Module 2: Learner-centered Psychological Principles (LCP)

Worksheet 2

1. Describe what you can do to advocate the use of the 14 Learning –Centered Psychological
Principles.

Here’s what can I do to advocate the use of the 14 Learner-Centered Psychological Principles.
Let’s start with:

 “Nature of the learning process” The learning of complex subject matter is most effective
when it is an intentional process of constructing meaning from information and experience.
So, I will use strategies and methods that help students create meaning from knowledge,
experiences, and their own beliefs and thoughts.
 “Goals of the Learning process” The successful learner, over time and with support and
instructional guidance, can create meaningful, coherent representations of knowledge. So, I
will establish concrete student learning objectives that are aligned with their goals and
interests in personal and educational matters.
 “Construction of knowledge” The successful learner can link new information with existing
knowledge in meaningful ways. I will assist learners to obtain and integrate knowledge by
using strategies such as concept mapping and thematic organization or categorization.
 “Strategic thinking” The successful learner can create and use a repertoire of thinking and
reasoning strategies to achieve complex learning goals. I will assist learners in developing,
applying, and assessing their strategic learning skills.
 “Thinking about thinking” Higher order strategies for selecting and monitoring mental
operations facilitate creative and critical thinking. To strengthen learning and personal
accountability for learning, I will use instructional approaches that focus on helping learners
develop these higher order strategies.
 “Context of learning” Learning is influenced by environmental factor, including culture,
technology, and instructional practices. I will Make it possible to nurture the classroom
atmosphere to have a positive effect on student learning.
 “Motivational and emotional influence on learning” What and how much is learned is
influenced by the learner’s motivation. Motivation to learn, in turn, is influenced by the
individual’s emotional states, beliefs, interests and goals, and habits of thinking. I will help
students prevent extreme negative emotions and related thoughts such as fear, panic,
anger, insecurity, worrying about competence, ruminating about failure, fearing
punishment, ridicule, or stigmatizing labels.
 “Intrinsic motivation to learn.” The learner’s creativity, higher order thinking, and natural
curiosity all contribute to motivation to learn. Intrinsic motivation is stimulated by tasks of
optimal novelty and difficulty, relevant to personal interests, and providing for personal
choice and control. I will motivate and enhance the natural interest and encouragement of
learners to learn by taking account of individual differences in the perceptions of maximum
novelty and complexity, importance, and personal choice and control of learners.
 “Effects of motivation on effort” Acquisition of complex knowledge and skills requires
extended learner effort and guided practice. Without learners’ motivation to learn, the
 willingness to exert this effort is unlikely without coercion. So, I will encourage greater
motivation by using techniques that increase the commitment and determination of
learners to learn and to achieve high levels of understanding and comprehension.
 “Developmental influence on learning” As individuals develop, there are different
opportunities and constraints for learning. Learning is most effective when differential
development within and across physical, intellectual, emotional and social domains is taken
into account. So, to promote the formation of optimal learning contexts, I will be mindful of
and consider developmental differences between students with and without social, physical,
or intellectual disabilities.
 “Social influence on learning” learning is influenced by social interactions, interpersonal
relations, and communication with others. I will enable immersive and collaborative
educational environments and provide an opportunity for students to take a viewpoint and
focus on thinking that can contribute to higher levels of cognitive, social and moral growth
and self-esteem.
 “Individual differences in learning” learners have different strategies, approaches and
capabilities for learning that are a function of prior experience and heredity. So, I will help
students evaluate their learning interests and, if appropriate, extend or amend them.
 “Learning and diversity” learning is most effective when differences in learners’ linguistic,
cultural, and social backgrounds are taken into account. In the educational environment,
paying particular attention to these variables increases the possibilities for developing and
implementing suitable learning environments.
 “Standards and assessment” Setting appropriately high and challenging standards and
assessing the learner as well as learning progress – including diagnostic, process, and
outcome assessment – are integral parts of the learning process. I will use varied types of
assessment that will provide a clearer picture of student learning.

2. Explain briefly in your own words the meaning of the phrase “Thinking about thinking”
 Thinking about thinking or Metacognition is the capacity to analyze our own cognitive processes
and draw on them. It the voice in our head that reminds us anything else that we already know
and apply it in our learning. Our metacognitive processes allow us to learn from previous
experiences, to generalize learning so that we can adapt techniques to new circumstances, to
determine the effectiveness of various methods, and to evaluate if next time we can do things
differently. In the classroom, these abilities are important. Students with strong metacognitive
abilities may prepare an approach to learning a new ability or solving a problem, track their
progress towards their target, and assess their own results. In order to decide on an appropriate
strategy and assess what else they need to learn to be efficient, they should evaluate both the
mission criteria and their own knowledge base and ability set.

3. Write a 3-paragraph insights on the lesson being studied.

In this lesson, I realized that these principles help me to understand the nature of learners and
the nature of the learning process and with that knowledge, you will now have the ideas,
strategies, and approaches that you can use to maximize the learning of your students for you to
become an effective teacher.

The 14 principles are divided into different factors that shape the learning and the learner.
These factors are grouped into 4 domains, these are Cognitive and Metacognitive factors, which
has 6 principles that generally deal with "thinking" and "thinking about thinking"; next domain
has 3 principles belonging to Motivation and Effective Factors that appeal to the behavior and
emotion of the learner toward learning; then the Developmental and Social Factors, covering 2
principles that are considered to be external or contextual factors; the last 3 principles are under
Individual Differences Factors, specifically dealing with diversity and standards.

The principles are bases to improve teaching, learning, and the whole education system.
Moreover, the attainment of the complex and relevant learning goals that develop relevant skills
and acquiring knowledge call for extended learner effort and guided practice. The concrete
understanding and appropriate application of the principles helps the teacher to provide a
better learning environment and experience resulting to a positive and healthy learning
community.

Activity 2
1. Examine the title “Learner-Centered Psychological Principles” and quickly list down 10 words
that come to your mind.
 Strategy
 Effort
 Purpose
 Environment
 Opportunity
 Backgrounds
 Goal
 Experiences
 Development
 Motivation

2. Go back to each word and write phrases about why you think the word can be associated with
Learner-Centered Psychological Principles.
 Without “strategy” execution is aimless
 Achievements comes from “effort”
 We need to know our “purpose”
 Learn in a positive “environment”
 Learners should be given opportunity
 Learners have different “backgrounds”
 Never have a lack of “goals”
 “Experiences” as a source of knowledge
 “Develop” success from failures
 “Motivation” is the key for achieving your goals

3. Use the written phrases to make a one-paragraph description of LCP.

 Without strategy in our learning and teaching, our execution will be useless. Strategy drives
the right activities or methods to achieve the results we want. If we don’t learn how to
execute quickly, consistently and effectively, our dreams will not come true…our goals will
not be achieved…our good intentions will die a quick death. If we want to achieve our goals
we need an effort, it’s our fuel to drive from our desire. If we need to know something, we
learn how to do it, it should make sense, it should have meaning in our life, and it should
have a purpose. A positive classroom environment helps improve attention, reduce anxiety,
and supports emotional and behavioral regulation of students. When educators foster a
positive learning culture; learners are more likely to acquire higher motivation that leads to
wonderful learning outcomes. As a diverse environment, learners must be given the
opportunity to connect current knowledge with new learning. Build on what students know
and can do. Awareness around multicultural education and taking a culturally responsive
approach to teaching benefits all students. Not only does creating greater multicultural
awareness and inclusion help students with different backgrounds and needs succeed, but it
encourages acceptance and helps prepare students to thrive in an exponentially diverse
world. As a student, it is important to use our experiences as a source of knowledge, and we
learn from these experiences to shape our decisions and actions. Also, we need to use our
failures to develop our success. We never learn to move out of our comfort zone if we don't
overcome our fear of failure. That's because someone who survives failure has gained
irreplaceable knowledge and the unstoppable perseverance born from overcoming
hardship. Motivation is also essential, because it is our key to achieve our goals. Motivation
must come from within ourselves. Others may try to encourage you, but you are the only
one who can attain what you desire. You must convince yourself that you can!