CLEP 
Educational Psychology
College · CLEP Educational Psychology · Certificate available
504 lessons 4.7h runtime 13 units 743 links between lessons Test yourself · 13 quizzes, a mid exam, and a final
StudyWalks exists to make learning clear, accessible, and free.
Short lessons. In order. Built for people who want to understand.
Begin with Unit 1: The Study of Educational Psychology. It sets the foundation for everything that follows.
Nothing watched yet
Unit 1: The Study of Educational Psychology 20 lessons, 1 lecture part
Lecture: Watch · 25:26
- 0001 Educational Psychology Defined
- 0002 Herbart's Formal Steps
- 0003 The Golden Era, 1890 to 1920
- 0004 William James Talks to Teachers
- 0005 Binet and the First Intelligence Test
- 0006 Thorndike's Law of Effect
- 0007 Transfer Between Subjects
- 0008 Dewey: Learning by Doing
- 0009 The Clarks and Brown v. Board
- 0010 Bruner and Discovery Learning
- 0011 Bloom: All Students Can Learn
- 0012 From Behaviorism to Cognition review
- 0013 Art or Science?
- 0014 Teaching Is Multidimensional
- 0015 The Teacher's System worked example
- 0016 Fuller's Stages of Concern worked example
- 0017 Four Kinds of Teacher Knowledge
- 0018 Idealism and Realism
- 0019 Pragmatism and Existentialism
- 0020 Matching a Classroom to a Philosophy worked example
Unit 2: Research in Educational Psychology 28 lessons, 1 lecture part
Lecture: Watch · 31:40
- 0101 Why Teaching Needs Evidence
- 0102 Confirmation Bias
- 0103 Falsifiability
- 0104 Three Features of Science
- 0105 Quantitative and Qualitative Research
- 0106 Mixed Methods and Triangulation
- 0107 Three Kinds of Research
- 0108 Observation
- 0109 Surveys and Self-Report
- 0110 Tests and Constructs
- 0111 Three Kinds of Reliability
- 0112 Reliable but Not Valid
- 0113 Distributions, Not Only Averages
- 0114 What a P-Value Says
- 0115 Samples and Margin of Error
- 0116 The Correlation Coefficient
- 0117 Reading a Correlation worked example
- 0118 Correlation Is Not Causation
- 0119 Illusory Correlation
- 0120 The Experiment
- 0121 Independent and Dependent Variables
- 0122 Blinding and the Placebo Effect
- 0123 Random Sampling vs Random Assignment
- 0124 Quasi-Experiments
- 0125 What Randomness Licenses review
- 0126 Choosing a Developmental Design worked example
- 0127 Case Studies
- 0128 Action Research worked example
Unit 3: The Developing Learner 77 lessons, 3 lecture parts
- 0201 Why Development Matters
- 0202 Grand Theories
- 0203 Three Domains
- 0204 Bronfenbrenner's Systems
- 0205 Placing an Influence in the System worked example
- 0206 Continuous or Discontinuous
- 0207 Critical or Sensitive Period worked example
- 0208 Nature and Nurture
- 0209 Puberty and Gender Roles
- 0210 Reflexes
- 0211 Motor Development
- 0212 Sensation and Perception
- 0213 Health, Illness and Poverty
- 0214 Neurons and Pruning
- 0215 Myelin and the Lobes
- 0216 Plasticity and Lateralization
- 0217 The Adolescent Brain
- 0218 Two Kinds of Constructivism
- 0219 Scaffolding
- 0220 Assimilation and Accommodation
- 0221 Disequilibrium and Equilibrium
- 0222 Piaget's Stages
- 0223 The Sensorimotor Stage
- 0224 What Infants Know Sooner
- 0225 Preoperational Thought
- 0226 Conservation
- 0227 Theory of Mind
- 0228 Concrete Operations
- 0229 Formal Operations
- 0230 Formal Thought Is Not Universal
- 0231 Placing Reasoning in a Stage worked example
- 0232 The Zone of Proximal Development
- 0233 The More Knowledgeable Other
- 0234 Private Speech
- 0235 Piaget and Vygotsky on One Task review
- 0236 Learned or Innate?
- 0237 A Sensitive Period for Language
- 0238 Phonemes and Morphemes
- 0239 Syntax and Pragmatics
- 0240 First Sounds and Words
- 0241 Ordering Language Milestones worked example
- 0242 Under- and Overextension
- 0243 Where Language Lives in the Brain
- 0244 Erikson's Eight Crises worked example
- 0245 Identity Versus Role Confusion
- 0246 Self-Concept
- 0247 The Looking-Glass Self
- 0248 Self-Esteem
- 0249 Marcia's Identity Statuses
- 0250 Classifying Identity Status worked example
- 0251 Statuses Are Not a Ladder
- 0252 Supporting Identity
- 0253 What Peers Teach
- 0254 Homophily and Peer Influence
- 0255 Cliques and Crowds
- 0256 Sociometric Status worked example
- 0257 What Bullying Is
- 0258 Roles in Bullying
- 0259 Cyberbullying
- 0260 Bullying and Suicide
- 0261 Types of Play
- 0262 Vygotsky on Pretend Play
- 0263 Parten's Stages of Social Play worked example
- 0264 Imaginary Companions
- 0265 Heteronomous and Autonomous Morality
- 0266 Kohlberg's Approach
- 0267 Preconventional Morality
- 0268 Conventional Morality
- 0269 Postconventional Morality
- 0270 Classifying Moral Reasoning worked example
- 0271 Turiel's Domains
- 0272 Gilligan's Ethic of Care
- 0273 Justice, Care and the Evidence on Gender review
- 0274 Discussing Moral Dilemmas
- 0275 Character Education
- 0276 Justice and Care in the Classroom
- 0277 Baumrind's Parenting Styles worked example
Unit 4: Learning: The Behavioral Perspective 41 lessons, 2 lecture parts
- 0301 Teaching Is Not Learning
- 0302 Readiness
- 0303 Transfer
- 0304 What Helps Transfer
- 0305 Positive, Negative and Zero Transfer
- 0306 Near and Far, Low-Road and High-Road
- 0307 Classifying Transfer worked example
- 0308 Hugging and Bridging
- 0309 Four Pillars of Learning Theory
- 0310 Behaviorism
- 0311 Classical Conditioning
- 0312 Labeling a Conditioning Episode worked example
- 0313 Conditioned Emotional Responses
- 0314 Operant Conditioning
- 0315 The Four Quadrants
- 0316 Naming the Quadrant worked example
- 0317 Negative Reinforcement Is Not Punishment
- 0318 Reinforcement Over Punishment
- 0319 Drawbacks of Physical Punishment
- 0320 Shaping
- 0321 Extinction
- 0322 Generalization and Discrimination
- 0323 Intermittent Reinforcement
- 0324 Continuous and Partial Reinforcement
- 0325 Identifying a Reinforcement Schedule worked example
- 0326 Primary and Secondary Reinforcers
- 0327 Token Economies
- 0328 Many Sources of Reinforcement
- 0329 Time-Out
- 0330 The Behavioral Teacher
- 0331 Prerequisites, Not Ability
- 0332 Task Analysis worked example
- 0333 Errorless Learning
- 0334 Active Responding
- 0335 Prompts
- 0336 Informational Feedback
- 0337 Consequence or Reinforcer?
- 0338 Doing Reinforcement Properly
- 0339 Negative Consequences and Punishers
- 0340 A Reward Is Not a Reinforcer review
- 0341 Fading to Natural Reinforcers
Unit 5: Learning: The Cognitive Perspective 37 lessons, 2 lecture parts
- 0401 Social Cognitive Theory
- 0402 Reciprocal Determinism
- 0403 Observational Learning
- 0404 Three Kinds of Models
- 0405 The Four Steps of Modeling worked example
- 0406 The Bobo Doll Studies
- 0407 Self-Efficacy
- 0408 Locus of Control
- 0409 Self-Efficacy vs Locus of Control
- 0410 Self-Regulation and Delay of Gratification
- 0411 Steps of Self-Regulation
- 0412 Information-Processing Development
- 0413 Selective and Divided Attention
- 0414 Encoding, Storage and Retrieval
- 0415 Deeper Encoding
- 0416 The Three Stores
- 0417 Working Memory
- 0418 Explicit and Implicit Memory
- 0419 Recall, Recognition and Relearning
- 0420 Rehearsal and Memory Strategies
- 0421 Diagnosing a Strategy Deficiency worked example
- 0422 Executive Function
- 0423 Working Memory and Learning
- 0424 Metacognition
- 0425 Cognitive Load Theory
- 0426 Classifying Cognitive Load worked example
- 0427 Prior Knowledge and Organization
- 0428 Deep and Surface Processing
- 0429 Distributed Practice
- 0430 Chunking
- 0431 Constructivism in the Classroom
- 0432 Two Constructivisms in Practice
- 0433 Conceptual Change
- 0434 Bloom's Taxonomy
- 0435 The 5E Model worked example
- 0436 Planning with Constructivism
- 0437 Four Pillars, One Lesson review
Unit 6: Complex Thinking 24 lessons, 1 lecture part
Lecture: Watch · 27:14
- 0501 Three Kinds of Complex Thinking
- 0502 Critical Thinking
- 0503 Infusion or Free-Standing
- 0504 Critical Thinking for All Students
- 0505 Creativity
- 0506 Divergent and Convergent Thinking
- 0507 Creativity and Evaluation
- 0508 Well- and Ill-Structured Problems
- 0509 Algorithms and Heuristics
- 0510 Mental Set and Functional Fixedness
- 0511 Problem-Solving Strategies
- 0512 The IDEAL Method worked example
- 0513 Teacher-Directed and Student-Centered Instruction
- 0514 Advance Organizers
- 0515 Note-Taking and Concept Maps
- 0516 Mastery Learning
- 0517 Direct Instruction
- 0518 Hunter's Lesson Model worked example
- 0519 Student-Centered Strategies
- 0520 Inquiry-Based Learning
- 0521 Making Cooperative Learning Work
- 0522 Freeloading and Overspecialization
- 0523 Choosing a Cooperative Structure worked example
- 0524 Teacher-Directed or Student-Centered? review
Unit 7: Motivation 44 lessons, 2 lecture parts
- 0601 Motivation
- 0602 Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation
- 0603 The Overjustification Effect
- 0604 Which Rewards Undermine?
- 0605 Culture and Motivation
- 0606 Conditions for Intrinsic Motivation
- 0607 Innate and Cognitive Theories
- 0608 Instinct Theory
- 0609 Drive Theory
- 0610 Primary and Acquired Drives
- 0611 Arousal and the Yerkes-Dodson Law
- 0612 Stress as Appraisal
- 0613 Test Anxiety
- 0614 Behaviorism and Motivation
- 0615 Deci's Puzzle Study
- 0616 Maslow's Hierarchy
- 0617 Maslow and the Evidence
- 0618 Situational and Personal Interest
- 0619 Does Interest Cause Learning?
- 0620 Four Phases of Interest
- 0621 Seductive Details
- 0622 Attribution Theory
- 0623 Classifying Attributions worked example
- 0624 Which Attributions to Encourage
- 0625 Self-Efficacy
- 0626 What Self-Efficacy Affects
- 0627 Building Self-Efficacy
- 0628 Learned Helplessness
- 0629 Four Sources of Self-Efficacy worked example
- 0630 Process, Not Content
- 0631 Expectancy-Value Theory
- 0632 Four Kinds of Task Value
- 0633 Raising Expectancy and Value
- 0634 Self-Determination Theory
- 0635 The Continuum of Regulation worked example
- 0636 Supporting the Three Needs
- 0637 Mastery and Performance Goals
- 0638 Approach and Avoidance Goals worked example
- 0639 Self-Handicapping and Social Goals
- 0640 Covington's Four Orientations
- 0641 The Pygmalion Study
- 0642 How Large Are Expectancy Effects?
- 0643 Designing with ARCS worked example
- 0644 When Rewards Backfire review
Unit 8: Intelligence and Exceptional Learners 55 lessons, 2 lecture parts
- 0701 Individual and Group Differences
- 0702 Spearman's g
- 0703 Binet and the Stanford-Binet
- 0704 Standardization and Mental Age
- 0705 Ratio and Deviation IQ worked example
- 0706 The Flynn Effect
- 0707 The Wechsler Scales
- 0708 Test Bias
- 0709 Sternberg's Triarchic Theory
- 0710 Creativity and Intelligence
- 0711 Is Practical Intelligence Distinct?
- 0712 Gardner's Multiple Intelligences
- 0713 Matching a Talent to an Intelligence worked example
- 0714 Gardner's Evidence and Critics
- 0715 IQ on the Normal Curve worked example
- 0716 Intellectual Disability
- 0717 Levels of Support worked example
- 0718 Teaching Students with Intellectual Disability
- 0719 Giftedness
- 0720 Terman's Longitudinal Study
- 0721 Acceleration and Enrichment
- 0722 Between-Class and Within-Class Grouping
- 0723 Grouping for Acceleration
- 0724 Learning Styles
- 0725 Field Dependence and Independence
- 0726 Impulsivity and Reflectivity
- 0727 Using Cognitive Styles
- 0728 Section 504 and the ADA
- 0729 From EHA to IDEA
- 0730 IDEA's Five Rights
- 0731 Which Law Applies? worked example
- 0732 Thirteen Categories
- 0733 Learning Disability
- 0734 Dyslexia, Dysgraphia, Dyscalculia
- 0735 Autism Spectrum Disorder
- 0736 How Common Is Autism?
- 0737 Causes of Autism
- 0738 ADHD
- 0739 Diagnosis and Referral
- 0740 Causes and Myths of ADHD
- 0741 Treating ADHD
- 0742 ADHD in the Classroom
- 0743 Behavior Disorders
- 0744 Triggers
- 0745 Skills, Contracts and Fair Discipline
- 0746 Hearing Loss
- 0747 Visual Impairment
- 0748 Universal Design for Learning worked example
- 0749 Alternative Assessment
- 0750 Response to Intervention worked example
- 0751 Least Restrictive Environment
- 0752 The IEP
- 0753 The IEP Team and Transition
- 0754 One Problem, Three Theories review
- 0755 Learning Styles: Preference and Evidence review
Unit 9: Gender, Culture, Language, and Class 23 lessons, 1 lecture part
Lecture: Watch · 27:49
- 0801 Sex and Gender
- 0802 Gender Identity
- 0803 Gender Constancy and Stereotypes
- 0804 Average Differences in School
- 0805 Gender Similarities
- 0806 Practice Closes a Gap
- 0807 Teachers' Differential Interaction
- 0808 Auditing Gender Patterns worked example
- 0809 Culture and Ethnicity
- 0810 Bilingualism
- 0811 Immersion and Additive Programs
- 0812 Language Loss
- 0813 Cultural Differences in Language Use worked example
- 0814 Independent and Interdependent Self
- 0815 Cooperation, Participation and Time
- 0816 Ogbu's Oppositional Identity
- 0817 Ogbu's Theory, Contested
- 0818 Banks's Five Dimensions worked example
- 0819 SES and Achievement
- 0820 A Board Game and Number Knowledge
- 0821 The Word Gap, Contested
- 0822 Tendencies, Not Predictions
- 0823 Explaining Group Differences review
Unit 10: Instruction 39 lessons, 2 lecture parts
- 0901 Planning and Delivering Instruction
- 0902 Goals from the Learner's Side
- 0903 Tyler's Rationale
- 0904 Standards, Frameworks and Guides
- 0905 Backward Design worked example
- 0906 General-to-Specific Objectives
- 0907 Mager's Three Parts
- 0908 Building and Repairing Objectives worked example
- 0909 The Knowledge Dimension
- 0910 The Affective Domain
- 0911 The Psychomotor Domain
- 0912 Differentiated Instruction worked example
- 0913 Differentiated, Not Individualized
- 0914 Emergent Curriculum
- 0915 Multicultural and Anti-Bias Education
- 0916 Matching Method to Objective worked example
- 0917 Capturing Attention
- 0918 Holding Attention
- 0919 Anticipating Preconceptions
- 0920 Modeling
- 0921 Coaching
- 0922 Homework, Contested
- 0923 Prompt Fading
- 0924 Reinforcer Fading and Transfer
- 0925 Lecture
- 0926 Active Learning
- 0927 The Evidence for Active Learning
- 0928 Active-Learning Techniques
- 0929 The Flipped Classroom
- 0930 JiTT and Peer Instruction
- 0931 Team-Based Learning
- 0932 Kolb's Experiential Cycle worked example
- 0933 Service Learning
- 0934 Problem-Based Learning
- 0935 Cognitive Apprenticeship
- 0936 Online and Blended Learning
- 0937 Designing Online Learning
- 0938 The Digital Divide
- 0939 Lecture or Active Learning? review
Unit 11: Classroom Management 24 lessons, 1 lecture part
Lecture: Watch · 30:03
- 1001 Warmth and Control
- 1002 Four Management Styles worked example
- 1003 Why Management Is Hard
- 1004 Minor Off-Task Behavior
- 1005 Ginott's Congruent Communication
- 1006 Glasser's Choice Theory
- 1007 The ABCs of Behavior
- 1008 An ABC Analysis worked example
- 1009 Replacement Behaviors and Extinction
- 1010 Punishment as a Last Resort
- 1011 The Prevention Tradition
- 1012 Rules, Routines and Engaged Time
- 1013 Low-Profile Control worked example
- 1014 Culturally Responsive Management
- 1015 Arranging Space and Seating
- 1016 Procedures and Rules
- 1017 Pacing, Structure and Transitions
- 1018 Withitness and Overlapping
- 1019 Communicating with Parents
- 1020 The Ripple Effect
- 1021 Ignoring, Cues and Consequences
- 1022 Problem Ownership and I-Messages
- 1023 The Negative-Reinforcement Trap review
- 1024 Consequences, Not Punishment review
Unit 12: Assessment and Evaluation 52 lessons, 2 lecture parts
- 1101 Assessment, Measurement and Evaluation
- 1102 Diagnostic, Formative and Summative
- 1103 Assessment for Learning
- 1104 Validity: Interpretations and Uses
- 1105 Content Evidence
- 1106 Construct Evidence
- 1107 Criterion-Related Evidence
- 1108 Which Validity Evidence? worked example
- 1109 Reliability in the Classroom
- 1110 Estimating Reliability
- 1111 The Standard Error of Measurement
- 1112 Offensiveness and Unfair Penalization
- 1113 Observation and Questioning
- 1114 Limits of Informal Assessment
- 1115 Selected-Response Items
- 1116 Fixing a Flawed Item worked example
- 1117 Constructed-Response Items
- 1118 Scoring Extended Responses
- 1119 Choosing a Rubric worked example
- 1120 Performance Assessment
- 1121 Portfolios
- 1122 The Testing Effect
- 1123 Fixed and Incremental Views in Assessment
- 1124 Assessments That Motivate
- 1125 Effective Feedback
- 1126 Wise Feedback
- 1127 Self- and Peer Assessment
- 1128 Teacher Efficacy
- 1129 Grading Choices
- 1130 Absolute and Relative Grading
- 1131 Communicating Assessment to Parents
- 1132 Norm- and Criterion-Referenced Scores worked example
- 1133 High-Stakes and Low-Stakes Tests
- 1134 Uses of Standardized Tests
- 1135 Achievement, Aptitude and Diagnostic Tests
- 1136 From NCLB to ESSA
- 1137 AYP and Disaggregation
- 1138 Status and Growth Models
- 1139 PISA and TIMSS
- 1140 Frequency Distributions
- 1141 Mean, Median and Mode
- 1142 Range, Variance and Standard Deviation
- 1143 Describing a Set of Scores worked example
- 1144 The Normal Distribution
- 1145 Standard Scores and Percentiles worked example
- 1146 Grade-Equivalent Scores
- 1147 Scaled Scores
- 1148 Bias in Standardized Tests
- 1149 Stereotype Threat, Contested
- 1150 Teaching to the Test
- 1151 Cheating
- 1152 Validity Depends on Use review
Unit 13: Capstone: Educational Psychology in the Classroom 40 lessons, 2 lecture parts
- 1201 Individual and Group Differences, Revisited
- 1202 One Ability or Many
- 1203 Two Kinds of IQ
- 1204 Reading an IQ Score worked example
- 1205 Both Tails of the Curve
- 1206 Three Conditions Often Confused
- 1207 From Concern to Services worked example
- 1208 Grouping by Ability
- 1209 Bias in Testing
- 1210 Individual Differences in One Classroom review
- 1211 Three Questions About Development
- 1212 Piaget's Four Stages
- 1213 Placing Reasoning in a Stage worked example
- 1214 Vygotsky's Zone and Scaffolding
- 1215 Two Constructivisms
- 1216 Language Milestones
- 1217 Erikson and Identity
- 1218 Kohlberg in a Classroom Dilemma worked example
- 1219 Gender Identity and Gender Roles
- 1220 Development in One Classroom review
- 1221 Distributions and Averages
- 1222 Correlation and Its Limits
- 1223 Describing a Class's Scores worked example
- 1224 Consistency Measured Several Ways
- 1225 Error in Every Score
- 1226 Validity Is About Use
- 1227 Choosing a Score Interpretation worked example
- 1228 Scaled Scores
- 1229 High Stakes and Accountability
- 1230 Reading a Score Report review
- 1231 Classical Conditioning
- 1232 Operant Conditioning and the Four Quadrants
- 1233 Naming the Quadrant worked example
- 1234 Schedules of Reinforcement
- 1235 Extinction and Intermittent Reinforcement
- 1236 Rewards and Intrinsic Motivation
- 1237 The ABCs in the Classroom
- 1238 Choosing a Consequence by Function worked example
- 1239 Shaping, Prompts and Fading
- 1240 The Behavioral Arc in One Classroom review
Who this subject is for
- Students preparing for the CLEP Educational Psychology exam
- Education majors and future teachers
- Paraprofessionals and classroom aides
- Adult learners finishing a degree
- Parents and homeschool educators
- Anyone interested in how people learn
Why Educational Psychology matters
Educational Psychology applies what is known about learning and development to teaching. It prepares you for:
- Teacher education
- Instructional design
- Child development
- Classroom assessment
Time to complete
- of lessons (504, measured)
- 4.7 h
- of lectures (22)
- 9.9 h
- learning hours on the certificate, with quizzes and the final
- 20 h
Times are measured from the recordings and the exam time limits. Go at your own pace; nothing expires.
Featured pathway · $35
AI Foundations Pathway
Five micro-certificates (AI Literacy, Data Literacy, Critical Thinking, Cybersecurity Essentials and STEM Foundations) plus the Full Certificate in Computer Science. Hold all six and claim the pathway certificate, the badge and a verification number.
Explore the AI Foundations Pathway →Sources for Educational Psychology — the textbook it was written against, and the second source it was checked against.
This is free, and stays free. If it helped, here is what keeps it running.