CLEP Introduction to Educational Psychology cheat sheet

Classical conditioning (Pavlov): a neutral stimulus paired repeatedly with an unconditioned stimulus acquires the capacity to elicit a conditioned response; extinction occurs when the CS is presented without the US.

Operant conditioning (Skinner): reinforcement increases behavior, punishment decreases it; positive means a stimulus is added, negative means a stimulus is removed. Positive punishment adds an aversive event; negative reinforcement removes an aversive event.

Schedules of reinforcement: fixed-ratio (reinforcement after a set number of responses) produces high, steady rates with a post-reinforcement pause; variable-ratio produces the highest and most persistent response rate; fixed-interval produces scalloped responding; variable-interval produces slow, steady responding.

Social cognitive theory (Bandura): learning can occur vicariously through observation of models; four subprocesses are attention, retention, production, and motivation; self-efficacy is a task-specific belief about one's capability.

Information processing: sensory register (brief, large capacity) → working memory (limited capacity, ~7±2 chunks, 15–30 s without rehearsal) → long-term memory (unlimited capacity, relatively permanent). Encoding, storage, and retrieval are the three memory operations.

Cognitive load theory (Sweller): intrinsic load is imposed by the material's complexity relative to prior knowledge; extraneous load is imposed by poor instructional design and should be minimized; germane load is effort devoted to schema construction.

Piaget's constructivism: assimilation fits new information into existing schemes; accommodation modifies schemes; equilibration resolves disequilibrium. Learning is driven by active construction, not passive transmission.

Vygotsky's sociocultural theory: the zone of proximal development is the gap between what a learner can do alone and with assistance; scaffolding provides temporary, gradually withdrawn support; private speech becomes inner speech.

Transfer: near transfer applies learning to similar contexts; far transfer applies it to dissimilar contexts. Identical elements theory (Thorndike) and transfer-appropriate processing predict that transfer depends on overlap in content or cognitive processes.

Piaget's stages: sensorimotor (0–2, object permanence), preoperational (2–7, symbolic thought, egocentrism, lack of conservation), concrete operational (7–11, conservation, reversibility, classification), formal operational (11+, abstract and hypothetical reasoning).

Erikson's psychosocial stages: trust vs. mistrust (infancy), autonomy vs. shame/doubt (1–3), initiative vs. guilt (3–6), industry vs. inferiority (6–12), identity vs. role confusion (adolescence).

Kohlberg's moral development: preconventional (obedience/punishment, instrumental exchange), conventional (interpersonal conformity, law and order), postconventional (social contract, universal ethical principles).

Vygotsky vs. Piaget: Vygotsky emphasizes social interaction and instruction leading development; Piaget emphasizes individual maturation and development leading learning.

Bronfenbrenner's bioecological model: microsystem (immediate settings), mesosystem (interactions among microsystems), exosystem (indirect settings), macrosystem (culture), chronosystem (time).

Gardner's multiple intelligences include linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial, musical, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, and naturalistic; these are not a single general factor.

Spearman's g is a general intelligence factor underlying performance on all cognitive tasks; Cattell-Horn-Carroll theory distinguishes fluid reasoning (novel problems, declines with age) from crystallized knowledge (accumulated learning, stable or increasing).

Special education law: IDEA guarantees free appropriate public education (FAPE), least restrictive environment (LRE), individualized education program (IEP), and due process; Section 504 provides accommodations for students with disabilities affecting major life activities.

Individual differences: learning styles (e.g., visual/auditory) lack strong empirical support for matching instruction; differentiated instruction targets readiness, interest, and learning profile; response to intervention (RTI) uses tiered instruction and progress monitoring.

Intrinsic motivation arises from interest, enjoyment, or satisfaction in the activity; extrinsic motivation arises from external rewards or pressures. Overjustification occurs when extrinsic rewards undermine intrinsic interest.

Self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan): three basic psychological needs are autonomy, competence, and relatedness; satisfying them supports intrinsic motivation and well-being.

Expectancy-value theory: motivation = expectancy of success × value of the task. Value includes intrinsic value, utility value, attainment value, and cost.

Goal orientation: mastery goals focus on learning and improvement; performance-approach goals focus on outperforming others; performance-avoidance goals focus on avoiding looking incompetent. Mastery goals generally predict deeper learning.

Attribution theory (Weiner): attributions vary on locus (internal/external), stability, and controllability. Attributing failure to insufficient effort (internal, unstable, controllable) supports persistence; attributing it to low ability (internal, stable, uncontrollable) undermines it.

Self-efficacy (Bandura) is shaped by mastery experiences (strongest), vicarious experiences, verbal persuasion, and physiological/affective states.

Classroom management: positive behavior support emphasizes proactive rules, routines, and reinforcement; the Good Behavior Game is a group contingency that reduces disruptive behavior; token economies use secondary reinforcers exchangeable for backup reinforcers.

Behavioral principles in class: reinforcement schedules, shaping (successive approximations), extinction (withholding reinforcement), and time-out from reinforcement. Punishment suppresses behavior but does not teach a replacement behavior.

Teacher expectations: the Pygmalion effect (Rosenthal & Jacobson) describes how higher teacher expectations can improve student performance; the Golem effect describes the reverse.

Direct instruction (Rosenshine) emphasizes explicit teaching, modeling, guided practice, and independent practice; it is most effective for well-structured content and novice learners.

Cooperative learning (Johnson & Johnson) requires positive interdependence, individual accountability, promotive interaction, social skills, and group processing; simply placing students in groups is not cooperative learning.

Bloom's taxonomy (revised): remember, understand, apply, analyze, evaluate, create. Lower-order objectives are prerequisites for higher-order ones.

Formative assessment is used during instruction to adjust teaching (e.g., exit tickets, questioning, feedback); summative assessment evaluates learning at the end of a unit and is used for grading or accountability.

Criterion-referenced tests compare performance to a defined standard or objective; norm-referenced tests compare performance to a norm group. Standardized tests have uniform administration and scoring.

Validity is the degree to which a test measures what it is intended to measure (content, construct, criterion-related); reliability is consistency of scores (test-retest, inter-rater, internal consistency). Reliability is necessary but not sufficient for validity.

Backward design (Wiggins & McTighe): identify desired results, determine acceptable evidence, then plan learning experiences and instruction.

Differentiation strategies include tiered assignments, flexible grouping, compacting, and choice boards; universal design for learning (UDL) provides multiple means of representation, engagement, and expression.

Correlational research measures the relationship between variables without manipulation; the correlation coefficient r ranges from −1 to +1. Correlation does not imply causation.

Experimental design requires random assignment, manipulation of an independent variable, and control of extraneous variables; the dependent variable is the outcome measured.

Internal validity concerns whether changes in the dependent variable are caused by the independent variable; threats include history, maturation, testing, instrumentation, regression to the mean, selection, and attrition.

External validity concerns generalizability; ecological validity is the extent to which findings apply to real-world settings.

Descriptive statistics: mean (average), median (middle score), mode (most frequent); standard deviation measures spread. In a normal distribution, about 68% of scores fall within ±1 SD, 95% within ±2 SD, and 99.7% within ±3 SD.

Standard scores: z-score has mean 0 and SD 1; IQ has mean 100 and SD 15; T-score has mean 50 and SD 10. Percentile rank indicates the percentage of scores at or below a given score.

Reliability coefficients above .80 are generally considered acceptable for research; above .90 for high-stakes decisions. Standard error of measurement (SEM) estimates the variability of observed scores around a true score.

Effect size: Cohen's d around 0.2 is small, 0.5 medium, 0.8 large. Statistical significance (p < .05) indicates the probability of obtaining results by chance if the null hypothesis is true; it does not indicate practical importance.

Ethical research: informed consent, voluntary participation, confidentiality, minimal risk, and debriefing; institutional review boards (IRBs) oversee research with human participants. Action research is conducted by practitioners to improve local practice.