https://www.apa.org/education-career/guide/subfields/teaching-learning 

Educational Psychology Promotes Teaching and Learning

Psychologists working in the field of education study how people learn and retain knowledge. They apply psychological science to improve the learning process and promote educational success for all students.

Understanding Educational Psychology

Today’s educational system is highly complex. There is no single learning approach that works for everyone.

That’s why psychologists working in the field of education are focused on identifying and studying learning methods to better understand how people absorb and retain new information.

Educational psychologists apply theories of human development to understand individual learning and inform the instructional process. While interaction with teachers and students in school settings is an important part of their work, it isn’t the only facet of the job. Learning is a lifelong endeavor. People don’t only learn at school, they learn at work, in social situations and even doing simple tasks like household chores or running errands. Psychologists working in this subfield examine how people learn in a variety of settings to identify approaches and strategies to make learning more effective.

Educational Psychology Applied

Psychologists working in education study the social, emotional and cognitive processes involved in learning and apply their findings to improve the learning process. Some specialize in the educational development of a specific group of people such as children, adolescents or adults, while others focus on specific learning challenges such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or dyslexia. 

No matter the population they are studying, these professionals are interested in teaching methods, the instructional process and different learning outcomes.

How much does the time of day when new information is introduced influence whether a person retains that information? What does culture have to do with how we process new ideas? How does age affect our ability to develop new skills, like language? How is in-person learning different from remote learning using technology? How does the choice of a media platform make a difference in learning? 

These are all questions that educational psychologists are asking — and answering — in settings as diverse as government research centers, schools, community organizations and learning centers.