classroom teaching. . . .Not only is the text a pleasure to read, but it is also a pleasure to teach using this text. . . .This format is sensitive to the length of semesters, and frees instructors from rushing from one chapter to the next or covering multiple chapters in a single week. As such, instructors have greater flexibility to explore the topics with students." Cecil RobinsonThe University of Alabama "Other texts present information that is often bogged down with dry descriptions of research and abstract concepts. Ormrod has an outstanding ability to make content accessible to and interesting for undergraduate students. . . .Also, examples and suggestions are clearly related to chapter content and helpful for tying content to actual classroom practice. We recommend that students keep this textbook because it will be a useful reference for them when they actually begin teaching."Rhoda CummingsUniversity of Nevada, Reno "I have found no other textbook author who prepares adolescent behavior and development, child behavior and development, or beginning educational psychology texts...as clearly as Ormrod."William M. GrayUniversity of Toledo