Research in psychology is necessary for the education system to properly understand and teach the students who enter their classrooms. Teachers must understand the development of these children in order to respond to behaviors that may arise. Student learning styles and motivation are essential for teachers to ensure that all students can reach their full potential. They can then apply the educational theories to their classroom to find the best teaching methods for those specific students. Teachers at all age levels should have training in this knowledge and continue to educate themselves on updated research so that they can continually self-evaluate. Human development is very important for all educators to understand. As a future early childhood educator, it is important for me to be informed of all the changes my students will experience at a critical age. Young children develop many cognitive skills. Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development describes patterns that children will modify based on new knowledge. These schemas are basic ideas that children have and they then assimilate new ideas into an existing schema. If necessary, children will adapt to these patterns as they learn new information (Slavin, 2012, p. 32). These students will develop not only cognitively, but also personally and socially. According to Erikson, humans go through a series of crises that shape our personality and our relationships with others. These crises include the development of confidence, autonomy, initiative, industry and identity (Slavin, 2012, p.54). Without successfully acquiring these characteristics, students will have social and emotional problems. It is important... middle of article ...... difficulties must be encountered with these students and it is particularly important to refer to learning techniques and behavior management strategies. When all of this research is combined with an As a teacher who truly cares about impacting her students and seeing them succeed, a class has a great opportunity to reach its full potential. When we think about adults' favorite teachers, it's very common to hear about an elementary school teacher who truly made an impact on a student. I think these are the teachers who took the time to use their teaching philosophies in impactful ways. I hope that by continuing my education here at IUP, I will continue my studies in educational psychology and bring this knowledge into my future teaching career. Works CitedSlavin, Robert E. (2012). Educational psychology: theory and practice. 10 ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.