Definition
Researchers and practitioners who study how people learn, how teaching methods affect learning, and how individual differences in motivation, memory, and development shape educational outcomes. In aviation training contexts, their findings inform how instructors design lessons, deliver knowledge, and assess learner progress.
Plain English
Experts who study how people learn and use that knowledge to improve how teachers teach.
Context Anchor
Seen in aviation instructor training when the handbook explains learning, motivation, and the relationship between an instructor and a student.
Derivation
From Latin educare, 'to bring up or train,' and Greek psychologia, 'study of the mind.' Together: people who study how the mind learns. Knowing this helps separate them from clinical psychologists, who focus on mental health rather than learning.
Why Pilots Care
Instructors who understand principles identified by educational psychologists can recognize when student confusion stems from unresolved words and adjust their approach to keep training on track.
Intuition Check
Educational psychologists are not therapists or counselors. They study learning and teaching, not mental illness or emotional treatment.
Example Sentence 1
The chapter explains that educational psychologists have shown learners retain more when they actively practice a skill rather than just watch it demonstrated.
Example Sentence 2
Flight instructors sometimes apply findings from educational psychologists to recognize when a student is about to disengage from training.