Educational Psychology: Theory and Practice, 14th edition

Published by Pearson (July 18, 2025) © 2026
  • Robert E. Slavin
  • Nancy Madden

Title overview

For courses in educational psychology.

The most comprehensive coverage of instruction available

Educational Psychology encourages students to develop the intellectual and practical strategies they will need to become effective teachers. It provides complete, up-to-date information that is presented both readably and practically, illustrated with engaging examples and case studies. The authors connect theory and practice demonstrably, helping students transfer what they learn to their own teaching. It features the most recent classroom-based research and includes abundant citations.

Introducing new co-authors Nancy Madden and Steve Ross, the 14th Edition reflects the extensive changes in the field of educational psychology and the practice of education in recent years. This revision greatly increases its focus on college-and-career-ready standards, and adds new material on educational technology. It offers new explanations of interpreting standardized test scores, new research on learning theories, and new guidelines on using evidence to identify effective interventions.

Hallmark features of this title 

  • Vignettes and Using Your Experience chapter openers provide critical- and creative-thinking questions and cooperative-learning activities.
  • The Intentional Teacher features help future teachers combine the principles of educational psychology, their growing experience with learners and their creativity.
  • Theory into Practice sections in each chapter present specific strategies for students to apply in the classroom.
  • Certification Pointers identify content likely to be on certification tests.
  • Content that correlates to InTASC standards is marked by a special marginal icon. These correspond closely to Praxis.
  • Self-Assessment: Practicing for Licensure features at the end of each chapter are designed to resemble state certification test questions and content.

New and updated features of this title

  • New focus on college-and-career-ready standards discusses the specific standards and how they are addressed in the classroom; coverage is incorporated throughout and more concentrated in Ch. 1 and 14. 
  • New educational technology information includes a new section on artificial intelligence and its applications for both teachers and students; a new section on the challenges of integrating technology into the classroom; discussion about social media and how teachers can mitigate its adverse effects; a chart of technologies available to teachers with classroom activity examples for each; an updated section on helping students judge the validity of internet sources. 
  • New research on learning theories: For example, Ch. 4 on Behavioral and Social Theories of Learning includes a new section on self-regulated learning models that teachers can introduce to their students; Ch. 5 on Cognitive Theories of Learning discusses the latest about The Science of Reading.  
  • New explanations of interpreting standardized test scores: A revised Ch. 14 (Standardized Tests and Accountability) includes new examples of standardized test results and in-depth explanations of their implications for students, classes, and schools overall. A new table summarizes commonly used metrics and components reported on standardized tests. 
  • New guidelines on using evidence to identify effective interventions includes explanations and current website links to help teachers and schools select proven programs that meet the evidence standards of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Coverage focuses on the important role teachers can play in evaluating and selecting programs for their schools and districts.    

Key features

Features of Pearson+ eTextbook for the 14th Edition

  • Video Examples in each chapter (94 videos in total) illustrate principles or concepts aligned pedagogically with the material. Video examples most often show students and teachers working in classrooms; others show students or teachers describing their thinking experiences. Examples in the 14th Edition include Using Play to Teach Children How to Self-Regulate (3.4); Connecting with Parents and Families of Different Cultures (6.2); Encouraging Constructivist Problem Solving (8.3); Giving Feedback That Is Informative and Motivational (11.6); and many more.
  • LMS-Compatible Assessment Bank: For the 14th Edition, all assessment types (quizzes, application exercises, and chapter tests) are included in LMS-compatible banks for Blackboard, Canvas, D2L, and Moodle. These packaged files allow instrutors maximum flexibility for importing, assigning, and grading. Assessment types include:  
    • Learning Objective Quizzes: Each chapter learning objective is the focus of a Learning Objective Quiz that is available for instructors to assign through their LMS. Learning objectives identify chapter content that is most important for learners and serve as the organizational framework for each chapter. Each multiple-choice question includes feedback for the correct answer and for each distractor to help guide students’ learning. 
    • Application Exercises (3 for each chapter) help students apply what they have learned. This revision offers 42 Application Exercises, 41 of which are video based. Exercises are short-answer format, and a model response written by a subject matter expert is provided to guide learning.  
  • Interactive Glossary: All key terms are boldfaced and provide instant access to full glossary definitions, allowing students to quickly build their professional vocabularies as they read.

Table of contents

  1. Educational Psychology: A Foundation for Teaching
  2. Cognitive and Language Development
  3. Social, Moral, and Emotional Development
  4. Behavioral and Social Theories of Learning
  5. Cognitive Theories of Learning
  6. Teaching Diverse Students
  7. The Effective Lesson
  8. Student-Centered Approaches to Instruction
  9. Creating Effective Learning Environments
  10. Adapting Instruction to Learner Needs
  11. Motivating Students to Learn
  12. Learners with Exceptionalities
  13. Assessing Student Learning
  14. Standardized Tests and Accountability

Author bios

About our authors

The late Robert E. Slavin was the author of the preceding 13 editions of this textbook. In addition to being a top-notch writer, he was the director of the Center for Research and Reform in Education at Johns Hopkins University until 2021. He received his Ph.D. in Social Relations from Johns Hopkins in 1975, and from that time forward he authored more than 300 articles and book chapters on such topics as cooperative learning, comprehensive school reform, ability grouping, school and classroom organization, desegregation, mainstreaming, research review, and evidence-based reform.

Dr. Slavin was the author or coauthor of 20 books, including Cooperative Learning, School and Classroom Organization, Effective Programs for Students at Risk, Preventing Early School Failure, Show Me the Evidence: Proven and Promising Programs for America’s Schools, Two Million Children: Success for All, Effective Programs for Latino Students, and Educational Research in the Age of Accountability. In 1985, Dr. Slavin received the Raymond Cattell Early Career Award for Programmatic Research from the American Educational Research Association. In 1988, he received the Palmer O. Johnson Award for the best article in an AERA journal. In 1994, he received the Charles A. Dana Award, in 1998, he received the James Bryant Conant Award from the Education Commission of the States, and in 2000, he received the Distinguished Services Award from the Council of Chief State School Officers. He again received the Palmer O. Johnson Award for the best article in an AERA journal in 2008 and received the AERA Review of Research Award in 2009. He was elected an AERA Fellow in 2010. More recently, Dr. Slavin received the E. L. Thorndike Career Achievement Award from the American Psychological Association in 2017, the Jenny Pomeroy Award for Excellence in Vision and Public Health in 2018, and the American Educational Research Association’s Distinguished Contributions to Research in Education Award in 2019. 

Nancy Madden is a professor and Director of the Evidence Unit at the Center for Research and Reform in Education at Johns Hopkins University.  An expert in literacy and instruction, Dr. Madden is the author or coauthor of many articles and books on cooperative learning, tutoring, prevention of need for special education, and education of disadvantaged students, including Effective Programs for Students at Risk (Allyn & Bacon, 1989) and Two Million Children: Success for All (Corwin, 2009). She received the Palmer O. Johnson Award for the best article in an AERA journal in 2008, and the Jenny Pomeroy Award for Excellence in Vision and Public Health in 2018.  She has led the dissemination of this work as former CEO and now Chair of the Success for All Foundation, which has provided proven educational programs resulting in strong academic gains to teachers and students in thousands of schools over the past 35 years. Dr. Madden works with universities and educational foundations in Canada, the UK, Germany, and the Netherlands to adapt effective early literacy tutoring models developed from research in the US to their educational contexts and languages. Current research interests include AI-assisted tutoring strategies, effects of school-based vision services on achievement, and comprehensive school reform. 

Steve Ross is the inaugural Robert Slavin Chair for Evidence in Education and Executive Director at the Center for Research and Reform in Education at Johns Hopkins University.  Dr. Ross is the author of 6 textbooks and over 140 journal articles in the areas of educational technology, at-risk learners, educational reform, extended learning time programs, and research and evaluation. He is a noted lecturer on school programs and educational evaluation, Editor Emeritus of the research section of the Educational Technology Research and Development journal, and a member of the editorial board for four other professional journals.  He was the first faculty recipient of The University of Memphis Eminent Faculty Award for teaching, research, and service, and held the Lillian and Morrie Moss Chair of Excellence in Urban Education and a Faudree Professorship at The University of Memphis. In 2019, he was awarded the prestigious Michael Spector Career Achievement Award from the Association of Educational Communications and Technology. He has testified on school restructuring research before the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Youth, and Families, has been a consultant to the National Science Foundation on project evaluation design, and is a technical advisor and researcher on current national initiatives regarding the evaluation of out-of-school learning, STEM instruction, technology integration, and social-emotional learning.   

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