Educational Psychologist

An Educational Psychologist is like a Scientist who looks at schools under a microscope. In the same way that a Biologist looks at an insect, or a Pathologist a virus, an Educational Psychologist looks at schools — magnified. As a result, they can make actionable recommendations that improve Teachers ’ teaching and enhance students’ learning.

Think of a school as a racecourse. Because an Educational Psychologist is a Psychologist, the race isn’t physical but rather mental. It’s your job to make the course easier to run so students can reach the finish line, which is learning.

Every day starts with a question: How — and why — do people learn? To answer it, you employ a variety of techniques.

For instance, you might assess students to determine their IQs and learning styles, or to diagnose learning disabilities such as dyslexia, ADD, and autism. You might analyze standardized test scores and student demographics. Or, you might observe classrooms, or interview parents and Teachers. Always, however, your goal is figuring out how the brain learns so you can determine what makes good students and good Teachers, and what makes bad ones.

Sometimes, an Educational Psychologist is employed as a School Counselor. In that case, you channel your findings into psychological counseling sessions with individual students and Teachers to help them overcome obstacles to learning and teaching. More often, though, you’re a Learning Consultant, in which case you use your findings to recommend systemic changes to curriculums, programs, and policies that promote school-wide learning from the top down.

Think of it this way: A normal Psychologist diagnoses and treats the mental condition of a single patient; you diagnose and treat that of an entire education system!