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Educational Psychology

Educational psychology is that subdivision of psychology in which the findings of psychology are
applied in the field of education. It is the scientific study of human behaviour in the educational field.

According to Charles. E. Skinner, “Educational psychology is a branch of psychology which deals with
teaching and learning and also covers the entire range and behaviour of the personality related to
education”.

Thus educational psychology is a behavioural science with two main references– human behaviour and
education. Education aims to produce pleasing changes in an Educator for the holistic development of
his behaviour. To quote another famous Educational Psychologist, E.A. Peel: “it is the science of
education”.

Educational psychology can be defined in various ways, but the fundamental thought is that it's a field
that studies and applies theories and concepts from all of psychology in educational settings.
Educational settings may be schools, but they also may be anywhere people learn, for example, school
programs, community groups, companies or even within families. The goal of educational psychology is
to strengthen teacher-student relationship so that the pupils learn to the best of their potential.

It is through Educational Psychology that we can identify the nature and educational implication of
various mental functions of the learner such as feeling, desire, aptitude, attention, intelligence, etc.
Thus, this knowledge helps to develop adequate learning situation and the learning process for the
learner. The learning progression of a learner depends on the various mental activities such as
perception, thinking, reasoning, memory, etc. Educational psychology helps us to identify the accurate
nature of all these mental activities with the help of the finding of general psychology and in this way
helps the learner in his learning process.

In short, it comes under scientific discipline that addresses the questions: “Why do some students learn
more than others?” and “What can be done to improve that learning?”

1. Nature of Educational Psychology


The nature of educational psychology is scientific since it deals with the science of education. We
can summarize the nature of Educational Psychology as follows:
a) Educational Psychology is a science. Educational psychology, alike any other science, has
also developed objective methods of collecting data. It also aims at understanding, predicting
and controlling human behaviour.
b) Educational Psychology is a natural science. An educational psychologist conducts his
investigations, collects his data and reaches his conclusions precisely the same way as
physicist or the biologist.
c) Educational psychology is a social science. Same like the sociologist, anthropologist,
economist or political scientist, the educational psychologist examines human beings and
their cooperation.
d) Educational psychology is a positive science. Educational psychology examines the child
ought behaviour as it is, not, as it to be. A positive science deals with facts as they operate.
So it is a positive science.
e) Educational psychology is an applied science. Application of psychological principles in
the field of education is known as educational psychology. By implementing the principles and
techniques of psychology, it studies the behaviour and experiences of the pupils. For
example, educational psychology draws a lot of facts from areas such as developmental
psychology, clinical psychology, abnormal psychology and social psychology.
f) Educational psychology is a developing or growing science. It is anxious with new and
ever new researches. As research findings gather, educational psychologists get better
insight into the child’s nature and manners.

2. Scope of Educational Psychology


The range of educational psychology is ever-growing due to continuous research in this field.
The five key factors are as follows:

a) The Learner: The subject-matter of educational psychology is knitted around the learner.
Therefore, there is always a need of knowing the learner and the techniques of knowing him
well. It revolves around the inherent abilities and capacities of the individuals, individual
differences and their measurements, the explicit, implicit, conscious as well as unconscious
nature of the learner, the characteristics of his growth and development of each stage
beginning from childhood to adulthood.
b) The Learning Experiences: Educational Psychology helps in deciding what learning
experiences are appropriate, at what stage of the growth of the learner, so that these
experiences can be acquired with simplicity and pleasure.
c) Learning process: After gathering knowledge regarding the learner and concluding on what
learning experiences are to be provided, the educational Psychology’s next step is towards
the laws, principles and theories of learning. There are other learning procedures such as
remembering and forgetting, perceiving, concept formation, thinking and reasoning, problem
solving, transfer of learning, ways and means of effective learning etc.
d) Learning Situation or Environment: Here we deal with the environmental factors and
learning situations which come midway between the learner and the teacher. For the
smooth functioning of the teaching-learning process topics like classroom environment and
group dynamics, technologies and methods that facilitate learning and evaluation, methods
and practices, guidance and counselling etc. are catered to.
e) The Teacher: The teacher is a powerful strength for any scheme of teaching and learning
process. The main focus is to the role of the teacher. It emphasizes the need of teacher to
reflect on himself to play his role properly in the process of education. The teacher’s
personality, interests, aptitudes, the characteristics of effective teaching etc are significant
so as to inspire him for becoming a successful teacher.

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:
- It examines Human Behaviour in educational system. Psychology is the study of behaviour,
and education deals with the modification of behaviour; hence, educational psychology
pervades the whole field of education.
- It studies the Growth and Development of the child. Educational psychology emphasizes on
how a child passes through the different stages and what are the varied characteristics of
each stage.
- It also deals with the extent of contribution of Heredity and Environment towards the
development of the individual, and how his/her knowledge can be made use of for bringing
about the optimum growth of the child. This is considered the prominent feature of the scope
of educational psychology.
- Educational psychology also focuses on the Nature and Development of the Personality of
an individual. In fact, education has been defined as the holistic development of the persona
of an individual.
- It studies Individual Difference: This one fact has revolutionaries the perception and practice
of education. Educational psychology brought light to the basic fact that every individual
differs from the other individual.
- It studies Intelligence and its Measurement. This is an absolute important area for a teacher
for reflecting on their student and themselves as well.
- It Provides Guidance and Counselling: Education is nothing but providing supervision to the
growing child. Teachers act as a facilitator.

We can summarise that Educational Psychology is narrower in nature than general psychology.
General psychology deals with the behaviour of the individual in a general way, where as
educational psychology is anxious with the behaviour of the learner in an educational system.

3. Theories of Learning
Learning is defined as a process that brings together individual and environmental experiences
and influences for acquiring, inspiring or modifying one’s knowledge, skills, values, attitudes,
and behaviour as well as world views. Learning theories develop hypothesis that portray how
the development of different stages takes place. The scientific study of learning started in the
early 20thcentury. The foremost concepts and theories of learning include behaviourist theories,
cognitive psychology, constructivism, social constructivism, experiential learning, multiple
intelligence, and situated learning theory and community of practice.

The four orientations can be summarized through the following table:

CONSTRUCT ATTENTION AND


BEHAVIOURIST COGNITIVIST
ASPECTS -IVISIM INTEREST

Thorndike, Pavlov, Koffka, Kohler, Lewin,


Learning Watson, Guthrie, Piaget, Maslow, Bandura, Lave and
theorists Hull, Tolman, Ausubel, Bruner, Rogers Wenger, Salomon
Skinner Gagne

Interaction
Internal mental
/observation in social
View of the process (including A personal act
Change in contexts. Movement
learning insight, information to fulfil
behaviour from the periphery to
process processing, memory, potential.
the centre of a
perception
community of practice
Learning is in
Affective and
Locus of Stimuli in external Internal cognitive relationship between
cognitive
learning environment structuring people and
needs
environment.

Produce Full participation in


Become self-
Purpose in behavioural Develop capacity and communities of
actualized,
education change in desired skills to learn better practice and utilization
autonomous
direction of resources

Works to establish
Arranges Facilitates communities of
Educator’s environment to Structures content of development practice in which
role elicit desired learning activity of the whole conversation and
response person participation can
occur.

Behavioural Cognitive
Manifestati objectives development Socialization Social
Andragogy
ons in Competency - Intelligence, learning participation
Self-directed
adult based education and memory as Associationalism
learning
learning Skill development function of age Conversation
and training Learning how to learn

Psychologists have examined the learning procedure of the child methodically and have
developed various theories of learning on the basis of this. Some of the important theories are:
i. Pavlov’s Theory of Conditioning
ii. Thorndike’s theory of connectionism,
iii. Gestalt Theory of Insight, and
iv. Field theory of learning.

B. F. Skinner mainly developed the theory of Behaviourism. It loosely encompasses the work of
people like Thorndike, Tolman, Guthrie, and Hull. Behaviourists describe ‘conditioning’ as the
only term method of learning. Three basic assumptionsare held to be true: firstly, learning is
manifested by a change in behaviour;secondly, the situation is responsible for behaviour;
thirdly, the values of contiguity (how close in time two events must be for a relationship to be
formed) and strengthening (any way of escalating the likelihood that an event will be repetitive)
are essential for explaining the learning process. For behaviourism, learning is the realization of
new behaviour through conditioning.

BEHAVIOURISM

Pavlov’s Classical conditioning theory

The people wore lab coats who fed Pavlov's dogs. Pavlov noticed that the dogs began
to drool whenever they saw lab coats, even if there was no food in sight. Pavlov
wondered why the dogs salivated at lab coats, and not just at food. He ran a study in
which he rang a bell every time he fed the dogs. Pretty soon, just ringing a bell made the
dogs salivate.

Pavlov said the dogs were demonstrating classical conditioning. He summed it up like
this: there's a neutral
stimulus (the bell), which by
itself will not produce a
response, like salivation. There's
also a non-neutral or
unconditioned stimulus (the
food), which will produce
an unconditioned
response (salivation). But if you
present the neutral stimulus and the unconditioned stimulus together, eventually the dog
will learn to associate the two.

After a while, the neutral stimulus by itself will produce the same response as the
unconditioned stimulus, like the dogs drooling when they heard the bell. This is called
a conditioned response. Think of an unconditioned response as completely natural
and a conditioned response as something that we learn.
This theory has a specific role to play in learning. The child learns the basic habit with
the help of “conditioning”. When a child utters the word “mamma”, he/she gets a
response from his mother and the repeated response of the word “mamma” becomes
conditioned with the image of his mother. In the same way, activities that depend on the
movements of different parts of the body like swimming, riding a bicycles etc. can be
learned through trial and error. That means by repeated practice the child learns the
correct way of doing that activity.

Educational implication of Pavlov’s classical conditioning:Following are some of the


educational implication of the Pavlov’s classical conditioning theory:

a) Through conditioning we create fear, love hatred towards specific subjects. For
instant, a history teacher with his defective method of teaching and usage of
improper methods in the classroom may be reason for the learners to develop dislike
for the subject.
b) This theory emphasises that a subject becomes boring because of the teacher’s role
in a classroom. A good manner and kind treatment can bring an desirable impact on
the learner.
c) T is the teacher who is responsible for the habits of the learner in the classroom. For
an example, he or she shows the picture of a cat and along with the picture spells he
or she spells it out. Repetition of this practice, after a while the learners spells out the
spelling of cat only when the picture is shown.

Hence we can conclude that the theory focuses on creating an optimistic environment
within the classroom. If you shout and make children feel nervous, they could begin to
relate your classroom with unenthusiastic emotions, and sense those emotions the
moment you enter the classroom. Help children form relations between learning and
positive ambience. Be bright and smiling when you greet your class each day.

Edward Lee Thorndike’s theory

According to Edward Lee Throndike’s theory Trial and Error is a method of learning in
which various responses are cautiously tried and some discarded, until a solution is
attained.
E.L.Thorndike(1874-1949) was the chief proponent of the theory of connectionism or
trial and error. He was an American Psychologist who conducted Stimulus -
Response(S-R) theory experiment with the help of animals. Thorndike was the first to
study the subject of learning systematically using uniform procedure and apparatus. All
learning, according to Thorndike is the configuration of bonds or associations between
Stimulus-Response.

The Puzzle Box Experiment

The experimental set up was very straightforward. A hungry cat was restrained in a
puzzle box and outside the box a dish of food was kept. The
cat, in the box had to pull a string to come out of the box.
The cat in the box made quite a few haphazard movements
of jumping, dashing and running to get out of the box. The
cat at last succeeded in pulling the string. The door of the
puzzle box opened, the cat came out and ate the food. He quickly put the cat to next
trial. The cat again gave a lot of anxious behaviour but it soon succeeded in pulling the
string. It repeated for several time, Thorndike noticed as the repetition increases the
error also reduced i.e., Thorndike's cat showed slow, gradual and continuous
improvement in performance over consecutive trials. He concluded that learning of cat in
the puzzle box can be explained in term of development of direct connectionism
between stimulus and response.

The experiment sum up the following in the process of learning:


- Drive: In the present experiment, drive was hunger and was intensified with the
sight of food.
- Goal: To get the food by getting out of the box.
- Block: The cat was restrained in the box with a closed door.
- Random Movement: The cat, constantly, tried to get out of the box.
- Chance of Success: As a result of this striving and random movement the cat, by
chance, succeeded in opening the door.
- Selection (proper movement): Eventually the cat recognised the correct strategy
of latch.
- Fixation: At last, the cat learned the appropriate way of opening the door by
eliminating all the incorrect responses and fixing the only right responses.

Features of Trial and Error Learning:


- Learning by trial and error is steady process.
- The learner makes arbitrary and unpredictable response.
- The learner must be definitely encouraged for the learning progress.
- A number of responses do lead to the goal (annoying response)
- Several responses lead to the goal. (Satisfying responses)
- Through repeated trials the annoying responses will decrease and the satisfying
responses will strengthen as well as repeated.
- The time taken to execute the assignment (to repeat the satisfying response)
decreases with consecutive trials.
- Therefore, Thorndike explains that the learning is nothing but the implementation
of correct responses rather than incorrect responses through trial and error.

Thorndike's Laws of Learning


- Law of Exercise: The law of Exercise can be stated as follows-when the same
stimulus is given over and again causing a particular response, the connection
between that stimulus and response is strengthened.
- Law of readiness: The law of readiness can be stated as follows-Learning takes
place only when the learner is ready to learn and a learnt reaction is engaged,
provided the learner has learnt it enthusiastically.
- Law of Effect: Is a response to persist when the same stimulus is present. The
connection between stimulus and response gets strengthened in the same
manner, when a response to a stimulus produces annoyance the same response
is not likely to recur when the same stimulus is present. The connection between
that stimulus and response gets weakened.

Educational Implication
- Thorndike's theory emphasizes the significance of incentive in learning. So
learning should be made purposeful and goal directed.
- It stresses the importance of mental readiness, meaningful practise and incentive
in learning process.
- The law of readiness implies that the teacher should prepare the minds of the
students to be ready to accept the knowledge, skills and aptitudes before
teaching the topic.
- More and more opportunities should be given to the learners to use and repeat
the knowledge they get in the classroom for effectiveness and longer retention.
- To maintain learned connection for longer period, review of learned material is
necessary.
- The law of effect has called attention to the importance of motivation and
reinforcement in learning.
- In order to benefit from the mechanism of association in the learning process
what is being taught at one situation should be linked with the past experience of
the learner.

COGNITIVISM

Introduction:
Cognitivism is "the psychology of learning which emphasizes human intelligence as a
special endowment enabling man to form hypotheses and develop intellectually”. It is
also known as cognitive development. The underlying concepts of cognitivism engage
how we imagine and gain understanding.

Cognitive theory defines education as "a semi-permanent transform in mental processes


or associations." Cognitivists do not require an outward demonstration of learning but
focus more on the internal processes and connections that take place during learning.
The main hypothesis of cognitive psychology is that there are cognitive processes that
take place and manipulate the way things are learned.

The initial confront to the behaviourists came in a journal in 1929 by Bode, a Gestalt
psychologist. He criticized behaviourists for being too much dependent on overt
behaviour to explain learning. Cognitive theories look ahead of behaviour to explain
brain-based learning. Gestalt psychology or ‘Gestaltism’is a theory of mind and brain
positioning and believes in the operational principle of the brain being holistic, parallel,
and analogue, with self-organizing tendencies.

The Gestalt Psychologists:


Early 20th century theorists, such as Kurt Koffka, Max Wertheimer, and Wolfgang
Köhler saw objects as apparent within an environment according to all of their
fundamentals taken together as a global construct.
This 'gestalt' or 'whole form' approach
required defining principles
of perception—apparently inherent
mental laws that determined the way
objects were professed. It is based on
the here and now, and in the way things are seen.

These laws took several forms, such as the grouping of similar, or proximate, objects
together, within this global process. Even though Gestalt has been criticized for being
simply expressive, it has formed the basis of much further research into the perception
of patterns and object, and of research into behaviour, thinking, problem solving and
psychopathology. Gestalt psychologists wished-for looking at the patterns rather than
remote events. Gestalt views of learning have been incorporated into what have come to
be labelled cognitive theories.

Learning Procedure
Cognitive learning theories believe learning occurs through internal processing of
information. Cognitive information processing is governed by internal process rather
than external situation, unlike behaviourism. The learning theory of this approach mainly
gives important to what goes within the learner’s head and focuses on mental
development rather than apparent behaviour. Changes are observed in behaviour and
those are used as indicators as of what is actually happening in learner’s mind.

Learning involves the reorganisation of experiences, either by attaining new insights or


changing old ones. Hence, learning is a change in knowledge which is stored in
memory, and not just change in behaviour.
Application of Cognitive learning process in Classroom
This learning theory focuses on how information is received, organized, stored and
memorize by the mind. Cognitivism often helps the brain to work like an information
processor. It can be used in classroom to generate interest, test previous knowledge.
Important classroom principles from cognitive psychology incorporate consequential
learning, organization, and elaboration.
In a classroom it is essential to have lots of manipulative tools that help in developing
understanding. A teacher can prompt questions to help students improve their thinking
and identify their mistake. In cognitivism failure may be considered a good thing as it is a
tool to help learners realize that they need to learn more.
An educator is a classroom is there to monitor the learner’s progress, ask plenty of
questions and help the learner to develop higher order thinking skills such as problem
solving and later critical thinking.
Field theory

In psychology, theoretical model of human behaviour developed by German American


psychologist Kurt Lewin, who was closely allied
to Gestalt psychologists. Lewin’s work went beyond the traditional
Gestalt concerns of perception and learning; his theory gives
importance to individual needs, personality, and remarkable forces.
Although the former concentrated on the physiological aspects of human
behaviour, Lewin treated psychology as a social science.

Lewin drew from physics and mathematics to construct his theory. From physics, just
like Gestaltists, he borrowed the idea of the field, (life space) as the locus of a person’s
experiences and needs. Lewin personalized a branch of geometry known as topology to
map the spatial relationships of goals and solutions enclosed in regions within a life
space. His mathematical illustration of life space also accounted for directions of
pathways toward an aspiration and amount of attraction towards a given object in the
space. He also postulated that persons try hard to sustain symmetry with their
environment; a need will arouse activity to restore the equilibrium. Lewin adapted his
field theory to the area of social psychology in the course of his theory of group
dynamics.
Cognitive Approach Summary

Key Features Methodology

• Meditational Processes
• Lab Experiments
• Information Processing
• Introspection (Wundt)
• Computer Analogy
• Memory Psychology
• Introspection (Wundt)
• Interviews(Kohlberg, Piaget)
• Homothetic (studies the
• Case Studies(KF, HM )
group)
• Observations (Piaget)
• Schema
• Computer Modelling
• Machine Reductionism

Basic Assumptions Areas of Application

• Cognitive psychology is a • Moral Development (Kohlberg, Piaget)

pure science, based mainly • Eyewitness Testimony


on laboratory experiments. • Memory
• Behaviour can be largely • Forgetting
explained in terms of how the • Selective Attention
mind operates, i.e. the • Perception
information processing • Child Development (Piaget)
approach. • Language Acquisition
• The mind works in a way • Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
similar to a computer: • Learning Styles (Kolb)
inputting, storing and • Information Processing
retrieving data. • Cognitive Interview
• Meditational processes occur • Education (Vygotsky, Bruner, Piaget)
between stimulus and • Abnormal Behaviour (e.g. Depression
response.

Strengths Limitations
• Scientific
• Highly applicable (e.g.
• Ignores biology (e.g. testosterone)
therapy, EWT)
• Experiments- low ecological validity
• Combines easily with
• Humanism - rejects scientific method
approaches: behaviourism +
• Behaviourism - can’t objectively study
Cog = Social Learning
unobservable behaviour
Biology + Cog = Evolutionary
• Introspection is subjective
Psy
• Machine reductionism
• Many empirical studies to
support theories

CONSTRUCTIVISM

Introduction

The latest motto in education system is constructivism. Constructivism is a theory which


is basically on observation and scientific study about how people acquire knowledge.
The word ‘constructivism’ itself describe that it deals with construction of knowledge. For
instance, people construct their own understanding and knowledge of the world, through
experiences and reflecting on those experiences. When we encounter something new,
we have to reconcile it with our previous ideas and experience, maybe changing what
we believe, or maybe discarding the new information as irrelevant. For this it is essential
to ask questions, explore things, and assessment on what we know.

Constructivism theory has aroused due to collaborated efforts of visionary


Educationalists likePiaget, Vygotsky and Dewey. They developed theories of childhood
development and education, what we now call ‘Progressive Education’, which led to the
evolution of constructivism.

According to Piaget, humans learn through the construction of one rational formation
after another. He concluded that the logic of children and their modes of thinking are
primarily exclusively unlike from those of adults. The implications of this theory and how
he applied them have shaped the foundation for constructivist education.
Dewey called for education to be grounded in real experience. He wrote, "If you have
doubts about how learning happens, engage in sustained inquiry: study, ponder,
consider alternative possibilities and arrive at your belief grounded in evidence."
Investigation is a key element of constructivist learning.
Vygotsky introduced the social characteristic of learning into constructivism. He defined
the "zone of proximal learning," according to which students solve problems beyond
their actual developmental level (but within their level of potential development) under
adult guidance or in cooperation with more talented peers.

Ideology of learning according to the constructivist thinking:

a) Learning is a dynamic process in which the learner uses sensory input and
constructs meaning out of it. The more traditional formulation of this idea involves
the terminology of the active learner (Dewey's term) stressing that the learner needs
to do something. Learning is not the passive receiving of information which exists
"out there" but learning is the involvement of the learner’s engagement with the
world.
b) Children learn to learn as they learn: learning consists both of constructing meaning
and constructing systems of meaning. For example, if we learn the chronology of
dates of a series of historical events, we are at the same time learning the meaning
of a chronology. Each meaning we create helps us to improve to enable us to give
meaning to other sensations which can fit a similar model.
c) The significant action of constructing meaning is mental: it happens in the mind.
Hands-on experience is necessary for learning, especially for children, but it is not
adequate; we should provide activities which engage the mind as well as the hands.
d) Learning involves language: the language we use to influence learning. Researchers
noticed that people speak to themselves as they learn. Vygotsky strongly believed
that language and learning are inextricably intertwined.
e) Learning is contextual. We do not learn remote evidence and theories in various
theoretical ethereal land of the mind detach from the rest of our lives. We learn in
relationship to what we know, believe, our prejudices and our worries. On reflection,
it becomes clear that this point is actually an outcome of the concept that learning is
active and social. Hence, learning can never be divorced from our life.
f) Knowledge is required for learning. It is impossible to incorporate new knowledge
without structural development of previous knowledge. The more knowledge we
gain, the more we can learn. Therefore any exertion to educate must be connected
to the condition of the learner, which provides a path into the subject for the learner
based on that learner's prior knowledge.
g) Motivation is a key module in learning. Motivation is vital for learning. This idea of
motivation broadly uses to incorporate understanding of ways in which knowledge
can be used. Unless we know "the reasons why", we may not be very involved in
using the knowledge that may be instilled in us even by the most severe and direct
teaching.
h) Learning is not instantaneous. For significant learning we need to revisit ideas. This
cannot happen in few minutes. If you reflect on anything you have learned, you soon
comprehend that it is the result of repeated experience and thinking. Especially,
moments of thoughtful insight, can be traced back to longer periods of research.

In the constructivist classroom, the focus tends to shift from the teacher to the students. The
classroom is no longer a place where the teacher pours knowledge into passive students, who
wait like empty vessels to be filled. In the constructivist model, the students have the urge to
involve themselves actively in their own process of learning. The teacher functions more as a
facilitator who prompts questions and helps students develop and assess their understanding,
and so their learning. Teacher's major job becomes to ask good questions.

Traditional classroom vis-a-vis constructivist classroom:

Curriculum begins with the parts of the Curriculum emphasizes big concepts,
whole. Emphasizes basic skills. beginning with the whole and expanding
to include the parts.

Strict adherence to fixed curriculum is Pursuit of student questions and


highly valued. interests is valued.

Materials are primarily textbooks and Materials include primary sources of


workbooks. material and manipulative materials.
Learning is based on repetition. Learning is interactive, building on what
the student already knows.

Teachers disseminate information to Teachers have a dialogue with students,


students; students are recipients of helping students construct their own
knowledge. knowledge.

Teacher's role is directive, rooted in Teacher's role is interactive, rooted in


authority. negotiation.

Assessment is through testing, correct Assessment includes student works,


answers. observations, and points of view, as well
as tests. Process is as important as
product.

Knowledge is seen as inert. Knowledge is seen as dynamic, ever


changing with our experiences.

Students work primarily alone. Students work primarily in groups.

Traditional education gives emphasis on instruction, not learning. It wrongly assumes that for
every bit of teaching there is a degree of learning by those who are taught. Nevertheless, most
of what we learn before, during, and after attending schools is learned without it being taught to
us. A child learns such essential things as how to walk, talk, eat, and dress and so on without
being taught these things. Adults learn most of what they use at work or at leisure while at work
or leisure. Most of what is trained in classroom settings is forgotten, and a great deal of what is
remembered is immaterial.

ATTENTION AND INTEREST

Attention is a vital mental process. It helps for other mental processes, like imagination,
learning and thinking etc. We cannot imagine about something unless we focus our
attention on it.
Attention is considered that faculty which may be diverted towards any object at will.
Attention, instead of being a mental faculty, is a part of mental activity. It is also a
selective process. When we pay our attention towards any stimulus, it means that we
have removed our attention from other stimuli. Our mind selects only one stimulus,
which is best suited to it, for paying attention. Attention also depends on one’s interest.

Interest on the other hand is a sentiment or passion that causes attention to focus on an
object or an event or a process. In current psychology of interest the term is used as a
universal idea that may cover more specific psychological terms, such as curiosity and
to a much smaller degree surprise.

Nature of Attention:
The following are some of the natures of attention:
a. Attention is a mental process and not a mental power.
b. There can be no attention in the absence of interest.
c. The thought of conscious life is impossible in the absence of attention.
d. Attention creates readiness for doing a work.
e. Attention is a selective process.
f. Attention is a part of consciousness, it does not mean consciousness.

Characteristics of Attention:
The following are some of the characteristics of attention:
a. Attention is always changing.
b. Attention is always an active centre of our experience.
c. It is selective.
d. Attention is continuous.
e. Attention increases the clarity of the object.
f. It is indivisible.

Educational Implications:
Attention plays a vital role in teaching learning process. Without attention learning
cannot be effective. It helps a child to grasp things better. It is a must to learn a skill.
Lesson studied with greater attention lasts long. Thus, attention is quite vital to learning.
Following are the educational implications of attention:
a. The teacher should try to secure attention of the children in teaching-learning
situation.
b. The teacher should create a conducive environment at the time of teaching in
order to concentrate full attention among the children.
c. The learning atmosphere should be free from all possible distracting factors.
d. In order to create attention the teacher should try to motivate the students at each
stage of teaching.
e. Diagrams, figures and pictures should be drawn at the time of need.
f. Audio-visual aids should be used properly.
g. The teacher should move use of gestures, postures, actions and demonstrations
at the time of teaching.
h. The students should be involved actively in teaching-learning activities.
i. Fear of punishment and rude behaviour of teacher should be avoided.
j. The teacher should show a fair and impartial treatment to all the students in the
class.

Relationship between attention and interest

Attention and interest are inter-related and equally dependent. To pay attention to an
object, a person or an activity is to have interest in them. Mc Dougall has very rationally
said, "Interest is latent attention and attention is interest in action." It is the interest which
determines one's attention. Interest is constantly concealed in the act of attention.
It is a fact that there is close relation between attention and interest. Each of our
interests may be regarded as a powerful stimulus to draw our attention to a particular
thing, person or an activity. The motive which governs, our attention is still interest which
can only be satisfied, if we attend to this object. At times there might be some indirect
relation between attention and interest, but it cannot be denied entirely. For example, a
child's interest in constructing models may lead to the learning of mathematical
problems.
Since attention and interest are inter-related, students are to be made attentive by
making the teaching – learning process interesting. If the pupil can be made interested
in the lesson, then the problem of inattentiveness will not arise.
Theories on Intelligence

Intelligence is defined as general cognitive problem-solving skills. A mental ability involved in


reasoning, perceiving relationships and analogies, calculating, learning quickly… etc. Earlier it was
believed that there was one underlying general factor at the intelligence base (the g-factor), but
later psychologists maintained that it is more complicated and could not be determined by such a
simplistic method.
Some psychologists have divided intelligence into subcategories. For example Howard Gardner
maintained that it is comprised of seven components: musical, bodily-kinaesthetic, logical-
mathematical, linguistic, spatial, interpersonal, and intrapersonal. Other definitions are:
“Intelligence is what you do when you don't know what to do.” “Intelligence is a hypothetical idea
which we have defined as being reflected by certain types of behaviour.”

Key Points
• Adaptability to a new environment or to changes in the current environment
• Capacity for knowledge and the ability to acquire it
• Capacity for reason and abstract thought
• Ability to comprehend relationships
• Ability to evaluate and judge
• Capacity for original and productive thought

Theories of various researchers


Different researchers have proposed an array of theories to describe the character of
intelligence.

Charles Spearman - General Intelligence


Charles Spearman, the British psychologist (1863-1945) described a concept that he
referred to as general intelligence or the ‘g’ factor. After usage of a technique known
as factor, investigation to study some mental aptitude tests, Spearman came to a
conclusion that scores on these tests were surprisingly similar. People who successfully
overcome one cognitive test tended to perform well on other tests too. While those who
scored badly on one test tended to score badly on others. He concluded that intelligence
is general cognitive skill that could be calculated and numerically articulated.
Louis L. Thurstone - Primary Mental Abilities
Psychologist Louis L. Thurstone (1887-1955) presented a differing theory of intelligence.
Instead of viewing intelligence as a single, general ability, Thurstone's theory focused on
seven different "primary mental abilities." The abilities that he described were:
• Verbal comprehension
• Reasoning
• Perceptual speed
• Numerical ability
• Word fluency
• Associative memory
• Spatial visualization

Howard Gardner - Multiple Intelligences


One of the most recent ideas to materialize is Howard Gardner's theory of multiple
intelligences. Instead of focusing on the scrutiny of test scores, Gardner proposed that
numerical expressions of human intelligence are not a full and precise interpretation of
people's capabilities. His theory describes eight distinct intelligences based on skills and
abilities that are valued in different cultures.
The eight intelligences Gardner described are:
• Visual-spatial Intelligence
• Verbal-linguistic Intelligence
• Bodily-kinaesthetic Intelligence
• Logical-mathematical Intelligence
• Interpersonal Intelligence
• Musical Intelligence
• Intrapersonal Intelligence
• Naturalistic Intelligence

Robert Sternberg - Triarchic Theory of Intelligence


Psychologist Robert Sternberg defined intelligence as "mental activity directed toward
purposive adaptation to, selection and shaping of, real-world environments relevant to
one's life." While he approved with Gardner that intelligence is much broader than a
single, general ability, he at the same time recommended some of Gardner's
intelligences are better viewed as individual talents.
Sternberg proposed what he referred to as 'successful intelligence' involving three
different factors:
• Analytical intelligence: This module refers to problem-solving abilities.
• Creative intelligence: This characteristic of intelligence involves the ability to deal
with new situations using previous experiences and existing skills.
• Practical intelligence: This element refers to the skill to adapt to a changing
surrounding.

To solve a problem is feasible simply when information is functional in the correct


method with the aid of intelligence. According to Woodworth, “Intelligence means
intellectual put to use.”

Theories on Motivation

Goal Behavioral
orientations Pattern

Perceived Intrinsic
ability Motivation
Performance
Motivational
climate

"The term motivation refers to factors that activate, direct, and sustain goal-directed behaviour...
Motives are the "whys" of behaviour - the needs or wants that drive behaviour and explain what
we do. We don't actually observe a motive; rather, we infer that one exists based on the
behaviour we observe."(Nevid, 2013)

Thus, motivation involves the biological, emotional, social and cognitive forces that activate
behaviour. In everyday usage, the term motivation is frequently used to explain why a person
does something.
Components of Motivation
One who ever had a goal probably straight away realizes that simply having the desire to
accomplish something is not enough. Achieving such a goal requires the talent to persist all
the way through obstacles and an endurance to keep going in spite of problems.
There are three major components to motivation:
1. Activation involves the assessment to instigate behaviour, such as enrolling in a psychology class.
2. Persistence is the constant effort toward a goal even though obstacles may exist. An example of
persistence would be taking more psychology courses in order to earn a degree although it requires
a significant investment of time, energy, and resources.
3. Intensity can be seen in the attentiveness and energy that goes into securing a goal. For example,
one student might coast by without much effort, while another student will study regularly,
participate in discussions and take advantage of research opportunities outside of class. The first
student lacks intensity, while the second pursues his educational goals with greater intensity.

Theories of Motivation
Psychologists have proposed different theories to explain motivation:
• Instincts: The instinct theory of motivation suggests that behaviours are motivated by
instincts. An intuition is a fixed and innate pattern of behaviour. Psychologists including
William James, Sigmund Freud, and William McDougal have proposed a number of basic
human drives that motivate behaviour. Such instincts might include biological instincts that
are crucial for an organism’s survival such as fear, cleanliness and love.
• Drives and Needs: Many of our behaviours such as eating, drinking and sleeping are
motivated by biology. We have a biological need for food, water, and sleep, therefore, we
are motivated to eat, drink and sleep. Drive theory suggests that people have essential
genetic drives and that our behaviours are motivated for the fulfilment of this drives.
• Arousal Levels: The arousal theory of motivation implies that people are motivated to
engage in behaviours that facilitate them to preserve their finest level of stimulation. An
individual with limited arousal needs might practise relaxing activities while those with high
arousal needs might be motivated to engage in thrilling behaviours.

Hence, motivation is the force that initiates, guides and maintains goal-oriented behaviours. It
is what causes us to take action, whether to grab a snack to reduce hunger or enrol in college to
earn a degree. The forces that lie beneath motivation can be biological, social, emotional or
cognitive in nature. Motivation, in other words, is the act of human being which is determined
and governed by some need and the urge to convince that need. According to psychologists all
human behaviour are motivated, while some of these motivations are conscious, some are
unconscious.

Conclusion

In this module we are discussing about educational psychology which is that subdivision of psychology.
It is the scientific study of human behaviour in educational scenery. Educational Psychology is
apprehensive mostly with understanding the processes of teaching and learning that take place within
official environments and developing habits of improving those methods. It covers essential topics like
learning theories; teaching methods; motivation; cognitive, emotional, and moral development; and
parent-child relationships. We focussed on the learning procedure of the child methodically and have
developed various theories of learning on the basis of this. The most important theories that have been
discussed are: Pavlov’s Theory of Conditioning, Thorndike’s theory of connectionism, Gestalt Theory of
Insight, and Field theory of learning.

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