Understanding Development and Learning: Implications for Teaching opens up the landscape of educational psychology to pre-service teachers and how they can use its principles to foster learning. 

The text focuses on creating a better understanding of how we learn and how this information can be used to create more effective teaching methods, curricula, and educational policy. It features contemporary research, such as neuroscience, at the nexus of learning and development alongside traditional theories. It offers a greater scope into the developmental characteristics of children and how these impact on learning and behaviour across all sectors of education focusing on the science of learning. 

It also incorporates theoretical and practical content related to the socio-environmental factors that impact on development, behaviour and learning.  It investigates how to apply psychological principles to educational contexts in order to enhance learning and teaching quality and encourages reflective practice, helping pre-service teachers develop their personal philosophy of learning and teaching.

Key Features

Features throughout are focused on practical application of theory and encouraging reflective practice.

• ‘Setting the Scene’ case examples with analysis demonstrates the main concept of each chapter, prompting the question, ‘what does this topic mean to you?
• Glossary Margin Notes throughout help students learn key terms
• Intra chapter linkage margin notes – to assist navigation 
• ‘Something to Think About’ showcases research; with accompanying ‘Ask Yourself ‘ questions to test understanding and application to classroom experience
• ‘Implications for Teaching ‘ features examples of how research can influence (or has influenced) teaching practice with ‘Ask Yourself’ questions for readers to test understanding
• Practical Activities at the end of each chapter are exercises to use in the classroom
• Study Questions with ‘Something to Think about’ sections to encourage students to reflect on their own behaviours.

The following resources are available for lecturers who prescribe Understanding Development and Learning for their course:

• Instructor's Resource Manual
• Testbank
• PowerPoints