Lesson 2 EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY Definition of Educational Psychology The History of Educational Psychology Goals of Educational Psychology The Nature of Educational Psychology Scope of Educational Psychology The Learner The Teacher The Learning Process The Learning Experiences Learning Situation or Environment

The History of Educational Psychology. Grinder (1989) provides a detailed history of the field of Educational Psychology, the following material is a brief overview of that history. Plato and Aristotle. Grinder traces the origins of Educational Psychology to Plato who believed that all knowledge is innate at birth and is perfectible by experiential learning during growth. Aristotle, Plato's student, was the first to observe that "association“ among ideas facilitated understanding and recall. He believed that comprehension was aided by contiguity, succession, similarity and contrast. John Locke In the late 1600's, John Locke advanced the hypothesis that people learn primarily from external forces. He believed that the mind was like a blank wastablet (tabula rasa), and that successions of simple impressions give rise to complex ideas through association and reflection. Locke is credited with establishing "empiricism" as a criterion for testing the validity of knowledge.

Comenius John Comenius (1592-1670) was a Moravian clergyman, and the first person to recognize the age differences in children's ability to learn. He also noticed that children learn more effectively when they are involved with experiences that they can assimilate. Rousseau In France, during the mid 18th century, Jean Jacques Rousseau put forth a new theory of educational pedagogy. In his famous work Emile, published in 1762, he explained his belief that knowledge acquisition occurs though experience and that reason and investigation should replace arbitrary authority. He proposed educating children according to their natural inclinations, impulses and feelings.

Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition Pestalozzi Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi (1746-1827) is considered the first applied educational psychologist. He was one of the first educators who attempted to put Rousseau's teaching into practice and teach children by their natural interests and activities. Herbart Johann Friedrich Herbart is acknowledged as the "father of scientific pedagogy" (in Grinder, 1989). According to Herbart, interest develops when already strong and vivid ideas are hospitable towards new ones, thus past associations motivate apperception of current ones. Herbartianism speculates that learning follows from building up sequences of ideas important to the individual. Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition

Wundt Herbartian psychology led to the founding of Wilhelm Wundt's laboratory in1879. Wundt extended Herbart's theory of apperception into a theory of consciousness, whereby he sought to explain associations among mental processes. Titchener One of Wundt's students, Edward Bradford Titchener (1867- 1927) was one of the first eminent Educational Psychologists to practice in America. He was director of the psychology laboratory at Cornell University, and he focused on higher mental processes as concept formation and argued that introspection is a valid form for interpreting great variety of sensations and feelings.

Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition John Dewey In 1896, John Dewey launched an attack against Titchener and his ideas. Dewey argued that a stimulus and the response it elicits constitute a reflex arc, and that arc should be the minimal unit of analysis, and its function should be the basis for understanding it. Dewey believed that individuals address aspects of their environment, not because these features possess the qualities of being interesting, but because they are viewed instrumentally as ways of realizing a purpose. This belief gave rise to the theory of "functionalism". Functionalism encouraged developments in mental testing, investigation of individual differences and studies of adaptive behavior. Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition

Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition Thorndike Edward L. Thorndike (1874-1949) agreed with functionalism, but preferred to be identified as a "connectionist" because he sought to explain learning in terms of stimulus-response connections. He is credited with establishing the "Law of Effect" to account for the strengthening or weakening of connections as a result of experience. In 1914 Thorndike completed the three volume series, Educational Psychology. For nearly fifty years the field of Educational Psychology embraced the theory of associationism without question. Cognitive Psychology By the mid 1950s cognitive views of learning gained ascendency over the stimulus-response approach. Thus, with the renewed research interest into how individuals acquire, retain, recall and transform information, investigations of higher mental processes achieved unprecedented levels of sophistication and "the mind is once again at the forefront of theory and research in contemporary psychology". (Grinder, 1989, p.12) Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition

Definitions of Educational Psychology: 1. Skinner: “Educational psychology is the branch of psychology which deals with teaching and learning”. 2. Crow and Crow:“Educational psychology describes and explains learning experience of an individual from birth to old age”. 3. Peel:“Educational psychology is the science of education”. Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition

Meaning of Educational Psychology Educational psychology is one of the branches of psychology to study the behaviour of the learner in relation to his education. As specialized branch of psychology ,it concerns itself with suggesting ways and means of improving the process and products of education, enabling the teacher to teach effectively and the learners to learn effectively with the minimum effort. It is thus designated as the service of education. It has simplified the tasks and improved the efficiency of the teacher or all those connected in the process and products of education by supplying them with the essential knowledge and skills Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition

Goals of Educational Psychology The general objectives of educational psychology are: 1. To provide a body of facts and methods which can be used in solving teaching problems. 2. To develop a scientific and problem-solving attitude. 3. To train in thinking psychologically about educational problems. 4. To enhance theoretical knowledge of basic psychological processes 5. To Improve educational practice Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition

The Nature of Educational Psychology: The nature of educational psychology is regarded as scientific because it is organized, systematic and universally accepted body, wherein the facts remain constantly in search of truth through research and experimentation. Employs scientific methods in its study and its results are subjected to further verification and modification. Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition

Scope of Educational Psychology The following factors will indicate the scope of educational psychology: The Learner. The subject-matter of educational psychology is knitted around the learner. Therefore, the need of knowing the learner and the techniques of knowing him well. The topics include – the innate abilities and capacities of the individuals, individual differences and their measurements, the overt, covert, conscious as well as unconscious behaviour of the learner, the characteristics of his growth and development and each stage beginning from childhood to adulthood. The Learning Experiences.  Educational Psychology helps in deciding what learning experiences are desirable, at what stage of the growth and development of the learner, so that these experiences can be acquired with a greater ease and satisfaction. Learning process: After knowing the learner and deciding what learning experiences are to be provided, Educational Psychology moves on to the laws, principles and theories of learning. Other items in the learning process are remembering and forgetting, perceiving, concept formation, thinking and reasoning, problem solving, transfer of learning, ways and means of effective learning etc. Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition

Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition Learning Situation or Environment. Here Educational Psychology deals with the environmental factors and learning situations which come midway between the learner and the teacher. Topics like classroom climate and group dynamics, techniques and aids that facilitate learning and evaluation, techniques and practices, guidance and counseling etc. The Teacher. The teacher is a potent force is any scheme of teaching and learning process. It discusses the role of the teacher. It emphasizes the need of ‘knowing thyself’ for a teacher to play his role properly in the process of education. His conflicts, motivation. Anxiety, adjustment, level of aspiration etc. It throws light on the essential personality traits, interests, aptitudes, the characteristics of effective teaching etc. so as to inspire him for becoming a successful teacher. Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition

Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition Though the entire scope of Educational Psychology is included in the above mentioned five key-factors, it may be further expanded by adding the following: Human Behaviour .It studies Human Behaviour in educational situations. Psychology is the study of behaviour, and education deals with the modification of behaviour; hence, educational psychology pervades the whole field of education. Growth and Development. It studies the Growth and Development of the child. How a child passes through the various stages of growth and what are the characteristics of each stage are included in the study of educational psychology. Environment. To what extent Heredity and Environment contribute towards the growth of the individual, and how this knowledge can be made use of for bringing about the optimum development of the child; form a salient feature of the scope of educational psychology. Personality. Educational psychology deals with the Nature and Development of the Personality of an individual. In fact, education has been defined as the all-round development of the personality of an individual; personality development also implies a well-adjusted personality. Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition

Individual Difference  It studies Individual Difference. Every individual differs from every other individual. It is one of the fundamental facts of human nature which have been brought to light by educational psychology. This one fact has revolutionalised the concept and process of education. Intelligence.  It studies the nature of Intelligence and its Measurement. This is of utmost importance for a teacher. Guidance and Counseling It Provides Guidance and Counseling: Education is nothing but providing guidance to the growing child. We can conclude by saying that Educational Psychology is narrower in scope than general psychology. While general psychology deals with the behaviour of the individual in a general way, educational psychology in concerned with the behaviour of the learner in an educational setting.

Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition Teaching and Learning Teaching One person’s interpersonal effort to help others acquire knowledge, develop skill, and realize their potential Learning A relatively permanent change in behaviour or knowledge as a result of experience Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition

Concerns of Beginning Teachers Classroom discipline Motivating students Special needs Assessment and grading Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition

Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition Teaching Efficacy A teacher’s judgement of, or confidence in, his or her capacity to cope with the teaching situation in ways that bring about desired outcomes Teaching Efficacy Categories Efficacy for classroom management Efficacy for student engagement Efficacy for instructional strategies Examples of Statements of Efficacy Classroom management: “I can prevent behaviour problems in the classroom.” Student engagement: “I can develop interesting tasks that students will enjoy.” Instructional strategies: “I can teach writing very well.” Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition

Metaphors for Teaching Provide examples of how teachers might describe their teaching if they adopted the metaphor of teacher as: entertainer, coach, lion tamer, choreographer, party host, circus master, traffic cop, ship captain, air traffic controller Benefits of Having Metaphors for Teaching: Facilitates reflection Serves as a standard for self-evaluation Helps initiate desired changes in teaching Educational Psychology, Canadian Edition

Reference Grinder, R.E. (1989). Educational Psychology: the master science. InM.C. Wittrock & F. Farley (Eds.), The Future of Educational Psychology (pp.3-18). Hillsdale New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.