Take one area of the learning sciences. How does educational psychology contribute to our understanding? What evidence does it offer? What interpretative concepts and theories does it provide?

One of the tools of educational psychology has is to draw from what neuroscientists know about the workings of the human brain and apply it to classroom practices and school curriculums. For example, brain imagery shows that when anxious and stressed the brain retains less information than when it is fed by positive stimulus such as curiosity, realization and safety.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/239587483_The_Neuroscience_of_Joyful_Education

From a young age, if a person understands that there will be bad repercussions to an action they will desist from executing it and therefore learning from it. Here is a social experiment where a toddler sees another person reprimanded for doing something and how it effects their decisions.

Now I want to recall Dr.Reese’s example of students exploring how to calculate volume. As he points out, the exercise is reasonable so it’s not frustrating and challenging enough for it to be engaging, which could be described as the “zone of proximal development” coined by L.Vygozky as found in this course.

As Dr Reese describes how the students handled the exercise, it is interesting to see how much a healthy Classroom Climate helps the students succeed. Following the usage of the metaphors, instead of giving only “staircase” lessons or being a “crutch” for the students, a healthy Classroom Climate sets a wide “safety net”.

Illustration of the safety net used during the building of the Golden Gate Bridge.

In this context, “safety net” wants to recall the physical net placed under the Golden Gate Bridge in the 1930s by its architect J. Strauss while it was being built. The workers were able to do their job without the fear of losing their life over a mistake. This article explains this metaphor in detail: https://ift.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1541-4329.12218#jfs312218-note-0006_note_5

In the classroom, the “safety net” describes an environment where there is low threat of repercussions over mistakes while working to solve the given challenge. Here the students feel comfortable to ask questions, collaborate with peers and accidentally spill rice or Styrofoam while testing their theories because they know their teacher won’t berate, shame, or punish them for trying. At the same time, the teacher avoids being a "crutch" by guiding the students to “ask the right question”, just as Dr. Reese describes a teacher ought to do.

This exploration of how to calculate volume is also a great example of how giving an opportunity for students to use their preferred method of acquiring knowledge according to which “kind” of learner they are, applying Gardner’s Multiple Intelligence Theory.

Students collaborating with peers, helping each other and not being afraid to ask questions, hones their problem-solving, negotiating and judgment skills while also building personal confidence and social connection.

In conclusion, educational psychology can guide curriculm creators to include lesson plans with exploration sessions and collaboration activities, as well as help teachers to create their own safety nets within their own classrooms so their students’ curiosity and joy of learning can flourish.